(Alexis and Victoria- Arkansas Pole Vaulters)
It is finally here, the NCAA Indoor Championship. There is a
lot of story lines heading into this meet and I will try to cover them all. Let
us first get started with the women.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
In the 60 meter dash LSU is looking to continue their
storied success in this event. Just last season Aleia Hobbs claimed the 60
meter title to add to their illustrious history. Her former teammate Kortnei Johnson is now the favorite to win it
this year. The senior has the fastest time in the nation clocking in at 7.14.
Kiara Parker of Arkansas is currently number two with a time of 7.15. At the
SEC Championship Johnson defeated Parker at Arkansas making a large statement. Both
are being heavily relied upon for the team title. Arkansas the big favorite is
expecting big points from Parker. A dark horse in this race is former champion
Teahna Daniels of Texas.
The 200-meter dash entered this season with Johnson of LSU
as a heavy favorite. She’ll be in the field, but she is not listed as one of
the top athletes. Instead we have three athletes who have run 22.8. First there
is Anavia Battle of Ohio State, a talented sophomore won the Big Ten with a
time of 22.80. Then there is senior Kayla White of North Carolina A&T who
held the number leading mark for several weeks with a time of 22.82. Finally,
there is true freshman Kynnedy Flannel of Texas with a time of 22.88, the early
season leader. White is the only athlete of the three who will be competing in
a second event, the 60-meter hurdles and led the NCAA for much of the season.
However, you cannot ignore the race ran by Battle at the Big Ten Championship.
With everything stated, this race is still wide open.
The 400 has been a bit quit majority of the season. Even now
there is surprisingly not one athlete who has gone under 52 seconds all season
long. Even favorite Lynna Irby of Georgia who ran a sub 51 second race last indoor
season. She is still the leader with a time of 52.02 achieved at the SEC
Championship. The race was without challenge as Syaria Richardson of Texas
A&M stayed close with a time of 52.09. Kyra Constantine of USC ran a strong
race of 52.07 out west to qualify. Even though Constantine and Richardson have
times that could challenge Irby has the speed and endurance to dominate. I
expect a big season’s best and a title.
The 60-meter hurdles figures to be huge in the team title
picture. Both the top ranked programs, Arkansas and USC, have multiple athletes
in this race. Arkansas has defending champion senior Payton Chadwick and number
two ranked Janeek Brown. For USC there is number one ranked Chanel Brissett who
defeated Brown already this season 7.90 to 7.95. USC also has three other
hurdlers in Dior Hall, Anna Cockrell and Mecca McGlaston. It is possible that
all six of these ladies may make the final but it will be difficult. This field
is deep and there will be a few surprises. Brissett is the current favorite and
has gone undefeated and topped every athlete considered a contender for the
crown and as of now is my choice to win the title.
DISTANCE
At the beginning of the season Sammy Watson of Texas A&M
and her teammate Jazmine Fray were among three favorites to contend for the
NCAA Indoor title in the 800. Well fast forward, Watson has now turned pro,
Fray has qualified but not considered a threat. To be fair Fray is the
collegiate indoor record holder and could still pull out a title. However,
Danae Rivers of Penn State has been on a tare this season. She has broken the
collegiate record in the 1,000-meter run along with her top ranked mile performance
has lived up to the lofty expectations placed upon her this season. Although
her season best of 2:02.94 is not the top ranked time her performances on the
track lead her to be the top favorite in the 800. Martha Bissah of Norfolk
State leads the NCAA with her time of 2:02.58 and Allie Wilson of Monmouth is
second with a time of 2:02.65 will make strong cases for the title but Rivers
is still the favorite.
In the mile Danae Rivers of Penn State pulled out to focus
solely on the 800. After more jostling by top athletes in the event Hannah
Meier of Michigan and the Big Ten Champion will step in as the top entrant in
the event with a time of 4:32.46. Challenging Meier will ironically fellow
senior Ohio State Buckeye Julia Rizk. The two already had a great race at the
Big Ten Indoor Championships in Ann Arbor. Lauren Gregory a freshman from
Arkansas will look to challenge the two Big Ten rivals with her time of
4:32.92.
Wisconsin has built quite the distance program. In the 3,000
Alicia Monson will serve as the top entrant with her NCAA leading time of
8:45.97. Monson will look to fend off mile star Jessica Hull of Oregon. Hull is
ranked second with her time of 8:53.91. Hull has a national title already
having won the 1,500 last outdoor season. Hull also finished third in the race
last year and maybe looking for a little redemption. Monson has no national
hardware but she did double at the Big Ten Indoor Championship winning the
3,000 and 5,000 meter runs. The time disparity of eight seconds cannot go unnoticed
and gives a slight nod to Monson for the title.
In the 5,000 New Mexico is looking to get a 1-2 punch. The
National Cross-Country runner-up have become a distance powerhouse and with the
top two entrants they will look to make a big statement. Senior Ednah Kurgat
leads the NCAA with a time of 15:14.78. Her time stood number one the entire
indoor season. Her teammate Weini Kelati has sat in the second position with
her time of 15:15.24 all season as well. Both are competing in the 3,000 but
the 5,000 is where they are expecting big points. The only challenger to them
in the field seems to be Sharon Lokedi of Kansas who is third with a time of
15:15.47.
FIELD EVENTS
In the High Jump Andrea Stapleton-Johnson of BYU garnered
the number one ranking in mid-January and never relinquished the ranking.
Loretta Blaut of Cincinnati did tie her mark of 6 feet 1 ½ inches but was
unable to surpass it. With a total of nine athletes that have surpassed six
feet making for this to be an interesting competition. The winner will be
decided by who can handle the pressure of a championship meet. For this event I
push with no clear favorite.
The Long Jump is led by Rougui Sow of Florida State a senior
who transferred from South Carolina. Yanis David of Florida was the favorite in
the event at the beginning of the season and was the favorite for the triple
jump as well. Currently David is ranked second with a mark of 21’2 ½ in the
long jump and first in the triple jump with 45’5 and is coming off two strong
performances at the SEC Championships to win both. Davis who is also a senior
is looking to continue Florida’s championship jumping tradition. Sow has beaten
her already along with leading the nation with 21’3 ½ and has the added
motivation of attending a rival school. However, with the spotlight David has
shown over the years to perform at her best. I look for her to pull of the
double winning both the Long Jump and Triple Jump. Keep an eye on Marie-Josee
Ebwea-Excel of Kentucky who led the NCAA for much of the season with her mark
of 45’2 ½ in the triple jump.
The Pole Vault figures to be a critical event for the top
ranked Arkansas Razorbacks. They have the twins Alexis and Victoria looking to
go 1-2 and score 18 team points. However, they are not the only Razorbacks in
the field. There is fellow senior Desiree Freier. Although she enters the event
ranked seventh it not out of the realm of possibility that they could take a
1-2-3 sweep. The twins are the only the athletes in the field having jumped
over 15 feet this season and outside of their teammate the only real challenge
is Donnie Braxler of San Diego State. She has a season record of 14’10. A
championship meet brings out the best in true competitors, but I am not sure
anyone can overcome Alexis Jacobus’ leading mark of 15’4 ¼.
On both the men’s and women’s side the throwing events look
to be dominated by one person. For the women it is Ohio State senior Sade
Olatoye. She entered the season as a favorite to win the Weight Throw with
Stamatia Scarvelis of Tennessee. Throughout the season Olatoye has stepped up
as the sole favorite with her NCAA leading mark of 78’11 ¾ She is only a ½ inch
ahead of Scarvelis but that is all that is needed to win. She has taken over as
the favorite in the Shot Put after earning her second NCAA leading mark of
58’8. In both events she has competitors within striking distance, but she has
defeated everyone she has come against this season there is no real reason why
she should not be able to continue.
Senior Michelle Atherley took the reigns as the favorite to
win the pentathlon after a strong showing at the ACC Championships amassing a
total of 4,498 points. Her conference performance was dominant and saw her earn
first place in majority of the events in which she competed. She has over 100
points on her closest competitor Aliyah Whisby of Georgia. Whisby is the latest
multi-event talent out of Georgia to vie for a national title. If Atherley’s
performance at the ACC Championships is any indication of how she will perform
this week, this will be a tall order for Whisby.
RELAYS
The 4x400 relay looks to be a barn burner. The SEC Indoor
Championships produced four 3:30 teams in Texas A&M, South Carolina,
Arkansas and Florida. A&M came out on top with their NCAA leading mark of
3:29.15. Although USC sends a strong group they are not in the final heat with
the top four teams and the lack of competition could cause them the title with
time. A&M is bringing three athletes in the open 400 showcasing their strength
in this event. It looks as if they have what it takes to win but you cannot
ignore South Carolina who is second with 3:29.56. This reminds me of the old
South Carolina teams that used to regularly compete for a national title and
win the Penn Relays. Expect for some fireworks in this event.
The Distance Medley Relay has Michigan as the leader. The
Wolverines broke their school record just before the Big Ten Championships and
ran the fastest time ever by a big ten school. Their time of 10:54.47 was quite
impressive. There is only one athlete on their squad who will be competing in
another event and that is anchor Hannah Meier who is the favorite in the mile.
A fresh rested squad with the lead miler on the anchor makes for a tough group
to beat. However, Oklahoma State had the number one ranking early in the season
and barely relinquished it. Michigan also proved they are human after losing on
their home turf to rival Michigan State at the Big Ten Championships. Oklahoma
State has an impressive group and could easily win this race.
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