Weekend Recap 1- Outdoor Season

15-6 1/4!

(Olivia Gruver-Washington)

The outdoor season started two weeks ago but this past weekend was our first big weekend of the season. With many of the top athletes resting at the beginning season since their intense competition at the Indoor National meet, this weekend was our first glimpse at some of the top athletes competing. Let us a review a few of the top performances from the weekend. 

In the sprints both the Florida and Texas Relay meets provided us with plenty to talk about. At the Florida Relays we had three number one performances on the women’s side. Senior Kayla White of North Carolina A&T, the indoor champion at 200 meters and runner-up in the 100 hurdles ran a NCAA leading time of 11.04. Anavia Battle of Ohio State ran a time of 22.54 into a headwind which is even more impressive along with beating defending SEC Champion Lynna Irby of Georgia. Senior Sharrika Barnett beat a strong field to claim the 400 title on her home track with a time of 50.96.

Note: Sha’Carri Richardshon of LSU ran a time of 10.91 but her time was well beyond the allowable limit for wind.

On the men’s side the Florida Relays produced two sprint number one’s as well. Both came from North Carolina A&T which is becoming a sprint powerhouse. Akeem Sirleaf earned the top time in the 200 with a time of 20.50 and teammate Trevor Stewart won the 400 with a time of 45.18. With their success this past indoor season and in recent years it is clear that Olympic Medalist Duane Ross has built a quality program at North Carolina A&T.

In the hurdles Tonea Marshall of LSU was one of the many bright spots for the Tigers over the weekend at the Texas Relays. She won with a NCAA leading time of 12.96 defeating Janeek Brown of Arkansas who finished with 12.97. This is perhaps the beginning of what will be a great rivalry between the top two hurdlers in the SEC.

In the 400 hurdles the Tigers took home another win at the Texas Relays with sophomore Jurnee Woodward winning in a time of 57.28. Her time was number for a full day. At the Florida Relays true freshman Reana Richards of Rutgers claimed the number one ranking with a time of 57.21. This event is technically wide open with so many talented young athletes in this event expect for the top ranking in this event to change often throughout the season.

On the men’s side the 110 hurdles at the Florida Relays was the highlight of the weekend. Grant Holloway of Florida and Daniel Roberts of Kentucky. Holloway got off to slow a start but made up for it in the middle of the race with his superior speed. After the ninth hurdle he seemed to have a clear path to victory. However, he hit the 10^th hurdle and Roberts was able to close the small gap between them. Holloway still was able to out lean him at the line winning with a time of 13.28 to Roberts 13.30. This rivalry has become enjoyable to watch and we will be privy to it throughout the post season.

The Texas Relays saw senior Amere Lattin of Houston win the 400 hurdles against the professional invitational field. The star senior clocked in at 49.80 a new NCAA number one. He is also currently the only athlete in the NCAA under 50 seconds in the event.

In the distance events it seems as if all the fun happened at the Stanford Invitational. Between the men and women there were 8 number one times over the weekend. The Florida Relays produced the other two both in the same event, the 800 meters.

Danae Rivers of Penn State is continuing her phenomenal season. The newly crowned NCAA Champion defeated a strong field with a time of 2:03.63. Her race was even more impressive since she won the race by a second and half with considerable distance between her and the runner up. With this weekend’s performance Rivers further validates her early season favorite status for the national title.

Avery Bartlett of Georgia Tech has continued the programs success with 800 runners. Bartlett garnered the number one ranking by winning at the Florida Relays with a time of 1:47.54. Although Devin Dixon of Texas A&M has not ran yet Indoor Champion Bryce Hoppel of Kansas has claiming the Texas Relays title with 1;48.94. Although it is early in the season senior Bartlett made a big announcement with that impressive time and win.

Senior Jessica Hull of Oregon is the defending champion in the women’s 1,500. For majority of the 2019 season Hull has not seemed to focus on running that event. This past weekend at the Stanford Invitational she clocked in at 15:34.93 against a quality field of professional athletes and the top seven in the NCAA. Even though the national championship meet will not at Oregon this year Hull still has was it takes to win an NCAA title in either the 5,000 or defending her title in the 1,500.

Kyle Mau of Indiana missed last outdoor season, which is a huge let down after the solid 2018 indoor season he had. The talented junior made some noise this past indoor season but missed a podium finish  in both the mile and 3,000. At the Stanford Invitational against a strong field that included his teammate Ben Veatch and Aidan Tooker of Syrcause he won the 5,000 with a time of 13:44.43. Like Hull he has primarily been a 1,500-meter runner but a personal best in your outdoor debut with an impressive time will make for an interesting argument about what event he should run in the post season.

Allie Ostrander of Boise State is now a junior. This supremely talented runner has been making headlines since her freshman year. She is primarily a steeplechaser and is the defending NCAA Outdoor Champion in the event. For obvious endurance work she stepped up to the 10,000 and clocked a time of 32:06.71. She finished third overall but was the top collegian. She likely will not compete in the 10,000 again this season, this is not an event you run a lot. However, it is worth noting that she beat collegians that will be competitive in the event later in the post season.

The Pole Vault began with a bang on the women’s side this outdoor season. Olivia Gruver the two-time defending NCAA champion who competed for Kentucky the past three seasons transferred in the off season to Washington. She left with her coach Olympic Medalist Toby Stevenson and the success has continued. She broke the NCAA outdoor record in the event this past weekend with a time of 15 feet 6 ¼ inches at the Stanford Invitational. It has been the theme the past few years to seeing NCAA records continuously fall.

Senior Yanis David of Florida is continuing her winning senior season. Fresh off winning an NCAA title this past indoor season that talented senior lifted off to a mark of 46’1 ¼ in the triple jump at the Florida Relays. Her mark vaulted her to the top in the NCAA and she is currently the only athlete of 46 feet so far this season.

Chris Nilsen of South Dakota proved this past weekend he will by the top challenger against true freshman Mondo Duplantis of LSU. The junior leaped to a mark of 19-1 ¼ to win the Pole Vault at the Texas Relays. This now makes Nilsen and Duplantis as the only two athletes over 19 feet this season. Nilsen has a champions spirit and competitive fire power do not expect for this to be an easy outdoor campaign for Duplantis.

Senior Payton Otterdahl of North Dakota State continued his impressive season. The senior won the shot put at the Texas Relays with his through of 69-8 ¼. That mark is number one in the country and what is perhaps more impressive is that it is three feet off her personal best. We will likely see another 70 foot through soon.

Senior Anderson Peters of Mississippi State is the defending champion in the javelin. He did not compete much this past indoor season and certainly not in any throwing events. He still found a way to pick up where he left off, at the top. His Texas Relays winning mark of 282-4 is a personal best and an incredibly way for a champion to debut his outdoor season.

Portious Warren of Alabama has the honor of being the top female thrower from the weekend. The senior dazzled the competition at the Florida Relays to win with a mark of 57-2 ¼. She won the SEC Championship this past indoor season in the event and is building a case to be a contender.

RELAY OF THE WEEK

There a two great relay races to note. On the men’s side it is the LSU 4x100 relay earning the top mark in the NCAA with a time of 38.41 at the Texas Relays. The race is the talk of social media with senior Jaron Flournoy walking down the anchor from Houston. He got an emotional and was clearing vocal about it. He even accidentally bumped the runner from Houston. His response sparked a debate for proper celebration etiquette. I say let the athletes enjoy how they would like.

In the women’s 4x400 Relay South Carolina took the glow from home favorite Florida. The Indoor Champions were behind when anchor Wadeline Jonathas got the baton. Jonathas ran a 50.5 anchor to surpass Florida down the final stretch to lead the Gamecocks to their NCAA top ranked time of 3:27.53. It is the fastest time the Gamecocks have ran in years and proves they are returning as a competitive national power.