Weekend Recap

9.94! 19.76!

A weekend to remember. We are drawing closer and closer to the post season, but many collegiate athletes used this past weekend to make some serious noise. There are several new number one performances and all-time marks.

Divine Oduduru has been blazing the track since last season. The talented sprinter from Nigeria gave us a performance for the ages this past weekend. He won the 100-meter dash at the Michael Johnson Invitational and clocked in at 9.94. A new number one in the event and the first time a Nigerian has ran under 10 seconds since 2006. He followed that up with a jaw dropping 19.76 in the 200 becoming the second fastest 200-meter sprinter in NCAA history a new Nigerian record. Please keep in mind this was all done the same day. His performance not only signals his status at the favorite to double at the NCAA Championship, but he will be a serious threat later this year at the World Championships.

Oliver Hoare of Wisconsin is one of the many distance stars on their top tier program. The junior has been one of the milers in not only the Big Ten Conference but also in the NCAA and is coming off an All-American indoor season. At the Bryan Clay Invitational last Wednesday, he claimed the 1,500-meter title in a NCAA leading time of 3:37.20. The race was rather spectacular and literally came down to the line with him edging out a stumbling Carlos Villarreal of Arizona who finished in 3:37.22, the number two ranked mark. His time is impressive for it to be mid-season and it remains to be seen what he will bring during the postseason.

The 400-meter hurdles number one ranking changed twice this past weekend. Cameron Samuel of USC held the number one ranking after winning the event at the Mt Sac Relays on Thursday. On Friday at the Michael Johnson Invitational Norman Grimes of Texas Tech and Infinite Tucker ran a tight race to finish 1-2. Grimes now holds the NCAA lead with his time of 49.75, Tucker is second with 49.78 and Samuel is now third with 49.79. Grimes is coming into his own and defeating a strong Texas A&M group is a great sign of his potential.

Chris Nilsen of South Dakota continues has taken the reigns as the top vaulter in the NCAA. He currently has the only mark over 19 feet this outdoor season with his Beach Invitational winning mark of 19 feet 1 inch. He competed against some of the top competition in the NCAA and came away the victor. Duplantis debuted this weekend but his mark places him seventh. For now, all eyes are on Nilsen.

Jordan Scott of Virginia claimed the indoor NCAA title in the triple jump and debuted his outdoor season with a personal best mark of 56 feet even. He has nearly a foot and a half on his closest competitor and with no current triple jump threat from Florida it is clear who the obvious favorite in this event is. Scott has been so consistent this season it is not likely he will lose at all this season.

Denzel Comenentia of Georgia is the defending NCAA Champion in the Hammer Throw. The senior this weekend took on Nike sponsored pro in Marcel Lomnicky who has competed at the Olympic Games. Their battle was close with Lomnicky winning by a foot however Comenentia’s mark of 252 feet is the new lead in the NCAA. He is currently over 6 feet ahead of his closest competitors.  

Our last men’s number one mark comes from a very talented freshman at USC, Ayden Owens. Owens is one of only two athletes that have now surpassed the 8,000-point total this season. The talented freshman had quite the performance at the Bryan Clay Invitational that saw him win four the ten events in the competition. He defeated a quality field that included a previous All-American. His mark is impressive, but it remains to be seen if he be consistent in the post season.

On the women’s side there was a grand total of eight individual number ones and a new number one mark in the 4x100 relay. The hurdles are where we start with Tonea Marshall of LSU rounding into great form this season. The talented junior was one of the fastest hurdlers in high school history and in past years had yet to make a dent on the national level in college. She has been solid this season routinely going under 13 seconds. On her home track at the LSU Alumni Gold invitational she claimed the number one mark in the nation with a time of 12.81. This is Marshall’s second time this season being ranked number one and is testament to the great start she has had this outdoor season.

The 400 hurdles has had a slow start on the women’s side. We have yet to see an athlete dip under 56 seconds and until this weekend no one has gone under 57 seconds. At the Michael Johnson Invitational senior Ranae McKenzie of Kansas State ran a dominant race that saw her clock a winning time of 56.11. McKenzie is an All-American and the defending Big 12 Champion. She is undefeated this season and is great position for a strong post-season run.

The 800 is starting to heat up with many top tier athletes jockeying for position and ranking. Avi’Tal Wilson-Perteete of UNLV is only a sophomore but has been a top ranked athlete since her freshman year. She just missed out on the final qualifying spot at last years National Championship and is clearly motivated by the missed opportunity. She has been solid this outdoor season competing in events as low as the 400 and high as the 1,500. At the Bryan Clay Invitational she challenged professional Nikki Hiltz and a quality collegiate field. At the end of the race Perteete was the top collegian with a time of 2:02.41 and finished second overall losing only to Hiltz.

The 1,500 is a wide-open event this outdoor season and each time a new athlete takes the number one ranking they are legitimately a contender. Jessica Harris a senior from Notre Dame is the latest this season with her time of 4:13.04 ran at the Virginia Challenge. She defeated a few professionals and All-Americans in the process making her time and performance even more legitimate. Expect more from Harris this season.

New Mexico continues to be the gold standard for long distance running. Weini Kelati continued her strong 2019 season with her win at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Kelati and ran against a strong field including her teammate Adva Cohen. Kelati dominant time of 15:23.46 is more than seven seconds ahead of second place and leaves her as one of the favorites to win the event on the national level outdoors.

The Long jump now has a three-way tie for first place. Aliyah Whisby of Georgia tied the top mark of 21 feet 8 inches at the Mt Sac Relays. Whisby is the latest jump star out of Georgia. Only a sophomore she must be considered a contender with the strong history that Georgia has.

We also now have a tie in the women’s shot put for the number one ranking. Alyssa Wilson of UCLA and Laulauga Tausaga of Iowa both had a throw of 59 feet 1 ½ inches. The irony is they competed at the exact same meet the Beach Invitational. Noenning of Arizona State is still the favorite to win the event, but we will now how competitive Wilson is when she faces Noenning at the Pac-12 Outdoor Championships in a few weeks.

At the Mt Sac Relays senior Shadae Lawrence returned to top form. The senior by way of Jamaica threw for a solid mark in the discus with 209 feet 7 inches. Lawrence was second overall in the competition losing only to Brazilian professional Fernanda Martins.  She has five feet over the closest competitor in the NCAA and is proving to be in great position to defend her NCAA title.

RELAY OF THE WEEK

USC women became the first 42 second 4x100 relay of the season. USC had a quartet of Dior Hall, Angie Annelus, Lanae-Tava Thomas and Twinisha Terry blazed the track at the Mt. Sac Relays to win with a time of 42.93.

We are getting closer and closer to the post season. The recent rankings indicate we are in for a real treat this post season. Expect more post in the future, running into a few personal challenges that are delaying things, but still expect more to come.