2019 NCAA Championship Recap

10.75!

(Sha'Carri Richardson-LSU)

This meet never disappoints, from the individual performances to the team battles, the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships is one the best meets on the track and field calendar. Our theme over the past few years of falling NCAA records continued and we had some major upsets. Let us recap some of the biggest performances from the meet that we did not discuss in our day one recap.

SPRINTS

As usual we will start with the sprints. In the men’s sprints Divine Oduduru of Texas Tech lived up to the hype. After ran blazing semi-final races he followed that up with a 9.86 in the 100 and a 19.72 in the 200. The 100-meter dash also included two other sub 10 second performances in Cravon Gillespie of Oregon in 9.93 and Hakim Sani Brown of Florida in 9.97. Gillespie also went under 20 seconds in 19.93 making this the fastest NCAA meet ever. His time in the 200 is a NCAA meet record and the second fastest collegiate time in history. He will run for his native Nigeria and should be a competitor come World Championship time.

Sha’Carri Richardson a true freshman from LSU is the latest sprint queen from the purple and gold. A school that has developed some of the best NCAA sprinters in history have produced another star. Richardson blazed the track at the University of Texas to the time of 10.75! That was not a typo and yes that is a new NCAA record. We saw Dawn Sowell’s longest standing record finally fall. What was perhaps even more impressive is that she ran that race celebrating nearly five meters out and indicating she could have ran a faster time. She almost completed the double by winning the 200 but she leaned a little to early and defending champion Angie Annelus of USC was able to defend her title 22.16 to 22.17.

In the 400 senior Kahmari Montgomery of Houston has been chasing the only thing missing from his NCAA career and that is an individual NCAA title in his primary event. He literally had to chase the title as Trevor Stewart of North Carolina A&T ran a great race and led the race for the final 98 meters it was the last two meters that saw Montgomery pass him running 44.23 to 44.25.

The women’s 400 was equally impressive. Wadeline Jonathas of South Carolina has had an impressive outdoor season and she capped it off with a personal best of 50.60 to win the NCAA title. Pre-race favorites Sharrika Barnett of Florida and Kethlin Campbell of Arkansas finished third and fourth respectively with times of 51.00 and 51.09. Jonathas is the first Carolina Gamecock to win the event since Natasha Hastings in 2007. Chloe Abbott of Kentucky ran 50.98 to finish second and complete a SEC sweep going from 1-5.

DISTANCE

Bryce Hoppel of Kansas dazzled us this past indoor season by pulling off the stunning upset of Devin Dixon of Texas A&M. This outdoor season was different, we were no longer shocked by his victories but rather expectant of them. With Dixon in the field and in the state of Texas it was evident that it would take a special performance to claim the title. Hoppel delivered running a personal best in the final with a time of 1:44.41.

Jazmine Fray of Texas A&M entered the meet as the top seed and the favorite to win the title. She has been considered a threat to win it ever since she set the indoor NCAA record a couple of years ago but has come up short. This weekend she finally delivered. She won the race in a time of 2:01.31 surpassing Nia Akins of Penn who finished second in 2:01.67. This was her senior season and final race, what a great way finish your career.

In the men’s 1,500 prerace favorite Oliver Hoare of Wisconsin seemed like a solid favorite after a good semi-final. In the finals however he was outdone by fellow Big 10 conference competitor Justine Kiprotich of Michigan State and Yared Nuguse of Notre Dame. Nuguse and Kiprotich took the race to the line battling each other for position and the title. Nuguse was able to barely outlean Kiprotich at the line winning with a time of 3:41.39. He one won the race by 3 thousandths of a second. Hoare finished fourth in 3:42.29.

In the women’s 1,500 it seemed as if senior Jessica Hull of Oregon was going to defend her NCAA title. Sinclaire Johnson of Oklahoma State had something else in mind. Johnson ran the race of her life surpassing a shocked Hull to win the NCAA title in a personal and meet record best time if 4:05.98. The look of shock on Hull’s face is a story in itself but Johnson ran a spectacular race to win her first NCAA title. Hull is a senior who did not end her career the way she wanted but I expect her to perform well at the next level.

The steeplechase for the men did not disappoint. Steven Fahy of Stanford gave us a race we will never forget. The talented senior fell going over the barrier and still manage to cross the finish line as NCAA champion. A dramatic victory for a great career at Stanford. His winning time of 8:38.46 was still a season’s best with the fall it remains to be seen what he can do in a perfectly executed race. His victory should encourage all those struggling with situations in their life, you can fall and still be a champion in the end.

Allie Ostrander of Boise State entered the race as the favorite and two-time defending champion. The junior did not disappoint and most certainly lived up to the hype. Ostrander ran a dominant race to win the NCAA title in 9:37.73, nearly eight seconds ahead of her closest competitor Charlotte Prouse of New Mexico (9:44.50). Ostrander’s time was also a personal best. Is a four-peat on the horizon? That remains to be seen.

The men’s 5,000 was the final chapter in the Fisher versus McDonald rivalry. Both Grant Fisher of Stanford and Morgan McDonald of Wisconsin are seniors and likely will be moving onto the professional circuit. They have challenged each other at every turn with McDonald finding victory at every national championship. The 5,000 was a cap on McDonald’s place in history he defeated Fisher again with a winning time o 14:06.01 outkicking him to the finish. I am sure we will see more of them at the next level but nothing like this season.

Weini Kelati of New Mexico entered the meet as favorite to win the 5k and 10k races to complete a long-distance sweep. Kelati claimed the first title on Thursday night winning the 10k race in 33:10.84. She returned Saturday likely still feeling the effects of her winning on Thursday night. The end result was an upset with Dani Jones of Colorado winning the 5k with a time of 15:50.65. Kelati finished fifth in 15:54.26 well off her personal best.

HURDLES

Grant Holloway of Florida and Daniel Roberts of Kentucky have given us a rivalry to remember. The stunning upset by Daniel Roberts at the SEC Championships made this race all the more interesting. It seemed as if after the prelims that Holloway looked to be out of place, he missed the final of the long jump sending a devasting blow to the Gators team title hopes. Holloway found his footing in the finals however run an incredible tactical race. He broke Renaldo Nehemiah’s 40+ year NCAA record and became the first athlete under 13 seconds in NCAA history with his time of 12.98. Roberts was close behind in 13.00. They both are turning pro after this season giving up their final year of eligibility and will be giving us more great races in the future.

In the 100 hurdles Janeek Brown of Arkansas has been the story since the mid-way point of the season. After her 12.5 performance at the National Relay Championships she has been on a tear. Brown who is being relied upon heavily for team points ran a blitzing time of 12.40 in the 100 hurdles final outdueling Chanel Brissett of USC (12.52). Brown’s time is more special because it is now a new national record for the country of Jamaica, quite and impressive feat for a sophomore. No mention yet if Brown will go pro but I hope to see competing later this summer at the World Championships.

The 400 hurdles was quite an interesting race on the men’s side. Quincy Hall of South Carolina was the obvious favorite and during the race was clearly mis stepping and having an altogether poor race technically. His speed and competitiveness prevailed allowing him to win with a personal best of 48.48. The sky is the limit for Hall whose speed helped to propel him to victory. Once his technique and speed match he will be a dangerous threat. Senior Norman Grimes of Texas Tech gave the team a solid eight points with his time of 48.71, a new personal best.

Anna Cockrell of USC gave the Lady Trojans another NCAA Champion. She as expected ran a dominant for 400 hurdle race winning by almost a full second. Her time of 55.23 was a season’s best and a huge boost to the Lady Trojans team title race. Second was Gabby Scott of Colorado with a time of 56.04. Although Cockrell did not surpass her personal best a time, she still came back from injury with an impressive outdoor season. There is certainly talent here and it remains to be scene what else she can do.

FIELD EVENTS

The bulk of the men’s field events happened on day one but on Friday we were treated to a rare feat. JuVaughn Harrison who won the long jump competed a double by winning the high jump in a personal best mark of 7 feet 5 ¼ inches. He outdueled defending champion Tejaswin Shankar of Kansas State who was second and indoor champion Shelby McEwen of Alabama who was third.

In the triple jump we had an upset. Jordan Scott of Virginia entered the meet as the heavy favorite. He was upstaged by Chengetayi Mapaya of TCU who had a winning mark of 56 feet 2 ½ inches while Scott was second with 55 feet 9 ¾ inches. Both their top performances came on their final jump and for Mapaya it is a personal best mark. It is also noteworthy that Florida scored no points from their men’s jumping cores for the first time since the pre-Christian Taylor era.

Senior Payton Otterdahl senior lost his second event of the meet falling in the men’s discus. The pre meet favorite finished second with a throw of 205 feet even while Eric Kicinski of Texas Tech added 10 team points with a throw of 205 feet 2 inches.

In the decathlon the favorite and talented freshman Ayden Owens of USC earned did not finish and did not participate in the Javelin or 1,500-meter race. This left Johannes Erm of Georgia to continue the school’s great tradition of multi-event athletes to win the NCAA title with a total 8,352 points a personal best. Erm is just a sophomore and we should be seeing more from him in the future.

On the women’s side in the jumps I was expecting the horizontal double from senior Yanis David of Florida. She is currently number two all-time in the triple jump and the winner from the indoor season. It took a personal best to win the long jump on Thursday with a mark of 22 feet 5 ¼ inches. In the triple jump however she was noticeably off on Saturday and Shardia Lawrence of Kansas State capitalize winning with a mark 45 feet 10 ¾ inches. David’s mark was 45 feet 8 ½ inches.

Zarriea Willis of Texas Tech was another highlight for Texas Tech this weekend. The senior leaped to a personal best mark of 6 feet 2 inches to out leap Nicole Greene of North Carolina who was second with 6 feet 1 ½ inches.

The women’s pole vault had a familiar school winning the title. Victoria Hoggard of Arkansas found a way to win the pole vault with a mark of 14 feet 11 ½ inches. Olivia Gruver of Washington is the NCAA record holder with a mark well over 15 feet but she was unable to challenge Hoggard for the title. Hoggard’s mark was huge for team title points for the Lady Razorbacks.

Sophomore Camryn Rogers of California was the favorite to win the hammer throw heading into the meet. It took a personal best throw of 234 feet 7 inches to win the title over runner up Erin Reese of Indiana State who threw for 233 feet 2 inches.

Arizona State continues their championship dominance. Another throwing star is born in Samantha Noenning. The super sophomore hit her top mark on her fifth throw, 59 feet 6 ¼ inches a personal best. Senior Portious Warren of Alabama was the pre meet favorite finished in a close second 59 feet 45 inches.

Senior Mackenzie Little of Stanford has been the top performer in the Javelin all season and this past Friday she proved why. Little claimed the NCAA title with a throw of 195 feet even, 10 feet further then her closest competitor and another throw close to 200. Although her career ends as a collegian we hopefully will be seeing more of Little on the professional level.

Defending champion senior Shadae Lawrence of Colorado State entered the meet as the obvious favorite to win the discus. She found herself on the wrong side finishing third with a mark of 197 feet 11 inches. Junior Laulauga Tausaga of Iowa found a way to defeat the defending champion with her winning mark of 207 feet 6 inches, a new personal record.

Ashtin Zamzow was one of two University of Texas NCAA Champions to win on their home field. The heptathlete hit a new personal best mark of 6,222 points. The senior closed out her NCAA career in style. Her point total included a in impressive high jump mark of 5 feet 10 inches.

RELAYS

On the men’s side were treated to two great races. In the 4x100 relay Florida became the new NCAA record holders with their mark of 37.97. They are the first team (Raymond Ekevwo, Hakim Sani Brown, Grant Holloway and Ryan Clark) to go under 38 seconds in NCAA history. Every finalist in the field went under 39 seconds.

In the 4x400 relay Texas A&M nearly broke the NCAA record with their winning time of 2:59.05 (Bryce Deadmon, Robert Grant, Kryee Johnson and Devin Dixon). Their time is a school record and the second fastest in NCAA history. Texas A&M has really been dominant in this event in recent years. Florida was second thanks to a 43.7 anchor by Grant Holloway with a school record time of 2:59.60. Houston was third in 3:00.07.

On the women’s side USC completed their season dominance in the 4x100 relay by claiming the title with a school record time of 42.21 (Chanel Brisett, Angie Annelus, Lanae Tava Thomas and Twanisha Terry). LSU anchor Sha’Carri Richardson closed strong with 42.29 but was unable to catch Twanisha Terry.

The 4x400 relay had a lot riding on it. USC only had to win the event to defeat the Arkansas Razorbacks for the team title. On the third leg the Alabama runner bumped Anna Cockrell knocking the baton out of her hand. By the time she got the baton and exchanged it to Kaelin Roberts the Trojans were out of the race a disappointing ending to the season. Arkansas held on for second place with a time of 3:25.89. Texas A&M (Tierra Robinson-Jones, Jaevin Reed, Jazmine Fray and Syaira Richardson) won with a time of 3:25.57. The result was a national title for Arkansas.

The team title was decided before the men’s 4x400 relay. It was too much for Florida to overcome no points in the jumping events to contain a strong Texas Tech team. Tech scored a total of 60 points and did not field a 4x400 relay team. The Gators still however finished second with 50 points.

What a season we were treated to. With many champions possibly returning we should expect another exciting year next year. You will hear more from this summer than in previous years and look for the podcast coming soon.

NCAA Outdoor Championship Day 1 Recap

19-6 1/4!!!

(Chris Nilsen- South Dakota)

Whew!! That’s all I could really say after what was a great first day of NCAA Championship action. As with the new format Wednesday and Friday are all men while Thursday and Saturday are all women. Today we witness some great semi-final performances and final performances that will shape up the team battle.

First let’s discuss Grant Holloway. Florida’s do it all man had a rather disappointing day in the long jump, he failed to qualify. This left the Gators without scoring points in the long jump for the first time in years. This also hurt their team title hopes as they did not have room for error. Holloway is truly talented, but this is now the second time he failed to qualify in a event that he is capable of winning.

He did however run a great race in the semi-finals of the 110 high hurdles. The junior ran the number two qualifying time of 13.16. His challenger Daniel Roberts of Kentucky exploded for a meet record time of 13.06, the second fastest time in NCAA history. I will still hold to my prediction here that Holloway will find a way to win it in the finals.

In the short sprints Divine Oduduru of Texas Tech looked smooth. He pulled off two impressive performances running sub 10 in the 100 in a wind-aided effort and ran a wind legal performance in the 200 clocking in at 19.97. That is quite the feat to dip under both 10 second barrier and 20 second barrier in the semi-finals of the same meet. He truly is a talent to watch for. His performance today allows for Texas Tech to remain in the driver’s seat of the team title race.

On the field we witnessed an all time great performance by Mississippi State as they finished 1-2-3 in the javelin. They were led by defending champion Andersen Peters who launched a meet record and third all time NCAA through of 284 feet 2 inches. His teammates Curtis Thompson and Tyriq Horsford followed an impressive performance.

We had an upset of sorts in the pole vault. I, along with many other journalists predicted a sure-fire win for true freshman Mondo Duplantis of LSU to win the NCAA title. Defending champion Chris Nilsen of South Dakota would not be denied. He leaped a personal best mark of 19 feet 6 ¼ inches to break the meet record and claim the NCAA title from Duplantis.

Daniel Haugh of Kennesaw State took down defending champion Denzel Comenentia of Georgia in the Hammer Throw Haugh launched an impressive through of 244 feet 10 inches to claim the title. Comenentia was also competing in the shot put and it clearly was to much for him as nearly missed the final round of throws.

Speaking of shot-put Adrian Piperi of Texas delighted the home crowd by upsetting favorite Payton Otterdahl and his challenger Jordan Geist of Arizona to win the men’s shot put. It took a personal best, but it was a enough for him to win it all on a through of 69 feet 3 ¼ inches.

 JuVuaghn Harrison of LSU won his first national championship of his career winning the long jump with a mark of 26 feet 11 inches. His teammate Rayvon Grey failed to qualify to the final round of jumps highlighting a few disappointing moments for the Tigers.

Other notable qualifying performances would be the Houston Cougars in the open 400. Both seniors Kahmari Montgomery and Obi Igbokwe qualified to the finals. Montgomery will enter in with the top qualifying time of 44.80. With a USATF title already under his belt he looks to be in prime position for a great time Friday.

In the 400 hurdles Quincy Hall of South Carolina continued to look flawless. The talented junior led the way with the top time of 49.01 to qualify for Friday’s final. Senior Taylor McLaughlin of Michigan looked equally impressive with his time of 49.28 to qualifying second overall.

In the only running final of the night, the 10,000-meter run the BYU Cougars capitalized on their entries. The Cougars went 1-3-4 scoring a total of 21 points to put in the team title race hopes. Senior Clayton Young led the way with his winning time of 29:16.60. The Cougars have a few athletes running on Friday and will provide us with an interesting storyline for the team title picture.

The 4x100 relay looks to be exciting with Florida leading all qualifiers with the top time of the year 38.35. LSU qualified second with a time of 38.37 and Florida State was third overall with 38.43. The LSU Tigers took a big hit to their relay and team title chances when Jaron Flournoy pulled up in the 100-meter semi-final with what seemed to be an injury. His absence from their 4x1 will be felt.

Overall great day 1 still more to come Friday but tomorrow will be about the women.

NCAA Women's Championship Preview

Following up our men’s preview, this is our women’s preview. The regional meet really opened up a few eyes and proved how tight some of these races will be. The women will be competing Thursday and Saturday night live on ESPN. Like the men’s preview we are going to do an event by event prediction.

WOMEN

100- I do not remember a more quality field. There are four women in this field who have run under 11 seconds. Normally there is one, maybe two but this year there are four. Senior Kayla White of North Carolina A&T leads the way. The hurdler turned sprinter has a NCAA leading time of 10.96. At the indoor meet she claimed the 200 and finished second in the 60 hurdles, so she clearly has championship pedigree.

Senior Teahna Daniels of Texas was indoor champion at 60 meters as a freshman and she is breaking records this outdoor season. Daniels has personal best of 10.99 tied with Twanisha Terry of USC and true Sha’Carri Richardson of LSU. All three of these ladies are capable of challenging White for the title and Richardson already has a win against White when she defeated her at Regionals. Richardson is my pick to win the event. Richardson seems to perform at her best at the highest levels of competition. I expect her to lower her time again.

200- Defending champion Anglerne Annelus of USC shocked everyone last season winning the 200 in a rainstorm. This season Annelus has so far proved that her 200 title was no fluke. At the regional meet she ran a NCAA leading time of 22.36. USC is in the team title race and Annelus is a big piece of their hopes. Janeek Brown of Arkansas is also a big piece of Arkansas championship hopes making this race all the more interesting. Brown is ranked number two with her time of 22.47 but proved at the SEC Championships competing in both the 100 hurdles and 200-meter dash maybe difficult for her. For that reason, I will lean to Annelus to defend her title.

400- Lynna Irby of Georgia turned pro after the indoor season leaving a gaping hole as to who would win the NCAA title. Sharrika Barnett of Florida became the top returnee and at the beginning of the outdoor season set a strong tone running the NCAA leading time of 50.96. She has held the number one ranking since the end of March and she is the only athlete in the field to run under 51 seconds this season. But her season has not been consistent, and she did not defend her SEC title. Kethlin Campbell of Arkansas did defeat with her number two ranked time of 51.03. This event is wide open with a myriad of quality competitors, but I will lean to Barnett to step up and claim the title further improving her national leading time.

800- Senior Jazmine Fray of Texas A&M already owns the NCAA record indoors at 800 meters. She has yet to translate her success during that indoor season to the outdoors. Fray quietly been having a solid outdoor season that includes a NCAA leading performance ran at the Western Regional meet. Her time of 2:02.27 ran at the Western Regional meet vaulted her past Avi’ Tal Wilson-Perteete of UNLV for the top time in the NCAA. Perteete held the top time from mid-April until the regional meet proving her performance was of quality. Fray has no NCAA trophies but did earn the SEC title. With a open field and being near her school should give Fray the much needed encouragement to win her first NCAA title.

1,500- Jessica Hull of Oregon is the defending champion in the 1,500. She also earned another national title indoors competing in the 3,000. Hull is the latest of a long line of middle-distance stars to come out of the school that Pre built. Hull however may have her toughest challenge yet in the form Sinclaire Johnson of Oklahoma State. OK State is another middle-distance power and Johnson seems to be their next big star. Johnson qualified for the national meet last season but failed to qualify for the finals. Running in a separate heat from Hull at their regional meet Johnson earned the top time in the NCAA this season in 4:09.5. I still will lean to Hull to defend her title but the impressive performance by Johnson will not go unnoticed.

5,000- Weini Kelati of New Mexico is the latest distance star to come out of their championship program. Kelati has led the NCAA in the 5,000 since the middle of April. She will be joined by two teammates. Both of whom are ranked in the top five in the NCAA with her. Each of her runs this season have been impressive. She has a nearly five second lead on the rest of the competition and her championship level performance history shows this should be a rather convincing win for her. Although she is my favorite to win keep an eye on Allie Ostander of Boise State and any of her teammates to potentially challenge her.

10,000- Erin Finn of Michigan was granted a sixth year of eligibility after experiencing multiple injuries throughout her Michigan career which led to her missing multiple seasons. The only thing missing from her impressive Michigan career has been a national title. She has been runner-up in some form of fashion multiple times throughout her career. She had a rough start to this season finishing out of the top three at the Big Ten Championships. She still managed to qualify for the NCAA meet at regionals having the fourth overall qualifying time. With that being said it is not likely that she will win but she has progressed slowly this season and could be a dark horse.

The real threat to win this event is Weini Kelati of New Mexico and or Paige Stoner of Syrcause. Stoner is ranked number two in the nation in this event behind only Allie Ostrander. She stepped out of the 5,000, an event she is also ranked number two in to focus solely on the 10,000. The fresh legs I think will serve her well. The 5k and 10k double have been done before but Kelati is competing against an experienced runner whose sole focus is this race.

100H- Each year we learn there is a difference between 60-meter hurdles and 100-meter hurdles. The distance is obvious yes but the longer distance requires more speed and even greater discipline. Janeek Brown of Arkansas who did not win the NCAA title indoors is the clear favorite here outdoors. She has speed of 22.4 in the 200. That level of speed can only be matched by Gail Devers and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. That is the level of talent that Brown has. Her national leading time of 12.55 leaves her clear in the driver’s seat to claim the title. Chanel Brissett of USC did win the indoor title and is currently ranked second in the NCAA but has not shown the speed of Brown, Brown for the win.

400H- Maybe it is me, but I feel this event is having a down year. So far this season not one athlete has gone under 56 seconds at all this season. After record breaking performances the past few seasons that include World and Olympic Medalist the event this year is in rebuild mode. Anna Cockrell who missed a portion of the outdoor season due to injury has the most speed of the qualifiers and may shock with a special time. She will have to do it while defeating the currently number one ranked Ranae McKenzie of Kansas State and her time of 56.11. The speed and experience of Cockrell bends me into her direction as my choice to convincingly win the title.

3000S- The steeplechase is Allie Ostrander’s event to lose. The junior from Boise State is the defending champion in the event and has impressed with being ranked amongst the elite in majority of the long-distance races. I still would issue caution, Adva Cohen of New Mexico ran her to the line at the Payton Jordan classic. Do not be surprised if she does in fact upset Ostrander. I still personally think Ostrander is the better runner and already has proven she knows how to win this event against a quality field.

High Jump- Andrea Stapleton-Johnson of BYU has held a very thin number one ranking this season. Her mark of 6 feet 2 ¼ inches has lasted at the top of the rankings since early May. Nicole Green of North Carolina has a best of 6 feet 2 inches that was marked on the same day that led to her ACC title. Green already has an NCAA title earning it this past indoor season. Although Johnson leads the NCAA Green has proven that she can consistently step up to the competition and is my pick to win another title.

Pole Vault- This will be quick and fast, Olivia Gruver of Washington. That’s it. Well besides the fact that she broke the NCAA record early this season and is the only athlete over 15 feet, she has nearly foot lead on the field. Gruver, for the easy victory.

Long Jump/Triple Jump- I am going against the number one ranked Aliyah Whisby of Georgia (22-2 ¼) because I believe Yanis David of Florida can truly pull off the jumps double. David has the number two ranked mark of 21 feet 10 inches but defeated Whisby one on one at the SEC Championship. David has already cemented herself in the indoor season as one of the best triple jumpers ever. She further cemented her status with her SEC winning mark of 47 feet 1 inch to mark number two all-time. I think it is time for her long jump performance to match her triple jump

 performance. I am prediction a 22-foot jump and an improvement on her record setting triple jump.

Shot Put- Portious Warren of Alabama is having a special outdoor season. At the end of April at the LSU invitational she became the only thrower in the nation over 60 feet. That mark of 61 feet and ¾ of an inch has been the number one mark since then. She has done nothing but win since then, a streak that I believe will continue this weekend.

Discus- Different school same expectations for Shadae Lawrence. The defending champion is now competing for Colorado State after competing for Kansas State. The senior has looked impressive all year including her NCAA leading mark of 213 feet 5 inches. She has almost a 10-foot lead on the field and to me is an easy favorite to win the title.

Hammer Throw- You though we were going to make an entire preview without mentioning a thrower from Arizona State, well you were wrong. The school has another throwing prodigy in sophomore Beatrice Llano. Llano has an NCAA leading mark of 234 feet 4 inches. Camryn Rogers of California did beat her though at the Pac-12 championships. Llano has not performed at the same level of her NCAA leading mark since she hit it leaving me to believe the field is wide open for this one.

Javelin- Mackenzie Little of Stanford has led most of the year and has shown no signs of slowing down. She looks to comfortably defend her title and nearly 200 foot thrown shows the level of talent she possesses.

Heptathlon- Ashton Zamzow of Texas is clearly in the driver’s seat here. Her nearly 200-point lead on the field is a clear indicator of how far ahead she is of her competition. Michelle Atherley of Miami won the Pentathlon indoors, but the Heptathlon is a different animal, one that Zamzow can tame with 6,148 points. Atherley will present a strong challenge but Zamzow looks more than capable of winning the title.

4x100- USC has been the most consistent in this event all season long. For majority of the season they were the only team with a time under 43 seconds. Their leading mark of 42.44 is impressive and they should challenge the NCAA record. LSU is not to far behind with a time of 42.93, the NCAA record holders however have had some questionable exchanges but have an excellent anchor in Sha’Carri Richardson who likely end up competing against Twanisha Terry an equally capable anchor.

4x400- It has been a long time since South Carolina was in the driver’s seat to win an NCAA title in the 4x400 relay. They have an incredible history under head coach Curtis Frye and this group looks to be one of his best yet. Their NCAA leading time of 3:27.53 will likely come down along with the school record.

Team Title- It will be tight between USC and Arkansas, but I think Arkansas has more wiggle room and a greater chance to score big points. Arkansas for the team title.

NCAA Outdoor Championship Men's Review

It is officially here, the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championship. This meet has become a staple of the track and field calendar and one of the most celebrated meets. Year after year the meet has gone better and better. It gives more visibility to the sport and shows the much-needed team aspect. Predicting champions for this meet is incredibly difficult due to the talent and nature of the meet. In the preview we will look at each event individually.

100- What a fun event this will be. With the great weather we are expecting from Austin, Texas this week fast times are inevitable. The winner of the race should run a sub 10 second race and there a few guys who have already done that. Divine Oduduru of Texas Tech, Cravon Gillespie of Oregon and Hakim Sani Brown of Florida. Both Odudru and Brown are competing on teams who heavily involved in the team title battle and are being counted on heavily for team points.

Oduduru leads the way with his time of 9.94. He is currently ranked number three in the world and should be a factor at this years World Championships in Doha. Gillespie has 9.97 and Brown has run 9.99. All three are capable of winning the title and have championship trophies from the conference meets to prove they are post season ready. Oduduru has however been the most consistent since the start of the outdoor season and has been the favorite since I do not see that changing giving him the nod as the champion.

200- Oduduru leads the way here as well, not in the NCAA but in the world. His time of 19.76 is the second fastest in NCAA history behind record holder Walter Dix of Florida State. His time is also number one in the world and although it is still early in the year he is legitimate threat for a World title with a time of this magnitude. No other athlete in the field has gone under 20 seconds this season and it seems his only challenge will likely come from his teammate Andrew Hudson.

400- This event has gone through record changes over the years with the past two champions breaking the meet record. This year we do not have anyone who has given us any indication that they can go sub 44 but at a meet of this caliber you cannot put it past anyone. There are currently five competitors who have gone under 45 seconds with junior Trevor Stewart of North Carolina A&T leading the way.

Stewart is a part of a growing sprint powerhouse at North Carolina A&T and his time of 44.38 shows he is quite serious about competing for a national title. Kahmari Montgomery of Houston has one everything except a NCAA title and after finishing in second during the indoor season the senior is looking to finally add the only missing piece from his trophy case.

800- Bryce Hoppel of Kansas claimed the indoor title in a stunning upset. This outdoor season he has continued his winning ways. He has yet to lose this outdoor season in any race. He already has a national title and knows how to show up at the championship meet giving him a huge mental advantage. Devin Dixon of Texas A&M currently has the number one time in the NCAA with 1:44.76. Dixon led all indoor season and had a disappointing showing at the Indoor Championship and will be looking for redemption, Hoppel still will be the favorite after already having defeated Dixon indoors.

1,500- Oliver Hoare of Wisconsin has had the number one time since mid-April. He was serious threat in the mile indoors only to follow short after running a race that was perhaps a little too tactical. Even with leading the NCAA he still fell short at the Big Ten Championship finishing second a few weeks ago. He regained his form by earning the top entry time from the Eastern Region. Carlos Villarreal of Arizona has the overall top entry time with 3:39.67. Both battled at the Bryan Clay Invitational with Hoare winning. They will have to battle home town favorite Sam Worley of Texas who will have an excited crown behind him. This event is wide open with no one asserting dominance all year I will lean to the hometown favorite and Big 12 champion Sam Worley.

5,000- This is the last chance we will have to see Grant Fisher of Stanford and Morgan McDonald of Wisconsin face off. This has been a great rivalry this season with McDonald winning a indoor title in between them. Fisher is a former champion in the 5,000 winning it all in 2017. Last year he finished third to two great competitors in Sean McGorty and Justyn Knight. With the year he has had everything points to Fisher earning redemption defeating the field and rival McDonald. However, I trust McDonald in the final seconds of the race. McDonald is a gritty competitor and smart runner from a program with a great pedigree he is my pick to win the race, which should be spectacular.

10,000- BYU versus Everybody is the title of this race. The Cougars qualified a grand total of six competitors including the NCAA leading Connor McMillan. The Cougars currently lead the NCAA overall with the top four marks and look to continue that success at the championship meet. The only legitimate threat to BYU would be Gilbert Kigen of Alabama. Tyler Day of Northern Arizona is the top returnee from the championship meet last year but he has lost to not only Kigen already but two of the top competitors from BYU. This is likely going to be a sweep.

110 Hurdles- This event is huge for team title hopes and huge because two competitors threaten one of the oldest and most special records in the NCAA record book. Grant Holloway of Florida has dominated his rivalry with Daniel Roberts of Kentucky all season long. Roberts has chipped away at Holloway’s lead each time they race and finally beat him at the SEC Championships tying Holloway’s meet record. Holloway has proven to have superior speed but Roberts had the better technique. With a win under his belt Roberts will enter the meet with confidence that it can be done again. Holloway will enter the meet with uncertainty.

Holloway has been in this position before, his freshman season. Losing the SEC title refocused him and gave him the drive to win in it all. This time is different Roberts has not only great technique but speed as well. We may finally see a sub 13 second performance at the NCAA meet. I am leaning to Holloway to defend his title and win it a third time.

400 Hurdles- No event has a more dominant competitor than the 400 hurdles. Junior Quincy Hall of South Carolina is a strong 400 runner. He was one of the best in the country last season as a juco athlete. His 400-hurdle technique has noticeably improved thanks to the coaching of Curtis Frye, one of the greatest hurdle coaches in history. He ran a commanding race at the regional meet and barely broke a sweat running a time of 48.54. He is the only runner in the NCAA that has run sub 48 and he has ran 44 second open 400 to win the SEC title. With his speed and improved technique, we are likely looking at another 47 second 400 hurdler. Hall for the win.

3000 Steeple- Senior Obsa Ali of Minnesota is the defending champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Earlier this season though he garnered a loss to Ryan Smeeton of Oklahoma State at the Payton Jordan Invitational. Smeeton has held the number one time since then and has a better personal record. Ali may be the defending champion but Smeeton has had the better performance. I will lean to Smeeton to win the title.

High Jump- Defending champion Tejaswin Shankar of Kansas State has bee quiet this season. Last season he burst onto the scene with a great post season that led him to winning the NCAA title as a freshman. After a disappointing indoor campaign Shankar has been slowly building during the outdoor season. He had a strong Big 12 championship that earned him the number three mark in the nation at 7 feet 5 inches. Earnie Sears of USC and Roberto Vilches of Missouri have had strong outdoor campaigns. Shelby McEwen of Alabama won the Indoor title and is also having a quality outdoor season. Yes, it is one big pile up but Shankar is following the same format as last year and until someone dethrones him he is my pick to win the title.

Pole Vault- Mondo Duplantis of LSU verse Everybody. The NCAA record holder and superstar freshman is perhaps the easiest pick to win the national title. But alas let us not forget the other competitors in the field like the defending champion Chris Nilsen of South Dakota. Nilsen is the only athlete that has proven capable enough to challenge Duplantis, but the young star is on another level and my pick to win the NCAA title.

Long Jump- This event is critical for team title hopes. Florida has been “Jumps U” in years past but this season not so much. In both the long jump and triple jump they are not favored to win it. LSU has taken the reigns as of late with a competitor in all four jumping events. The long jump is their deepest event with two athletes in the top ten and a total of three qualifiers. JuVaugh Harrison leads the NCAA with his mark of 26 feet 9 ¾ inches and could complete the high jump long jump double or a championship performance by teammate Rayvon Grey could garner the Tigers a champion. Grey won the event indoors but has yet to compete at the same high-level outdoors. Keep an eye out for Odaine Lewis of Texas Tech and Ja’Mari Ward of Missouri. Both are tied for second and are big meet performers. With such a loaded strong field that includes Grant Holloway of Florida, who will need big points from him, I will push here as anyone of them is truly capable of winning the title.

Triple Jump- Jordan Scott of Virginia has led all season long. The indoor champion has had big performance after big performance, whether it is a small invitational or the ACC championship Scott has performed at a high level. With a NCAA leading mark of 57 feet even, more than a foot and half ahead of the rest of the NCAA; Scott is the obvious favorite to win the title.

Shot Put/Discus- Payton Otterdahl of North Dakota State pulled off an impressive double this past indoor season winning the shot put and weight throw. He has qualified for both the shot put and discus for the outdoor meet. He is ranked second in the shot put and fourth in the discus. Both events will present a challenge to him claiming the title.

In the shot put there are only two athletes over 70 feet this season, Otterdahl and number one ranked Jordan Geist of Arizona. Geist was the story last season, he was true freshman performing at a high level and was living up to the hype of a storied high school career. He has led the NCAA this season with a mark of 70 feet 10 inches and will be one of two true challengers to Otterdahl (70-1 ½). The other big challenger is the defending champion Denzel Comenentia of Georgia. He will be competing in three events which may be too much for him to handle. Otterdahl has beaten Comenentia a few times this season and would enter the meet with confidence knowing that. Comenentia is still deserving of acknowledgement as the defending champion but he will likely have a very difficult time.

In the discus Greg Thompson of Maryland is looking to redeem himself after finishing second last season. He is currently the number on ranked thrower in the nation and he has almost a 10-foot lead on Otterdahl. Thompson for the win.

Hammer Throw- This is Comenentia’s best chance to win a title. He is competing in the shot put, discus and hammer throw. He is the defending champion in this event as well and has the leading NCAA mark at 252 feet even. No other athlete is over 250 feet but the strain of three throwing events maybe too much for him and Hilman Orn Jonsson of Virginia may take advantage. I still will lean towards Comenentia of Georgia to win.

Javelin Throw- This event belongs to Mississippi State. The Bulldogs currently have the top four ranked athletes in the NCAA and all four have qualified for this meet including defending champion sophomore Anderson Peters. He has not lost in the javelin since enrolling in college and it does not seem as if that will happen this weekend either. Peters for the win.

Decathlon- Ayden Owens of USC leads the pack with a point total of 8,130. He has proven to be a very adapt runner, he has strong speed and great jumping ability. Along with performing at a high level in the jumping events. Owens however is a freshman and the big lights maybe too much for him to handle. Johannes Erm of Georgia comes from championship pedigree and the Georgia Bulldogs always have a multi-event athlete in the meet competing at a high level.  Erm however has yet to go over 8,000 points this season and could use this as an opportunity to do so. Owens however has a quite repertoire and performs as a high level in too many events, Owens for the win.

4x100- It was disappointing to watch Houston drop the baton on the first exchange at the Western Regional meet. Many, including myself were anticipating a rematch with LSU after the viral video at the Texas Relays. With Houston out and Florida not at their best LSU is the clear odd’s on favorite to win the NCAA title. Their number one ranked time of 38.41 will likely be lowered.

4x400- LSU’s team title hopes hit a big snag when they did not qualify for the NCAA championship after getting disqualified at the Eastern Regional meet. Texas A&M has perhaps been the most consistent 4x400 relay team over the past decade. They are currently ranked number one with a time of 3:01.77 but Houston cannot be counted out. The Cougars will have their healthiest line up all season and will be difficult to defeat. I am leaning towards Houston.

Team Title- I believe Texas Tech has way too much depth for Florida to overcome. The Gators have shown up the past few years, but it will be asking a lot for them to score enough points to defeat Texas Tech who has a more versatile group.