Weekend Recap 4

9:24.52!

(Oregon DMR)

It is the beginning of February and the sparks have begun to fly. This weekend produced a total of 21 new number one rankings with 13 on the men’s side. The irony is that there are still a few athletes waiting to debut their seasons this coming weekend. In this recap however we will review last weekend and talk about our trend of collegiate records falling.

RECORD RUNNING RELAYS

How about Oregon winning the Distance Medley Relay in record breaking fashion. We have not gone a season without a NCAA record over the past years and we were overdue for a record-breaking performance this season. The talented group from Oregon clocked in at 9:24.52. The team consisted of James West, Jacob Miller, Charlie Hunter, Cooper Teare.

Texas A&M has become kings of the men 4x400 relay. For the past eight seasons they have had a top ranked 4x400 relay every year. This season is no different after the claimed the event title at Texas Tech with their time of 3:02.77 that was converted down to 3:03.21.

BYU women have developed quite the distance program and their Distance Medley relay team this year seems to be their best event. This past weekend they clocked a NCAA leading time of 10:53.95. An impressive time with a month in the season still left to go.

BLAZING QUICK

Raymond Ekevwo of Florida is certainly living up to the hype produced last outdoor season. Last season he ran a personal best of 9.96 breaking the school record and joining the all-time list in his native Nigeria. The senior blasted off to a time of 6.53 to win the 60-meter dash over a strong field at the Razorback Invitational. He moved squarely into the number one ranking solidifying his contender status.

Michaiah Harris of Texas was on the same wave this weekend. The talented junior has been the talk of the 200 majority of this season. At the Razorback Invitational he too solidified his number one ranking clocking in at 20.49 to win the event title. He has been on a hot streak all season and it looks to continue.

Randolph Ross son of Olympian and North Carolina A&T Head coach Duane Ross is living up to the lofty standards set by his father. The super true freshman clocked a winning time of 45.44 in the 400 at the Texas Tech Invitational. Due to the altitude his time was converted down to a 45.55 which is still the number one ranking. Trevor Stewart his teammate debuted this weekend but could not keep up with the outstanding freshman.

On the women’s side Anavia Battle of Ohio State clocked a time of 22.86 at the Texas Tech Invitational and saw her time converted to a 22.93 which is still the number one time in the country. Last season Battle was one of the top sprinters in the country and nothing has changed this season. Expect to see more from her later in the season.

Kennedy Simon of Texas is living up to the expectations set by the University of Texas under Bev Kearney. Kearney made sure that Texas was known for the 400-meter dominance and current head coach Eldrick Floreal is keeping the trend going. At the Razorback Invitational Simon ran a dominant race that saw clock in at 52.20. This event is wide open, and Simon has proven that she is a legit contender.

JUMPING FOR JOY

The jumpers this weekend was on a mission to rewrite the rankings. Chris Nilsen of South Dakota lived up to his preseason hype after winning the NCAA title last outdoor season. The senior joined the 19-foot club this indoor season with his winning mark of 19 feet ¾ inches. An interesting battle is brewing between him and KC Lightfoot of Baylor. We should know more in a few weeks.

Ravyon Grey of LSU reclaimed his number one ranking at the Razorback Invitational. The senior leaped to a winning mark of 26-6 ½. Grey is a having great senior season fresh off a strong junior season. The question now is can he repeat as champion and get to 27 feet.

Grey’s teammate Abigail O’Donoghue has proven that the jumping events at LSU is under a resurgence. O’Donoghue leaped to a number one ranking with a mark of 6’2. Her mark is a school record and marks her as a contender for the title.

Jasmine Moore a true freshman at Georgia is proving why Georgia is perhaps the best at developing female triple jumpers in the nation. The super freshman is picking up where Keturah Orji left off. Moore leaped to a mark of 45-7 ¼. She is the only athlete over 45 feet this season and has over a foot lead of the closest competitor. Moore is having one of the more dominant seasons as a jumper, but she is doing it as a freshman.

Deborah Acquah of Texas A&M is continuing her record season in the long jump. The junior still leads the way and broke the school record again this weekend with her mark of 21-7 ¼.  She has a 5 inch lead over the rest of the field with the potential to improve upon this season.

BIG TIME RUNS

The 800 this weekend introduced to a returning contender, Isaiah Jewett of USC. The talented 800/400 runner dazzled the field this weekend at Texas Tech. He ran a NCAA leading time of 1:47.12 that was converted to 1:46.82. Devin Dixon of Texas A&M debuted this weekend running the 600 but it remains to be seen what those two do later this season but for now Jewett makes a impressive season debut.

Joe Klecker of Colorado is another athlete who had his time converted. The senior ran a time of 4:01 on his home track which is a flat 200-meter track. It was converted to a time of 3:55.13 vaulting him to the number one ranking in the NCAA. Although converted his 4:01 mile time is still impressive on a flat track. Klecker is more of a 3k, 5k competitor but with a time like that maybe he should consider the mile this championship season.

Kieran Tuntivante of Harvard stunned the 3,000 field with his impressive performance clocking in at 7:49.15. He finished second chasing professional Willy Fink at Boston University. His time is still impressive enough that he may want to consider the event as the event he will compete for at nationals.

UP, UP AND AWAY

Samantha Noennig of Arizona State reclaimed the number one ranking in the women’s shot put this past weekend. Her winning mark of 59’7 ½ is drawing us closer and closer to a 60-foot performance.

Shay Taiwo of Ole Miss strengthened her lead on the nation. Her mark of 74-5 ¾ earned this past weekend helped her further distance herself at the premier weight thrower in the nation.

McKay Johnson of Cal is the latest top thrower in the men’s shot put. His mark of 67’8 ¼ moved him past Jonathan Thraldsen of Minnesota. This event has seen the number one ranking change four times this year showing how wide open the competition is for this event.

MULTI’S

Georgia continues to prove they are the best at developing multi-event athletes. They swept the Razorback Invitational this weekend led by Johannes Erm who was the preseason favorite. Erm score a total of 6,114 points to win the Heptathlon. What’s perhaps is more impressive is that they are currently ranked 1-2-3 in the nation in the event displaying their incredible depth.

Lauren Taubert a senior from Kansas State is now the number one ranked pentathlete with her score of 4,352 that helped her win the Razorback Invitational. Kansas State over the years has proven to be no slouch in developing their multi-event athletes, Taubert is proof that they are a still a top tier program.

The season has finally started to pick up, expect more this coming weekend and for the team rankings to shift.