2021 NCAA Indoor Week 4 Recap

 50.52!

(Athing Mu- Texas A&M)

45.27! 7.68!

(Trevor Bassitt-Ashland)

No new NCAA records this past weekend and a very small amount of new number one rankings. However, this weekend we did see many great performances and the team title picture cleared up some as well. In this recap we will look at the new number one performances along with a few other top stories.

 

INSANE SPEED

Athing Mu was the top female 800 runner coming out of high school and was also a strong top tier talent in the 400. Her tall lanky body mixed with a great stride showed the ability to be a formidable runner. At the Charlie Thomas Invitational on her home track at Texas A&M the star freshman ran an impressive 400 in a time of 50.52. That mark breaks the World Junior Record and school record for Texas A&M. Mu is already number one in the 800 and with speed like that it is only a matter of time before she breaks the indoor record and possibly give us a sub 2:00 minute performance. Will she attempt the double? That remains to be seen.

Abby Steiner of Kentucky is putting her stamp on the 200. She was the top 200-meter runner going into the Indoor National Championship last season before everything was shut down due to Covid-19. She ran a winning time of 22.69 at the South Carolina Invitational dominating her competitors. Steiner is firmly in the driver’s seat right now.

On the men’s side we go to Division 2 to see Trevor Baslitt of Ashland University. The Division 2 star is primarily a hurdler. Competing against the pros at the American Track League he clocked a time of 7.68 to finish fourth in the 60-meter hurdles to take the number one ranking in Division 2. The time is also the number 2 number ranked performance in all the NCAA. What was more impressive was his 400 time of 45.27! His time ranks number one against all divisions. He should have quite the outdoor season in the 400 hurdles with speed like that.

 

LIFTING OFF      

On the men’s side the throwers had quite the weekend. New number one marks in both the shot put and weight throw. In the shot-put Senior Adrian Piperi who is the favorite to win the title left little doubt this past weekend. On his final throw at the Charlie Thomas Invitational he launched beyond the 70-foot mark with an impressive throw of 71 feet 4 inches. He won the competition by over a foot. No competitor even breached the 60-foot mark indicating his clear dominance.

Florida got a much-needed boost from their senior Thomas Madral who was the star of the show in the weight throw at the South Carolina Invitational. The senior only made two legal throws after four fouls. His fourth attempt proved to be his best with a mark of 75 feet 11 inches. It is the first time in the 2021 Calendar year that we have had a new number one in the weight throw. Previous number one Alex Talley earned the top ranking in December of 2020.

 

HAMMERING AWAY

Eric Hamer of Colorado State decided to really impress the country this past weekend. He dominated his field in the 5,000-meter run on a flat track. His winning time was converted to 13:36.18. His non converted time was 14:16.29 and he won his race by more 9 seconds. Converted he currently has the only time in Division 1 under 14 minutes.

 

IMPRESSIVE DEPTH

Gone are the days were going under 4 minutes in the mile was a rarity. It is now expected to be considered a serious threat in the mile that you break that barrier. It is however still rare to see it down by multiple athletes on the same team. We have seen two, Michigan a few years back did three. But Virginia Tech this past weekend took it to a whole new level. The Hokies of Virginia Tech had a total of four sub 4-minute milers. I made note of this in my Facebook group (I Love College Track and Field). Their times were 3:59, 3:59.04, 3:59.47 and 3:59.60. The DMR maybe able to threaten Oregon but what about the 4xmile that could run this outdoor season. Other than Oregon who could really threaten Virginia Tech in that area.

In the women’s 400 we are witnessing three powerhouses dominating the performance list. USC, Texas A&M and Arkansas are not only competing for team titles but they also fighting for bragging rights in the 400. USC has a total of four athletes in the top 16, A&M has three and Arkansas also has four. A&M has the luxury of having the top two, Athing Mu in 50.52 and Charokee Young in 51.93. The 4x400 relay is sure to be interesting and we may perhaps see a sub 3:30 indoors again.