1:58.40!
Wow, just wow. This past weekend was one for the history
books. Another NCAA record fell and there were also noticeable DNS athletes that
will influence the team battle. A weekend when the four major indoor conference
held their conference championships several teams made major team statements
along individual athletes making their own personal statement. In this recap we
are going to first look at the new number one performances as usual but also
look at major story lines for each group.
SPRINTS
On the men’s side Micah Williams of Oregon was perhaps the
biggest highlight from teams who did not compete in a conference championship.
There is no Indoor Pac 12 Championship and the MPSF, which houses part of the
Pac-12 during the indoor season, cancelled their indoor championships. Williams
still made noise at the Air Force Field house. The speedy freshman dashed to a
time of 6.49. The Air Force’s indoor track is in Colorado and has a higher
elevation. His time has been converted from 6.49 to 6.53 which is still number
one in the country.
In the 200 the SEC had the top performers in the country. Due
to timing and seeding the top two athletes were in separate heats. Terrane
Laird was in Lane 6 in heat two ran a blistering race of 20.28 to take the
national lead and beat Matthew Boling of Georgia at the same time. Boling ran a
number one ranked time on Friday in the semifinals, he was upstaged by Laird
and the new number two. Joseph Fahnbulleh of Florida is the new number two
after having ran a 20.31. He won the first heat and was not able to compete one
on one with Laird. It was disappointing to not see them compete one on one. Hopefully,
they will end up in the same heat at Nationals.
In the 400 we go to the Big Ten where Ohio State junior
Tyler Johnson ran a dominating race on the oversized track at the Spire Institute
winning with a time of 45.07. Ohio State has really become the dominant sprint
power in the Big Ten and have more recently become a national threat. Johnson’s
development and performance at this time in the season should put everyone on
notice that he is certainly ready to compete with the big kids.
On the women’s side Abby Steiner of Kentucky was the lone sprint
highlight. She ran a new number one in the preliminary heats of the SEC
Championships. Her time of 22.41 is now tied for third all-time. She is being coached
by Tim Hall, one of the best in the game. The NCAA record is 22.39 and Steiner
certainly seems poised to break it.
Major stories of note were the absence of Raymond Ekevwo of
Florida. The number one athlete last indoor season at 60 meters is a big piece of
the puzzle for the Florida Gators regarding their team title hopes. He had a
slight limp after slightly tripping near the finish line at the Tyson
Invitational at Arkansas. It remains to be seen if he will compete.
Another major sprint star missing was Julian Alfred of
Texas. She did not compete in the 60 meters or 200 for the Texas Longhorns. Instead,
her teammate Kennedy Flannel won both events with times of 7.23 and 22.79.
Alfred was number one in the 60 last indoor season and has been a bit quiet
this season but still maintains a 7.15 for a season best. Whether she is injured
has not been shared.
Trey Cunningham continues his impressive senior season at
Florida State. He claimed the ACC title in a time of 7.67. No new number one
but he has impressively held on to the number one ranking since the beginning
of the season. Florida State is in the team title hunt and 10 points from Cunningham
will be needed to fight off Oregon and Arkansas.
The Big 12 Championship was the sight of the new number one
and number two performance this season. True freshman Ackera Nugent of Baylor
by way of Jamaica set a new World Junior Record in the preliminaries with a
time of 7.91. Her time was converted to 7.93 due to Texas Tech’s altitude. Senior
Chanel Brissett of Texas who transferred from USC waited until the finals to
garner the new number one, a time of 7.89 to claim the Big 12 title. Her time was
converted to 7.91. Brissett is the last NCAA Champion in this event, winning in
2019 with a time of 7.89.
Major headline in this event was the absence of Grace Stark
of Florida. Stark held the number one ranking with a time of 7.96 until this
weekend. She did display noticeable discomfort at the end of the 60-meter hurdle
race at the Tyson Invitational.
DISTANCE
Freshman Athing Mu continues to perform at a high level, and
not like a freshman. The Aggie star set another record, this time the NCAA record
at 800 meters indoor. She claimed the SEC title in dominating fashion winning
by more than 4 seconds with a time of 1:58.40. Mu has set the country ablaze week
after week with an impressive performance. She has been apart of 3 records this
season and with the way she finished her race there is clearly more left in the
tank. We cannot be shocked if she breaks the record again at Nationals.
Courtney Wayment of BYU has now further cemented herself in
the national title picture. BYU was without an indoor championship but still made
the best of a great weekend. At the Husky Classic the senior claimed the number
one ranking with a time of 4:30.47. She is already the number one ranked
athlete in the 3,000. It is entirely possible that she plans to compete in both
and pull off an impressive double. Her win in the mile is impressive and she
defeated Allie Schadler of Washington on her home track.
JUMPS
JuVaughn Harrison of LSU had quite the showing at the SEC
Championship. In the long jump he tied the number one ranking with his mark of
27 feet 4 inches. He also claimed the high jump with a mark of 7 feet 2 ½ inches.
He is now currently ranked number one in both events. The LSU Tigers are ranked
number two in the country. If they are going to be Oregon, they will need Harrison
to claim the titles in both events.
Carey McLeod of Tennessee has been missing from the top of
the rankings this season it would be fitting that he returns at the SEC
Championships with a strong performance in the triple jump. McLeod also jumped
27 feet in the long jump to finish second, 27 feet 1 inch to be exact. He took
the lead on the last jump, a mark of 56 feet 4 inches.
Ruth Usoro was the story in the women’s jump. The senior
from Texas Tech continues to light up the jump’s competition. She dominated the
Big 12 in both the long jump and triple jump joining the all-time top 10 list
in both events. Her winning long jump of 22 feet 4 inches and triple jump 47
feet 1 ½ inches are both impressive marks. Usoro did both marks in one weekend,
usurping her teammate Monae Nichols in the long jump. Texas Tech now has two
athletes over 22 feet.
Tyra Gittens of Texas A&M was quite the story in the
jumps this weekend. After a disappointing showing in the pentathlon. Gittens pulled
off the double winning the high jump and long jump. She did that against
impressive competition in the high jump that included the top three performers
in the nation. Gittens top mark of 6 feet 2 ½ inches in the high jump would be
enough to claim victory. It took her to tie her top mark from earlier in the
season in the long jump to claim victory. Her mark of 21 feet 8 ¾ inches places
her amongst the top five in the nation. She is now ranked in the top five in
three separate events and may even take on the dubious task of competing in all
three.
THROWS
Thomas Madral of Florida was the top performer this past
weekend. The senior returned to winning form with a strong weight throw performance
winning the SEC title with a mark of 79 feet 3 ¾ inches. Madral is literally on
a quarter inch away form an 80-foot throw and he also put some distance between
himself and the rest of the field nationally.
RELAYS
Tennessee has certainly experienced a resurgence to nationally
relevancy in not only sprints but in the overall team battle. The Vols won the
sec title in the 4x400 relay with a national leading time of 3:04.08. North
Carolina A&T has yet to face any real challenge and it will be quite the spectacle
to see Tennessee versus North Carolina A&T.
On the women’s side there was no number one but an impressive
race in the SEC with Arkansas defeating Kentucky. The Lady Razorbacks have an incredible
amount of depth in the 400 and it was needed to defeat a strong Kentucky team. Arkansas
clocked the number two ranked time with 3:28.50. There are now four teams under
3:30 on the season, meaning the final heat of the women’s 4x400 relay will feature
an all sub 3:30 race. Texas A&M may break their own record to win what
should be a great race.
TEAM
Oregon is still ranked number one on the men’s side, but LSU
has quite the team. What LSU showed was that they are competing on a
championship level at championship events.
On the women’s side Arkansas flexed their muscle and proved
to be to much for the rest of the SEC. Florida showed they are strong team performing
well in several key events. Texas A&M still gives Arkansas the most
challenge. With their depth in the field events and long sprints watch for the
Aggies to make some noise.
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