1:57.73!
SPRINTS
The men did not have a major weekend but did have some headlining
performances. Perhaps the most impressive of this weekend came in the 100-meter
dash. Florida State is no stranger to developing great 100 sprinters and
JoVaughn Martin is just the latest star to prove that fact. The sophomore
clocked a winning time at the Tom Jones Memorial of 9.94. He is just of many
that have run sub 10 for Florida State and he is only a sophomore. I doubt that
is his peak, I expect him to better that time.
On the women’s side talented freshman at LSU by way of
Nigeria, Favour Ofili, continues to impress the season. The true freshman clocked
a winning time of 22.30, although wind-aided to take the number one 200-meter
time in the country. She was an All-American indoors and is having quite the outdoor
season. She has hit the A standard for the Olympics and will likely compete for
her native Nigeria.
DISTANCE
Athing Mu is the biggest headliner this past weekend. The
super freshman broke yet another NCAA record, in cold weather. The Texas
A&M star wowed the crowd at the Michael Johnson Invitational on the campus
of Baylor. Against Aaliyah Miller who won the NCAA Indoor title when Mu decided
to focus on the 400. Mu dashed to a winning time of 1:57.73. Breaking the
previous NCAA record of 1:59.10 by Raevyn Rogers. It is still the regular
season and the weather was less than ideal. Expect for Mu to break that NCAA
record again at some point this season.
Maudie Skyring of Florida State introduced herself to the
nation. She has All-American pedigree, but she went a step further this past
weekend at the Tom Jones Memorial. She ran a solid race in the 1,500 to win and
clock a national leading time of 4:11.43. A time that good will not go
unnoticed and certainly should be everyone on notice of a new national title
threat.
Hannah Steelman of NC State is a repeat from last week. Just
last week she was the number one steeplechaser in the country. This week she is
now the number 5,000-meter runner. She dominated the field at the Virginia Challenge
to clock a winning time of 15:30.87. She lost her number one ranking in the steeplechase,
but this is a solid effort. It remains to be seen if she is only going to
compete in one event or both. With a time of this quality I expect for Steelman
to certainly consider the 5k.
Steelman lost her number one ranking to indoor 5,000-meter
champion Joyce Kimeli of Auburn. None for her speed and unique race strategies
Kimeli showed her versatile of a distance runner she is. She competed in the 3,000-meter
steeplechase on her home track at the War Eagle Invitational. She dominated the
field with a time of 9:37.97 and won the race by almost 40 seconds. Kimeli is currently
the only athlete this season to have run sub 9:40. It is still early in her
season and remains to be seen what she is going to do.
The lone distance performance came on the men’s side and did
not come from a power five school. Ahmed Jaziri of Eastern Kentucky ran an impressive
race on his home track. He defeated his teammate, who is now ranked number two
in the country, to a time of 8:23.14. He has nearly a 15 second lead on the
rest of the field further cementing his talent. This event is wide open on the
national level but Jaziri has the top time to date. For now, he should be
considered a contender.
FIELD EVENTS
There were no new number one jumping mark but there were a
few in the throws. On the men’s side Washington Turner continues to lead the
country in the discus throw. The super sophomore had another impressive throw
at the West Coast Classic launching the disc 217 feet 5 inches (66.26m). Turner
is currently number one in two events with a NCAA title already in his trophy
case. It certainly looks as if he will continue to carry the Championship
throwing torch that Arizona State has developed over the years.
In the hammer throw another National Champion continued his
hot season. Thomas Mardal of Florida, on what is his last home meet as Gator impressed
the crowd and further cemented his number one status. The star senior launched
a throw of 249 feet 11 inches (76.18m). He currently has over 10 feet lead on
the number two ranked athlete and continues to impress each time he steps up to
throw. He is clearly the favorite to win the NCAA title in June.
I am detecting a theme here of NCAA Champions making
statements, not just on the men but the women also. Samantha Noennig of Arizona
is another defending champion who made a statement this week. She again improved
upon her number one ranking with her winning throw of 59 feet 7 ½ inches (18.17m)
in the Shot Put. Noennig earned her previous national titles at rival Arizona
State and is clear she is rounding back into championship form.
Camryn Rogers of California, who is also a defending
champion, continued to impress in the hammer throw. Her season continued to get
better after her winning performance at the West Coast Classic. The sophomore hit
mark of 239 feet 9 inches (73.09m) defeating number two ranked Alyssa Wilson of
UCLA who finished second. Rogers has been number one from the start of the
outdoor season and defeating Wilson her biggest challenger further cements her
as the obvious favorite.
MISSING IN ACTION
There are a few athletes who have noticeably not competed so
far, this outdoor season, one in particular is Raymond Ekevwo of Florida. Although
he has not registered a time this outdoor season, I do honestly believe that
the delay is likely due to the Olympics. Ekevwo has Olympic aspirations and is not
looking to burn out before then. There has been no injury news reported as
well. Look for him to show up right before the post season.
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