7.10!
Another weekend has come and gone. As we look at this past
weekend there were quite a few performances that were eye popping. We had a few
changes to the leaderboard on top of the release of our first team rankings. In
this recap we will look at all the new number one performances and discuss what
do the new rankings mean.
SPRINTS
Women
Julien Alfred of Texas was having an impressive season in the
60-meter dash in 2020 before the Pandemic robbed of a chance to win a national
title. Her start was solid, and she had the speed to carry herself to victory.
This past weekend she reminded everyone that she is still here. Against an
impressive field at the Red Raider Open she ran a blistering time of 7.10 to win
the 60-meter dash. In that race is current NCAA 200-meter record holder Abby
Steiner of Kentucky. Although it’s early Alfred put up a big time that
indicates we will continue to hear more from here throughout the season.
Texas got another number one ranking from junior Kennedy
Simon in the 400. It has been a while since we have had a top tier 400 runner
from Texas. Simon is the latest to star for Texas after winning the 400-meter
race at the Red Raider Open at Texas Tech. Simon outdueled her teammates and
Rosey Effiong of Arkansas to win with a time of 52.15.
DISTANCE
Women
Emily Mackay of Binghamton University is the lone number one
time in the distance events this past weekend. At the Penn State National Open
the senior won a great race in the mile with a time of 4:32.55. Mackay is a
returning outdoor All-American in the 5,000 and if her mile time is indication
of her fitness level, we should be hearing more from her later this season.
Men
The men this weekend had some great performances in the
distance races. In both the mile and 3,000-meter race we have the top time on a
regulation track and the top time on non-regulation tracks that had to be
converted.
In the mile let us first discuss the top regulated time, Yared
Nuguse of Notre Dame. Nuguse is no stranger to this blog and in fact has been
mentioned multiple times before. The senior has plenty of All-American honors
and a national title to his credit. His time of 3:54.46 was a strong sub-4-minute
mile performance on his home track.
Nico Young of Northern Arizona ran on a flat track winning
the mile in a time of 4:02.89. Due to the track, it was converted to 3:54.07
our new number one. Although Young’s time is converted, he should still receive
acknowledgement for it, but to fair Nuguse ran that time on a regulated track
and was impressive doing it.
We have a similar story in the 3,000-meter race. Athanas
Kioko of Campbell University ran a dominant race at the Carolina Challenge when
he ran a time of 7:49.28. His race was so dominant that he was the only athlete
under 8 minutes in the race and the closest competitor ran 8:09. Yes, he had a
20 second victory and a impressive time. Kioko is a returning 5,000-meter all-American
that will likely be mentioned more in the future.
Duncan Hamilton had the exact same thing happen, winning by
20 seconds at the Bobcat Open in Montana on a flat track with a time of
8:05.48. His time was converted to 7:48.20, the new number one mark.
JUMPS
Women
One week after Ruth Usoro had the eye-popping mark which
turned out to be an error, but a top tier mark. Monae Nichols of Texas Tech
took over the number one ranking in the long jump with her leap of 21 feet 10 ¼
inches (6.66m). Nichols is a returning all-American and a big part of that
strong jumps core at Texas Tech.
Nastassja Campbell of Arkansas is living up to the
expectations placed on her. Arkansas has produced quite a few all-Americans and
national champions in the pole vault and Campbell was next up. This past
weekend she garnered the top ranking with her mark of 14 feet 7 ¼ inches
(4.45m). With Arkansas in another team title hunt expect to hear her name called
a lot.
Men
It has been a while since a Tennessee State athlete has been
ranked number one, but now there is. R’Lazon Brumfield outperformed his competition
at the Vanderbilt Invitational and was the only competitor over 50 feet. The
senior leaped to a winning mark of 53 feet 5 ½ inches (16.29m). Brumfield
qualified for outdoor nationals in the triple jump and although he was not able
to score his top tier marks throughout last season proved he is an all-American
candidate.
Throws
Women
Adelaide Aquilla of Ohio State is a defending champion that
is making it clear that she has no plans of relinquishing her title. She already
began the season with a strong mark and was the only athlete over 60 feet. She
has continued that streak and improved upon her number one mark with a throw of
62 feet 7 ¾ inches (19.09m). She has almost a 4-foot lead and is still clearly
in the driver’s seat to the title. She is perhaps in the best position to
defend her title.
Ole Miss continues to produce great throwers under Connie
Smith-Price. I expected for Jasmine Mitchell to take over, but her teammate
Shay Taiwo wanted to remind the nation she is still here. In a great match
against her teammate Taiwo outlasted her with a throw of 79 feet 1 ¼ inches
(24.11m).
Men
Israel Oloyede of Grand Canyon has been mentioned on this
blog before and was expected to be competing for Arizona, but he has transferred.
Oloyede however is still the same top tier athlete. This past weekend he had a personal
best throw of 80 feet 2 ¾ inches (24.45m). He is currently the only athlete
over 80 feet and was runner-up last season at nationals, get comfortable with
seeing his name at the top or near it.
Multi’s
Women
Duke has done a great job of developing multi-event athletes
and their last star is senior Devin Marsh. Marsh scored a total of 4,172 points
in the Pentathlon at the Hokie Invitational. She is a returning all-American,
and we will likely here her name again, especially in the ACC.
Men
Virginia Tech had things moving on the multi-events side as
they also had the top male heptathlete in Jacob Spotswood. Spotswood competes
for Virginia Tech and the advantage of competing on his home turf. The junior
scored a total of 5,731 points by performing near the top in every event.
Relays
Both top marks in the relay events were on the women’s side.
In the 4x400 relay we had a national championship preview at the Red Raider
Open with Arkansas, Kentucky, and Texas. Kentucky came away victorious with
their stunning time of 3:28.62 over Arkansas 3:29.09. Having two teams dip
under 3:30 this early in the season bodes well for what should be a special
year in the 4x400 relay.
The Distance Medley relay normally does not heat up until February
around Conference Championship time, but Virginia ran impressive time on their rivals
track clocking in at 11:13.70. They dominated NC State by nearly 10 seconds. A
solid performance early in the season.
Rankings
It is perhaps important to remember that many top tier
athletes have not competed in their primary event and not all relays have their
best athletes available. Take these rankings with a grain of salt but also be
aware of the strength and depth that some of the teams possess. The Arkansas
women’s ranking is certainly fair. They cover nearly every part of the sport
except for the throws. They are deep in numerous events and will be hard to
take down.
On the men’s side Texas certainly proved why they are
candidate for number one. Having three athletes run sub 1:49 in the 800, depth
in the 400, a strong pair of relays and a great group of throwers. Texas has
the recipe, but this is perhaps to early to rank them number one. We cannot
ignore Kentucky, North Carolina A&T, or Texas Tech. I need more evidence to
fill confident about their ranking.
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