22.37!
Another weekend has passed and just as we expected it was a major weekend. There was 17 new number one performances and quite a few impressive performances that were not number one. We saw an NCAA record broke again this season, keeping up with our theme for the past few years. In this recap we will look at the new number one performances as well as discuss our team title race now that the post season is only one week away.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Women
Enough cannot be said about the talented Abby Steiner of
Kentucky. She has consistently broken NCAA records over the past two years and
during her senior year she is having her best season yet. Over the weekend at
the Tiger Paw Invitational on the campus of Clemson University, she tied the
NCAA lead in the 60-meter dash in the semi-finals with a mark of 7.12. In the
200 is where she truly shined. The senior scorched the track in a time of 22.37
to set a new NCAA record. Kentucky has come on as a real team title threat
thanks to Steiner and her amazing teammates. With the post season coming up it
is very likely she may break this record again.
Steiner’s teammate Alexis Holmes at the same meet topped the
400-meter field in an impressive run. Holmes won against a strong Texas contingent
with her time of 51.27. In that same race she competed against two other athletes
who went under 52 seconds proving how strong her performance was. With her top time
the Kentucky Wildcats have the top sprint marks in the 60, 200 and 400. Holmes
has continued to impress this whole season and is a big piece of her team’s title
hopes.
LSU has been on fire in recent years with their hurdlers. This
is not to negate their incredible history but to bring attention to the high
level of performances we have recently seen. Super sophomore Alia Armstrong
just broke the school record this past weekend with a time of 7.81. Her new
time is the top time in the country, and she did that while defeating previous
number one Grace Stark of Florida. She also has the top 60-meter sprint time for
the Lady Tigers as well. Armstrong and Stark will be competing against each
other again at the SEC Championships and I expect a better race between the two.
Men
Randolph Ross has been the undisputed leader of North Carolina
A&T all season. That is not because his father is the coach, but it has
been his leadership on the track that cannot be ignored. Ross this past weekend
at the Tiger Paw Invitational ran against a strong field in the 400 that included
Elijah Goodwin of Georgia. After a strange moment at the 200-meter mark where
it appears that Goodwin thought something had happened behind him his lack of focus
allowed for Ross to surge to the front. Ross would not relinquish his position
and claimed victory with a time of 44.83. He is currently the only athlete
under 45 seconds in the nation. A hope for a rematch at the Championship meet
so we can see Goodwin at his best.
Trey Cunningham of Florida State is becoming Grant Holloway
like in the 60-meter hurdles. The senior just has far superior technique to the
rest of the field and each time he competes it becomes more and more apparent.
Cunningham dominated the Tyson Invitational field with a new number one time of
7.42. The NCAA record is 7.35 and is clearly not out of reach for Cunningham.
DISTANCE
Believe it or not Arkansas does truly have a strong team.
You probably have forgotten since Florida and Texas have been so strong
throughout the season. However, do not forget about the Lady Razorbacks and
their distance strength. This past weekend on her home track at the Tyson Invitational,
Shafiqua Maloney ran an impressive race clocking in at 2:01.74. Her time is a
full second ahead of the rest of the field and validates her claim to being the
preseason favorite.
Emily Mackay of Binghamton has been the leader of the women’s
mile for a quite a while now, and that does not look to change. This past
weekend at the Valentine Invitational at Boston University, Mackay completed against
the professionals and was able to hold her own. She was sixth overall but the
top collegian with a time of 4:30.94. Her time keeps her atop the performance
list and she has become the new favorite.
Florida State consistently puts out top distance talent year
after year and this season they may have one of their best in Lauren Ryan. Majority
of her stats are from cross country but she has been competing at a high level all
indoor season and like Mackay hopped into a race with the professionals and came
out finishing 2nd in the 3,000. Her time was 8:47.88 and she is two
seconds ahead of the field, a field that includes Courtney Wayment of BYU.
Men
Moad Zahafi of Texas Tech delighted his fans with a strong
home performance this past weekend. On a elevated bank trach Zahafi was far superior
to his competition with his winning time of 1:46.29 which is the number one time.
Due to the elevation his time was converted up to 1:45.99. Zahafi is now the
clear number one heading into the post season. Do not count out Brandon Miller
who has had an impressive indoor season, but I am not sure if he has a 1:45
indoors like Zahafi.
Morgan Beadlescomb of Michigan State had one of the most
impressive mile debuts in history. Beadlescomb not only competed against professionals
but a recent NCAA Champion and Olympian in Cole Hocker. Beadlescomb mile debut
time of 3:52.03 was good enough to finish third in the race. His time however
was truly eye-opening. His debut is the best in collegiate history and his time
is fourth all-time. Beadlescomb has been an impressive long-distance runner but
proves he is a gamer no matter the race.
Yared Nuguse of Notre Dame takes the cake for the weekend.
The former NCAA Champion proved that he still has it by winning against the professionals
in the 3,000-meter race. His winning time of 7:38.13 is a new NCAA record. Nuguse
is no stranger to being a favorite or being at the top, but he did in fact take
down Beadlescomb number one time and become the all-time leader.
Florida State is not just great at developing sprinters on
the men’s side, but they have had a top tier distance program for quite a
while. Adrian Wildschutt is their latest star. He claimed the nation’s top 5,000-meter
time competing at the Valentine Invitational against the professionals. His
time was 13:09.30 and was good enough for 11th overall.
JUMPS
The lone top jumping mark comes from Lamara Distin from Texas
A&M. At the Don Kirby Open at New Mexico University Distin leaped to a mark
of 6 feet 3 ½ inches (1.92m). She was one of only two athletes in the field to
go over 6 feet. With the amount of space, she was able to clear that height
with it is certainly possible for her to further improve that mark before the end
of indoor season.
THROWS
Our lone top throwing performance comes from Shey Taiwo. She
again improved upon her number one ranking in the weight throw. This weekend
she launched a throw of 82 feet 7 ¾ inches (25.19m). She is still the only
athlete over 80 feet this season. She has made this a one-woman competition
with the distance she consistently creates between herself and her closest competitors.
RELAYS
The 4x400 relay leaders Kentucky women and Florida men improved
upon their number one rankings again against strong competition. Kentucky’s women
4x4 ran a time of 3:27.27, one of the fastest in NCAA history against Texas who
clocked a runner up time of 3:28.05. Florida’s men 4x4 ran time of 3:02.09 to Iowa’s
3:02.40. Florida had an impressive weekend in the open 400, no surprise to how
well their 4x4 performed.
TEAM RANKINGS
On the women’s side Texas surged passed Florida for the
number one spot. I think Florida had a flat weekend in some areas and will
perform better at the SEC Indoor Championships. You cannot however ignore the
impressive weekend Texas had. They have deepest sprint squad in the country.
Have Tyra Gittens on their side gives them an even stronger boost, especially
after the impressive season debut, she had. I feel this coming outdoor season
the Lady Longhorns will be even stronger.
On the men’s side North Carolina A&T reclaimed their
number one ranking. Their strength lies in the speed which they have plenty of.
Georgia moved to second and no surprise there. The Bulldogs have quietly put
together perhaps their best team. Keep an eye out for the Texas men who are
number three, they still have not put it all together, but I believe after the
Big 12 Championships many eyes will be opened.
For Florida I am still not sure of the team yet, I expected
Kurt Powdar to be amongst the top 10 hurdlers in the country and he is not
there yet. The jumpers have not looked like the dominant program they once were
years ago. Also, no Joseph Fahnbulleh yet, I think we will get our questions
answered from this squad at the SEC Championships.
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