10.82!
What a weekend we just had. Although the outdoor season started at the beginning of March it feels as if the season officially kicked into high gear this past weekend. The Texas Relays are always a highlight of the weekend and after seeing in person for the first time I must share with you that it was an incredible atmosphere. In this recap I am going to focus on the biggest performances of the weekend not just the number one marks.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Women
We treated to a great race between Celera Barnes of US and
Jada Baylark of Arkansas. Both ran impressive races early on in the preliminary
rounds and it was clear that we would be in for a treat. Barnes is developing quite
nicely under new women’s sprint coach Carmelita Jeter. In the prelims Barnes
notched a best of 11.07. It was her closely contested race in the final against
Baylark that caused the noise from the crowd.
Barnes blasted out of the blocks first but Baylark was literally
with her every step of the race. At the immediate finish of the race no one in
the stadium knew he won. Looking at the video screen we saw that Barnes nipped Baylark
at the line with a time of 10.82 to 10.83. Although the time was a little over
the wind legal limit it was certainly and indication of things to come for both
athletes.
Alia Armstrong LSU certainly did not have the finish to her
indoor season that she wanted after false starting at the NCAA Indoor
Championships. The Texas Relays was an opportunity for her to redeem herself.
Armstrong blasted to a time of 12.33 to win the 100-meter hurdles. Although her
time was wind-aided it certainly was an indication of the type of season Armstrong
was going to have.
Britton Wilson of Arkansas is having a great season. After
an indoor season where she ran a personal best 400 time of 50.88. The hurdler
debuted her outdoor season with a time of 54.37 to claim the Texas Relays 400-meter
hurdles title. The time is a strong personal best and a new Texas Relays record.
Her time broke the record that had stood since 2003. This was a great early
season performance and indication that her transfer from Tennessee to Texas was
a smart decision. Wilson will improve upon her time later this season and it
looks like we may have found our next 400 hurdle star.
Men
Benjamin Azamati of West Texas A&M again finds himself the talk of the world in the short sprints. The Ghanian sprinter fears no one and could care less about the Division 1 competition. He broke the NCAA Division II record and the Texas Relays Record in the preliminary rounds clocking in a blazing time of 9.90 to be the top overall seed in the men's 100. He was absent in the men's final but made quite the mark.
Away from the Texas Relays and at the FSU relays was Matthew
Boling attempting to get back on track after a rough end to his indoor season.
Boling was favored to win two individual events at the Indoor Championships and
found himself disqualified in an event he was the defending champion in, the
200, and failing to crack 26 feet in the long jump. He began his outdoor season
heading in the right direction. Boling logged the fastest wind-legal 100-meter
time of the weekend with 10.03. Boling is looking to redeem himself and this
was a great sign.
Nathaniel Ezekiel may only be a freshman from Nigeria, but
he had an excellent debut in the 400-meter hurdles at the Texas Relays. He
surpassed all the big names in that race to come away victorious with a time of
49.14. That is a great time even more impressive it was done by a freshman. It
has been a while since Baylor had a championship level 400 hurdler, perhaps
since former NFL Quarterback Robert Griffin III. Ezekiel will continue to face
high level competition and it will be interesting to see how he develops throughout
the season.
DISTANCE
Women
The distance version of the Texas Relays has to be the Raleigh
Relays at NC State. NC State has obviously become one of the best distance programs
in the country. Although it is early in the season for major distance athletes
to compete some did and gave us some impressive performances.
First let us acknowledge the strong outdoor debut by Katelyn
Tuohy of NC State. Tuohy had a strong but disappointing end to her indoor
season. The talented sophomore finished second in not one but two events at the
NCAA Indoor Championship, in the mile and 3k. She started her outdoor season
with a win competing in the 1,500 on her home track. She clocked a national
leading time of 4:12.58. She defeated a very large field on her way to a strong
early victory.
At that same meet Lydia Olivere of Villanova had a strong
outdoor debut as well. She stepped into the 3,000-meter steeplechase, her
signature event, and came away victorious. The junior clocked a winning time of
10:01.65. Olivere is a big piece into the Villanova distance machine which has
produced so many All-Americans. She certainly has ran faster and will look to
continue to be a part of the discussion for this event later on in the season.
Men
In the 800 Jonathan Jones of Texas continues to have a
strong season after moving up from the 400. The senior competed against a
strong field that included several of teammates at the Texas Relays. He also finally
competed against Texas Tech’s senior Mohad Zahafi. Jones came away victorious
dipping under 1:46 again with a winning time of 1:45.83 to Zahafi’s 1:46.02. It
will be interesting to see how the rest of Jones’ season folds. Will he continue
with the 800 or return back to the 400.
The steeplechase had another star performer this weekend it
is Matthew Wilkinson of Minnesota. Wilkinson is an NCAA Champion, at a Division
III school in Carleton. Now a transfer to Minnesota he is getting his Gopher
career of to a great start. The junior clocked a winning time at the Raleigh
Relays of 8:39.70. A strong beginning to his career as it is a personal best.
JUMPS
Women
The jumps were on fire this past weekend. Especially the
long jump. Tyra Gittens who now competes for Texas did not have the end to her
indoor season that she would like. She has yet to compete in a multi-event
competition either Pentathlon or Heptathlon but she has been focused on the jumps
since transferring from Texas A&M.
The senior took on NCAA Indoor Champion Jasmine Moore and
came away the winner. On her new home track she leaped to a mark of 22 feet 4 ½
inches (6.82m). There were five athletes in total at the Texas Relays that
jumped over 22 feet including two from Florida. This is just an indication of how
great this event should be this year.
Lisa Gunnarson of LSU is a defending NCAA champion and was unsuccessful
in winning the Indoor title but began the outdoor season with a huge personal
best and a number one ranking. The senior leaped to a mark of 15 feet 3 inches
(4.65m) to claim the top collegiate Pole Vault mark. She is currently the only
collegian over 15 feet this outdoor season and the second 15-foot jumper since
the indoor season.
The high jump was another strong jumps highlight at the
Texas Relays. Lamara Distin of Texas A&M had quite the performance. The
junior has been the top high jumper in the collegiate ranks all year long and
she stamped her level of superiority with the performance this past weekend.
Distin jumped a new Texas Relays record mark of 6 feet 5 inches (1.96m). Her
mark is also a Jamaican national record and gives her over a two-foot lead
against her fellow collegians.
Men
Like the women this was a great weekend for jumpers. Indoor champion
Vernon Turner of Oklahoma continued his winning ways with a strong victory at
the Texas Relays in the men’s high jump. His winning jump was 7 feet 6 ½ inches
(2.3m). Turner was a bit under the radar this past indoor season before hitting
his championship stride at the NCAA Indoor Championship. This mark at this point
in the same against a stellar field that included Earnie Sears of USC will do
wonders for his confidence moving forward.
Sondre Guttormsen of Princeton was the shocking winner of
the men’s Pole Vault at the NCAA Indoor championships a few weeks ago. He added
to his victory count this past weekend by again defeating Zach Bradford of
Kansas. His winning mark of 18 feet 10 ¼ inches (5.75m) is not quite 19 feet
but it was enough for him to secure the victory at the Texas Relays. He will be
a fun story to watch.
THROWS
Women
The most eye-opening mark of the throws this weekend on the
women’s side came from the state of Texas but not at the Texas Relays. Senior Alyssa
Wilson of Texas State claimed the number one ranking in the women’s hammer
throw with a mark of 234 feet 1 inch (71.36m). Her mark surpassed the top
performance of NCAA Indoor Champion weight thrower Shey Taiwo of Ole Miss. Perhaps
what is more eye popping is that she drove to the Texas Relays in the same
weekend and claimed the title there as well. That is noteworthy, two meet victories
in one weekend.
Men
On the men’s side Adrian Piperi of Texas began the outdoor
season with a bang. The senior has been consistently over 70 feet in the Shot Put
since February of this past indoor season. Although he has thrown further, he
began his outdoor campaign winning on his home field with a winning throw of 70
feet 8 inches (21.54m). Beginning your outdoor season with a 70-foot throw is a
strong sign of how well your season should go.
MULTI'S
In the women’s Heptathlon Anna Hall of Florida again became
the talk of the meet. She began her outdoor season by dominating the field at
the Texas Relays scoring a total of 6,412 points. That point total is
significant because she now becomes the fourth best collegiate athlete in NCAA
history. She passed Olympic legend Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Also keep in mind,
this is the first meet of the outdoor season. She is two weeks removed from an
Indoor title. She is going to certainly climb up that list especially when she
returns to the level of a high jumper that she has been previously.
In the men’s decathlon All-American senior Leo Neugebauer of
Texas represented his school well on his home track. Scoring a whopping 8,131
points, Neugebauer remains the only athlete in the NCAA this season over 8,000
points. Although early in the season his performance certainly stands out. This
should be an exciting event this outdoor season and his name will certainly be
in te mix.
RELAYS
The relays were quite hot this weekend, seeing a lot of the
top marks in person was fun. On the women’s side Texas showed how strong and potent
they are in the sprints. They claimed number one rankings in the 4x100 relay
with a 42.42 preliminary time and 42.88 finals time. They also ran the second
fastest time in NCAA history in the 4x200 relay with a time of 1:29.03. In the
4x4 relay they nearly broke the NCAA record with a time of 3:22.94. All three
marks are Texas Relays records.
On the men’s side a slightly injured Florida team proved
their strength in the sprints is still at a high level. The men’s 4x100 relay team
clocked a time of 38.47 to claim the number one ranking and they also claimed
the number one ranking in the 4x400 with a time of 3:02.20 that included a 46.9
anchor leg from Fahnbulleh. Had they had Champion Allison who is out with an
injury we may have had a new Texas Relays record. Once healthy Florida will be hard
to beat.
TEAM RANKINGS
I think it is way too early to rank the teams, no one has
remotely put their full team on display. Some programs will not be at full
strength until early April. However, I do want to discuss them. The women’s rankings
seem fair based of this weekend’s performance. Indoor Champions Florida did not
have the weekend they wanted. A DNF in both the 4x1 and 4x4 relay did not show
they had the relay strength to compete on a championship level yet. With the Florida
Relays being this weekend expect for them to change that. Texas however certainly
validated their number one ranking and impress upon the country just how strong
they will be come championship season.
On the men’s side not including North Carolina A&T
anywhere in the rankings makes absolutely no sense to me. They are a strong
sprint team that will do better outdoors than indoors. How disappointing it was
to see that list. I do believe that Texas men have a strong team, and they should
be considered a number one threat but 2 on down I could dispute.
No comments:
Post a Comment