6-5 1/2!
April has come to an end, and we now enter May. Championship
season is quickly approaching. This past weekend was not only a great weekend
for relay carnivals, especially the Penn Relays, but perhaps may be the last
weekend many top tiers athletes compete during the regular season. The weekend
was exciting with a total of 14 new number one performances and all-time mark
by a non-collegiate athlete that we must talk about.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Men
The new number one performances in the sprints are all on
the men’s side and will start with the 100-meter dash. Favour Ashe a true
freshman by way of Nigeria blasted a wind-aided quick time of 9.79. The wind
reading was +3.0 but was still the fastest time ever for a Nigerian and the
all-time any conditions NCAA top 10 list. Ashe finished third indoors in the 60-meter
dash and was the favorite to win the SEC title but false started. This young
raw talented speedster has proven that he truly should be considered a threat.
John Fahnbulleh of Florida was another highlight at the LSU Invitational
along with Ashe. Fahnbulleh is the defending NCAA outdoor champion and was a
bit quiet indoors. After his performance this past weekend it’s clear that he
is in great shape. The star sophomore talent tied the number one time in the
country with 19.92 in the 200-meter dash. In that same race however super high
school star Erriyon Knighton clocked a time of 19.49.
Fahnbulleh is clearly being prepared for a strong outdoor season
beyond the NCAA season so he will learn from this race but running 19.92 is no
slouch time either. Fahnbulleh has already beaten Matthew Boling before, and it
will be quite the rematch come SEC Championship time.
Senior Trey Cunningham of Florida State continues to have a dominant
record-breaking season. This past weekend at the North Florida Invitational
Cunningham not only beat top collegiate hurdlers but also professional athletes
to claim the 110-meter hurdle race. He clocked in at 13.10, one of the fastest times
in NCAA history. The NCAA record is 12.98 set by Olympic Medalist Grant
Holloway, Cunningham continues to draw closer to this mark and will continue to
challenge that mark throughout the season.
In the 400-meter hurdles Moitalel Mpoke of Texas A&M
continues to carry the torch for the Aggies in an event that they have become
so dominant in. Mpoke name has been near the top of the list during his entire career
as a student at Texas A&M. This past weekend on his home track he finally
dipped under 49 seconds for the season with a time of 48.99. Mpoke is multi
all-American and is the top returnee based on time. This was his first big
statement win of the season, right on time for the championship season. I am
sure this will not be his only sub 49 second performance when he ran better
last season.
DISTANCE
Women
Our lone top performance in the distance events on the women’s
side came from Julia Heymach of Stanford. At the Payton Jordan Invitational
against professionals Heymach finished third overall and as the top collegiate athlete
with a time of 4:11.00. Heymach has been at the top before but there is no
denying that impressive time in a strong race. Expect more from Heymach this
season.
Men
This was a solid weekend for men in the distance events, two
strong number one performances. Adrian Wildschutt of Florida State has been
mentioned here before. Well, he is back after running the top time in the 10,000-meter
run this past weekend at the Payton Jordan Invitational. His time of 27:38.54
was good enough for second in the race but tops amongst collegiate athletes including
two strong Stanford runners. Wildschutt was a favorite during the indoor season
but a less than stellar finish at the Indoor Championships took a little of the
shine off. However, against a strong field Wildschutt proved he is still a name
worth remembering.
In the steeplechase we have seen the top time change
routinely throughout the season. It has been hard for anyone to maintain the
top spot. This weekend Ahmed Jaziri of Eastern Kentucky competed at the Payton
Jordan Invitational against a top tier field and came away the victor with a
new national leading time of 8:24.33. The number two ranked time of 8:26.44 by
Duncan Hamilton of Montana State was ran in that same race, proving how quality
of a win this was for Jaziri.
JUMPS
Women
Lamara Distin of Texas A&M by way of Jamaica continues
to excel this season. She has been the most consistent high-level jumper
throughout the year. This past weekend she improved upon her number one mark
with a jump of 6 feet 5 ½ inches (1.97m). The mark is a new school record and a
new Jamaican national record. The jumps program at Texas A&M continues to perform
at a high level. It would not shock me if she broke the record again.
Florida is no stranger to having top marks in the triple
jump. Natricia Hooper of Florida has been in second to her teammate Jasmine
Moore all season long. Moore was outstanding this past indoor season and broke
an NCAA record. This past weekend Hooper overtook Moore and her top mark to become
the new number one with a leap of 46 feet 6 ¼ inches (14.18m). Hooper has been
consistently strong all year long, this past weekend at the LSU Invitational
she was just a bit stronger.
Men
Darius Carbin of Georgia is proof that although there is a
new coaching regime at Georgia, they still have taken advantage of having top
tier field athletes. Corbin tied the number one mark in the high jump with his
leap of 7 feet 6 ½ inches (2.30m) to win the Torrin Lawrence Memorial Invite.
There are now three athletes with that mark including the indoor champion,
Vernon Turner. Each are in different conferences so we will have to wait until
the Outdoor Championships to see who the best is.
THROWS
Women
Jorinde Van Klinken of Arizona State seems to make this blog
every single week. She has had a phenomenal outdoor season in the discus, and
she continued her improved number one mark this past weekend with a throw of
212 feet 5 inches (64.75m). Van Klinken has improved upon her number one marks
routinely every weekend she competes. She certainly carries the flag for throws
U (Arizona State).
Men
Mykolas Alekna of California is having a great freshman
season. The true freshman competed in his first Stanford versus Cal dual and a
had a winning mark in the discus of 222’0 feet even (67.68m). Alekna is one of
three freshmen at the top of the performance list and still will have a lot to
learn entering championship season.
In the hammer throw Logan Bloomquist of Southeast Missouri had
a dominating victory at the Memphis Tiger Invitational. His winning throw of
240 feet 1 inch (73.18m) was almost 26 feet ahead of the second-best throw. His
throw vaulted him to the top of the performance list. Nationally Bloomquist has
a 4-foot lead. I expect with a throw this good that we will be hearing more
from him in the future.
PENN RELAYS
It was nice to see the Penn Relays back in action. I missed
seeing the World vs USA relay races, but I am sure they will be back soon. I
along with many of you have noticed that some of the top teams have stopped
going on go sparingly throughout the year. My hope is that the meet returns to
being a major event on the NCAA calendar. What an amazing crowd and atmosphere
the event is.
REGULAR SEASON
There is one week left in the regular season and that is this
coming weekend. For a few conferences the season has technically ended, and
they are heading towards conference championships now but for the majority this
is still the last week. I do not expect a ton of number one performances this
coming weekend, but we will still discuss the weekend and prepare for conference
championship weekend.
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