We have finally made it. The NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships. This meet is a must see on the track and field yearly calendar and I believe this will be one of the best meets we have seen. The meet will be held at the University of Texas in Austin and will have an invested crowd as the Texas women are number one in the country with an incredibly strong contingent. This is our first of three previews; in this preview I will review the sprints and hurdles. In preview 2 it will be distance and preview 3 will be field events and multi’s.
SPRINTS/HURDLES
Women
100- There are three main contenders in every race this
coming weekend. In the 100 Julien Alfred of Texas is not only the defending
champion but the hometown favorite. She will be on her home track and like
indoors I expect for her to break at least one NCAA record. She has a
wind-legal personal best of 10.81 and with the NCAA record being 10.75 set by
Sha’Carri Richardson I expect for Alfred to give that a real chase.
Also in the race will be Jacious Sears of Tennessee who has
been a solid number two all year long. She is the fastest woman in the SEC and that
carries a lot of weight. She has a PR of 10.96 and running sub 11 is what will
be needed to win. Her last challenge should come from her teammate Kevona
Davis. Davis a star in Jamaica at the junior level is having quite the
impressive career. Davis has a personal best of 10.95 and will be on her home
track too giving Alfred a great chase.
200- Alfred improved her 200-meter performance this past season.
Last season and previous seasons it were clear that the 200 was a secondary
event for her. Head coach Floréal has clearly sought to change that by having
Alfred run on the 4x400 relay making her 200 stronger. She ran a 22.01 indoors
which was faster than the old outdoor NCAA record that sat for years. She has
dipped under 22 seconds having run 21.91.
Giving chase in the 200 will be teammates Kevona Davis and
Lanae Thomas. I believe it is quite possible we are looking at a 1-2-3 sweep by
the Longhorns in what is one of the strongest sprint teams I have ever seen.
This reminds me of the great LSU teams in the 90’s where they would finish
1-2-3 in the either 100 or 200. Davis has a personal best of 22.26. Thomas is
not far behind with a personal best of 22.38.
400- Entering the season we thought it would be all about Talitha
Diggs of Florida. She is the defending NCAA Champion and ran 49.99 to win the Outdoor
Championships this season. Britton Wilson of Arkansas leads their incredibly deep
group and primarily ran the 400 hurdles last season even though it is clear she
has great open 400-meter speed. She has given that more focus this season and
broke the NCAA record with a time of 49.13 to win the SEC Championships. She
ran 49.48 indoors leading me to believe that she may be able to run 48
outdoors. There never has been a collegiate athlete to run 48 seconds and only
two American women have run that.
Also, in the race with Wilson and Diggs is of course the
hometown star Rhasidat Adeleke of Texas. The tall well-rounded sprinter joined
the sub 50 this season too with her personal best of 49.54. She is a big part
of that Texas sprint machine and can go toe to toe with both Wilson and Diggs.
100 Hurdles- Ackera Nugent of Arkansas is having quite the
year. The talented youngster from Jamaica made the switch from Baylor in the
off season and it has clearly paid off. She broke the NCAA indoor record in the
60-meter hurdles and has come out this outdoor season and competed like a champ.
She must contend with defending 100 hurdles champion of Alia Armstrong of LSU
who is favored to win and has beaten her already along with Masai Russell of Kentucky
whose NCAA record she broke indoors. All three have rub sub 12.5 this season wind
legal. Nugent certainly has the speed and the ability to show up at
Championship meets but I expect for Armstrong to defend her title and continue
her winning ways.
400 Hurdles- Britton Wilson of Arkansas is attempting a
grueling double, the 400 and 400 hurdle double. The talented star is number one
in both and ran in the world top three in both. She has run 53.23 in the
hurdles and has not had much competition all year long. With her speed with
perfect technique, she could perhaps run low 51 seconds in the hurdles. That
will not be needed here maintaining a low 53 should be enough to win.
The top two challengers chasing her will be Masai Russell of
Kentucky and Savanna Sutherland of Michigan. Both hurdles have run low 55
seconds in the hurdles and have had impressive seasons, but they are facing a
big challenge of competing against Wilson.
4x100- Texas is the clear headliner here. They have broken
the NCAA record in the even and became the first team under 42 seconds with a
time of 41.89. The Lady Longhorns have real depth with four athletes in the 100
meters. They likely will go sub 42 again and perhaps lower their NCAA record. The
remaining two schools are Kentucky and LSU who have gone under 43 seconds this
season.
4x400- This is where things will get interesting. Arkansas
has the most depth ever in the 400. They broke the outdoor records indoors.
They have yet to run at full strength this outdoor season and I believe at full
strength that can run 3:19 or better! Texas will of course have a strong 4x400
relay along with Texas A&M.
Men
100- Terrence Jones of Texas Tech came into the indoor
season late but did nothing but win. Jones has the fastest wind legal time in
the nation having run 9.91. He is a big meet performer and I expect for that to
show up here. Challenging him will be Udodi Onwuzurike of Stanford and Godson
Oghenebrume of LSU. Although my prediction is Jones anyone of these men could
potentially challenge for the title.
Onwuzurike is from my home state of Michigan and is the fastest
sprinter in state history. He does not have the same schedule as a lot of other
sprint programs, and I think has more in the tank to do something special.
Oghenebrume has consistently improved throughout the season and has represented
LSU so well.
200- Robert Gregory of Florida transferred in during the off
season and as the season has gone on, he has clearly adjusted to their sprint
training. Although wind-aided he has a season best of 19.60. He is a big part
of Florida’s team title hopes and is their latest sprint star. Also, with a
wind-aided 19.60 is Tarsis Orogot of Alabama. Orogot has had some mixed results
this season, but I expect him to be ready this week.
Finally, there is Courtney Lindsey of Texas Tech. He has
been a named mentioned here multiple times and it is great to see him healthy
and rounding into shape at the right time. He is a big piece in Texas Tech’s team
title hopes. All three are capable of winning the title but I think Gregory
takes it and also keep an eye out for Onwuzurike who has run wind legal 19.91.
400- Ryan Willie of Florida is the latest 400 star for the
Florida Gators. He ran an incredible race at the SEC Championships winning with
a time of 44.27. He is the national leader and favorite to win. Chasing him
will be indoor champion Elija Godwin of Georgia who has run 44.55 and Emmanuel
Bynum of Tennessee who has run 44.58. Godwin is a big meet performer and Bynum has
always proven to be capable.
This event is quite deep, there are a total of 12 runners
who have ran sub 45 seconds in the field and potentially more will be added. Of
all the sprints and hurdle events I think this field is the deepest and most
competitive.
110 Hurdles- Perhaps the most open event of them all. There
is no defending champion and the indoor champion at 60 hurdles, Giano Roberts
of Clemson, is not the favorite here. The top performer this season was Devon
Brooks of Tennessee formerly of Clemson. He unfortunately injured himself at the
East Regional meet. This has left even more wide open. Darius Luff of Nebraska
has shown to perhaps be the most technically sound hurdler and no surprise he
is from Nebraska which has been known as a school that develops its athletes with
strong technique. Also in the race will be Omotade Ojora of USC who is having
an impressive season.
400 Hurdles- Ayden Owens-Delerme of Arkansas is primarily a
decathlete. He has broken national records and competed on the world stage in
the event. Recently he added the 400 hurdles to an event he can compete in.
That’s a right a guy who did not start running this event until April of this
year is the NCAA leader and one of the fastest in long time. Delerme leads the
nation with a time of 48.26. With him only competing in the event three times
in his life, all this season I think it’s possible that he lowers his time and
wins the title.
Also in the race is Alabama junior Chris Robinson who has
run 48.36 and his phenomenal season has been a bit overshadowed thanks to
Delerme. Caleb Dean, who is a speedy hurdler, has run 48.39 and is one of Texas
Tech’s big team title hope pieces. We may see a sub 48 second performance this
weekend from one or all three.
4x100- This is almost a two-team race. Both LSU and Florida
have gone under 38 seconds this season. Florida lowering the school record from
37.94 to 37.93 and LSU with a new national record of 37.90. The Gators have
lost their NCAA record and I expect for them to fight like hell to get it back.
Texas Tech however have run 38.24 and are getting healthy at the right time. I
think there is a great change for a new NCAA record here.
4x400- Florida was pushed at the SEC Championships and it
took two 43 second legs but they got it done and went on to set the NCAA record
with a time of 2:57.76. There are two other teams under 2:59, Georgia and
Alabama. The latter of which took Florida to the line at the NCAA
Championships. If Florida is to win this race it will take a new record and
better performances out of their first two legs.
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