Big 12 Preview: Women

TIFFANY McREYNOLDS (BAYLOR)

DEFENDING HURDLE CHAMPION

The conference on the women's side also takes a huge hit with the departure of Texas A&M. Pat Henry arrived at Texas A&M in 2005 after leaving a phenomenal program at LSU. At LSU Henry led the men and women to 25 NCAA titles. He has already brought that success to the Big 12 relinquishing the dominance that Texas has had over the conference. Not that A&M is leaving it is the perfect time for Texas to return to power.

In the sprints Texas has done some seriously rebuilding. After recently getting out recruited by A&M coach Bev Kearney has increased her efforts to have a well rounded sprint program. In the short sprints the advantage still belongs to Texas A&M. The Aggies return All-Americans Dominqie Duncan and Ashley Collier. Texas will look to Chalonda Goodman, Christy Udoh and Allison Peter to compete against the Aggies in the short sprints.

The long sprints has long been an event dominated by the University of Texas. The Longhorns have had serious success in this event with a few national champions, Suzainn Reid and Sanya Richards. The Longhorns also boast a strong 4x400 relay history. This season is no different with serious depth in this event ranging from sophomore sensation Brianna Nelson, Kendra Chambers and Stacey Ann Smith. Nelson may not have the top returning time but shows the most promise. Fellow sophomore Diamond Dixon of Kansas stunned everyone by defeating Jessica Beard last outdoor season to claim the title.

If any event in the conference took a step backward last season it was the hurdles. The days of the dominant Texas 400 hurdler were gone and there was no serious threat in the 100 hurdles from Texas A&M due to injury. However a true freshman stepped up in Tiffany McReynolds from Baylor. McReynolds is early easy favorite with no true competition this season. Angele Cooper and Danielle Dowie of Texas look to bring Texas back to the front in the 400 meter hurdles. They will have to defeat defending champion Ryan Krais of Kansas State to do so.

The Big 12 had one of the best distance programs in the country with Colorado. The Buffaloes have produced some of the best athletes ever to lace them up in the NCAA including World Champion Jennifer Simpson(Barringer). However there are still plenty of great programs such as Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Iowa State that are still producing solid performers.

Natalja Piliusina will represent Oklahoma State as the defending indoor champion in the 800 and will look to add a mile conference title to her collection. Piliusina will have to fend off top returnee in the mile senior Lucy Kennedy of Iowa State. Caroline Jepleting of Texas Tech will also look to compete for the conference title which should be a competitive field.

In the jumps Texas will look to dominate and add to a strong sprint core. The High Jump is the Longhorns most dominate event. Indoors last season they swept the event with a 1-2-3 finish. What makes it even better all three (Shanay Briscoe, Victoria Lucas and Beverly Owoyele) return this season. Briscoe the defending champion will look to continue to eclipse 6 feet.

In the long jump and triple jump the conference took a big hit with graduation and the loss of Nebraska. However Longhorns A'Lexus Brannon, freshman Morgan Snow and Kansas sophomore Andrea Guebelle look to revitalize the conference and keep a great tradition going.

The return of Shade Weygandt in the Pole Vault should serve notice to the rest of the conference. Weygandt missed the 2011 conference outdoor championship after claiming the title in 2010 as a freshman. Laura Asimikas is the top returnee from the conference meet and will challenge Weygandt for the crown.

The University of Oklahoma may have the best core group of throwers in the country. With a strong trio of Karen Schump, Tia Brooks and Brittany Boreman. With a roster of other talented throwers expect for the Sooners to be well represented here. In the shot put Brooks is the top returnee and Boreman is the defending champion in the weight throw. This will be huge for Oklahoma is they compete well as far the team battle is concerned.

Big 12 Preview: Men

TEXAS A&M FAREWELL

Disclaimer: This preview and all other future stories will no longer cover every single event. Only events of note.


The Big 12 conference again is losing more members to a different conference after this season. Texas A&M University and the University of Missouri will be moving on to the SEC. Texas A&M has historically been one of the conference's best programs, recently they have been at a phenomenal level winning three straight outdoor titles. The University of Missouri has been a nationally recognized middle distance program. The Big 12 will gain TCU and West Virginia but the lost of Texas A&M is a heavy blow. This season A&M looks to rebuild after the losses of a phenomenal senior class all while winning another national and conference title.


The Big 12 sprints as always looks to be a barn burner. With a solid core of great sprinting programs that develop national champions and All-Americans this is a stiff competition. Senior Woodrow Randall of Baylor made a name of for himself after transferring from Southwest Mississippi Community College. Running the 3rd leg of Baylor's All-American 4x100 relay he was often a standout. Talented sophomore Prezel Hardy of Texas A&M looks to be the top challenger to Randall after having a sensational freshman season.

The 60 meter hurdles is an event were A&M has strongly increased the presence. Larry Wade an NCAA Champion for A&M in the Aggies was the last great hurdler. Vince Anderson sought to change that upon arrival and recruited the high school record holder out of North Carolina in Wayne Davis. Davis had an All-American season last year.

Keiron Stewart of Texas is the defending champion in the event however. Stewart claimed the crown last season clocking in at 7.60. Stewart a talented sprint hurdler from Jamaica cannot solely rely on his speed this season, defeating Davis technique wise is of the utmost importance. Anderson is better coach than any hurdle coach on the University of Texas's staff. He will have Davis ready to compete for a conference and national title.

In the long sprint Texas A&M has taken the 400 meter crown away from Baylor and Texas Tech has also become a threat to become a the top power in the event. There are a lot questions in this event this year with the graduation of A&M's Demetrius Pinder and Tabarie Henry. Baylor has the answer with Zwede Hewitt. Hewitt is the top returning 400 meter runner and has a decent distance between him and the next 400 meter runner.

The jumping events took a universal hit with the loss of Nebraska. The Cornhuskers was the conference most consistent jumping program. The University of Texas has stepped forward to take over the top spot. With returning champion Marquise Goodwin in the long jump and top triple jump returnee in sophomore Mark Jackson.

The High Jump is an area the Cornhuskers scored big last season with 3 athletes in the top 10. However, Eric Kynard of Kansas State was still the best high jumper in the conference and the nation last season. Kynard also has international experience after making Team USA to compete at the IAAF World Championship the past summer. Kynard is future star for Team USA in this event.

In the shot put Junior Mason Finley of Kansas is the main star of note for the throwers. Finley returns at the outdoor conference champion in the shot put as well as All-American. Finley will find a strong challenge from fellow junior Hayden Baillio of Texas.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State has steadily climbed to the top of the conference in distance running. Colorado's distance dominance had been challenged recently like it never had before. Now the Buffalo's compete for the Pac-12 leaving the distance events to Oklahoma State and Oklahoma to dominate.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys has the most depth in distance racing after having a team of 90% distance runners. The 800 however is not an event that Cowboys have dominated. Texas A&M in recent seasons has stepped to produce some distance runners and have done a even better job with middle distance runners especially in the 800. Returning champion senior Joey Roberts of A&M made some dramatic improvements in the event and will look to defend his title. Roberts has 47 second speed and will look to lower his 1:48 best in thee 800 to possibly 1:47 or 1:46. His teammate Michael Preble took the outdoor 800 and may be the better runner at the end of the season.

In the 1,500 and 3,000 meter races Oklahoma State will look to former NCAA Champion German Fernandez, defending 3,000 meter champion Thomas Farrell, Kuribel Erassa and Shane Moscowitz to lead the way. The Cowboys can go 1-2-3 in either event with their quality core group of runners.

Kevin Schwab and Joe Bosshard of Oklahoma will look to represent for a solid group of Sooner runners in the 5,000. Schwab the defending champion is a heavy favorite to win the event, his teammate Bosshard is the defending champion of the 10,000 outdoors and will be a difficult challenge for Schwab to defeat.


TEAM CHAMPION: TEXAS A&M

Although Texas A&M lost a lot to graduation they did a great job of collecting quality high school recruits and the top Junior College talent. A&M is nationally in a rebuild mode but have enough returning to lead them to victory.

ACC Preview: Men

Similar to that of the women in there is one noticeable dominate team, Florida State. Florida State been the only relevant national title contender in the conference and treats its fellow members as such. State. Florida State has won the conference title outdoors six consecutive times. There successful indoor championship streak ended in February of this year to championship meet host Virginia Tech. The Hokies of Virginia Tech still will field a strong team but this maybe a championships level team for Florida State.

The Sprints as usual are the highlight of the ACC Conference. Florida State in recent years has been the headliner. Ngoni Makusha burst onto the scene in 2011 with a personal best and collegiate record of 9.89 in the 100 meter dash. Makusha has forgone his senior season and has left the responsibility up to senior Maurice Mitchell. While Makusha was the 100 meter guy, Mitchell was the 200 meter guy. Mitchell will not be alone in the sprints, fellow senior Kemar Hyman, David Ambler and Brandon O'Connor in the 400 will look to continue the Florida State sprint tradition.

There are plenty of great distance programs in this conference and there always seems to be a top listed as a favorite to win the NCAA title either Indoor or Outdoor. Robby Andrews of Virginia is the national headliner. Andrews burst on the scene in 2010 winning the indoor 800 NCAA crown. Andrews is developing well in the 1,500 meters as well finishing 2nd last outdoor season at the conference championship and is the favorite for the crown this indoor season. Teammates Michael Hammond and William Mulherin of Virginia Tech should be the main challenge in the 1,500 and potential threat in the 5,000 meter race.

The field event battle is another in which Florida State and Virginia Tech push to claim the top. In the horizontal jumping events Florida State loses a phenomenal performer in defending long jump champion Ngoni Makusha. Paul Madzivire will look to continue the success at Florida State will fending off Jeff Artis-Gray of Virginia Tech. The Triple Jump will favorite Virginia Tech with the return of Hasheem Halim the outdoor conference champion. David Wilson may be a competitor or he may enter the NFL Draft. Halim is also a preseason favorite to earn All-American honors.

In the high jump defending champ Dwight Barbiasz of Maryland may never get the chance to defend his title. The University of Maryland has decided to end their Men's track and field program. Rumors are that he is headed to the University of Florida (yay). Ronnie Black and Rene Stauss will lead the way for Virginia Tech for a potential 1-2 finish. The pole vault will also be kind to Virginia Tech. Joel Davis is the top returnee for the Hokies in the conference and Andrew LaHaye of Florida State will clash in a quality competition. Teammate Michael Putman will represent the Seminoles well in the throwing events along with Emory Parsons of North Carolina.

Curtis Beach of Duke will be the heavy favorite in the Heptathlon after having an excellent freshman season. However his performance will likely not affect the team race. I will pick Florida State for now, but I may change depending on the decision from David Wilson.

Next Post: Big 12 Preview (Men)

ACC Preview: Women

It is that time of year, the wonderful indoor track and field season. We have discovered in recent years that a great indoor campaign does not always pan out well for the outdoors. However for track and field fans it is still an important and fun season.

The ACC as we currently know it will change in the 2012-2013 seasons by adding Pittsburgh and Syracuse from the Big East. The two programs will add depth to an already stellar conference.

In the sprints and hurdles Clemson has been the king, or queen if you will, in these events. This season that will not change. Junior Stormy Kendrick is the defending champion and was solid during the 2011 season and should claim both the 60 meters and 200 meters. Teammates Jasmine Edgerson and Marlena Wesh will continue to be a challenge with Kendrick ultimately prevailing.

Wesh is a great long sprinter. She has yet to really perform at the level her talent can take her. She is in a Allyson Felix mode just posing as a 400 meter runner. This season expect Wesh to step it up with no real competition to challenge her.

Teammates of Wesh and Kendrick at Clemson will also likely dominate their best event indoors, the 60 meter hurdles. With Ti'erra Brown of Miami gone, Brianna Rollins and Bridgette Owens are free to dominate. Rollins is the defending NCAA Indoor Champion and was the only athlete under the 8 second mark last season with a personal record of 7.96. Defending champion Edgerson will look to boost points in the event as well.

In the 4x400 relay Clemson will take the crown in this event as well. Although North Carolina was the team to beat last season, they had a pair of seniors on their squad. Losing two relay members to graduation will be hard for the Tar Heels to replace. Clemson has the luck of returning all four members of their outdoor runner-up squad from last season.

In the distance races no one school is expected to dominate at the top. However schools such as North Carolina, Duke and Boston College will be well represented in each event. Jillian King of Boston College looks to the lead the way in both the 800 and 1,500 meter races. King will be challenged by Amanda Winslow of Florida State and Morgane Gay of the University of Virgina in the 1,500 and should see competition from Tasha Stanley of North Carolina in the 800. King has the advantage of strong kick due to her speed and strong performances in the 800. In the long distance races Jessica Perry of Florida State should claim the crown in the 5,000. Fellow sophomore Erin Mercer of North Carolina State will also pose as a threat to the top. For the ACC the future looks bright in distance racing as usual.

Clemson represents themselves well in the sprints and hurdles, but they are superior in the jumps as well. In the high jump April Sinkler will look to add to ACC title hardware. The 2011 outdoor champion is also a threat to claim in the NCAA Indoor title and the ACC title in then long jump as well. With Kimberly Williams of Florida State now gone due to graduation the only challenge Sinkler will find will be from teammate Jasmine Brunson.

Sinkler will look to complete the triple-crown by claiming the triple jump as well. This event too was dominated by Williams. Another Seminole named Michelle Jenije will look to make it tough for Sinkler to sweep the events. Teammate Lauren Terstappen is the early favorite to claim the Pole Vault. Two Tar Heels in Sandi Morris and Merritt Van Meter will look to challenge Terstappen for the crown.

Samira Burkhardt of Virginia Tech and Brittney Waller of Clemson look to claims the crown in their respected throwing events. Burkhard the defending champion in the shot put will see strong competition Lawanda Henry of North Carolina State. Miranda Wilson of Miami should challenge defending champion Waller in the weight throw.

In the pentathlon the consistent dominant performer in Kiani Profit of Maryland has now graduated. Junior Ariel Roberts of North Carolina will look to take over, Roberts finished runner-up to All-American Profit last season.

The expected team champion: CLEMSON

Clemson just has way too much fire power to be denied. They have room for plenty of errors and at championship meets they do not generally make them.

NEXT POST: ACC Preview: Men

How will US Sprints do in 2012?

U.S.A

The past three years many Americans have watched team USA get beat and dominated by Jamaica in the sprints. A noticeable problem effecting the American sprinters are injuries and.... competition. This past outdoor season there was no Jeremy Wariner or Tyson Gay. Both athletes were potential World Championship Gold Medalists in the respected events and will be this coming Olympics. Each event however poses there own questions for American sprinters.

100 METER DASH (MEN and WOMEN)

The women of the United States claimed their first 100 meter gold medal in the World Championship since 2005 when then Lauryn Williams claimed the title. Carmelita Jeter stormed the track to a victory in a time of 10.90 into a headwind. Jeter will remain the American and World favorite to claim the Olympic gold medal. Other American sprinters such as Marshevet Myers and Williams will add to the country's depth. Veronica Campell-Brown and defending Olympic gold medalist Shelly Ann Fraser of Jamaica represent a strong contingent from their country.

The future for the American women in this event is very bright as well. Young trackstar Octavius Freeman is a name many Americans know because of her 11.16 performance as junior into a headwind. Legally that could have been a sub 11 second performance. Expect that from her this outdoor season as she looks to add to a strong Central Florida University track team.

The men have some work to do. Jamaica has a strong change with all athletes healthy to possibly sweep the 100 meters with American Tyson Gay in the field. I strongly doubt that it will happen but the Americans no longer enter into this event as the favorite. Jamaicans Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell have taken the event by the throat. American Walter Dix is one of the better championship performers performing well at major championships. Expect for Dix to contend for a podium spot, it may just not be the top spot. Gay may give the Jamaicans a real run since he is the last person to have beaten Bolt.

The future looks bright for America in this event. Unfortunately so does Jamaica. Young talents such as Jazeel Murphy, Dexter Lee and Kemar Bailey-Cole look to keep the country strong. However the Americans have some strong youth in Marvin Bracy, Prezel Hardy, Keenan Brock and Sean McLean. One thing is for certain the rivalry between the countries is going to continue to remain competitive.

200 Meter Dash

This recently has become the United States weakest sprint event. In 2003-2005 the United States swept this event at all major championships. In 2007 Jamaica began to reemerge in the event with Bolt. He took the event by storm at the 2008 Olympics, he returned to dominance this past season with a time of 19.40 at the World Championship. However a few weeks later Yohan Blake made his presence known with the 2nd fastest time of all time in 19.26. Tyson Gay nor Walter Dix have been able to go under 19.4 while both Jamaicans have.

The future in this event is very bright. McLean, Hardy Brock had solid junior seasons and will look to make a name for themselves in the event. Jamaica does not have serious threat in this event but that does not mean that Murphy or Bailey-Cole could become that.

The American women have performed well in this event and will continue to do so. After an exhausting 400 meter race, Allyson Felix almost earned her fourth World title in the event when at the line she was outlasted by Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica and fellow American Jeter. With Felix solely focusing on 200 at the 2012 Olympics there is no reason why she cannot win gold. This event is a very bright spot for the United States.

Octavius Freeman is also the future in the event as well along with Jessica Davis, Aurieyall Scott and Jeneba Tarmoh. The United States will continue to produce solid 200 meter runners. Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas and Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands will be future stars in the event as well.

400 Meter Dash

Sanya Richards-Ross is solely responsible for the emergence of the female American quarter miler that had been long extinct. There was no serious threat in the 400 for American women from 1996-2004. Richards changed that by winning a World Championship gold medal in 2009. Richards has dealt with injury the past two seasons and towards the end of this season dipped back under 50 seconds. With a solid season of training, Richards-Ross can still claim the top spot. She will have to contend with Amantle Montsho of Botswana.

The future looks bright in this event for the United States with young stars Diamond Dixon and Ebony Eutsey. Chris Ann Gordan and Olivia James of Jamaica are reason why the country can be truly optimistic about their future.

The 400 has been the United States most dominant event. The United States won every championship from 1991 on the event. Jeremy Wariner returned to top form in 2010 with a time of 44.13. The time was far from his personal best of 43.45 set in 2007. However Wariner has gone through coaching changes and a myriad of injuries. Injury plagued his season this year and had to cancel the remaining portion. Lashawn Merritt the defending champion returned after a drug ban to finish second to young superstar Kirani James. This is the first time in decades that the United States looks vulnerable in this event. A healthy Wariner can win the Olympic Gold medal.

The future for this event is very bright for the United States. Arman Hall, Lajerald Betters, Tavaris Tate, Joshua Mance and Tony McQuay will help lead the future for American quarter milers. However James of Grenada is the future of the event. At just 19 years of age, James has a personal best of 44.36. That time is 2nd only to Steven Lewis for a junior record.

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Although this season was not a solid season for American sprinters with the excellent talent at the youth level America will stop remain at the top of the sprinting world. However we must convince our young men to think track and not always football. We can no longer talk down about Jamaica or question their talent when you see the phenomenal performances of their youth at their Championship Meet. Expect for them to be our main rival and except the fact that we have one.

Bolt versus Blake

This past season we witnessed the Jamaican Sprint dominance grow in the 100 meters. One could argue had Asafa Powell been healthy and Usain Bolt did not false start, the Jamaicans could have gone 1-2-3 in the 100 meters at the World Championships.

Now as American it certainly is disheartening to see the United States struggle so mightily in the short sprints. It is what it is, some would say. Yohan Blake just 21 years of age has burst onto the scene with his decisive victory in the 100 meters at the World Championships in Daegu.

Although his time was not truly impressive you must take into account that the time was into a headwind. What truly vaulted Blake to sprint super stardom was his rocket 200 meter performance at the Diamond League meet in Brussells, Belgium. Blake clocked in astounding 19.26 with a bad start. His time is the 2nd fastest 200 meter performance of all time. Jamaica now owns the two best times in world history in the 200 meter dash.

Blake's rise to stardom is not truly a shock to many. Blake a former World Junior Medalist and current training partner of Usain Bolt was predicted to be great. Blake clocked in a 10.21 as a junior athlete at Champs in Jamaica setting a record.


Argument for Usain Bolt

Bolt is perhaps the most electrifying sprinter we have ever seen in track and field. Bolt a 6'5 tall statuesque figure with seemingly limitless speed. Bolt has yet to truly tap in to his potential. It was his coach Glen Mills who took Bolt's training up a notch with 400 meter training. It has since worked. Although Bolt has spent the last two seasons as a showman he is still my favorite to win the Olympic Gold in 100 and 200 meters dashes. His time of 19.40 coming off a season ending injury from the previous seasons should set a warning to all those who doubt him.


Argument for Yohan Blake

The next big talent in World Class Sprinting. Blake busted onto the main stage early in the season at the Jamaican Invitational clocking in at 9.83 slightly wind-aided. He was proving that his times of 9.89 and 19.78 in 2010 were no joke. He had an early set back finishing behind Asafa Powell at the Jamaican National Championships, however making the team. At the World Championships in Daegu an injured Asafa Powell dropped out of the Championships. This move left room for Blake on the podium.

In the finals of the 100 meters Bolt false started and the race was declared wide open. Blake proved to be the clear winner with a dominant performance. His time of 9.92 was the only sub 10 second performance into a strong headwind. He has yet to beat Bolt one on one but knows his weaknesses as his training partner. Blake may even be better that Bolt was in London. Beware of the youngster.



For now my pick is Usain Bolt. Until he is dethroned at his best, he is safe bet to win the 100 and 200 meter dashes.

Fall Update

*It has been a while*

Since my blog is more about track and field and less about Cross Country I have been absent. I am for the growth of my favorite sport but have to admit that Cross Country is not a personal favorite. I am like many other Americans focused on College Football. My three favorite football teams (Michigan-life long fan, Florida-became a fan in the late 90's a young child, Eastern Michigan- I am a alumnus) have all done well. However there are still five major topics to talk about in track and field heading into an Olympic Year.

1.) Yohan Blake can truly challenge Usain Bolt.

2.) How will US Sprints do at the 2012 Olympics.

3.) How good can Kirani James be?

4.) Will the US have their best distance effort in London

5.) Is the US returning to jumping dominance.

We will begin our fall discussions with our first topic with our next post. I am sure it will be a firecracker.