Weekly Recap Conference Championship Weekend

20.08!

(Divine Oduduru-Texas Tech)

Conference Championship weekend lived up to the hype! If you paid any attention at all this weekend you saw some impressive performances and the team title picture got clear. As we prepare for the final indoor showdown let us recap what stood out this past weekend.

SPRINTS

As always, we will begin with the sprints, the women’s sprints. Senior Destiny Smith-Barnett of UNLV is no stranger to top tier performances or to this blog. The talented senior has had quite the dominant career in the mountain west and is one of the contenders to win the 60-meter dash at nationals. This weekend she had the top time wining the Mountain West title with a time of 7.15. Her time is converted due to the altitude to a time of 7.17 for third in the nation. Barnett is looking to end her indoor season on top and is in great position to due so.

In the 200 Anavia Battle of Ohio State blazed the track to win the Big Ten Indoor title with a time of 22.80. Perhaps even more impressive is that she did at the University of Michigan. The super sophomore is a Michigan native which likely made winning the race all the more special. The event is wide open and there has been changes to the ranking almost weekly. Battle was not a preseason favorite going into the season but after a dominating performance at the Big Ten Indoor Championships she has become one.

Lynna Irby of Georgia finally claimed a number one ranking this season. After a phenomenal freshman season Irby has been quite for majority of the indoor season. At the SEC Championships she proved she still has what it takes to be number one. Against a quality field Irby clocked in a national leading time of 52.02. This is Irby’s second SEC indoor title of her career and a reminder to the doubters that she is still the favorite.

On the men’s side the sprints were highlighted by two impressive doubles. Divine Oduduru of Texas Tech by way of Nigeria lived up to the preseason hype. Oduduru set the track on fire winning the Big 12 title in the 60 meter and 200-meter dashes. His 60 time of 6.52 ranked him second in the nation and 200 time of 20.08 ranks him as number one. His 200 time is also third fastest indoor time in world history. Oduduru already has an NCAA title from last outdoor season and this weekend he made a strong case for more.

Grant Holloway of Florida continues to perform at such a high level. He surprised some when he stepped onto the track and competed in the 60-meter dash. Holloway ran away with the event title and still holds the number one ranking with a time 6.51. Holloway is one of the most versatile superior athletes ever seen and he continued his impressive performances this past weekend. Against some of the world’s best as the SEC Indoor Championships he pulled off the impressive 60-meter hurdle, 60-meter sprint double. This was last completed by Olympic Medalist Terrance Trammell, making his accomplishment more impressive. His winning marks of 6.54 and 7.44 are all time marks. It remains to be seen if he will attempt both at the National Indoor meet but without him competing in both Florida will struggle in the team title race.

Senior Kahmari Montgomery of Houston had an up and down season last year. He did not win the NCAA outdoor title but a few weeks later found himself at the USATF National Champion. He has clearly had a clear focus all season and this past weekend proved why he should be considered number one. The talented senior stormed the track at the American Conference Championship with a time of 45.04. He won the race by over a season and had over a two second lead over majority of the competition. Remember the 400 is a long sprint making this even more impressive. The 400 has seen a late boost with many great sub 46 second performance but Montgomery’s performance takes it over the top and he may provide our first sub 45 of the season.

DISTANCE

The distance events had no new number one rankings but still had some impressive performances. Senior Rachel Pocratsky of Virginia Tech continued Virginia Tech’s recent string of great 800 runners. Pocractsky won the ACC title with a time of 2:03.43. Her time moved her up to the number four spot in the national rankings.

Hannah Meier of Michigan ran a impressive race at the Big Ten Indoor Championships on her home track. The senior battled Ohio State senior Julia Rizk to the line to claim the Big Ten title in the mile. Her winning time of 4:32.46 moved her to fourth in the national rankings. Meier is having quite the senior year and will look to close out the indoor season strong.

On the men’s side the most notable distance performances start in the 800 at the Big 12 Championships. Junior Bryce Hoppel of Kansas ran a strong race against solid competition. His winning time of 1:46.84 was a season’s best and moved him to the number three ranking. Hoppel has now won the Big 12 Indoor title in back to back seasons.

Morgan McDonald of Wisconsin had the other notable distance performance this past weekend. The senior Cross-Country National Champion won the 5,000 meter Big Ten Indoor title with a time of 13:37.85. McDonald seems to be rounding into championship form at the right time. He has the threat of winning the cross-country national title with plenty of All-American experience to add. He is now ranked sixth in the country and has also qualified for the 3,000 as well.

In the throws senior Payton Otterdahl of North Dakota State has dominated all season long. He has been at the top of both throwing events since mid-January. At the Summit League Indoor Championships, he strengthened his hold on the number one ranking in the shot put with a winning mark of 71 feet 6 ¾ inches. He is still the only thrower over 70 feet this season. He also had the top throw in the weight throw this weekend as well with a mark of 77 feet 9 ¾ inches. Otterdahl has certainly proven throughout the season that he has was it takes to win both titles at the national level.

Senior Sade Olatoye of Ohio State also earned the top mark in the throwing events this weekend at the Big Ten Indoor Championship. It seemed this weekend that Michigan’s rivals had great success on their track. Olatoye threw two number one marks, 78 feet 11 ¾ inches in the weight throw and 58 feet 8 inches in the shot put. Olatoye was one of the favorites to win the weight throw but has proven that she should be considered a favorite for the Shot Put as well.

Senior Yanis David of Florida was the preseason favorite to win both the women’s long jump and triple jump. The senior had quite the weekend at the SEC Indoor Championships wining both events and was the top point earner of the weekend. Her winning mark in the triple jump was 45-5 which vaulter her to the number one ranking and her long jump mark of 21-2 ½ currently ranks number two. She is performing at a high level just at the right time and to continue that great tradition of Florida jumpers.

The twins of Arkansas continued their dominance this season with are first 15-foot marks in the women’s pole vault. Alexis was the victor at the SEC Indoor Championships with a mark of 15-4 ¼. Sister Victoria was second with a mark of 15-1. The two create such a potent 1-2 punch for Arkansas that they practically have 18 guaranteed points at every major championship.

Keeping with the Pole Vault theme freshman Mondo Duplantis of LSU continued his record setting season. He also claimed an indoor at the SEC Championships winning with a mark of 19-5. No other athlete in the field vaulted over 19 feet. Another weekend another NCAA record for the talented freshman. Is it even conceivable that someone can be the talented youngster at the national meet?

Senior Tahar Triki of Texas A&M clearly has no plans of letting go of his number one ranking. The talented senior leaped to a mark of 56-2 to win the SEC title. He won the event by almost 3 feet in one of the toughest conferences in the sport. His mark is a season’s best and further solidifies his number one ranking.

Johannes Erm of Georgia is continuing Georgia’s traditional of great field event athletes and multi-eventers (is that a word). He claimed the SEC title in the heptathlon with a point of 5,996. The talented sophomore is now the number in the country but does not have a great distance between him and number two. He will likely have to surpass 6,000 to win it all.

Senior Michelle Atherley of Miami was the big star who started conference championship weekend on the right foot. The senior nearly broke 4500 points scoring 4,498 points to win the ACC Indoor title. She would later return in the same meet and place in both the 60-meter hurdles and the high jump scoring valuable team points. She is now the number ranked athlete in the nation and in great position to win her first NCAA title.

RELAYS

Texas A&M won the race of the weekend at the SEC Indoor Championships. Against a field that had the top four times in the country all under 3:30 the Aggies claimed victory with a time of 3:29.15. Syaria Richards has turned out to be quite the transfer and 51 split again vaulted her team to victory.

Weekly Recap Pre-Post Season

10:54.47!

(Alice Hill, Chloe Foster, Aurora Rynda, Hannah Meier)

This past weekend was quiet but there were still quite a few notable performances. Overall there were three new number one performances and a small cast of quality top ten performances. The team picture is becoming ever clearer. As we head into the post season we have all become aware the fun part is about to begin. 

We begin our recap with Kortnei Johnson of LSU. LSU a school that is home to may great sprint queens. Johnson is clearly the next in line. The senior among a host of other LSU Tigers competed on their home track at the LSU Twilight. Against last years sprinter queen and now professional Aleia Hobbs, Johnson darted out to a second-place finish behind Hobbs with only 0.01 seconds between them. Johnson stopped the clock in a national leading time of 7.14. Her performance is just in time before the SEC Championship were she we will go toe to toe with the previous number one Kiara Parker of Arkansas.

On the men’s side the most noteworthy performance was Tyrell Richard. Although his performance did not rank him number one, he did garner the number two ranking. The senior from South Carolina State blazed South Carolina’s indoor track to the time of 45.39. He is 0.04 off the NCAA leader and immediately stepped into the contender seat with a time like that. After missing last indoor season Championships Richard is making his final season count.

The Distance Medley Relay took center stage this weekend as expected. Many top programs used that as a week to put their best foot forward to garner a top 12 time. The reason for that is most of the athletes will be competing in multiple events this weekend at their respective conference championships. Over the past few years top tier programs use this as a week to strengthen their chances to qualify since the athletes will only be competing in one event.

The Michigan women is one of the top tier programs who used this philosophy. Competing at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame the Michigan women broke a school and Big Ten Record with a winning time of 10:54.47. The group beat second place Indiana by three seconds solidifying their strong performance. For Michigan this is quite the impressive feet since the school almost regularly sends a team to nationals and have won the event a few times as well. The Lady Wolverines now rank number one in the nation over Oklahoma State.

Host Notre Dame impressed in the Distance Medley Relay this weekend in front of their home crowd. The Irish put their best foot forward beating favorite Wisconsin with a time of 9:26.10. Their time is one of the best times in the history of the event. Wisconsin ran 9:26.24 in a solid runner up effort. The Irish’s time is even more impressive since they do not have an athlete ranked in the top 16 in any of the distance events or the 400. This is a solid group of runners with a common goal.

UPCOMING

Yes this post was small. There were many premier athletes resting this past weekend in preparation for conference championship weekend. This week I will provide previews to the major conference championships and their major story lines. No preview will be given until the declarations and heat sheets are available and who is running what is made known. Get ready for a outstanding post-season.

Weekly Recap

7:42.62!

(Grant Fisher)

What a weekend! This weekend’s marks have changed the landscape of team predictions as expected. The team battle was altered and different discussions are being had. There were quite a few number one performances this weekend and a world record continuing or record breaking theme over the years. As we wind down the regular season and head into the post season the performances keep getting better. It's only a matter of time before we have another NCAA record. 

SPRINTS

The women’s 200 has been largely dominated by freshman. This is no surprise since they had a strong presence last season.  Senior Kayla White of North Carolina A&T decided to change that. White who is also quite the hurdler blazed the track at the Tyson Invitational to a NCAA number one time of 22.82. She beat a slew of top 200 runners to claim the event title and is also nationally ranked in the 60-meter hurdles. Look for more from this talented senior later this season.

Obi Igbokwe of Houston was the story on the men’s side. The transfer from Arkansas was one of the preseason favorites and this past weekend he certainly proved why. The senior outlasted a strong field at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational to win with a time of 45.35. His time is not only number one in the NCAA but also the world. Igbokwe has now firmly cemented himself as the favorite.

DISTANCE

The Millrose Games produced a bevy of number one times this weekend. On the women’s side Dane Rivers of Penn State stepped up to the mile and competed in a professional field. Although she finished 8^th in the race her time of 4:29.47 is tops in the NCAA. She is the only athlete under 4:30 in the women’s mile and she is also top three in the 800 meters as well. Rivers has given us a glimpse in her potential to double and clearly, she makes a strong case for it.

Alicia Monson of Wisconsin likewise stepped up to compete against professional athletes, but her result was much better. She also earned the number one ranking in the 3,000-meter run but also won her race against the pros in the field with a spectacular time of 8:45.97. Monson finished 4^th at the Cross-Country national meet and has made her case to be listed as the favorite in a event that she now has almost a eight second lead.

Oliver Hoare of Wisconsin joined his teammate Monson at the Millrose Games. The talented junior competed against quite the professional field that included a few Olympians and former NCAA Champions. Hoare finished 7^th in the race with a time of 3:54.83 and was the only collegian in the field. His time gives him almost a two second lead on the number two ranked athlete. As stated previously he won the NCAA Championship outdoors last season in the 1,500 is proving to be quite the miler. He has now had consecutive performances cementing his number one status.

It seems the 3,000 was the event for collegians at the Millrose Games. Junior Grant Fisher of Stanford claimed the event with a time of 7:42.62. What is perhaps more impressive of his win is that not only did he defeat a professional field but that he also beat the Cross-Country NCAA Champion Morgan McDonald of Wisconsin who beat him to the line at the Cross-Country Championship. Fisher has consistently been a favorite all season long but beating McDonald at the Millrose Games had to give him a boost of confidence.

HURDLES

Chanel Brissett picked up were she left off. Brisett improved upon her number one ranking at the Tyson Invitational this weekend. The talented sophomore beat a strong field with a winning time of 7.90. Her time is the second fastest time in USC history and keeps her in the driver’s seat as the nation’s best hurdler. Brissett is a key piece in USC team title hopes and this weekend she proved why. Look for more from this talented young lady later this season.

Grant Holloway of Florida continued his dominance this season. He bolted down the track at the Tyson Invitational with a time of 7.43. He improved upon his number one ranking and almost broke his own NCAA record. He will be at the same track for the SEC Championships and he should improve upon that time giving us another NCAA Championship record.

FIELD

Tahar Triki of Texas A&M won the triple jump last outdoor season and was the favorite this indoor season. The super junior dominated a quality field and his performance help to vault Texas A&M team’s expectations. His mark of 55 feet 9 ¼ inches was a new overall personal record in the event indoors or out. Florida has been jumps university for the past few years but with the performances this season it looks as if there will be a change.

The weight throwers this weekend was on fire. Sade Olatoye of Ohio State reclaimed her number one ranking and has proven to be the most consistent top thrower this season. At the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson Olatoye took down fellow preseason favorite Stamatia Scarvelis of Tennessee with a winning throw of 77-1 ¾. Olatoye’s performance made a big statement.

Payton Otterdahl of North Dakota State continued his dominance of weight throw this season. At the South Dakota State Indoor Classic the senior further clamped down on the number one ranking with a throw of 78-11 ¼. Otterdahl currently ranks number one in the shot put as well and is the best candidate to double this coming Indoor Championships.

RELAY OF THE WEEK

The Tiger Paw Invitational takes the cake as the top meet of the weekend. Both number one 4x400 relays came from this weekend. The Houston men set a world record defeating Texas A&M with a time of 3:01.51 thanks to two 44 second splits.

Texas A&M women became the first sub 3:30 team of the season with a mark of 3:29.96 thanks to a 51 second anchor from Syaria Richardson an Ohio State transfer. South Carolina was a close second with 3:30.67.

This coming weekend is the final weekend of the regular season. This weekend we will likely see plenty of great times for the Distance Medley Relay. Very few teams stock their top Medley relays teams at the Conference Championships. Many big-name athletes will potentially rest in preparation for the post season. However, we still complete a weekend recap that will still include some exciting performances.

Weekly Recap

20.30!!!

(Kenny Bednarek-Indian Hills CC)

The first weekend in February has come and gone. It goes without saying that we can no longer ignore this young talented man. Kenny Bednarek of Indian Hills Community College. He was an incredibly talented runner coming out of high school with a personal record of 20.43. Many thought he would end up at a division one school. For what the reason he is at his local community college in Wisconsin. It is clear they may know a thing or two about coaching. Bednarek began to catch national attention in early December when he ran 45.93 in the 400 to open the season. It was a new personal record that he set in December and that is an impressive time so early in the season.

This past weekend he proved his early season performances were no fluke. At the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on the campus of Nebraska Bednarek blazed the track to a time of 20.30. That is not a typo. The talented freshman has the top time in all of college and made a big statement defeating several division one athletes. I for one would love to see him compete at the highest level in college however he may be a professional athlete before that happens.

The men’s 400 has been developing slowly this season. There were as of last week only three collegiate athletes under 46 seconds. Well this past weekend another joined the group. Junior Quincy Hall of South Carolina won the Carolina on his home track with a blazing 45.84. His time ties Wil London of Baylor whose time was converted down due the altitude he competed at. Hall is already a bit of household name after dominating the junior college ranks in both the 400 and 400 hurdles. Training under legendary hurdle coach Curtis Frye will certainly produce more of what we saw this past weekend.

True freshman Mondo Duplantis of LSU is living up to his well-earned hype. He debuted a week ago tied for number one. This past weekend he improved his mark further cementing he is the true number one. On his home track at Maddox Field House of the campus of LSU he leaped to a winning mark of 19 feet 3 inches. His mark also ranks him number one in the world. This young talented man will continue to put eye-popping marks throughout his time as a collegiate athlete.

Shelby McEwen of Alabama was another outstanding jumper this weekend. Prior to his performance this past weekend there was a tie at the top of the ranks in the High Jump. McEwen decided to break that tie and reach an impressive height of 7-7. McEwen is the defending SEC Indoor Champion and has created more distance between himself and the rest of the field. This season he is making a case to that he can win the National Indoor title as well.

WOMEN

The Camel City Invitational was competed on a flat track in Winston Salem, North Carolina. The meet produced two new number one marks. The times were converted up because of the flat surface. Martha Bissah of Norfolk State claimed the number one mark in the 800 with a time of 2:02.58 after finishing tops among collegians in the race. Elly Hines of North Carolina State had her time converted to 9:01.72 in the 3,000 meter run to garner the top time in her event as well. Both lost their races to impressive professional marks but were tops among the collegians in the field.

Loretta Blaut of Cincinnati tied the number one mark in the high jump. The senior leaped to a winning mark of 6-1½ to match the mark of Andrea Stapleton-Johnson of BYU. Johnson has held the top mark in the NCAA for two weeks. With this event producing fewer jumpers over 6 feet the top group of jumpers has remained small.

Bonnie Draxler is not from Arkansas but is the new number one in the women’s pole vault. The senior from San Diego State won the New Mexico Classic with a mark of 14-10. Draxler had her first major competition since last year’s indoor championship. Her performance is a huge personal best and positive sign to start the season.

The weight throw was only supposed to be between Sade Olatoye of Ohio State and Stamatia Scarvelis of Tennessee. They were the preseason favorites. However, a new name is jumping in to the ring, literally, to challenge for the title. Laulauga Tausaga of Iowa had a throw of 76-3 ¾ at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. We are closer to the post season and a mark of that quality shows that Tausaga is a legitimate threat.

No relay of the week in this post as there was no truly impressive relay performance. This weekend will more than likely bring that out. The Tyson Invitational is this weekend along with the Iowa State Classic and the Husky Classic. Those three meets have historically been the biggest meets of the second weekend in February. There are still several quality meets such as the Music City Challenge at Vanderbilt, Texas Tech Shootout, Spire Division 1 Invitational in Ohio, Don Kirby Collegiate Elite at New Mexico University, Grand Valley State Big Meet and the Tiger Paw Invitational at Clemson. Expect for some impressive performances and the championship picture to become clearer.

Weekly Recap- End of January

Chanel Brissett

This past weekend was clearly the best weekend of the 2019 Indoor Season and was the final January weekend of 2019. February is almost here. There was a total of 16 number 1 performances and several school records. The team title picture is still cloudy after this weekend. Many athletes competed in events they have not before, and some athletes still have not competed in their primary event but the performances from this weekend were still impressive.

Grant Holloway is having an impressive indoor season. He is either ranked one or two in four individual events. That is not a typo, four individual events. To go along with his number one ranked 60-meter hurdle performance Holloway stepped in the 60-meter dash and ran away with the title at the Razorback Invitational winning with a time 6.51. His time is the new number one in the event in the nation and a school record. It remains to be seen if he competes in the event on the national stage but with his performance this weekend he may consider it, after all he made SportsCenter on ESPN.

At the same meet Kiara Parker of host Arkansas clocked the number one time in the women’s 60 meter by flashing a time of 7.15. Her time cements her status as a competitor in the event. It is also another clog in the Arkansas engine. Arkansas is perhaps the only team that has consistently proved they are ready to compete for a national title.

Senior Wil London of Baylor announced on his social media that his mother is battling cancer and he shaved his hair solidarity with his mother. If he was inspired his time at the Texas Tech Classic proved it. He clocked the national leading time of 45.73 to win the Texas Tech Classic over Bryce Deadmon of Texas A&M. The senior was a preseason favorite to win the event and is already living up to the hype. Baylor has not had a champion 400 runner since Olympic Gold Medalist Jeremy Wariner, London is their latest hope to reclaim their throne as kings of the 400.

Kaelin Roberts of USC did the exact same thing as London by garnering the number one ranking at the Texas Tech Classic. The talented sophomore won the race with a time of 52.25. She has had the number one time in the nation for back to back weeks. Former teammate Kendall Ellis is now a professional and has passed the baton to Roberts. This season we will be presented with a new champion and a new face for the event it looks as though Roberts will be it.

Also at the Texas Tech Classic we saw Devin Dixon of Texas A&M give an all-time performance. His winning time of 1:45.27 is the third fastest in NCAA history and the fastest by an American in NCAA history. Texas A&M has been quite successful with their string of 800 runners and Dixon is clearly carrying the torch the talented junior is now the number one runner in the NCAA and has over a second lead on the rest of the field.

Danae Rivers of Penn State is the new number one in the 800 after winning Penn State National meet in a time of 2:02.94. Her time is almost a full second ahead of former number one Abike Egneiyi of Middle Tennessee State. Rivers has a collegiate record in the 1,000 under her belt already and as one of the preseason favorites has clearly hit her stride.

Last season’s 1,500 NCAA Champion stepped up competing in the 3,000-meter run this past weekend at the Indiana Relays. Oliver Hoare of Wisconsin is no stranger to being ranked high. The talented distance runner is still considered a mile threat but his time in the 3,000 opens the door for more. He garnered the number one time in the nation with a time of 7:48.81 a new personal best. He has competed in the 3,000 and 5,000 in the past even winning both long distance events at the Big Ten Indoor Championships last season. It remains to be seen which events he will compete in during championship season. But his recent run in the 3,000 should give some pause that he could win that event too.

Jessica Hull of Oregon was one of the preseason favorites to win a national title. She is one of the few Oregon Ducks who remained after the change of distance coaches. Hull ran a dominating performance winning with a time of 4:31.03 at the Razorback Invitational. Her time against the number one ranked Razorbacks sent a clear message of what she expects to do during championship season. She already has one national title last outdoor season in the 1,500 so winning the mile indoors is something she is certainly capable of doing.

Abbie McNulty of Stanford gave the Cardinal distance core some recognition. She helped to lead a strong team at the UW Invitational. Her time of 9:05.66 was the top collegiate performance in the race and in the nation this season. Although she has no championship hardware she made a statement that as a senior she intends to get some. There is still plenty of time in the season, especially for the distance runners, to see improved times and dramatic changes in the list. But do not be surprised to see Abbie McNulty remain at the top.

Chanel Brissett of USC became our first sub 8 second runner in the 60 meter hurdles. She leads a strong contingent from USC who have four runners in the top 16 in the country. Brisett won the 60-meter hurdles at the Texas Tech Classic with a time of 7.98. What is more impressive about her performance is the quality of field she defeated. Brissett who the 100 hurdles at the Pac-12 Championships is rounding into quite the hurdler. 

The Pole Vault had an incredible weekend. Superstar true freshman Mondo Duplantis competed in his first meet as an LSU Tiger. He claimed the Razorback Invitational with a mark of 19 feet 1 ½ inches to lead the NCAA. He is the preseason favorite to win the event after a stellar prep career. It is clear he is picking up where he left off. Senior Matthew Ludwig of Akron is the latest pole vaulter to come out of Akron and the senior tied his mark in their dual meet against Kent State. Duplantis is still the favorite but a new challenger has just stepped on the scene.

On the women’s side LSU had another star Pole Vaulter in Lisa Gunnarson go toe to toe with twin sisters Alexis Jacobus and Victoria Hoggard of Arkansas at the Razorback Invitational. Jacobus was revealed to be the winner taking fewer jumps to reach the winning height 14-9 ½, a mark that all would tie. The top four athletes in the country are all in the SEC which will make this event especially interesting come championship time.

Payton Otterdahl of North Dakota State is quietly putting together an impressive season in the throwing events. The senior is currently the leader is now both the weight throw and shot put. He got his number one ranking in the Shot Put this weekend with a personal best throw of 71-0 at the Mark Colligan Memorial. Otterdahl is certainly the new favorite in the throwing events, and the big-name schools clearly do not intimidate him.

Sade Olatoye of Ohio State is living up to the preseason hype about her. She won the weight throw at Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge in New York with a throw of 75-2 ½. Her winning mark moved her to number one over Stamatia Scarvelis of Tennessee. Both are preseason favorite to win the event but for now Olatoye is the current number one.

This was the last weekend in January. We are only a month a way from the start of the post-season. Over the next few weeks things are going to warm up as everyone tries to get one of the top 16 spots available. The qualifying lists will change every week in every event. All I have to say is get ready, get ready, get ready.

2019 Weekend Recap Number 2

7.49!

(Grant Holloway)

Another weekend has come and gone rearranging out Indoor Qualifying lists. There were new all-time great performances this weekend as well. In this post we will review the biggest performances of the weekend.

Grant Holloway of Florida continued to be Grant. In his season debut he notched the number five all-time performance by clocking in at 7.49 to win the 60-meter hurdles at the Clemson Invitational. He followed that up by winning the 200-meter dash in 20.69. His 200-meter time currently ranks number two in the country and may have been an event just simply for speed work. Add to that he ran a leg on Florida’s dominating 4x400 relay which one their race by more than 5 seconds in a time of 3:04.74 ranking them second in the nation. Keep in mind he still has not even competed in the long jump yet either.

Freshman Kennedy Flannel of Texas is making a name for herself. As this year freshman star Flannel vaulted to the top of the 200-meter lists by clocking in at 22.88 to win the women’s 200 at the Clemson Invitational. Flannel is one many talented freshman Coach Edrick Floreal has available to him. She defeated preseason favorite Lynna Irby of Georgia and is the only athlete in the country right now under 23 seconds. She also clocked in at 7.26 to win the 60-meter dash as well.

Andrew Hudson had quite the weekend. The senior from Texas Tech continues to prove that he is worthy of championship consideration. On his home track Hudson clocked in at 20.48 to win the Red Raider Invite in the 200. His time of 20.41 had to be converted down due to the high-altitude Texas Tech has. Hudson is now ranked number one in the country in the 200. His teammate preseason favorite Divine Oduduru has yet to run the 200 this season but trust that he has taken notice of his teammates string of great performances.

At the same meet senior Mario Burke of Houston is carrying the torch for the short sprinters of Houston. He clocked the NCAA leading time of 6.56. His time had to be converted as well to 6.58 but he will be recognized as the NCAA number 1 mark from the weekend and during the season. Burke has taken over the short sprints from Cameron Burrell and Eli Hall along with being a big piece of Houston’s team title hopes.

Senior Abike Egbeniyi of Middle Tennessee State is returning All-American from last season. She has great long speed and strong endurance. She proved herself a threat this past weekend when she earned the number one ranking in the 800 with a time of 2:03.77. After missing the finals last indoor season Egbeniyi is looking to make up for this season and match her outdoor championship performance earning All-American honors.

We have a new number one in the mile and one of only three sub four-minute milers in the country. Sophomore Johnathan Davis ran a dominant race at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational on the campus of Iowa. His winning time of 3:58.06 was two seconds ahead of his closest competitor who did not finish under four minutes. In a conference full of great middle-distance programs Davis time will help him standout in a loaded field. It is still early in the season and expect for many more sub four-minute mile races.

Chanel Brissett of USC has taken the reigns as their top female hurdler. After winning the Pac-12 title last outdoor season she is proving so far this season that was no fluke. The talented sophomore launched to a new NCAA number one mark of 8.07. USC has the top two hurdlers in the NCAA currently and continue to prove they are the best hurdles program in the NCAA.

In the jumping events there are plenty of new number ones. In the women’s long jump senior Yanis David of Florida is living up to her preseason billing as one of the potential favorites. She leaped to a mark of 21 feet 2 inches to win the Hokie Invitational in Virginia. Fellow senior Andrea Stapleton-Johnson of BYU garnered the top mark in the High Jump with a height of 6-1 ½ to win the Air Force Indoor Team Challenge.

On the men’s side there are new number ones in all four of the jumping events. In the Triple Jump there is senior John Warren of Southern Miss with his mark of 55’2. The long jump has Rayvon Grey of LSU with his mark of 26-5 ½. The high jump has a tie with JuVaughn Harrison of LSU and Earnie Sears of USC with 7-5 ¼. Finally, in the pole vault on the contenders and former NCAA Champions Chris Nilsen of North Dakota reached a height 18-6 ¾ to take the top mark. The jumps have been crazy early this season with championship level performances. Many preseason favorites have yet to jump it seems as if it will be a crazy year.

Arizona State has found another star in the throws in sophomore Samantha Noenning. She threw the Shot Put at the Lumberjack Team Challenge winning with a mark of 58’5 ¼. Like the men’s jumps the shot put has been a hot event early this season for women and with the event not having a defending champion the crown is available to anyone.

RELAY OF THE WEEK

You would’ve expected to see the men of University of Florida here at their great relay performance this past weekend where they won their race by more than five seconds. The top performance however will go to Houston’s men 4x400 relay that clocked the fourth fastest all-time with 3:03.31. This again proves the seriousness of Houston’s team title hopes and their quality of their sprinters.

UPCOMING WEEK

This weekend will have plenty of big meets. The Razorback Invitational will be live on the SEC Network, there is also the Texas Tech Classic along with the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix. There is the potential for every event to have a new number one come this weekend. The team title picture is still slowly forming.

2019 Opening Weekend Recap

2:38.58

(Danae Rivers)

Well we are picking up where we left off last season. A record breaking pace and times that are normally seen at the end of the season at the beginning. What makes this an even more impressive opening weekend is the fact that there are several ranked teams that still have not competed and the marks are still quite impressive, In this recap we are going to highlight some of the top performances from this weekend that are of notoriety. 

Obi Igbokwe was one of the many big transfers this off-season. The All-American transferred from Arkansas to Houston and is going to be a heavy lean for their team title hopes. He opened his season with a bang clocking in at 20.84 to lead the nation in the 200-meter dash. Igbokwe is primarily a 400-meter runner but with solid speed like that Houston could consider for the 200 meters as well.

*Another sprint mark of note is Kasaun James of Florida State. In the prelims of the 60 meter dash at the Orange and Purple Elite meet he clocked in a national leading time of 6.57 but was unable to win in the finals. 

Also, on the men’s Logan Orndorf of Portland gave us our first sub 4-minute mile of the season. The talented senior won the UW Preview at the University of Washington clocking in at 3:59.94. Although it is early it is still an impressive time for the senior.

On the women’s side Mary Best Sant of Colorado State continued her season of dominance. The senior further improved upon her number one ranking in the 60-meter dash with her winning time of 7.18. The competition was less than stellar but Sant’s time proves her exodus from Oregon was the smart thing to do.

Danae Rivers was our record breaker this weekend. Rivers now a junior at Penn State competed in the non-sanctioned 1,000-meter race at the Nittany Lion Challenge on her home track. The junior clocked in a record time of 2:38.58 breaking the old collegiate record held by Kaela Edwards of Oklahoma State. Rivers who competes in the 800 and mile for Penn State is having another great start to her season.

In the field events number one ranked men’s team Texas Tech has taken a page out of Florida’s book and developed some quality jumpers. Seniors O’daine Lewis and Charles Brown both surpassed 26 feet this past weekend. Lewis with a mark of 26 feet 2 ½ inches for the win and Brown for runners-up with a mark of 26-0 ½. Their marks are currently ranked number 1 and number 2 in the nation in the early season but a great sign for the team title hopes of Texas Tech.

On the women’s side Stamatia Scarvelis of Tennessee has continued her strong start to the season in the weight throw. Scarvelis this past weekend broke the school record and further increased her grip on the number one ranking with a mark of 73-11 ¼. Scarvelis is one of the contenders for the NCAA title in this event as well and with this past weekend’s performance she made a strong case to be considered the favorite.

RELAY OF THE WEEK

Relay of the week will go to the South Carolina’s women 4x400 relay. Their mark of 3:34.43 ran at the Clemson Orange and Purple Elite meet is two seconds ahead of the next closest competitor. This is an impressive mark early in the season.