The entries for this years’ NCAA Indoor Championships were released yesterday and can be found here – men, women. The Florida men, and Oregon women look well set to defend their titles from last year.
Some events to keep an eye on:
Men’s 60 – Oklahoma’s Rakieem Salaam leads on the clock (6.54), but is up against last year’s indoor and outdoor sprint champion in Florida’s Jeff Demps (6.55). Throw in another Florida sprinter and two from Texas A&M and you have some team drama to go with the individual title fight. And the field is tightly matched with the slowest entry at 6.62 – making the spread between the field a scant .08!
Men’s 400 – Alabama’s Kirani James set a WJR (44.80) at the SEC Championships. He and runner up Tony McQuay (45.21) did not run in the same heat in the finals. They should go head to head here – with last year’s 400 star, Torrin Lawrence, sitting with the #3 time at 45.82. Another record is definitely possible here. Did I mention that Texas A&M has three entries here in their quest to unseat Florida for the team title?
Men’s Long Jump – One of the best competitions of the meet could be held in this event as NINE men enter with marks between 26’ .75” and 26’ 9”! Expect lots of excitement here with 27 feet definitely possible somewhere along the way.
Men’s Triple Jump – Florida went 1, 2, 3 in the event at the SEC Championships and enters the meet with the top three in the event. That kind of placing here could put the nail in the coffin on a repeat championship for the Gators.
Men’s Heptathlon – Clemson’s Miller Moss appears to be the class of the field with a season’s best nearly 100 points ahead of the field. A field in which the next three contestants all have bests of exactly 5816 points! Another event that should be exciting from start to finish with a fierce battle for points!
Women’s 200 – Five women enter this race with times between 22.78 and 23.01 – lane draw is going to be crucial! LSU enters with 3 of the top five performers in this event. If they hope to unseat the Oregon juggernaut they will have to come through here. If there is a chink in the Duck armor here is where it could show.
Women’s 800 – List leader Lea Wallace (Sac St) come in at 2:03.07. Behind her is a log jam with EIGHTH women between 2:03.79 and 2:04.95! Look for a vicious final 100 as they head for the medals.
Following are my predictions for the individual champions. And I expect repeat team wins by both Florida and Oregon.
Men’s Predictions
| Event | Athlete | School |
| 60 | Jeff Demps | Florida |
| 200 | Tony McQuay | Florida |
| 400 | Kirani James | Alabama |
| 800 | Casimir Loxsom | Penn State |
| Mile | Miles Batty | BYU |
| 3000 | Sam Chalenga | Liberty |
| 5000 | Sam Chalenga | Liberty |
| 60H | Andrew Riley | Illinois |
| 4 x 4 Relay | Texas A&M | |
| DMR | Oregon | |
| HJ | Erik Kynard | Kansas St |
| PV | Scott Roth | Washington St |
| LJ | Tarik Batchelor | Arkansas |
| TJ | Christian Taylor | Florida |
| SP | Mason Finley | Kansas |
| WT | Walter Henning | LSU |
| Hept | Miller Moss | Clemson |
Women’s Predictions
| Event | Athlete | School |
| 60 | Lakya Brookins | Clemson |
| 200 | Jeneba Tarmoh | Texas A&M |
| 400 | Jessica Beard | Texas A&M |
| 800 | Christina Rogers | Arizona St |
| Mile | Jordan Hasay | Oregon |
| 3000 | Jordan Hasay | Oregon |
| 5000 | Alex Kosinski | Oregon |
| 60H | Gabby Mayo | Texas A&M |
| 4 x 4 Relay | Texas A&M | |
| DMR | Villanova | |
| HJ | Brigetta Barrett | Arizona |
| PV | Tina Sutej | Arkansas |
| LJ | Chantel Malone | Texas |
| TJ | Kimberly Williams | Florida St |
| SP | Faith Sherrill | Indiana |
| WT | Felisha Johnson | Indiana St |
| Pen | Brianne Theisen | Oregon |
I can tell you like Jordan Hasay, too - and I hope you're right. But man, that's a tough double.
ReplyDeleteIf she pulls it off...watch out world (in a year or two).
Also, I'm pulling for Amber Purvis to help break up that LSU monopoly in the W200. Not sure how she runs on the boards though...
Yes I'm a Hasay fan .. Have watched her since high school .. She's tough .. Not yet in the mold of Simpson, or Pierce or that crew, but she's next in line in my opinion .. Still young, but very tough .. And I don't see any "studs" in her way .. Fairly balanced fields this year .. I think she can take the double because I think she has the most heart .. We will see ..
ReplyDeleteThat deuce is going to be tough ... LSU runs on the boards more .. Slight advantage ..
Well...did you call Hasay's double or what?
ReplyDeleteWith the women's title virtually in hand, she didn't have to press it in the 3K, but I think she wanted to make a statement to Reid (for nipping her in the DMR).
Yes, she is tough. Good call.
The Oregon women really stepped up in Kosinski's absence.
Oregon's women really came together .. And Hasay is just tough .. I actually felt even better about her double after the DMR because I thought that would fuel her .. She's the kind of athlete you want to go to war with ..
ReplyDelete