National Championship Meet General Preview
Nationals. One final meet. For it all.
Beginning Wednesday, the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships will convene in historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. college track and field is a weird sport. What you do in the regular season seldomly matters come June. Rankings are thrown out the window when that first gun goes off. This is a team sport that has seen overwhelmingly favorites crumble as it's seen teams with an outside chance rise to the top. 21 events, some championship teams need scoring in 10+ events, some need about 5. There is no perfect formula to win this meet. It may be pretty, it may be ugly, it may take collegiate records, a team of multiple Bowerman watchlist athletes, it may take a plethora of 5th-8th place finishes. All that matters is who has the most points when all the events are tallied up.
How The Meet Is Scored
21 events. Each event awards points to places 1st-8th. 1st receives 10 points, then 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The scores are then rallied for each school to determine the national champion.
How The Meet Is Structured.
Every race aside from the 5000 and the 10000 has a semifinal and a final. Races 800 and below (including the hurdles and relays) will have 3 heats of 8 runners each. To make the 9 person final. Getting to the final is most of the battle, it's almost guaranteed points. For the 1500 and 3000 meter steeplechase. There are 2 heats of 12. The top 5 from each heat and the next 2 fastest times advance to a 12 person final. For the 5k and 10k, field events, and multis there's no semis, just one final.
Field events such as the throws and horizontal jumps will have a prelims, then a subsequent final where the top 9 marks will advance to the final and be given 3 more attempts. The high jump and pole vault will have all 24 competing at once, there is an opening height for all athletes, but an athlete may open at a higher height. An athlete has 3 attempts to clear said height, but you will see take 2 and use their third attempt at a higher height.
The meet is spread across 4 days. Aside from the multi eventers. Each gender will have their own day to shine. The men will kick things off Wednesday with the semi final races and a few field events and have their final on Friday. For the women it's on Thursday and Saturday. The Heptathlon and Decathlon are each two days. The Decathlon will take place the first two days and the Heptathlon the next two days.
Men's Preview
Our men's team has a very solid chance of contending for the national championship. Our men's team has some versatility across multiple events. We have an entry in the 100, 400, 800, 1500, Steeplechase, 110 hurdles, and 400 hurdles. They also qualified both relays. However, they only have 1 field event athlete competing, which is Aleksandr Solovev in the men's pole vault. This is a very senior laden team and if there's ever been a close chance of winning it all, this group has as great of a chance as ever.
Our strength lies in some big hitters. We are 4th in entries for this meet. We will be relying on some big performances from Aleksandr Solovev who's ranked 1st in the pole vault. Sam Whitmarsh who has the best PB in the 800 field, Auhmad Robinson who's ranked 3rd in the 400 and has the capability to podium or win it all. As well as the versatility of Ja'Qualon Scott who in my opinion is the most valuable piece to this team. He's ranked 4th in both of the 110 hurdles and 400 hurdles but has the capability to easily medal in both; and he is also the first leg of our 4x100 relay.
We also expect to score big in the 4x400 and the meet may come down to that final race. The question is who runs on that relay. The prelim should be easy but we can't let up whatsoever with Florida and Alabama in the prelim heat. We have so many options to run the 400. We could place Auhmad Robinson, Kimar Farquharson, Cutler Zamzow, Hossam Hatib, Antonie Nortje, Eric Hemphill, or even Ja'Qualon Scott. The challenge will be picking the fastest 4. If it were me I'd go Cutler Zamzow - Auhmad Robinson - Hossam Hatib - Kimar Farquharson. Nortje hasn't been running his best lately but if completely healthy he can easily step in. The meet may come down to this race and to win it'll probably take a sub 3 minute race. We need these 10 points badly. All the other contenders will be in this race as well. For our men's 4x100, it'll take a huge huge race to get into the final. We don't have the strong anchor that other teams have. Ernest Campbell has been running well, but in 2nd leg sk we shouldn't move him. Last week we went Scott-Campbell-Mason Mangum-Robinson. Robinson doesn't have the straight line speed to keep up with other anchors. We'll be in a tough heat with Auburn, tu, and LSU. Beating one of these 3 would get us into the final probably. Anything can happen in a 4x100.
This team is strong and has some outstanding athletes, however, national championship teams cannot solely rely on a few big performers. It's usually the team with more bullets to score that comes out on top. Rankings are important for the fans to follow, but once the gun goes off, they are of little importance. This statement is heightened in the distance events. In a championship meet, a distance race rarely comes down to who ran the fastest time (with pacers in a meet where that one event was your sole focus). It comes down to racing, strategy, and most importantly guts. In the 800, but more so in the 1500 and Steeplechase, what matters is getting to the final, then racing smartly and strategically. This is why having two strong races like Cooper Cawthra (1500) and Victor Kibiego (steeple) is great to have. I mentioned the big hitters, but points here can be the difference between standing under the confetti at the end or coming up just oh so close. I really think Cooper Cawthra can surprise the country here and have a huge performance. 2 years ago Victor Kibiego placed 3rd at this meet. He dropped out of the race last season due to health. He looked strong last week and I hope he has a huge race left in him.
The competition is fierce. We are going in ranked 2nd based on PR's. USC is a much larger favorite thanks to their 17 entries and 8 entries between the 100 and 200. They are a speed factory with dominant sprinters and strong relays. They also have 4 field event entires. Having that many bullets who could score is scary and why they're the favorites. They have more room to slip up while also having more room for someone to step up and have a big day. They can add some points in the high jump, long jump, and discus. Arkansas will be a factor as well. They are led by sprinting phenom Jordan Anthony (a former Aggie receiver, who never got to step foot on the track for us). He has the capability for winning both events. They also have 2 more entires than we do at 15 with all kinds of depth. They have a strong 800 duo, two strong relays, a solid distance group, a strong high jumper and even a Decathlete. Georgia has one more entry than us, and 4 other schools have more than 11 entries: Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and Alabama. Auburn New Mexico, and Minnesota also have a chance to score big points from a few individuals.
Our men's team is solid. Pat Henry and staff have put together a strong squad for a moment like this. His famous saying goes, "it's all about everybody having a great day on the same day." We certainly have the potential to win the entire thing. It'll take some really great performances, multiple podium finishes, and some athletes to step up big time. It's going to be an interesting race to follow, I like our chances and I really hope we're the ones who come out on top.
Women's Preview
Our women sit in a similar situation as the men. One school is the favorite with us being ranked 2nd ahead of many other schools fighting along with us. Our women's team doesn't have the depth spread across as many events as our guys do. Our women's team is composed of the dynamic sprinting duo of Camryn Dickson and Jasmine Montgomery, a spectacular heptathlete in Sofia Iakushina, a spectacular triple jumper in Winny Bii, and a spectacular high hurdler in Jaiya Covington. We also have a strong steeple duo in Debora Cherono and Kennady Fontenot, a 400 runner in Jaydan Wood and two strong relays that can play a factor.
This women's team relies on the strength and versatility of Camryn Dickson and Jasmine Montgomery (and the trainers who keep them going after many races lol). They will both compete in Eugene, hopefully 8 times. They qualified in 4 events, the 100, 200, 4x100, and 4x400. They are so versatile and our staff asks a lot of them, and they always deliver. These sprinters have always been a vital part to a teams success, especially on the women's side. Sprinters like Abby Steiner, Rhasidat Adeleke, and others. We can do a lot of damage with these two girls. Their strongest event is the 200 and they have a better shot at scoring there. I'll break it down more in the event previews, but their 100 heat is insane lol.
As the meet will begin for the women with our runners taking center stage Thursday, Saturday will be huge for our women. Saturday we see the conclusion of the Heptathlon and the Triple Jump. Two events where we are expected to score big. Sofia is ranked first, with two amazing athletes ranked right behind her. It's very clearly a 3 way race between Sofia, Pippi Lotta Enock of Oklahoma and Jadin O'Brien of Notre Dame. When I mean every inch or second counts in this event I mean it! Winny Bii is tied for first with the best mark in the triple jump with a 45'11.75. She is tied with Agur Dwol of Oklahoma and Shante Foreman of Clemson who all have the same best jump this season. This will be an intense back and forth battle! It'll be on ESPN+.
Also on the track will be Jaiya Covington, the indoor 60 hurdle champion. With 40 more meters and a few more hurdles, she also has a chance of winning outdoors, but the competition will be even more intense! She is .15 behind the nation's leader in Harris of Florida, but like I've said many times, it's what happens when the gun goes off! Anything can happen, and Jaiya showed indoors she knows how to race when it matters most. Another surprise opportunity we could see some points is from the steeple. The two heats to me are really lopsided. Kennady Fontenot got placed in an extremely strong heat and I believe Cherono is in a much more manageable. Cherono has been improving each time she runs the steeple as it's her first year doing so. So I expect her to get into the final and fight for some points!
A big piece for our women will be the relays! Our women looked great in the 4x100 even after a sluggish start. They've changed the first leg multiple times this season. Last time out it was Jasmine Harmon, usually it had been Latasha Smith but she had a rough meet last week and didn't even run the relay. Jaiya Covington is also an option here. Legs 2-4 have remain the same with Dickson handing off to Bria Bullard and Montgomery closing out. I like our heat assignment and love having South Carolina and Baylor to our right to tag off of! I think this relay gets into the final with clean handoffs. Our 4x400 features Dickson and Montgomery, then usually it's been Jaydan Wood and Latasha Smith. Who knows is Smith is healthy, if she is she'd make a huge difference. We'll really need Wade to step up. This relay could easily get into the final with a great race, however there's not much room to slip up. Getting both relays into the final would be huge for us and very important to add some points.
As for the competition, the overwhelming favorite is Georgia. The dawgs have put together a really strong and balanced team. What separates them from the rest of the field is their string group of lady throwers. Something we are lacking. Georgia has the two best javelin throwers in the country. They have two PB's that are far ahead of the field. One of them is former Aggie Lianna Davidson who finished 2nd for us twice the past two years but she then transferred to UGA. I called it a devastating loss then and hoped it wouldn't come back to bite us and now here we are
UGA expects to score 18 here, they have a top hammer thrower who could win it, and a really strong shot putter. They can score 30 alone in the throws, with 3 transfers from last fall. Their 3 throwers can podium as an entire team. They also have two of the best 400 runners in the country and two strong relays and a 400 hurdler who will score. UCLA has 13 entires, one less than Georgia, we have 12 as does Arkansas, LSU, and USC. Don't sleep on South Carolina or TCU.
On the women's side, we have very little room to slip up. If any. One bad event for us and we might not have a chance to win it all. Losing Davidson hurts, as does losing Katelyn Fairchild for the season. Georgia is stacked, but the throws can always be tricky. We'll have to follow what they do there. However we can still provide plenty of fight and still finish strong as a team. We have a strong group and can score big, let's hope they all have a great day on the same day! It will be fun to follow!
Having both sides in contention will make this a great meet. I'm the first to admit that I'm the problem when it comes to this sport. We feel as if this sport is national championship or bust and I'll be the first one upset if it doesn't go our way, but we (ESPECIALLY I) need to understand just being in contention and finishing as a top team in the country is such an amazing feat. Like I said at the beginning of this, this sport is so fragile and delicate. Just one bad race can take you out of contention. It really takes an entire team firing all at once to win a meet like this. Pat Henry has done his best to field an amazing team on both sides. This will also be the last time we see some of these guys in an Aggie uniform. It's felt like some of these guys have been part of the Aggie track family for so long, it's surreal thinking about how well never get to see Auhmad Robinson, Ja'Qualon Scott, Sam Whitmarsh, Kimar Farquharson, and others in the maroon and white. I really hope they can go out on top. I'll save the emotional stuff for later lol.
I'll be trying to provide as much insight as I possibly can the next week or so. I'll provide a preview for every single event, a daily preview and recap, as well as give you my predictions sometime time throughout the week. Then we can laugh at how wrong I'll be. It's going to be my favorite week of the year so buckle in and let's talk and watch Aggie Track and Field! If any of you have any questions about this meet or anything about track, remember there is no dumb questions. I want to grow this fan base, all are welcome!! Let's enjoy this championship meet, let's cheer like crazy, and let's BTHO Everyone!
