Sunday Round-Up #2
Indoor NCAA Championships & beginning of outdoor
One door closes and another door opens. Indoor is done! Outdoor is in.
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of travel, races, and hotel breakfasts.
This week is my second Sunday Round-Up, where I share what’s on my mind, what’s impressed me, and what’s next.
Boston, Massachusetts couldn’t have been more packed last week with NCAAs plus New Balance Indoor Nationals. The local Uber drivers and hotels were surely overjoyed. The NCAA championships competed in front of a sold-out crowd.
At NCAAs, the Arkansas women’s team proved dominant once again, with a team win bumping Florida and Georgia to 2nd and 3rd place. Not only do they have champions, but they have depth. With athletes in almost every event, they’re hard to beat. I walked into the stadium when Arkansas’s high jumper, Rachel Glenn, jumped 2.00m(6-6”3/4) and the crowd went wild! You had to be there to understand the lift this woman was getting off the ground!
South Carolina’s true freshman, JaMessia Ford, won the 200m in 22.34 and made it look easy. She doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. New Director Tim Hall proves yet again he’s one of the best in the business. It feels like he picked up where he left off with Abby Steiner, just in different colors at South Carolina. Ford sprinting fast is one thing, but being able to handle the pressure on this world-class stage is difficult for anyone… especially a first-timer.
We expected Georgia’s Christopher Morales-Williams to win the 400m, and he did. But I was equally impressed with the 2nd place finish of Auhmad Robinson who ran 44.91 as a junior from Texas A&M. I remember him competing at Stephen F. Austin as their 4x400m anchor. A&M got a gutsy and talented sprinter in Robinson, that perfect mix of what you want.
Terrence Jones, a junior from Texas Tech, would not be denied his crown on finals day. He went from winning the 60m to becoming the 200m champion and finished the meet on Texas Tech’s 4x400m relay, where they placed 4th. With his performances, plus the many guys in other events, like Caleb Dean, who won the 60mH over the USC favorite, Texas Tech couldn’t be challenged and took the 2024 NCAA Indoor Team Championship!
Iowa’s Kalen Walker pushed for 2nd place in the 60m final to finish off a great indoor season! I wonder what he’ll do in outdoor…actually…he just opened up in 10.09!!! Pretty impressive from IOWA. Coach Joey Woody and his staff seem to get the Jayhawk logo on the national stage every year, even though this short sprint stuff is new territory.
BYU women, coached by Diljeet Taylor, won the DMR and dazzled the crowd! She continuously proves that she is a future Hall of Famer as a coach, leader, and one of the biggest advocates for women in this sport.
Parker Valby from Florida is on a whole other level—literally. Most reporters seem to only ask about her training and mileage, which, at this point, is a little repetitive. She’s a distance runner whether everyone agrees with her training or not. Maybe stop asking how many miles a week and pay attention to the 400m splits she’s able to maintain. She’s a monster and queen of NCAA distance right now.
NAU’s own Nico Young powered to first-place finishes in the 3000m and 5000m—and yeah, it was pretty freakin’ awesome. That man can run with the best of them and then leave all of them with his closing speed when he decides.
Both the men’s and women’s 4x400m relay finals had teams DQd for 2+ steps on the line. Those officials had their eyes on the line and were not letting anyone slide by. South Carolina’s women ended up taking the 1st place finish, with Arkansas being DQd. Arkansas women held the lead the whole race, and what’s crazy is no one seemed to know they were DQd until much later.
NCAAs is always a day full of highs and lows. I am grateful to have been at the meet with NAU and my athletes who competed in the DMR and Triple Jump. I assure you, it won’t be my last.
I can’t wait to see what athletes rise to the top in outdoor and enjoy the addition of the 400H and the 4x100m Relay. Making it to the national meet is getting harder and harder. Which is great and also devastating for the ones who don’t make the cut. Who’s going straight from the championship meet to the USA trials, to Paris? What team will win the title? Do either Arkansas or Texas Tech take outdoor, too? And will the regional have better weather than last year? We can only hope.
I’m presenting at the Complete Track and Field Summit tomorrow (Monday, March 18) via Zoom. I think there’s still time to register. You can see my presentation, plus Boo Schexnayder, Clyde Hart, Dan Pfaff, Tony Holler, and Brian Fitzgerald. If you want more information, message Athlete Acceleration.
I hope to announce an in-person event by the end of this month, so stay tuned for that!👀
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