Tech will host another home track meet this weekend on the super-fast Sports Performance Center track. This week has an excellent field of only D-I schools: ACU, Air Force, Arizona, Arizona State, Harvard, Kansas State, TCU, TAMU-CC, and UTA. With conference only 2 weeks away, this meet will be the last home meet this season where a large majority of Tech athletes will compete - almost all of the athletes who will compete at the Big 12 indoor meet will sit out next week.
That said, two of the headliners for the #2 Tech men will sit out this week - Trey Culver and Divine Oduduru (who IS scheduled to run on the 4x400 relay on Saturday afternoon). This makes a lot of sense - what do either of them have to prove before the conference meet? They both lead the nation in their primary events -- Trey in the HJ and Divine in the 200. BUT, there will still be a lot to see this weekend from a terrific group of athletes.
This meet will be another 2-day meet -- Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. As I mentioned elsewhere, the primary reason to have these 2-day meets is to simulate the 2-day conference meet. The coaches need to find out who is capable of competing well on day 1, then still be able to come back on day 2 and still compete at a high level.
The athletes to watch this weekend fall into 2 categories -- 1) those who are already in good shape in conference and/or national standings; and 2) those who need to prove to the coaches that they can be conference competitive. There is a limit on how many athletes each school can bring to indoor conference and I frankly don't know for certain what that number is. But, particularly on the men's side, there will be no reason to bring a kid who will not be conference competitive.
So, if you come to the meet on Friday and/or Saturday or if you follow on-line, here are some of the events and athletes to watch closely, first the ones who are already performing at a high level this year and those who need to really shine this weekend to be added to the conference lineup:
WOMEN -- The weekend actually kicks off on Friday afternoon as a small, elite field pentathlon competition has been added to the festivities. Now, I love the multi-events, but I suppose one has to be a big track and field fan to come watch this women's pentathlon. There will only be 6 competitors (compared to 31 women in the pentathlon 2 weeks ago). The three Tech competitors are Kaylee Hinton (Big 12 heptathlon champ outdoors last year and 8th at the national meet); freshman G'Auna Edwards (scored at the 6A state meet in 4 events last year -- 100H, 300H, HJ, LJ); and Rose Njoku (7th in the Big 12 hep last spring). Also competing will be Nina Schulz, the Canadian from Kansas State (2nd in the D-I Hep last spring -- she did not compete in the hep at the Big 12 meet, instead she won the open HJ and was 5th in the LJ); Zoe Hughes, from Harvard and the U.K. (the Ivy League champ); and Alyssa Thompson (the Pac-12 runner-up in 2016 who redshirted last year). The vibe of a small competition like this is completely different -- the competitors will move quickly from event to event -- there won't be a 3-hour HJ competition. I would love to see Kaylee score over 4,100 points; GiGi will hopefully score in the 3,800 range; and Rose needs to break 3,600.
The top competitors who want to sharpen their skills this weekend:
That said, two of the headliners for the #2 Tech men will sit out this week - Trey Culver and Divine Oduduru (who IS scheduled to run on the 4x400 relay on Saturday afternoon). This makes a lot of sense - what do either of them have to prove before the conference meet? They both lead the nation in their primary events -- Trey in the HJ and Divine in the 200. BUT, there will still be a lot to see this weekend from a terrific group of athletes.
This meet will be another 2-day meet -- Friday evening and Saturday afternoon. As I mentioned elsewhere, the primary reason to have these 2-day meets is to simulate the 2-day conference meet. The coaches need to find out who is capable of competing well on day 1, then still be able to come back on day 2 and still compete at a high level.
The athletes to watch this weekend fall into 2 categories -- 1) those who are already in good shape in conference and/or national standings; and 2) those who need to prove to the coaches that they can be conference competitive. There is a limit on how many athletes each school can bring to indoor conference and I frankly don't know for certain what that number is. But, particularly on the men's side, there will be no reason to bring a kid who will not be conference competitive.
So, if you come to the meet on Friday and/or Saturday or if you follow on-line, here are some of the events and athletes to watch closely, first the ones who are already performing at a high level this year and those who need to really shine this weekend to be added to the conference lineup:
WOMEN -- The weekend actually kicks off on Friday afternoon as a small, elite field pentathlon competition has been added to the festivities. Now, I love the multi-events, but I suppose one has to be a big track and field fan to come watch this women's pentathlon. There will only be 6 competitors (compared to 31 women in the pentathlon 2 weeks ago). The three Tech competitors are Kaylee Hinton (Big 12 heptathlon champ outdoors last year and 8th at the national meet); freshman G'Auna Edwards (scored at the 6A state meet in 4 events last year -- 100H, 300H, HJ, LJ); and Rose Njoku (7th in the Big 12 hep last spring). Also competing will be Nina Schulz, the Canadian from Kansas State (2nd in the D-I Hep last spring -- she did not compete in the hep at the Big 12 meet, instead she won the open HJ and was 5th in the LJ); Zoe Hughes, from Harvard and the U.K. (the Ivy League champ); and Alyssa Thompson (the Pac-12 runner-up in 2016 who redshirted last year). The vibe of a small competition like this is completely different -- the competitors will move quickly from event to event -- there won't be a 3-hour HJ competition. I would love to see Kaylee score over 4,100 points; GiGi will hopefully score in the 3,800 range; and Rose needs to break 3,600.
The top competitors who want to sharpen their skills this weekend:
- Zuliat Alli - soph - has already jumped a PR of 19-7 in the LJ, but would love to see her break 20 feet heading into conference
- Chelsey Cole - Fr - has already triple jumped 40-10.5, but it would be good for her to break 41 feet
- Daja Gordan - Fr - has run a 7.52 in the 60 and a 23.83 in the 200 -- breaking 7.40 and 23.7 would make for a big weekend for her
- Kaylor Harris - Fr - part of the terrific new group of women sprinters at Tech - has already run 7.54 in the open 60 and 8.17 in the 60 hurdles (ranked #16 in the country). Breaking 7.5 in the 60 and 8.1 in the 60H would be great for her.
- Brianna Johnson - RS-Fr - jumped 42-0 in the TJ last weekend - would love to see her jump close to 43 this weekend (a 43-0 won the indoor conference meet last year)
- Tiffani Johnson - Jr - has already run a PR of 7.43 in the 60 this year and a 24.29 last year in the 200 - it would be good to see her break 7.4 and 24 flat this weekend
- Sara Limp - Jr - already has lowered her PR in the 400 this year to 53.90 - how about she dips under 53.5 this weekend
- Crystal Onwukaife - Soph - broke 50 feet in the SP 2 weeks ago -- 50-4.5. Would love to see her break through 51 feet this week
- Paetyn Revell - Sr - finally triple jumped over 40 feet last week after sustaining a serious injury in 2015, sitting out all of 2016, and gradually sneaking back up toward 40 feet in 2017. It would be great to see her continuing that upward trend with a jump over 41 feet this weekend
- Cyre Virgo - Soph - jumped a PR of 5-10 in the HJ 3 weeks ago. Maybe this is the weekend she finally hits 6-0.
- Ivy Walker - Soph - had a great weekend last time out, with PR's in the 60H (8.40) and LJ (19-5.25). It would be good to see her continue that upward arc - break 8.30 in the 60H and long jump over 19-6
- Zarreia Willis - Jr - she has been the paragon of consistency. Last time out she tied her own school record of 6-0.75. Would love to see her punch through the 6-1 mark.
- The 4x400 has been poking along in 3:43-3:44 - it is time to see them challenge the 3:40 mark in a solid heat composed of Harvard, Kansas State and TCU
- Dorleta Armendariz-Lasa - Soph - has heaved the weight throw 52-9 this year, but needs to throw close to 54 feet to join her teammates headed to the conference meet
- Chloe Cavazos (Fr) has struggled to make waves in the 60 or 200, but this weekend, she will get her chance in the 400 and needs to run around 55 flat to make her case
- Jessica Gallardo (Soph) is running the 800 for the first time this year - she ran a 2:19 last year, but she will need to run under a 2:15 to go to Ames
- Kyla Glenn (Fr) ran a very credible 8.55 in the 60H last week, but she would help her cause if she can break a 8.50 this weekend (an 8.40 made finals at the conference meet in 2017)
- All three vaulters need to make a case for themselves this weekend -- they probably need to jump around 12-9 to head to conference. Taylor Jameson has vaulted 12-2 this year, freshman Chloe Wall has gone 12-4 and Megan Wood has only vaulted 11-4 this year after vaulting 12-8 in the past.
- Alexandria Johnson - RS Fr - has shown steady progress in the weight throw, including a PR of 52-11.5 last week. Breaking 54 this week would say that she is ready for conference competition.
- Sr Talajah Murrell had a good weekend in the LJ last weekend, but her season best in the 60 (7.50) and LJ (19-4) could stand just a bit of improvement - 7.40 in the 60 and 19-6 in the LJ
- The 600 meter run is not contested in the conference meet, but the 600 yard run is and the meter time can be converted. Jr Maygen Smith is probably already going to conference in the 800, but a 1:31 this weekend would also make the 600 an option. Freshman Faith Roberson also needs a 1:31 to convince the coaches to take her to Ames.
- Jr Taylor Rockwell has run a 55.29 last year in the 400, but only a 56.14 this year. She needs to run down around a 55 flat this weekend
- Seasons Usual - Fr - has laid out the past 2 weekends. She needs to throw further than her PR from 3 weeks ago of 54-6 in the weight throw to show she is ready to go.
- Jadsia Warden - Soph - has fallen short of her PR of 56.36 all season and will need a low 55's to stake a claim to a spot at the conference meet
- Lauren Younger - Soph - ran a solid 2:15.51 in the 800 2 weeks ago, but she needs to go around 2:14 to guarantee a spot on the traveling team
- Jake Benninghof - Fr - already has high jumped 7-1 -- would like to see another 7 foot jump
- Brandon Bray - RS Soph - and Drew McMichael - Jr - are both already vaulting 17-8.25 -- would be cool to see them both vault over 18 this week
- Superstar jumper Charles Brown will only triple jump this weekend and he already leads the Big 12 with his jump of 52-7.25, but he is still a fraction of an inch off his indoor PR, so maybe a 53-54 foot jump is in store for the weekend
- Vincent Crisp ran that terrific 1:48.01 2 weeks ago and is still ranked #3 in the nation. Not sure what he needs to do for an encore.
- Justin Hall, only a soph, has already long jumped to a PR this year with a 25-6.75 and jumping 26 feet would be amazing
- Jr Andrew Hudson has already run the 3rd fastest time in the nation in the 200 (last week in that sterling race with Divine O). But, his 60 has been lackluster, at least for him, with a season best of 6.73. He needs to run something around 6.60 to go with that brilliant 200.
- In the 600 meter run, you have 2 very different situations -- Norman Grimes needs to run something around a 1:19-1:20 to indicate to the coaches that he is ready to run in Ames. Charles Jones has not run an individual race this year (he ran a 47 split in the 400 leg of the DMR last week) and he simply needs to run a 1:19 to show that he is 100% healthy.
- Steven Champlin, one of the few seniors on this team, is running well this year and already has a PR run of 46.46 in the 400 -- would be great to see him run a 46 flat
- Duke Kicinski (Jr) has already scored big PR's in both throwing events this year - 62-4 in the SP and 62-11 in the WT. Breaking 63 in both throws would be terrific for him.
- Tyreek Mathis (Soph) ran that outstanding 46.48 in the first meet of the year, but has not run close to that again. Simply matching that this week would be terrific for Tyreek.
- Dorian Williams (Sr) already has a PR of 8.09 to his name this year in the 60 hurdles, but it would certainly propel to a strong conference meet to go under 8 flat this weekend
- It is time to see the 4x400 run down around a 3:06 or 3:07 -- the fast heat of Arizona, Air Force Academy and TCU should provide the kind of competition that will be needed for this kind of time.
- In the 800, it will take breaking a 1:54 for Jett Buchanan (1:56.52 season best) and Steven Duran (1:56.62 PR last year) to make a case for themselves for conference inclusion
- In the PV, it will take around a 16-6 to say "take me to the conference meet" for Hunter Carlton (Sr - 16-4.5 PR this year); Hagen Stoute (Soph -15-6 this year); and Hunter Wigington (Fr - 15-11 this year)
- Ardran Carr has already run a PR in the 60H of 8.30 this year and breaking a 8.20 would make his case for the conference meet, as would Caleb Richmond (Jr) who has run a 8.25 and dropping just a few hundredths would make his trip certain
- Braden Darrow, a RS Fr, has been a pleasant surprise this year, with a PR of 52-9.5 in the shot put-- if he can get to 54 feet this weekend, I am certain he will join the traveling team
- Joel Latson (Jr) has already run a PR of 6.86 in the open 60. A 6.8 certainly gets him a trip to Ames.
- Fr Dalton Rigdon jumped last weekend, but ended up with three foul jumps in his first indoor meet ever. He just needs a valid mark in the LJ and preferably one over 24 feet. Fellow freshman Kameron Washington has already jumped 23-7 this year in the LJ and would also benefit from a jump over 24 feet.
