Takeaways Central: Young, Rose And Matsatsa Re-Wrote The Record Books
Takeaways Central: Young, Rose And Matsatsa Re-Wrote The Record Books
A trio of the best middle-distance athletes in the NCAA left nothing up to chance, breaking NCAA records and entering unprecedented territory along the way.
For the track and field fans that love middle-distance racing, this past weekend of competition was one for the record books -- literally.
In a jam-packed weekend of competition, multiple collegiate records were set, along with additional history being made among the Ponderosa Pines of Flagstaff.
The three biggest performances in my eyes came from Flagstaff, Blacksburg and Lubbock, as three of the NCAA's stars showed up and showed out.
---
Michaela Rose Breaks 41-Year-Old 600 Yard Record
Michaela Rose doing Michaela Rose things. 🌹
— LSU Track & Field (@LSUTrackField) January 20, 2024
Collegiate Record. 1:16.76. pic.twitter.com/JwV183VhTA
In 1982, Tennessee's Delisa Walton set the 600 yard collegiate record of 1:17.38, which, up until this weekend, hadn't been touched in 41 years.
To put that into perspective, that was the year Michael Jackson released "Thriller," Late Night with Larry David made its television debut and the Berlin Wall was still seven years from falling.
Fast forward to this weekend. LSU middle-distance phenom Michaela Rose went on to break Walton's record by over half of a second.
At the Corky Classic in Lubbock, Texas, Rose stopped the clock in 1:16.76, becoming the first woman to run under 1:17.00 in collegiate history.
Rose now holds the No.1 and No. 3 times in the event after running 1:17.58 at the same track nearly an exact year prior.
---
Nico Young Smashes Mile At Nearly 7,000 Feet
The crown for fastest mile ran at 7000 feet belongs to Nico Young 👑#RaiseTheFlag | #BigSkyTF pic.twitter.com/BxPCZX33ec
— NAU Track & Field/XC (@NAUTrackFieldXC) January 20, 2024
Over the last two weeks its been made pretty clear that if you want to run a crazy mile, you need to do it at altitude.
On Friday, Nico Young became the first ever collegian to run sub-four at almost 7,000 feet, entering unprecedented territory along the way.
Young checked multiple boxes in his historic performance. For starters, the junior displayed his early season fitness in dominant fashion, clocking 3:57.33, which was his second-fastest ever mile.
Before the altitude conversion, it was good enough for fifth in the NCAA. But the conversion lowers it down to 3:48.71, hypothetically putting him at No. 6 in American history.
With just three races to his name this indoor campaign, Young's range is ridiculous. In addition to his mile, he ran 7:37.73 in the 3k for an NCAA lead, along with a 13:22.96, the 7th fastest 5k time on the year.
---
Tinoda Matsatsa Breaks 1-Week Old 1K Record
🚨🚨NEW NCAA RECORD ALERT🚨🚨
— Georgetown Track & Field / XC (@HoyasTrackXC) January 20, 2024
TINODA MATSATSA HAS SET A NEW NCAA RECORD FOR THE INDOOR 1K WITH A 2:18.05 FINISH!!#HoyaSaxa pic.twitter.com/6yJLFL4lIH
It was just a week ago I wrote about Texas' Yusuf Bizimana breaking the eight-year-old 1,000m record.
A week went by, and it was broken again.
Georgetown's freshman superstar Tinoda Matsatsa hasn't wasted any time in his first collegiate season, setting his first NCAA record in just his fourth race.
Matsatsa came through 800m in 1:50.73, just a few seconds back of his lifetime best and then continued to hold on for 200m more before just snagging the record.
When the sub-four miler looked at the clock, it read 2:18.05, just five-hundredths of a second under the Bizimana's mark. Not only did the freshman make history, but he also led the way for a three more Hoyas to join the all-time top-10.
As of now, Matsatsa and his Georgetown teammates sit No. 1, No. 5, No. 6 and No. 8 in the NCAA record books.
---
Related Links:
Takeaway Central: Week 1 Thoughts