Six Stellar Storylines

The state of Michigan was spoiled last weekend.  From high school senior Donovan Brazier’s filthy U.S. #1 mark in the 800m to the Michigan State lady Spartans winning a Big Ten Outdoor Championship at home, fans in Michigan witnessed a pretty incredible couple days of Track & Field.  This weekend, the fun will continue in Allendale, a college town 20 minutes outside of Grand Rapids and the home of Grand Valley State University, who will be hosting the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships (May 21-23) for the second straight year.  From tight team battles to mindboggling multis to our foremost favorites looking to win a national title, this year’s Division II National Championship looks to be even more thrilling than the 2014 edition.  It was difficult to pinpoint six events that stand apart from the rest; instead, here are six compelling storylines that you need to know:

 

Tight Team Battles on Both Sides

In 1982, the Cal Poly women won the first ever Women’s Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championship with an absolutely stupid amount of team points (259).  Fortunately for D2 Track & Field, the rest of the field has gotten better.  The 2013 and 2014 championships were won in 60 and 64 points by the Academy of Art University and Lincoln University of Missouri, respectively.  It has not taken that many points to win team titles the past couple years on the women’s side, and that is a testament to the growing strength of Division II in general.

113 women’s teams will be represented this weekend, but there are five schools that stand apart from the others based on number of entries:  Central Missouri (16 individual entries, 0 relays), Grand Valley (13, 2), Adams State (13, 1), West Texas A&M (12, 2), and Lincoln (MO) (12, 2).  Lincoln knows what it takes to win after last year’s championship (and the 6 others they’ve won in the 2000s), but any of the others could take down the Blue Tigers.  We all saw the power that comes from hosting a championship at home in East Lansing, and the Grand Valley women won back-to-back outdoor titles in 2011 and 2012.  But if it comes down to momentum, what team is on the rise faster than this winter’s surprise indoor champion, Central Missouri? 

 

97 schools will compete on the men’s side, which is more evenly dispersed than the women’s field.  St. Augustine’s won last year in Allendale, and they have 11 individual entries as well as 2 relays.  Adams State (10 , 0) was runner-up last year outdoors, but bounced back with national titles in Cross Country and Indoor Track & Field.  The trio of teams with the most entries are Texas A&M – Commerce (16, 1), Ashland (14, 1), and Grand Valley (14, 1).  All three teams are well-rounded with strong sprinters, distance runners, hurdlers, and field event athletes.  The best part?  None of these teams have EVER won a national outdoor team title.

 

Sister-Sister in the Women’s Steeple

Emily and Molly Oren grew up in Holland, Michigan, only a half hour’s drive from the track where they will both compete in the Prelims of the 3000m Steeplechase on Thursday night.  Emily, a junior at Hillsdale College (MI), won two national titles indoors in the 3000m and the DMR and will look to add two more this weekend.  She has the top seed (10:04.79) in the Steeple as well as the 5K (16:17.40).  Molly, a sophomore and also at Hillsdale, is a national caliber runner in Cross Country (23rd at NCAA XC), but has yet to burst upon the scene in Track.  With Emily as a warm-up partner and her family and friends in the stands, Molly will certainly have the motivation to make the final (she’s seeded 10th) and give her sister a run for her money.

 

#1 Seeds Who Could Throw Down in D1

There are several #1 seeds in this weekend’s field whose marks are head and shoulders above those of their competitors.  Many of their seed times and distances would rank them in the top 20 in Division I.  I’ve listed below where their seeds would rank them in DI and the gap that they have on the rest of the field.

- Jeron Robinson, TAMU-Kingsville (Men’s HJ) – 2.31m, tied for 1st in D1
- Tabor Stevens, Adams State (Men’s 3K Steeple) – 8:26.81, 2nd in D1
- Heavin Warner, Central Missouri (Women’s HT) – 67.24m, 4th in D1
- Justin Welch, Findlay (Men’s HT) – 69.94m, 7th in D1
- Oliver Aitchison, Adams State (Men’s 1500m) – 3:40.21, 11th in D1
- Johnnie Guy, Southern Indiana (Men’s 10,000m) – 28:47.86, 11th in D1
- Hendrik Nungess, TAMU-Commerce (Men’s JT) – 73.24m, 11th in D1
- Lindsey Butterworth, Simon Fraser (Women’s 800m) – 2:04.11, 19th in D1

Tabor Stevens’s Dry Run for USAs

Stevens is on a whole other level in 2015.  His recent 8:26 PB puts him less than 3 seconds behind DI leader Stanley Kebenei  and meets both the USATF and IAAF standard; he is one of only 3 Americans to have the latter, along with Kebenei and Dan Huling.  As he did not compete for Adams State at the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, this weekend is the start of championship season for Stevens.   The question is not whether he can win; he can take his third consecutive victory in the Steeple off of any pace.

The point of this weekend will be to simulate the rounds at USAs.  He will run the Steeple Prelims on Thursday night, come back for the Finals on Friday night, and will conclude his weekend with the 5000m on Saturday at 5:25pm.  Stevens will look to improve upon his second place in the 5K last year to teammate Kevin Batt, who turned pro last month.  He’ll have a day between the Prelims and Finals of the Steeple in 5 weeks, but practicing running on tired legs in a championship setting will prepare him for Eugene better than any workout could.  We know that he has the strength to hang with Evan Jager, Huling, and the other favorites for the first half of the race.  Will he have the wheels in the last 800m to finish top three?  

 

Drew Windle’s Final D2 Nats

Windle has been an absolutely dominant force in the Division II 800m these past few years.  He swept both the Indoor and Outdoor Championships in the event both his sophomore and junior year, as well as contributing to a couple national titles on relay teams.  This winter he notched yet another title in the Indoor 800m, and he is poised to sweep his third straight year in the event.  The Ashland senior ran 1:46 both indoors and outdoors in 2014.  While it is unlikely that Windle will run near his PB in a championship race, he needs to be prepared to run 1:46-1:47 in the rounds at USAs.  He made it to the Semi-Finals last year but will aim to do one better this year.  He showed that he has the strength with personal bests this year in the 1000m (2:22) and 1500m (3:44).  I’m hopeful that he drops a fast time on Saturday afternoon.

 

Salcia Slack is the Superwoman of D2

I saved the best for last.  Ever heard of Salcia Slack of New Mexico Highlands University?  I know I hadn’t, but she is one of D2’s best-kept secrets.  She represented Jamaica at the 2008 IAAF World Junior Championships and the 2014 Commonwealth Games, but her most incredible feat will come this weekend.  Slack is entered in 1 relay and 6 individual events including the Heptathlon, which she has a 637 point lead in!  That means she’ll compete in a minimum of 13 events and a maximum of 16 events throughout the three day championship.  Below is her tentative competition schedule:

- 11:00am Thurs – Heptathlon (100m Hurdles, High Jump, Shot Put, 200m)
- 2:00pm Thurs - Long Jump
- 7:40pm Thurs – 400m Hurdles
- 10:30am Fri – Heptathlon (Long Jump, Javelin, 800m)
- 6:35pm Fri – 100m Hurdles
- 7:50pm Fri – 4x400m
- 11:15am Sat – Shot Put
- 12:45pm Sat – Triple Jump
- 2:45pm Sat – 100m Hurdles (if she makes the final)
- 4:10pm Sat – 400m Hurdles (if she makes the final)
- 5:50pm Sat – 4x400m (if NM Highlands makes the final)

That workload is nuts!  In a perfect world where she makes all 3 finals and finishes exactly where she is seeded, she could score 27 points for New Mexico Highlands.  The lowest she is seeded in any event is 11th, so it is likely that she can sneak to score a few extra points.  Did I mention that she’s the Division II Heptathlon record holder and the No. 10 college performer of all time, regardless of Division?  Watch out Jessica Ennis, Salcia Slack is coming for you! 

Schools with Most Individual Entries

Men (97 schools)
- Texas A&M - Commerce (16)
- Ashland (14)
- GVSU (14)
- St. Augustine’s (11)
- Pittsburgh State (11)
- Shippensburg (10)
- Adams State (10)
- Angelo State (9)
- Texas A&M-Kingsville (9)
- West Texas A&M (9)
 

Women (113 schools)
- Central Missouri (16)
- GVSU (13)
- West Texas A&M (12)
- Adams State (13)
- Lincoln (MO) (12)
- Ashland (13)
- New Mexico Highlands (11)
- Pittsburg State (13)