ItÂ’s that time of year again! The NCAA indoor season is finally upon us, which means FloTrack is providing you with a full breakdown of the competition set to roll out in 2016, starting with the menÂ’s sprint events.

60m/200m

The NCAA short sprint competition experienced an exciting year in 2015 between NCAA Champions Trayvon Bromell and Andre De Grasse rewriting the record books and professional standards. After tying for bronze in the 100m at the World Championships, Bromell and De Grasse both decided to forgo their remaining college eligibility at Baylor and USC, respectively, to take on professional careers. Bromell signed with New Balance while De Grasse signed with Puma. The decision takes both competitors out of the running for this yearÂ’s championships, but leaves the opportunity wide open for a new crop of contenders.

Returning NCAA Indoor 60m Champion Ronnie Baker leads the pack of contenders in his senior season at TCU. Baker won his first NCAA title at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships with a personal best time of 6.52. Although he did not compete in the 100m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, he returned to the track at the USA Outdoor Championships where he ran his way to a seventh-place finish in the 100m.

John Teeters of Oklahoma State also returns after finishing second to Baker at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Although Teeters failed to make it out of the NCAA West Preliminaries, he managed to post a personal best in the 100m (10.07) on his way to a runner-up finish at the Big 12 Championships last May.

Texas has a championship racer in Senoj-Jay Givans who posted fourth-place finishes at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships last year. What is notable is that both championship performances included personal bests in the respective event. Givans ran 6.57 seconds in the first round of the 60m at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and he ran 10.03 in the first round of the NCAA Outdoor Championships before placing fourth in each final.

Another contender to consider is LSUÂ’s Tremayne Acy who is returning from a fourth-place finish in the 200m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The three-time All American clocked a personal best of 20.04 seconds on his way to the standout performance. He also contributed as a member of the 4x100m team that placed third at the championships in Eugene, Oregon. 2015 proved to be very special for Acy who clocked a total of three personal bests during the season - 60m (6.66), 100m (10.16), 200m (20.17).

With top contenders Bromell and De Grasse out of the running, Baker, Teeters, Givans, and Acy should lead a much-anticipated competitive field to emerge in the NCAA menÂ’s sprint events.

60m Hurdles

One of the most memorable performances of the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championships has to be the menÂ’s 60m hurdle final where Omar McLeod blazed through a new collegiate record in 7.45 seconds. The former Arkansas Razorback decided to forgo his remaining college eligibility to turn pro last summer, but leaves a higher standard for the new crop of young hurdlers in 2016.


Chris Caldwell competing at the NCAA Indoor Championships last March.

One face that audiences should be familiar with is Texas TechÂ’s Chris Caldwell who made his mark in his first NCAA season by finishing runner-up to McLeod in the same race where the collegiate record was shattered. The junior college transfer peaked at the perfect time for the NCAA Indoor Championships where he set a personal best of 7.64 in the preliminaries and went on to contend for second in the finals. Caldwell unfortunately failed to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships last June, but he did set a personal best (13.56) in the 110m hurdles at Texas Relays in March.

HoustonÂ’s Isaac Williams will be another contender to keep an eye on as the hurdler is returning from a third-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last June. Williams has been steadily improving each year and his senior season is already off to a great start as Williams opened with a win in 7.88 at the Texas A&M Reveille Invitational. Although he failed to qualify for the finals at last yearÂ’s NCAA Indoor Championships, he still posted a personal best in the 60m hurdles (7.72) earlier in the season, which would have finished third in last yearÂ’s NCAA final.

Trey Holloway, a consistent threat in the hurdles, is another athlete to consider as the Hampton runner is returning from a third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Holloway is familiar with running rounds at the NCAA Championships as seen from his past four experiences. Last year however was a breakthrough as Holloway had his highest finish at the Indoor Championships in his career as well as a personal best of 7.72 in the same race.

NCAA Indoor and Outdoor finalist Aaron Mallett is poised to enter the 2016 season after finishing sixth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He posted a PR of 7.78 at Big 10s last year on his way to a runner-up finish and also ran a 110m hurdle PR in the prelims at USA Outdoor Championships later in June.

400m

The menÂ’s 400m is shaping up to be an event with endless opportunity for the young up and coming class of athletes. Without NCAA Champions Vernon Norwood and Deon Lendore and standout All American Bralon Taplin, the NCAA title is available for the taking for returning athletes Najee Glass, Zack Bilderback, Arman Hall and Marcus Chambers.

Photo: Image of Sport

An athlete that encountered a notable breakthrough during the 2015 outdoor season was Chambers. The Oregon athlete was a member of the NCAA-winning DMR team during the indoor season, but did not compete individually at the championship. He emerged quickly during the spring when he posted a then-personal best of 45.21 to win the Pac-12 Championships. He carried the momentum into the post-season when he finished second to Norwood in the final in front of a home crowd at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Two weeks later, he posted another personal best (44.95) during the second round at the USA Outdoor Championships and went on to finish sixth in the final. Heading into his third year of competition for the Ducks, Chambers should continue the positive streak in 2016.

Florida returns a pair of 400m threats in Arman Hall and Najee Glass. Glass, a six-time NCAA Indoor All American returns after claiming a runner-up finish at NCAA Indoors and a fourth-place finish at NCAA Outdoors. Although Hall suffered an injury during the NCAA Indoor final last year, he managed to return to the track in the spring where he posted a seasonÂ’s best of 45.94 at the NCAA East Preliminaries and ran as a member of the NCAA runner-up 4x400m relay team. Both Hall and Glass are entering their final season for the Florida Gators.

Texas returns All American Zack Bilderback who is fresh off a season that included numerous personal bests and breakthrough performances in 2015. Bilderback is riding a pair of sixth-place finishes at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, both stand as his best finishes at the meet so far in his career. He also recorded an indoor school record with his new indoor personal best of 45.98 and later another personal best (45.53) in the outdoor season during the rounds of the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Stay tuned for more previews of the 2016 NCAA indoor events!