Indoor Track Is Here: What I Want To See This Season
Indoor Track Is Here: What I Want To See This Season
It's always fun to get back into the swing of the indoor track season after the cross country months. Here are three things I want to see during this winter on the track.
Indoor track is here, and I cannot wait to witness all the action in person and LIVE on FloTrack. This year will be my third covering indoors for Flo, and it's always fun to get back into the swing of running, jumping, and throwing after the cross country months. Here are three things I want to see this winter on the track:
1. Races that make me go "WOAH!"
The speculative marks rule that was almost implemented would have changed NCAA indoor track and field as we know it. The descending order lists may not have featured 35 individual men breaking 4:00 in the mile. A part of me was super intrigued by this rule, because we would have seen a totally different--hopefully a more aggressive--side of these athletes. No pacers or professional athletes would have been a game-changer. But no matter, there will still be races that make me go "WOAH!" These were my favorite from 2016:
Izaic Yorks, Sean McGorty run 3:53 mile
The Alex Wilson Invite men's distance medley relay
Raevyn Rogers all-time fastest collegiate 600m race
Allie Ostrander blasts 3K at Husky Classic
Devon Allen wins NCAA indoor 60m hurdle title in first season since ACL surgery
Ronnie Baker takes Big 12 60m battle to become sixth-fastest in NCAA history
Courtney Okolo is the 400m GOAT:
(I knew after this race that Okolo was going to make the Olympic team!)
Additionally, but not available on FloTrack, these were great:
Donavan Brazer runs 1:45 indoors
Ajee Wilson and Brenda Martinez in the Millrose Games 800m
2. New heroes
Hannah Cunliffe's Oregon debut and Oklahoma State's Kaela Edwards sneakily great range (2:03; 4:32; 9:06) were two of my favorites from 2016. Cunliffe finished runner-up in the indoor 60m and third in the 200m to help the Ducks win the team title. That kind of NCAA indoor performance put her on our radar, and she was THE WOMAN during the outdoor season before suffering an injury at the outdoor championships. I cannot wait to see what Cunliffe, Ariana Washington, and Deajah Stevens do this season, but I'm also hoping to see a bright-eyed newcomer step up and make us say "who is that?!"
Hannah Cunliffe tied English Gardner's Oregon 60m school record in the NCAA indoor prelims in 2016.
3. FAST FRESHMEN!
Donavan Brazier caught our attention when he opened his Texas A&M indoor season with a 1:45.93 800m, the fifth-fastest NCAA indoor mark of all-time. Who's grabbing that spotlight in 2017?
Katie Rainsberger had an incredible XC season for Oregon, so let's see what she can do on the track. Armed with a 4:36 indoor mile PB and a 9:00 outdoor 3K mark, I want to see Rainsberger contend with Erin Finn, Molly Seidel, and Allie Ostrander on the track.
Sub-4:00 miler Michael Slagowski joins Penn State's rich middle-distance tradition, so let's see him replicate Isaiah Harris' freshman year success.
Isaiah Harris finished sixth in the 800m at the 2016 Olympic Trials--but first he was a Big Ten indoor champion.
Florida hurdler/jumper Grant Holloway should fit in nicely with the talented Gators squad. Holloway has a 7.91m indoor long jump PB (would have been No. 6 in the NCAA in 2015), and his 60m hurdle PB of 7.53 is snappy--even if the hurdle height is a bit shorter in high school.
Get your indoor track fix this weekend with the Dartmouth Relays and the Ocean Breeze Freedom Games LIVE on FloTrack!
1. Races that make me go "WOAH!"
The speculative marks rule that was almost implemented would have changed NCAA indoor track and field as we know it. The descending order lists may not have featured 35 individual men breaking 4:00 in the mile. A part of me was super intrigued by this rule, because we would have seen a totally different--hopefully a more aggressive--side of these athletes. No pacers or professional athletes would have been a game-changer. But no matter, there will still be races that make me go "WOAH!" These were my favorite from 2016:
Izaic Yorks, Sean McGorty run 3:53 mile
The Alex Wilson Invite men's distance medley relay
Raevyn Rogers all-time fastest collegiate 600m race
Allie Ostrander blasts 3K at Husky Classic
Devon Allen wins NCAA indoor 60m hurdle title in first season since ACL surgery
Ronnie Baker takes Big 12 60m battle to become sixth-fastest in NCAA history
Courtney Okolo is the 400m GOAT:
(I knew after this race that Okolo was going to make the Olympic team!)
Additionally, but not available on FloTrack, these were great:
Donavan Brazer runs 1:45 indoors
Ajee Wilson and Brenda Martinez in the Millrose Games 800m
2. New heroes
Hannah Cunliffe's Oregon debut and Oklahoma State's Kaela Edwards sneakily great range (2:03; 4:32; 9:06) were two of my favorites from 2016. Cunliffe finished runner-up in the indoor 60m and third in the 200m to help the Ducks win the team title. That kind of NCAA indoor performance put her on our radar, and she was THE WOMAN during the outdoor season before suffering an injury at the outdoor championships. I cannot wait to see what Cunliffe, Ariana Washington, and Deajah Stevens do this season, but I'm also hoping to see a bright-eyed newcomer step up and make us say "who is that?!"
Hannah Cunliffe tied English Gardner's Oregon 60m school record in the NCAA indoor prelims in 2016.
3. FAST FRESHMEN!
Donavan Brazier caught our attention when he opened his Texas A&M indoor season with a 1:45.93 800m, the fifth-fastest NCAA indoor mark of all-time. Who's grabbing that spotlight in 2017?
Katie Rainsberger had an incredible XC season for Oregon, so let's see what she can do on the track. Armed with a 4:36 indoor mile PB and a 9:00 outdoor 3K mark, I want to see Rainsberger contend with Erin Finn, Molly Seidel, and Allie Ostrander on the track.
Sub-4:00 miler Michael Slagowski joins Penn State's rich middle-distance tradition, so let's see him replicate Isaiah Harris' freshman year success.
Isaiah Harris finished sixth in the 800m at the 2016 Olympic Trials--but first he was a Big Ten indoor champion.
Florida hurdler/jumper Grant Holloway should fit in nicely with the talented Gators squad. Holloway has a 7.91m indoor long jump PB (would have been No. 6 in the NCAA in 2015), and his 60m hurdle PB of 7.53 is snappy--even if the hurdle height is a bit shorter in high school.
Get your indoor track fix this weekend with the Dartmouth Relays and the Ocean Breeze Freedom Games LIVE on FloTrack!