Upload a Photo Upload a Video Add a News article Write a Blog Add a Comment
Blog Feed News Feed Video Feed All Feeds

Folders

Featured (595)
Results (1622)
Recaps (25)
News (41)
Awards (23)
Entries (24)
RRW (9)
MEAC (0)
NAIA (0)
All (57064)
 

 

Remataches and Relays Should Make Florida Relays Special

Published by
DyeStatCOLLEGE.com   Apr 3rd 2015, 1:45am
Comments

Remataches & Relays Should Make Florida Relays Special

Published by Adam Schneider on April 2, 2015

In any race from 100m to 800m, including hurdles and relays, the Florida Relays will have top collegians and great competitions. In a few field events like the men's shot put and men's triple jump there will be some top competitors. We will look at five interesting stories for the collegiate part of the meet, mostly run on Friday and all of the fastest relays on Saturday.  

It’s USC vs Florida again over 200m as De Grasse takes his shot against Dukes

At last year’s meet Florida’s Dedric Dukes ran a world-leading 19.97 to beat Canadian-born USC senior Aaron Brown. They repeated that 1-2 finish at the NCAA meet as Dukes ran 19.91. This year, Canadian junior transfer Andre De Grasse takes his shot against the injury-hampered Dedric Dukes of Florida. De Grasse moved to third on the all-time indoor collegiate list by running 20.26 for second against Trayvon Bromell's near-collegiate record 20.19. In big meets Dukes runs well and he is likely to be better prepared than he was at the NCAA indoor meet (fifth at 20.85). '14 NCAA outdoor 100m champ Dentarius Locke (while with Florida State) will race the 200m and represents Nike now.

Burchell and Westbrook Face Off in 100

Alabama's Remona Burchell has won two consecutive NCAA 60m titles and is looking for a second consecutive 100m title in her last collegiate year. She set the 60m collegiate record (7.08) at the SEC indoor meet. USC's freshman Ky Westbrook was second to her indoors and will try to at least match that feat outdoors. This is her first race of the year outdoors. Florida's all-American Shayla Sanders will also race.  Burchell broke 2011 NCAA indoor champion LaKya Brookins' record. Brookins was fourth in the US 100m in 2013 and she is competing unattached in this race.

Florida will take on defending champion Kentucky in the Sprint Medley Relay

Kentucky ran 3:43.20 last year with Dominique Booker, Keilah Tyson, Angelica Whaley and Allison Peare.  Peare is out of eligibility and Florida will potentially run a very good sprint medley relay with NCAA indoor champion Kyra Jefferson, NCAA regular Shayla Sanders, a few options that qualified for the NCAA indoor meet in the 400m and NCAA indoor 800m competitor Claudia Francis could make this a team that might run 3:42 or better. No American team has run faster than the 3:37.16 that the USA blue team ran in Philadelphia in 2006 (meet record is 3:37.62 by Tom Jones club in 2009). The collegiate record of 3:41.78 was set in 2004 by Tennessee. A good competitive race between these two teams could break the record.

Owens and Hall Race Over 100m Hurdles

NCAA indoor runner-up Bridgette Owens of Florida will attempt to defend her home turf against 2014 World Junior runner-up Dior Hall of USC. Owens was injured right before the NCAA indoor meet and still finished second. 2014 US Heptathlon bronze medallist Erica Bougard of Mississippi State, former all-American Jacquelyn Coward of Star Athletic, and Jamaican Olympian Melaine Walker with Nike will challenge the favorites. Owens was third at last year's NCAA 100m hurdles and she is the top returner.

Collegians Face World Ranked Bowie

Torie Bowie enters the meet as the favorite and she was ranked fifth in the world last year by Track and Field News after running 22.18 at the Prefontaine meet. Dezerea Bryant of Kentucky was the 2014 NCAA Indoor champion but outdoors she suffered from injury and missed running more than just a heat of the 4x400 relay at the NCAA outdoor meet after additionally qualifying in the 100m and 200m. Indoors she was third at the NCAA meet in the 200m. At the '14 NCAA outdoor meet Tynia Gaither of USC was 6th and she finished 11th this last March at the NCAA indoor meet. Teammate Ky Westbrook of USC won the World Youth meet in 2013 in the 100m. There are many top post-collegiate 400m runners testing themselves against the collegians, including, Jessica Beard with Pure Athletic and former US champion Dee Dee Trotter.

Top Collegians Will Battle in Men's 800m

So far this season there have been few good 800m races and this weekend there will be two, one at Stanford Invitational and one here. Two Gators are among the best collegians. Junior Ryan Schnulle has run 1:46.29 and was 2nd at the 2014 NCAA outdoor meet. Sophomore Andres Arroyo has run well in some meets and has struggled at his first three (out of a possible three) NCAA championship meets. Keffri Neal of Kentucky ran 1:46.39 last year and also finished third at the NCAA outdoor meet. Alabama's Alex Amankwah was an early NCAA indoor season leader and finished sixth at the NCAA meet. 

 

 

 

 

 



HashtagsNone
 

More news

History for DyeStatCOLLEGE.com
YearVideosNewsPhotosBlogs
2024 4 4 1147  
2023 11 11778 3385  
2022 9 18630 1191  
Show 28 more
HashtagsNone
 
 
+PLUS highlights
+PLUS coverage
Live Events
Get +PLUS!