SEC schools poised for run at NCAA women's title

By Adam Schneider of DyeStat

Georgia looks like a solid title favorite if nothing unusual happens, but the NCAA meet always creates unusual circumstances and pressures. Georgia (11 entries by seven athletes) and Kentucky (nine entries by six athletes) will race their tremendous freshmen in the 200 meters and 400 meters, with the likelihood that 2016 Olympian Sydney McLaughlin will also race in the 4x400 relay for Kentucky. Arkansas has 10 entries (eight athletes) and a big meet could lead the Razorbacks to the title, but surprisingly they did not qualify in either relay.

Georgia has been solid the last two years, but last year five-time NCAA triple jump champion and 11-time All-American Keturah Orji almost did not advance to the finals of the NCAA Indoor long jump. Freshman Lynna Irby will be counted on to repeat her SEC Indoor Championships performance in the 200 (first) and 400 (second). Two-time NCAA champion Madeline Fagan has struggled this year because of a sore knee (ranked seventh) but could perform at her past level.

There are a few contending team event battles that will have a significant effect on the race for the championship. The 200 (Irby, McLaughlin and USC’s Deanna Hill), 400 (Irby, McLaughlin and USC’s Kendall Ellis), 60-meter hurdles (Kentucky’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn, USC’s Dior Hall, Anna Cockrell and Chanel Brissett, Georgia’s Tara Davis, Arkansas’ Janeek Brown and Payton Stumbaugh Chadwick), long jump (Georgia’s Kate Hall, Orji, Davis, Arkansas’ Taliyah Brooks and Chadwick, and Kentucky’s Marie-Josee Ebwea-Bile), triple jump (Orji and Ebwea-Bile), and pole vault (Kentucky’s Olivia Gruver, and Arkansas’ Alexis Jacobus, Victoria Hoggard, and Desiree Freier).

There will be some additional great battles at the NCAA meet. The 60 meters has LSU teammates Mikiah Brisco (second all-time at 7.08) and Aleia Hobbs (seventh all-time at 7.12). In the 400, McLaughlin is second all-time (50.52), Irby is fourth all-time (50.62) and Ellis ran 50.00 at the USATF Championships in June for seventh all-time outdoors. Karissa Schweizer set the collegiate record in the 3,000 meters (8:41.60) at the NYRR Millrose Games. Sophomore Allie Ostrander of Boise State is still ranked 10th in this event from her race 2016 (8:54.27). Other entrants are just outside the top 10 all-time, New Hampshire senior Elinor Purrier at 8:55.68, junior Ednah Kurgat of New Mexico at 8:57.47, and Oregon’s Jessica Hull at 8:58.50. Schweizer (15:17.31) and Kurgat (15:19.03) are the sixth- and seventh-fastest collegians ever in the 5,000.

In the pole vault, Gruver (15-3.75, 4.67m), Jacobus (15-2.75, 4.64m) and Hoggard (14-11.75, 4.57m from 2017) are the second-, fourth-, and seventh-best collegians of all-time, respectively. Orji is the collegiate and American record holder in the triple jump (47-8, 14.53m) with Florida’s Yanis David seventh all-time (46-3.50, 14.11m). The weight throw has four of the top seven all-time with Cincinnati’s Annette Echikunwoke second (81-3.75, 24.78m), Minnesota’s Kaitlyn Long third (79-11.50, 24.37m), Mississippi’s Janeah Stewart fifth (79-1.75, 24.12m), and Ohio State’s Sade Olatoye seventh (78-2.75, 23.84m). Brooks is fourth all-time in the pentathlon (4,580 points last year) and Kansas State’s Nina Schultz is seventh with a best of 4,502.

There are some other outstanding event entries. Bowerman favorite Maggie Ewen of Arizona State is third all-time in the shot put at 63 feet (19.20m). USC has put together another impressive 4x400 relay (including Ellis and Hill from last year’s collegiate record 3:27.03) and this version has run the fifth-fastest time in 3:27.56. Purrier is second all-time among collegians in the mile at 4:26.55. Texas A&M’s Jazmine Fray ran the collegiate record last year in the 800 meters at 2:00.69. .

? - Questions about health or fitness remain about these athletes

+ Qualified here and other events which might affect their performance.

 

Top 10 Predicted team scores

Georgia 58

Kentucky 45

Arkansas 43

USC 38

Oregon 37

Florida 32

LSU 29

Stanford 28

Virginia Tech 21

Missouri 20

Texas A&M 20

 

60 Meters

1. Mikiah Brisco Sr, LSU

2. Aleia Hobbs Sr, LSU

3. Ashley Henderson Sr, San Diego State

4. Makenzie Dunmore So, Oregon

5. Jonielle Smith Sr, Auburn

6. Natalliah Whyte Fr, Auburn

7. Kortnei Johnson Jr, LSU

8. Kate Hall Jr, Georgia

 

200 Meters

1. Deanna Hill Sr, USC

+2. Lynna Irby Fr, Georgia

3. Ashley Henderson Jr, San Diego State

4. Gabrielle Thomas Jr, Harvard

+5. Sydney McLaughlin Fr, Kentucky

6. Mikiah Brisco Sr, LSU

7. Kayelle Clarke Sr, Kentucky

8. Kortnei Johnson Jr, LSU

400 Meters

1. Sydney McLaughlin Fr, Kentucky

2. Lynna Irby Fr, Georgia

3. Kendall Ellis Sr, USC

4. Sharrika Barnett Jr, Florida

5. Briana Guillory Jr, Iowa

6. Hannah Waller So, Oregon

7. Morgan Burks Magee Fr, Arkansas

8. Kyra Constantine So, USC

 

800 Meters

1. Sammy Watson Fr, Texas A&M

2. Jazmine Fray Jr, Texas A&M

3. Danae Rivers So, Penn State

4. Rachel Pocratsky Jr, Virginia Tech

5. Olivia Baker Sr, Stanford

6. Sabrina Southerland Sr, Oregon

7. Jasmine Staebler Jr, Iowa State

8. Sadi Henderson Sr, Boise State

 

Mile

1. Elinor Purrier Sr, New Hampshire

2. Nikki Hiltz Jr, Arkansas

3. Elise Cranny Sr, Stanford

?4. Dani Jones Jr, Colorado

5. Rhianwedd Price-Weimer Sr, Mississippi State

6. Millie Paladino Jr, Providence

7. Whittni Orton So, BYU

8. Haley Meier Sr, Michigan

 

3,000 Meters

1. Karissa Schweizer Sr, Missouri

2. Ednah Kurgat So, New Mexico

3. Elinor Purrier Sr, New Hampshire

4. Jessica Hull Jr, Oregon

5. Allie Ostrander So, Boise State

6. Lilli Burdon Jr, Oregon

7. Vanessa Fraser Sr, Stanford

8. Amy-Eloise Neale Sr, Washington

 

5,000 Meters

1. Karissa Schweizer Sr, Missouri

2. Ednah Kurgat Jr, New Mexico

3. Elly Henes So, North Carolina State

4. Erin Clark Sr, Colorado

5. Sharon Lokedi Sr, Kansas

6. Weini Kelati Fr, New Mexico

7. Bethan Knights Sr, California

8. Clare O’Brien So, Boise State

 

60-Meter Hurdles

1. Jasmine Camacho-Quinn Jr, Kentucky

2. Dior Hall Jr, USC

3. Jeanine Williams Jr, Georgia Tech

4. Pedrya Seymour Sr, Texas

5. Alaysha Johnson Jr, Oregon

6. Anna Cockrell So, USC

7. Tara Davis Fr, Georgia

8. Janeek Brown Fr, Arkansas

 

4x400 Relay

1. USC

2. Oregon

3. Purdue

4. LSU

5. Florida

6. Kentucky

7. Tennessee

8. Texas A&M

 

Distance Medley Relay

1. Virginia Tech

2. Stanford

3. Oregon

4. Clemson

5. Boise State

6. Indiana

7. Eastern Michigan

8. Oklahoma State

 

High Jump

1. Logan Boss Sr, Mississippi State

2. Nicole Greene Jr, North Carolina

3. Loretta Blaut Jr, Cincinnati

4. Zarriea Willis Jr, Texas Tech

5. Lissa Labiche rSo, South Carolina

6. Stacy Destin Jr, Alabama

?7. Madeline Fagan Sr, Georgia

8. Alexus Henry Jr, UT-Arlington

 

Pole Vault

1. Olivia Gruver Jr, Kentucky

2. Alexis Jacobus Jr, Arkansas

3. Lisa Gunnarsson Fr, Virginia Tech

4. Victoria Hoggard Jr, Arkansas

5. Laura Taylor Sr, Kansas

6. Desiree Freier Jr, Arkansas

7. Lindsey Murray Sr, Mississippi

8. Bonnie Draxler Jr, San Diego State

 

Long Jump

1. Kate Hall Jr, Georgia

2. Keturah Orji Sr, Georgia

+3. Taliyah Brooks Sr, Arkansas

4. Darrielle McQueen Sr, Florida

5. Yanis David Jr, Florida

6. Tara Davis Fr, Georgia

7. Jhoanmy Luque Sr, Iowa State

8. Jahisha Thomas So, Iowa

 

Triple Jump

1. Keturah Orji Sr, Georgia

2. Yanis David Jr, Florida

3. Marie-Josee Ebwea-Bile Jr, Kentucky

4. Jhoanmy Luque Sr, Iowa State

5. Jessie Maduka Sr, UCLA

6. Sabina Allen Sr, Campbell

7. Jakayla Hand Sr, Auburn

8. Lajarvia Brown So, Texas A&M

 

Shot Put

1. Maggie Ewen Sr, Arizona State

2. Emmonnie Henderson Sr, Louisville

3. Lena Giger Jr, Stanford

4. Jessica Woodard Sr, Oklahoma

5. Lloydricia Cameron Jr, Florida

6. Janeah Stewart Sr, Mississippi

7. Sade Olatoye Jr, Ohio State

8. Ashlie Blake Jr, UCLA

 

Weight Throw

1. Annette Echikunwoke Sr, Cincinnati

2. Janeah Stewart Sr, Mississippi

3. Kaitlyn Long Sr, Minnesota

4. Sade Olatoye Jr, Ohio State

5. Maggie Ewen Sr, Arizona State

?6. Stamatia Scarvelis Jr, Tennessee

7. Brooke Andersen Sr, Northern Arizona

8. Banke Oginni Jr, Wisconsin

 

Pentathlon

1. Taliyah Brooks Sr, Arkansas

2. Nina Schultz So, Kansas State

3. Louisa Grauvogel So, Georgia

4. Jaclyn Siefring Sr, Akron

5. Georgia Ellenwood Sr, Wisconsin

6. Amanda Froeynes Fr, Florida

7. Alissa Brooks-Johnson Sr, Washington State

8. Stacey Destin Jr, Alabama