By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

The 101st edition of the NCAA Men’s Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships are scheduled for Wednesday, June 7 and Friday, June 9 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas, with the decathlon Wednesday and Thursday, June 8.

Here are 10 storylines to follow in the men’s meet:

A spree of sub-3 performances

The 95th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays showcased a trio of sub-3 efforts April 1 in the 4x400-meter relay from Georgia, Alabama and UCLA.

The Southeastern Conference Championships were also highlighted by a sub-3 trifecta, with Florida lowering its own collegiate record to 2 minutes, 57.76 seconds, in addition to Alabama and Georgia eclipsing the barrier again May 13 in Baton Rouge.

Those races have provided optimism that for the first time in Division 1 championship history, there could be more than a pair of sub-3 marks in the 4x400 relay in the June 9 final.

Last year at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., was the third time in meet history that two 4x400 lineups have achieved sub-3 performances, along with 2018 and 2019, the latter at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.

JeVaughn Powell, Emmanuel Bamidele, Jacory Patterson and Ryan Willie helped Florida achieve the sixth sub-3 race in program history at the SEC Championships, more than any collegiate program.

The Gators also set the championship meet record last year by clocking 2:58.88 in Oregon, with Patterson and Willie returning from that lineup.

Arizona State, Baylor and host Texas are also capable of producing sub-3 efforts, in addition to the quartet of schools that have already achieved the feat this season.

Florida is looking to become the first team to repeat in the 4x400 since LSU captured back-to-back titles in 2015-16. The Gators won consecutive 4x400 championships in 2012-13.

Razorbacks look to get a jump on the competition

With Arkansas freshman Jaydon Hibbert seeking his first outdoor triple jump title and fellow Jamaican athletes Wayne Pinnock and Carey McLeod in contention for the long jump crown, it seems only fitting that the Razorbacks were also the last program to have teammates triumph in both horizontal jumps in the same year.

Brian Wellman prevailed in the long jump and Erick Walder was victorious in the triple jump in 1992 for Arkansas.

McLeod captured the long jump March 10 at the Division 1 indoor final in Albuquerque, N.M., followed by Hibbert winning the triple jump March 11.

Pinnock, who transferred with McLeod from Tennessee to Arkansas following last season, is the reigning NCAA outdoor long jump champion.

Hibbert, McLeod and Pinnock were instrumental in Arkansas winning the Division 1 indoor team title March 10-11 in Albuquerque. The Razorbacks are in contention to capture their first outdoor crown since a three-year run from 2003-05, although the 2004 and 2005 championships were later vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions, with Florida, Georgia, LSU and Texas Tech also leading podium contenders.

Former LSU star JuVaughn Harrison won back-to-back long jump titles in 2019 and 2021, since there was no Division 1 outdoor final in 2020. Harrison was also the last male athlete to sweep indoor and outdoor long jump crowns in 2021.

Emmanuel Ihemeje, an Italian athlete competing for Oregon, was the last men’s competitor to secure indoor and outdoor triple jump championships in the same year in 2021.

Hibbert produced the collegiate record May 13 with a 58-7.50 (17.87m) performance at the SEC Championships. Florida’s Marquis Dendy established the all-conditions championship meet record in 2015 with a wind-aided mark of 58-1.25 (17.71m).

SMU’s Keith Connor, who held the collegiate record since 1982, has the best wind-legal performance at the Division 1 final with a 57-7.75 (17.57m) effort.

Guttormsen pursuing greater heights

Princeton star Sondre Guttormsen, representing Norway, took attempts at the collegiate record April 28 following his 19-4.25 (5.90m) clearance at the Texas Invitational at Mike A. Myers Stadium.

In his final competition for the Tigers before transferring to Texas in the fall, Guttormsen is hoping to achieve the NCAA all-time mark after equaling the collegiate indoor record with a 19-8.25 (6.00m) performance March 10 at the Division 1 indoor final in Albuquerque, N.M.

Guttormsen, who missed three opportunities at 19-8.50 (6.01m) during his last trip to Austin, is also looking to become the first male athlete in more than three decades to sweep indoor and outdoor pole vault championships in consecutive years.

George Mason’s Istvan Bagyula, representing Hungary, secured indoor and outdoor pole vault crowns from 1990-92.

Guttormsen is also looking to become the first male athlete since South Dakota’s Chris Nilsen in 2018-19 to win back-to-back outdoor pole vault titles. He also has the potential to become the first male competitor from Princeton to capture consecutive outdoor championships in any event.

Texas Tech’s Zach Bradford, who cleared 19-4.75 (5.91m) to place runner-up behind Guttormsen at the Division 1 indoor final in Albuquerque, is one of three challengers who have produced a 19-foot clearance during the spring season, along with Branson Ellis of Stephen F. Austin and Kyle Rademeyer from South Alabama.

Double the ambition in distance events

Tennessee’s Dylan Jacobs had his bid to double up with 3,000 and 5,000 championships at the Division 1 indoor final halted by Oklahoma State’s Fouad Messaoudi, a Moroccan competitor, with his 3,000 victory in Albuquerque.

Jacobs has aspirations of securing the 5,000 and 10,000 titles in Austin, with Stanford teammates Charles Hicks and Ky Robinson, Brigham Young’s Casey Clinger, Gonzaga’s James Mwaura and Harvard’s Graham Blanks also entered in both events.

Former Oregon star Edward Cheserek was the last male athlete to secure 5,000 and 10,000 titles in the same year in both 2015-16.

Jacobs, who won the 10,000 crown last year at Hayward Field in Eugene representing Notre Dame before transferring this year to Tennessee, is attempting to become the first male competitor to secure back-to-back victories since Cheserek won three in a row from 2014-16.

Tennessee and Harvard are seeking their first titles in either the men’s 5,000 or 10,000.

BYU’s Clayton Young was the last 10,000 champion in Austin at the 2019 Division 1 final.

Wisconsin’s Morgan McDonald won the 5,000 crown at Mike A. Myers Stadium four years ago, with Jackson Sharp having an opportunity to follow both the Australian standout, along with reigning champion Olin Hacker in securing another victory for the Badgers.

Grant Fisher and Sean McGorty won back-to-back 5,000 titles for Stanford in 2017-18, but the Cardinal is seeking a 10,000 championship for the first time since Brad Hauser and Nathan Nutter combined for three straight victories from 1998-2000.

Oklahoma State’s Isai Rodriguez is pursuing the first 10,000 crown for the Cowboys since John Halberstadt in 1972.

Burrell bids for three-peat, with Owens-Delerme the biggest barrier

LSU’s Sean Burrell is looking to become only the third male athlete in Division 1 history to win three consecutive championships in the men’s 400-meter hurdles, joining Brigham Young’s Ralph Mann in 1969-71 and Iowa State’s Danny Harris from 1984-86.

But the addition to the field of reigning NCAA decathlon champion Ayden Owens-Delerme of Arkansas has provided another obstacle for Burrell in his quest for the trifecta.

Owens-Delerme, representing Puerto Rico, has run the event five times this season, producing a collegiate-leading mark of 48.26 seconds May 13 at the SEC Championships to elevate to the No. 12 competitor in collegiate history.

Burrell is the No. 4 all-time collegiate performer at 47.85, but he has yet to run under 49 seconds this season.

Although he has not competed in the multi-events this spring after placing second in the heptathlon March 10-11 at the Division 1 indoor final in Albuquerque, Owens-Delerme has an opportunity to become the first decathlon champion in collegiate history to win a title in another individual event.

Owens-Delerme is also looking to become the first Arkansas male athlete to win the 400 hurdles crown, with Caleb Dean also attempting to capture the first championship in the event for Texas Tech.

Kings of the ring

Cal sophomore Mykolas Alekna boasts the top five throws in the discus in collegiate history, as well as 11 of the top 12 all-time marks, but the Lithuanian standout is still seeking his first NCAA title after placing runner-up by one inch last year.

Alekna, who achieved the collegiate record 232 feet, 11 inches (71.00m) on April 29 at the annual Big Meet involving Cal and Stanford in Berkeley, is looking to become the first male athlete for the Golden Bears to win the discus title since Martin Maric in 2009.

Arkansas athlete Roje Stona, representing Jamaica, ascended to the No. 2 competitor in collegiate history with his 225-3 (68.64m) performance May 13 at the SEC Championships in Baton Rouge.

Claudio Romero, a Chilean athlete who captured the discus crown last year for Virginia before transferring to LSU this season, is attempting to become the first back-to-back discus champion since SMU’s Hannes Hopley in 2003-04.

Arizona State’s Turner Washington captured both the discus and shot put titles in 2021.

Arizona’s Jordan Geist has the potential to become the first male athlete since Georgia’s Denzel Comenentia in 2018 to secure both the hammer throw and shot put crowns in the same year.

Geist, who won the Division 1 indoor shot put crown March 11 in Albuquerque, is seeking his first outdoor title.

Kostas Zaltos, representing Greece, is attempting to become the first hammer throw champion for Minnesota following third-place finishes the past two years. Zaltos is also looking to become the first Greek male athlete to win an NCAA hammer crown since Spyridon Zoullien of Virginia Tech triumphed in 2005-06.

USC’s Nikolaos Polychroniou is another Greek athlete in hammer throw title contention, along with British athlete Kenneth Ikeji from Harvard, as well as reigning Division 1 indoor weight throw champion Isaiah Rogers, Alabama’s Bobby Colantonio and Ole Miss freshman Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan.

The javelin runway is highlighted by reigning champion Marc Minichello of Georgia, who won the title last year for Penn, squaring off against 2021 winner Tzuriel Pedigo of LSU and Virginia standout Ethan Dabbs.

Washington hoping for more middle-distance mastery

Joe Waskom won the Division 1 outdoor title in the 1,500 meters last year for Washington.

Luke Houser captured the NCAA indoor mile championship March 11 in Albuquerque for the Huskies.

And neither athlete boasts the fastest entry among the 24 competitors in the semifinals.

Nathan Green leads all qualifiers following his 3:38.13 performance May 26 at the NCAA West Regional in Sacramento, giving Washington a potential third contender to capture a Division 1 title in the June 9 final.

Oregon was the last men’s program to have teammates win outdoor 1,500 championships in consecutive years, with Matthew Centrowitz capturing the title in 2010, followed by Andrew Wheating in 2011.

Oregon’s Mac Fleet was the last male athlete to secure back-to-back 1,500 crowns in 2013-14.

Oklahoma State will also have a strong presence in the event to square off against Washington’s trio of Green, Houser and Waskom, with the Cowboys represented by Division 1 indoor 3,000 champion Fouad Messaoudi of Morocco, in addition to Alex Stitt and Christopher Middleton-Pearson.

South Carolina’s Anass Essayi, who took third in the indoor mile final, is another Moroccan competitor in title contention, along with mile runner-up Isaac Basten of Drake also competing in the semifinals.

Garland aims for grand finale

Georgia’s Kyle Garland boasts the top two decathlon performances in collegiate history, including 8,720 points at the USATF Combined Events Championships last year in Arkansas.

He is also the reigning NCAA Division 1 indoor heptathlon champion and record holder with 6,639 points from the March 10-11 final in Albuquerque.

But Garland is highly motivated to add the missing piece to one of the most decorated resumes in collegiate history with his decathlon performance in Austin.

Georgia has produced NCAA decathlon winners in Maicel Uibo in 2014-15, Johannes Erm in 2019 and Karel Tilga in 2021, with Garland looking to help the Bulldogs move one victory closer to BYU’s record of six Division 1 decathlon championships.

One of the strongest challengers for Garland is German athlete and Texas standout Leo Neugebauer, who ascended to the No. 5 competitor in collegiate history with 8,478 points at the 95th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in March.

Neugebauer is attempting to become the first decathlete for Texas to secure the NCAA title since fellow German Johannes Hock in 2013, in addition to joining 2005 champion Trey Hardee.

Michigan State’s Heath Baldwin, Nebraska’s Till Steinforth, Iowa’s Austin West and Texas-San Antonio’s Jack Turner are all finalists who have surpassed the 8,000-point barrier this season.

LSU, Florida ready to run it back

The best 4x100-meter relay showdown in collegiate history May 13 showcased LSU and Florida both eclipsing the 38-second barrier, with the host Tigers taking the collegiate record from the Gators by a 37.90 to 37.93 margin.

Florida had been the only men’s program to achieve a sub-38 performance with its victorious effort of 37.97 at the 2019 Division 1 final at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.

Brandon Hicklin, Dorian Camel, Da’Marcus Fleming and Nigerian athlete Godson Oghenebrume have LSU in position to win its Division 1 record 11th title in the men’s 4x100 relay. Even more impressive for the Tigers is how they have reloaded the relay with four new athletes after winning the 2021 championship in Oregon.

USC won its ninth 4x100 crown last year at Hayward Field and is attempting to become the first program since Houston in 2017-18 to repeat.

Florida has secured seven 4x100 championships, and is the only men’s team in collegiate history with multiple sub-38 performances.

Texas Tech elevated to the No. 6 program in collegiate history May 14 by winning the Big 12 Conference title in 38.24 and could bolster its team title prospects June 9 with a 4x100 victory.

Spectacular steeplechase showdown

Montana State has not been represented on top of the NCAA podium since Shannon Butler won the 10,000 championship in 1990 and the 5,000 crown in 1991, but the Bobcats have three entries in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, led by Duncan Hamilton, looking to end that title drought.

Hamilton, last year’s runner-up, elevated to the No. 2 competitor in collegiate history May 26 by clocking 8:16.23 at the NCAA West Regional in Sacramento.

Rob McManus and Levi Taylor also qualified for Montana State, joining Eastern Kentucky with a trio of entries, as Abdelhakim Abouzouhir of Morocco, Ahmed Kadri from Tunisia and Spanish athlete Pedro Garcia-Palencia are also among the 24 semifinalists.

Ahmed Jaziri of Tunisia won the Division 1 title for Eastern Kentucky last year at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., with the Colonels looking to have the first teammates win back-to-back titles since Washington State’s Peter Koech and Julius Korir prevailed in 1985-86.

BYU’s Kenneth Rooks is the No. 3 competitor in collegiate history at 8:17.62 and is attempting to capture the first steeplechase crown for the Cougars since Kyle Perry in 2009, in addition to the fourth in program history, in addition to Bob Richards in 1966 and Josh McAdams in 2006.

Kenyan athlete Victor Kibiego is trying to win the first steeplechase title for UTEP since Anthony Rotich triumphed three years in a row from 2013-15.

Victor Shitsama, another Kenyan competitor, is looking to become the first male athlete for Oklahoma State to win the event since Chris McCubbins in 1967, Georgetown’s Parker Stokes is attempting to secure the first victory for the Hoyas since Joe Lucas in 1972, Minnesota’s Matthew Wilkinson is pursuing the first championship for the Golden Gophers since Obsa Ali in 2018, and Washington’s Ed Trippas is seeking the first steeplechase crown for the Huskies.