By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Bert Richardson photo

FORMCHART | INTERVIEWS

The NCAA Outdoor Championships begin Wednesday and conclude Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. Here are some of the top storylines heading into the meet. The men compete on Wednesday and Friday. 

A First-Time Team Champion?

Of the top seven teams projected to be NCAA title contenders this weekend, four of them have never won the championship before and a fifth, Minnesota, hasn't won in 77 years. 

USC has won 26 times but not in the past 49 years. 

Texas A&M, which sprang to national prominence when coach Pat Henry took the reins, won four times in five years between 2009 and 2013 but hasn't won it in 12 years. 

At the top of DyeStat's team projection this week is South Florida of the American Athletic Conference, which has Abdul-Rashid Saminu contending for wins in the 100 and 200 meters, Jaleel Croal in the 200, Gabriel Moronta Jr. in the 400, Vincent Ugwoke in the discus and two very strong relays. 

The drama around the team race is likely to be decided in the final event of the program on Friday, the 4x400 relay. 

Nebraska is also very much in the picture, with high jump favorite Tyus Wilson, decathlon favorite Till Steinforth, and two contenders in the javelin - Keyshawn Strachan and Arthur Petersen. 

Two more potential first time winners that have a shot are New Mexico, with distance runners Habtom Samuel and freshmen Ishmael Kipkurui and Matthew Kosgei; and Auburn, with sprinters Kanyinsola Ajayi (100), Makanakaishe Charamba (200), Ja'Kobe Tharp (110 hurdles) and a strong 4x100. 

USC Trojans Try to Find Indoor Mojo

USC and a deep stable of talented sprinters and jumpers celebrated its first national indoor championship in more than 50 years in March at Virginia Beach. 

But the quest to follow the indoor title with another one outdoors this week in Eugene has had its share of bumps in the road. 

USC lost its annual dual meet against cross-town rival UCLA. And the Trojans finished fourth at the Big Ten Championships. 

It does appear that some things are working out in USC's favor coming into the national championships. 

USC has a good chance to score in eight different events: the 100 (Taylor Banks and four others), 200 (Garrett Kaalund), 400 (William Jones), 400 Hurdles (Johnny Brackins), long jump (JC Stevenson), high jump (Elias Gerald)  and both relays. 

If USC can build some momentum, perhaps with Stevenson in Wednesday's long jump, then the possibility of an indoor-outdoor sweep is in play. 

Alekna Seeks Elusive NCAA Title

He is a world record holder, the silver medalist from the Paris Olympics last summer, and owner of World Championships medalist from 2022 and 2023. 

So what's so hard about winning the NCAA title in the men's discus for Mykolas Alekna of Cal?

He's 0-for-2 so far and will get his third crack at it on Friday afternoon. 

Alekna was second in 2022 (by two centimers), third in 2023. Last year he red-shirted to prepare for the Olympics. 

If there was ever a year when a discus thrower might win the postseason Bowerman Award, this would be it. 

Alekna threw a legendary 247-11 in Ramona, Okla. 

He beat his chief rival in this year's meet, Ralford Mullings of Oklahoma, by 16 feet at the NCAA West preliminary round. 

Intrigue In The 800 Meters

Cal Poly's Aidan McCarthy, the runner-up in 2023, is seeking his first NCAA title in the men's 800 meters. 

The Big West champion comes to Eugene as a slight favorite but there are a handful of others who have every right to be confident they can win the final. 

Oregon has the reigning indoor champion in Matthew Erickson and a second in the field with big potential in freshman Koitatoi Kidali, a Kenyan with a PR of 1:42.66. 

Sam Whitmarsh is a big part of Texas A&M's team title effort and he was second last year and won the SEC title this spring. 

Christian Jackson of Virginia Tech is the only runner to go under 1:45 this spring and won the ACC Championship. 

Abdullahi Hassan from Mississippi State was fourth at the Canadian Trials last year and is another one to watch, along with Georgetown's Tinoda Matsatsa. 

The Main Characters In The 100

Arkansas' Jordan Anthony, a high school standout in Mississippi a few years ago, has become the leading contender to win the NCAA's most prestigious track title and the claim of fastest collegiate athlete. 

Anthony won the NCAA Indoor title in the 60 and recently clocked a very fast 9.75w (+2.1) at the West prelims. 

But Saminu, from South Florida, matched the world lead when he ran 9.86, wind legal, in the East prelims. 

So the potential for something historically fast from those two is high. 

Others have also broken 10 seconds. Iowa's Kalen Walker has run 9.94 legal, Ajayi of Aurburn has run 9.95 legal; Banks of USC has run 9.91 windy. Mason Lawyer of Washington State has run 9.95 windy.

Paris Olympian Nathaniel Ezekiel In The 400 Hurdles

Nathan Ezekiel of Baylor ran a Nigerian record time of 47.89 seconds at the Big 12 Championships, which is the fastest in the NCAA this season and No. 7 on the all-time collegiate list. It's also No. 3 in the world this year behind Karsten Warholm and Alison Dos Santos. 

Ezekiel was third in the final in 2023, second last year, and is another big-time talent hoping to win a first NCAA title. 

Ezekiel could wind up a Bowerman Finalist with a dominant performance this week but will contend with Tennessee freshman Saad Hinti, who is 12th in the world, Kody Blackwood of Texas and Ja'Qualon Scott of Texas A&M.

Historically Deep 1,500 Field

Everyone seems to be running faster in the 1,500 and the mile these days, so it comes as no suprise that this year's finalists in the men's 1,500 meters come equipped with the best PRs in collegiate history. 

Wisconsin's Adam Spencer finished second back home in Australia at the national championships there and then came back to the state and beat Washington's Nathan Green, the 2023 NCAA champion, at the Big Ten Conference meet. Spencer has finished third the past two years.

Georgetown' Abel Teffra is the NCAA Indoor champion. Villanova's Liam Murphy has run the season's best time, 3:33.02. North Carolina's Ethan Strand is the NCAA record holder indoors in the mile and the 3,000. 

Virginia's Gary Martin and Oregon's Simeon Birnbaum are in this as well. 

In a field like this, the outcome could go 10 different ways in 10 races. Positioning, timing, and the final 200 will be more important than PR speed. 

Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan Seeks Fourth Shot Put Title

Ole Miss thrower Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan has won three NCAA titles in the shot put but he'd love nothing more than to win that again and also win his first hammer throw crown.

Robinson-O'Hagan won both events at the East prelim round and will face serious challenges in both events. 

Wisconsin's Jason Swarens is the only thrower in the country to surpass 70 feet in the shot put this spring, but Robinson O'Hagan is ranked second coming in and swept the indoor and outdoor shot put titles in 2024 and added another indoor win in March. 

Robinson-O'Hagan's best hammer finish at NCAAs is fifth and he won the East by 20 feet. 

He'll try to break up the Minnesota pair, Kostas Zaltos and Angelos Mantzouranis, who are trying to not only beat one another but deliver maximum points to the Gophers' team cause. 

New Mexico Seeks Distance Dominance

The Lobos have a shot at the team title based on how it may perform in just three events: the 5,000 meters, the 10,000 meters and the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Run the table, so to speak, at New Mexico could end up with a trophy at a minimum. 

Young African runners Habtom Samuel, still only a sophomore, and newcomer Ishmael Kipkurui, have the potential to go 1-2 in the 10,000 meters. Samuel, even doubling back from the 10, could be there at the end of the 5,000 as well. 

Although James Corrigan of BYU and Geoffrey Kirwa of Louisville are the favorites in the steeplechase, Lobos freshman Matthew Kosgei has run 8:22.13 and could be in the hunt for the win there as well. 

Prime contenders in the 5,000 meters include Marco Langon of Villanova and Rocky Hansen of Wake Forest, the heat winners in the East, and Brian Musau of Oklahoma State and Matt Strangio of Portland, who won the two races at the West prelims. Strangio, in particular, figures to be a crowd favorite competing in his home state. He lost his father to a sudden heart attack in tragic moment at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.  

Olympic Finalst Samuel Ogazi Headlines Deep 400 Field

Alabama's Samuel Ogazi, who placed seventh in the Olympic Games final last summer in Paris, has run 44.43 seconds this spring and comes into the week as the favorite to win the 400 meters, but it's not going to be easy.

Freshman Micahi Danzy from Florida State ran 44.38 to win the ACC title and that's the fastest time in the country so far. 

This is an event with major team championship implications. USC's William Jones had the fastest time in the West (45.32) and a top finish would give the Trojans a lift. Texas A&M has Aumad Robinson, who DQ'd at last year's NCAA meet in the 400 before anchoring the Aggies to victory in the 4x400 relay. Gabriel Moronta Jr of South Florida can give the Bulls a boost with a top placement. 

Georgia's Will Floyd, the NCAA Indoor champion, also has to be considered but was fourth at the SEC Championships.