Wartburg is the clear favorite to capture its first national title in program history. The top-ranked Knights enter the NCAA Championships with 15 entries, of which 13 are billed among the top-10 performers this season. Just about every athlete Wartburg has going to North Carolina will be doubling, including national leader
Dallas Wright in the 400 and 400H, as well as three of the Knights’ distance runners –
Christopher Collet (steeple-5K),
Matt Heinzman (1500-5K) – among others.
UW-Oshkosh sits second entering the NCAA Championships. The Titans are looking for their first national title since 2009. UW-Oshkosh owns 13 entries, of which seven are ranked among the top-5 performers this season.
Concordia (Neb.), which remained No. 1 in the final
NAIA Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Ratings Index released Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Concordia (Neb.) is seeking to win the team title at this meet for the first time since 2016, and the Bulldogs have a lot of bite in their lineup with 24 individual entries, along with two relays.
Two NAIA Indoor champions are looking to add an outdoor title to their resume –
Rachel Battershell, a sophomore who has won two-straight indoor 400 titles, and freshman
Rosie Puelz, pole vault champion indoors. Both lead their events outdoors.
Terrance Laird is No. 1 in both the 100 and 200;
JuVaughn Harrison is No. 1 in both the high jump and long jump;
Noah Williams is No. 1 in the 400;
Damion Thomas is No. 2 in the 110H;
Sean Burrell is No. 2 in the 400H; and both the 4×100 and 4×400 relays sit No. 2.
Oregon is poised to make a run at the national title, should it make it unscathed back to Hayward Field through the West Preliminary Round. The Ducks qualified athletes across 13 events, with multiple athletes in the 100 (x2), 800 (x3), 1500 (x4), steeplechase (x2), 5000 (x3) and long jump (x2). Cole Hocker, who is ranked first nationally in the 5000 and third nationally in the 1500, set his sights on becoming the first man in NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships history to sweep both events in the same year (Sheila Reid of Villanova has been the only athlete to accomplish that feat, back in 2011).
Grand Valley State is seeking its first men’s national title and enters the meet ranked No. 1. The Lakers will enter the meet with 17 entries with nine sitting in the top-5. Athletes entering the meet as the top seed are
Dennis Mbuta in the 800 (1:49.07) and
Isaac Harding in the 5000 (13:47.08).
West Texas A&M heads into the NCAA meet at No. 2. Nine of the 10 entries for the Buffs of them sit among the top-5. Don’t blink, because you won’t want to miss
Benjamin Azamati. The national leader and NCAA DII record holder in the 100 (9.97) and 200 (20.20c/20.13A) is also part of the second-ranked 4×100 (40.04).
Top-ranked
LSU will enter the postseason with athletes across 13 events and boast seven top-5 nationally ranked performances. Leading the way for the Tigers with No. 1 billings are
Favour Ofili in the 200 (22.30w)
and
Symone Mason in the 100 (11.02) and
Lisa Gunnarsson in the pole vault (4.50m/14-9). The Tigers also have the top-ranked 4×100 relay of 42.52.
Southern California improved one spot to sit at No. 2 and will rely heavily on their sprints and hurdles squad. The Women of Troy will be paced by
Anna Cockrell, who is currently the fastest seasonal performer in the 400H at 54.77 and ranked No. 5 in the 100H.