Indoor Track Update 20

The NCAA Indoor Championship will take place March 11-13. We are going to have a little fun here. This is all about the predictions. Who is going to qualify for the finals? Who is going to win? Will there be any "Cinderellas" from smaller programs that will shake up the NCAA? Let's look into some of our favorite events.

60-Meter Dash

This event has 16 preliminary competitors. Twanisha Terry comes in number one at 7.14. Texas junior Julien Alfred and Tennessee sophomore Joella Lloyd seem to be her biggest threats with qualifying times of 7.15. Out of the 16 competitors in the prelims we will pick Terry, Alfred, Lloyd as our first three of eight finals qualifiers. The final five predictions are Tamara Clark, a senior from Alabama, senior Kiara Grant of Norfolk State, Florida sophomore Semira Killebrew, Arkansas senior Jada Baylark and Oregon junior Kemba Nelson.

Our pick for the the top three finishers are, 1. Joella Lloyd, 2. Twanisha Terry and 3. Julien Alfred. That's right we're going with the kid Lloyd to finish ahead of the vets.

High Jump

Tyra Gittens comes in with the best mark of the season at 1.91. The Texas A&M junior will have a busy meet competing in the long jump and heptathlon as well. Gittens is the favorite but there is a talented group of challengers in the field. We predict that the top eight finishes will turnout like this when the finals are complete. 1. Tyra Gittens, 2. Taylor Beard, Cincinnati, 3. Abigail O'Donoghue, LSU 4. Anna Hall, Georgia, 5. Kameesha Smith, Illinois State, 6. Sanaa Barnes, Villanova, 7. Nissi Kabongo, Stephen F. Austin, 8. Alexis Zatta, Purdue.

To many people it may seem a bit crazy that we picked Beard to place second. We've watched the sophomore grow over her two seasons and she is coming to win. We're not quite sure if anyone is going to be able to topple Gittens but Beard is going to be the breakout performer who will keep things interesting.

Weight Throw

There are two teammates that come in with the top two marks. Ole Miss sophomore Jasmine Mitchell threw 23.24 and Shey Taiwo's best throw landed at 23.04. Auburn junior Madi Malone enters with the third best throw at 22.89. Our top eight predicted finishers out of the 16 qualifiers in this event are 1. Shey Taiwo, 2. Jasmine Mitchell, 3. DeeNia McMiller, Memphis, 4.Quiara Wheeler, Central Michigan, 5. Makenli Forrest, Louisville, 6. Madi Malone, Auburn, 7. Monique Hardy, LSU, 8. Camryn Rogers, California.

60-meter Hurdles

Texas has a lot of talent in this meet. Chanel Brissett enters as the number one hurdler in the NCAA with a time of 7.89. Brissett, a senior has a couple of underclassmen looking to keep her away from the 60-meter hurdles NCAA crown. Ackera Nugent is a freshman out of Baylor that ran her season's best time of 7.93. Florida sophomore Grace Stark has the third best time in the NCAA at 7.96. Along with those three, we predict that the five other qualifiers for the final will be LSU senior Milan Young, Georgia junior Imani Carothers, Miami senior Tiara McMinn, Jasmine Jones, a freshman from USC and Texas freshman Emelia Chatfield.

The top three finishers in the final will be 1. Chanel Brissett, 2. Ackera Nugent, 3. Milan Young. Brissett will win with a personal best time of 7.88. Bank on that.

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