Weekend Preview: Indoor Season Heats Up

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There is a huge meet in Arkansas this weekend.
Sorry to sound like a broken record, but it has been true just about each and every week this indoor season so far as the Razorbacks are playing welcoming hosts to a number of programs looking to hit strong marks before the upcoming NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | Records & Lists
We’ll see a plethora of talented individuals in the next few days at the Randal Tyson Track Center for the Razorback Invitational. Among those teams is Oregon, which will be competing for the first time in more than 300 days (It’s actually 336, if you want to be exact).
The last time the Ducks set foot in Fayetteville, Arkansas, it was historic. Oregon’s Distance Medley Relay quartet of James West, Jacob Miller, Charlie Hunter and Cooper Teare broke a near 12-year-old collegiate record when they ran 9:24.52 (The previous all-time best was 9:25.97, set by Texas at the 2008 Tyson Invitational).
Chances are that we could see another run at the record from some of those same men, as both Hunter and Teare are entered individually and the Ducks will have a DMR squad on Friday night. Hunter will compete in the mile, the same event in which he became the 12th fastest performer in collegiate history last year. Teare will contest the 3000, which features a loaded field with eight of the top-10 finishers from the 2020 SEC Cross Country Championships as well as Wesley Kiptoo of Iowa State. (Back in December, Kiptoo and Teare both competed at The Track Meet, held outdoors in California and turned in quick times: Kiptoo ran 27:37.29 over 10,000 meters; Teare went 13:17.13 over 5000 meters.)
Look for strong marks across the board on the women’s side, as there is potential abound in each and every event. How can you not expect that to happen with teams like Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Oregon and Southern California in attendance?
Pay closer attention to the mid-distance, distance and horizontal jumps, though. That’s because you’ll see top Razorbacks like Lauren Gregory, Katie Izzo and Taylor Ewert competing in the 5000 (Gregory and Izzo will be doubling back from the mile). Sage Hurta of Colorado will be making her season debut at 800 meters (Hurta has a PR of 2:00.99. Georgia standouts Titiana Marsh and Jasmine Moore will be joined in the long jump by USC freshman Morgan Smalls, among others (Marsh and Small will also compete in the triple jump).

Other Meets of Interest

Texas Tech Classic (Texas Tech)
Right now, Texas Tech has four athletes who lead the world in their respective events: Takieddine Hedeilli (800), Courtney Lindsey (200), Monae’ Nichols (long jump), Ruth Usoro (triple jump). All will compete this weekend in their signature event, except Lindsey, who is in the 60. Throw in athletes from teams such as Arizona, Arizona State, Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and TCU and you have all the makings of a great meet … We’ll also see the first great pole vault duel of the 2021 season as KC Lightfoot of Baylor squares off against Zach Bradford of Kansas. Lightfoot set the collegiate record earlier this season and has plans to raise the bar even more. We’ll see if Bradford, who is the ninth best performer in collegiate history can keep up.
Bob Pollock Invitational (Clemson)
Focus on two athletes in particular at this meet: Trey Cunningham of Florida State and Carey McLeod of Tennessee. Cunningham will contest the 60H, an event in which he was undefeated last year against collegians and matched the seventh fastest performer in collegiate history at 7.51. McLeod is expected to double in the horizontal jumps, events in which he put up one of the greatest combined one-meet performance in collegiate history last year at 24.84m (81-6).
Assorted NAIA & NCAA Division II Meets
Grand Valley State, Northwest Missouri, Pittsburg State and Washburn all host meets this weekend and if past installments have proven anything, you can expect some big changes to the Descending Order List on Sunday. Several teams from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) open up, too, with smaller dual meets or triangular competitions … Indiana Tech is hosting one of the biggest meets of the weekend for NAIA programs.