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Six returning top 10 NCAA squads will return to throw down at the Big 12 Championship in Ames, Iowa this weekend, making for some intense, wire-to-wire match-ups across all events. Here are the athletes that will make this meet the most exciting indoor conference clash of the weekend.

The Fastest Men’s Distance Medley Relay in the Country

Last weekend at the Alex Wilson Invitational, we witnessed the Oklahoma State Cowboys throw down the fastest DMR this year and the third-fastest relay of all time. The quartet of Chad Noelle, Brandon Singleton, Tre’Tez Kinnaird and Josh Thompson smashed the team’s previous season’s best by nine seconds with a meet victory in 9:26.60. The Cowboys currently hold the nationally leading time by one second over the Washington Huskies, as seen in this week's Tasty Race of the Week.

The Fastest Sprint in the NCAA

The men’s 60m dash is poised to be the fastest short sprint competition outside of the NCAA Championships. With the fastest man in the NCAA John Teeters, the defending NCAA Champion Ronnie Baker and All American Senoj-Jay Givans headlining the field, the Big 12 Conference will have a match-up for the ages. Baker recently ran a season’s best of 6.58 at the Tyson Invitational. The time is just 0.06 off of his personal best, which he ran under pressure on his way to winning the 60m NCAA title last year. Teeters lost to Baker in that championship competition, but has returned in 2016 with the nation-leading time of 6.54 at the Razorback Invitational in January. Givans upset Baker, Teeters and even World bronze medalist Trayvon Bromell at the Big 12 Championships last year with the victory and returns to the conference championship with a season's best of 6.65. All three athletes are ready to throw down one fast race this Saturday in Ames.

Re-live the excitement when Baker claimed his first NCAA title in the 60m last year:

Top Milers in the Country - Jacob Burcham, Joshua Thompson, Chad Noelle

The men’s mile will showcase some of the best middle distance standouts who are fresh off of breakout performances in recent weeks. Jacob Burcham of Oklahoma followed a train of sub-four minute mile performances at the Husky Classic where he ran a three-second personal best of 3:57, good enough for the No. 8 mark in the NCAA. Josh Thompson of Oklahoma State is fresh off of anchoring the Cowboy’s DMR with a 3:56 mile at the Alex Wilson Invitational last week. He also clocked a 3:58 mile PR at the Husky Classic two weeks ago. Oklahoma State’s Chad Noelle may not have a nation-leading time heading into the conference showdown, but the NCAA Champion will definitely be a face to watch as he has proven time and time again how to succeed in championship races.

A Nationally Ranked 800m Duo - Savannah Camacho, Kaela Edwards

The Cowgirls’ 1-2 punch of Savannah Camacho and Kaela Edwards should shake things up in the women’s 800m final after both running the No. 5 and No. 6-fastest times in the country, respectively. Camacho is fresh off of her victory and indoor personal best of 2:03 at the Alex Wilson Invitational. The race was a breakthrough for the junior who had previously only run 2:05 during the indoor season.



Edwards has also shown a breakthrough in recent weeks after she notched the then-NCAA leading time of 2:03 in the 800m and followed the performance two weeks later with a then-No. 1 time of 4:32 in the mile at the Razorback Invite. Edwards recently showed her range with a huge personal best in the 3K at the Husky Classic where she ran 9:06, giving her three events with top NCAA marks. Edwards' come-from-behind victory in the 1K at last year's conference championship earned her the Kick of the Week honor.

Multi-Events Powerhouse/NCAA Champion Akela Jones

Kansas State’s defending NCAA Champion Akela Jones is returning after notching personal bests in the 200m, 800m, 60m hurdles, high jump, long jump, and shot put this season. The total of her personal best efforts accumulated in a pentathlon personal best, world lead and Barbados national record of 4,643 points at the Dodds Invitational in January. Given the early success in 2016, Jones should produce a series of exciting performances across all events.

PODCAST: You won't believe the goal #KState's Akela Jones set for herself in pentathlon!https://t.co/H35geWKFIQ pic.twitter.com/De08LMntrn

— USTFCCCA (@USTFCCCA) January 28, 2016

Texas Longhorns and Their Ridiculously Fast 4x400m Squads

Both men’s and women’s 4x400m squads from Texas are currently leading the nation after running blazing fast relays at the Tyson Invitational. The men’s quartet of Zack Bilderback, Chris Irvin, Byron Robinson and AJ Bailey clocked a new school record with a time of 3:04.41, which also ranks No. 13 in NCAA history. The women’s squad put the collegiate record in serious jeopardy when the team of Courtney Okolo, Chrisann Gordon, Morolake Akinosun, and Ariel Jones ran 3:27.97, which is just 0.57 seconds off of the all-time NCAA record set by Oregon.

Courtney Okolo, the Fastest Woman in the NCAA

Texas’ four-time NCAA Champion Courtney Okolo will return to defend her Big 12 title after running the world-leading 400m time of 51.16 at the Husker Invitational two weeks ago. The senior currently leads the nation as well as the world with her 400m performance, which is also the only open 400m she has run so far this season. With nation-leading times in the 400m and 4x400m relay, Okolo will be a big part of Texas’ conference title pursuit.

No. 1 High Jumper in the Country, Plus NCAA Rivalry Match-Up

After jumping a huge personal best of 2.29m at the Tyson Invitational, Texas Tech’s Bradley Adkins leads the NCAA by a whopping three centimeters and is poised for a standout performance against conference competition. The 2015 NCAA Outdoor runner-up leads a field that includes top NCAA contenders No. 3 Christoff Bryan of Kansas State and No. 8 Trey Culver of Texas Tech.

Congrats to @bradley_adkins on being named Big 12 Athlete of the Week! https://t.co/uHcXS9qFaQ #WreckEm #Jumpman pic.twitter.com/MC3ZVMNWUS

— TTU Track & Field/XC (@TTU_TF_XC) February 10, 2016

Three-Time NCAA Champion Ryan Crouser Will Throw Down in Shot Put

Texas’ star thrower Ryan Crouser is fresh off of his indoor personal best of 21.28m, which he threw on his way to winning the Husky Classic competition two weeks ago. Crouser is known to rise to the occasion in championship situations, as seen from his Big 12 titles in the indoor and outdoor shot put as well as the discus. He will also be a key player in the Texas team's attempt to defend the conference title.

#Big12TF: @UTexasTrack's Ryan Crouser earns his second AoW of 2016 with the 3rd best shot put in the world in 2016. pic.twitter.com/zyBoeH3jiM

— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) February 17, 2016

Check back for heat sheets later in the week to see which events these athletes will compete in! Don't miss a minute of Big 12 Indoor Championship action by watching live on FloTrack Friday, Feb. 26!