NCAA DI Outdoor Championships Men’s Preview

Courtesy: Kyle Terwillegar, USTFCCCA

NEW ORLEANS – The time for rankings debates and projections for the NCAA Division I Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Championships has come and passed: it’s finally time for the show to start.

An exciting team race is set to begin Wednesday in Eugene, Ore., as a handful of teams battle for four days between June 5 and June 8 for the honor of claiming the team title, while many more student-athletes take place in title competitions, title defenses, all-time records chases and intense rivalries.

Accepted Entries: MEN | WOMEN
Entry Leaders: By Team | By Conf
Event-by-Event "Brackets"
Event-by-Event "Info Sheets"
USTFCCCA Stat Supplement

Start Lists: MEN | WOMEN

FOLLOW LIVE: Live Results | Oregon/Pac-12.com | ESPN3 | Broadcast Schedule

National Championships Central

The Team Race

Though not quite as wide-open as the women’s race is, there is still significant drama infused into the competition for the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships team title. A pair of conference foes are the top contenders in No. 1 Texas A&M — the SEC newcomer — and No. 2 Arkansas — the NCAA indoor champ and the SEC champ both indoors and out.

Throw into the mix the hometown favorite Oregon Ducks at No. 3 in front of their home crowd in Eugene, the defending outdoor champion Florida Gators at No. 4 and their Sunshine State rivals Florida State at five and you’ve got the makings for an intense team race that could very well not be determined until the final runners cross the line in the 4×400.

The No. 1 Aggies and No. 2 Razorbacks are in their position largely because of their large contingencies of top-ranked student-athletes — both will bring 20 entries to the NCAA Finals, five more than any other team in the top ten, as No. 8 Texas has 15. Not only do they have the advantage in numbers over most teams, but also in entries seeded in the top eight — scoring position — entering the Finals.

Texas A&M has six entries ranked within the top four of their events, tied with Oregon for the most in the country, including four that enter as the top seeds. Add in another four seeded between No. 5 and No. 8 and the Aggies have 10 total entries in position to score based on the rankings.

Arkansas has four seeded in the top four of their events — including two-time indoor pole vault champ Andrew Irwin — but not to be outdone by the Aggies they have seven entries seeded between No. 5 and No. 8 for a total of 11 in scoring position. This gives the Razorbacks the potential to more drastically improve upon their projected score than can the Aggies with finishes that exceed their seedings.

Oregon and Florida State both have nine entries apiece in scoring position, though the Ducks hold the overall edge over the Seminoles in total entries, 13 to 10. Defending champions Florida have seven seeded in scoring position, but another five on the fringe of scoring position between No. 9 and No. 12, including three at 400 meters.

Event-By-Event Preview

100 Meters
This race could be a scorcher. Ole Miss’ Isiah Young broke the 10-second barrier with a 9.99 (+0.3m/s) to claim the top seed, but the next six sprinters ranked behind him have all run faster than 10.10 this season. TCU’s Charles Silmon is the top challenger at 10.03 (+1.7m/s) as the top seed out of the West Prelims, along with 2012 eighth-place finisher Aaron Ernest of LSU at 10.04w (+3.6m/s). Dentarius Locke of Florida State is also a big factor after going 10.05 (+1.6m/s) at the East Prelims. Ameer Webb of Texas A&M leads a cast of three Aggies in the event as the No. 8 seed, though an improvement from 20th for his two teammates would be a big boost in the team race. Young, Webb and Silmon all also have The Bowerman aspirations, as Young is on the final Watch List and Webb and Silmon also received mention.

200 Meters
Four of the top five seeds are in the midst of the most recent The Bowerman conversation around the Watch List, but it is the one among them who isn’t who is the top seed. Anaso Jobodwana of Jackson State ran a scorching 20.13 (+1.7m/s) at the Prelims to claim the top seed ahead of 2012 fourth-placer Young (20.20), USC’s Bowerman Watch Lister Bryshon Nellum (20.23), Silmon (20.23) and 2012 runner-up and 2013 indoor champ Webb (20.30). At No. 5, Webb is the top seed among those on top-five teams, with Ernest of LSU and Dedric Dukes of Florida at No. 7.

400 Meters
Four of the top eight from last year’s 400 meters final are back in the field for another shot at the title this season, with three of them representing top-five teams in the hunt for the team title. At 45.00, Deon Lendore of Texas A&M is the No. 2 seed after finishing eighth a year ago, while 2012 runner-up Mike Berry of Oregon is seeded No. 4 at 45.14 and Akheem Gauntlet is No. 9 at 45.53 after a seventh-place showing a year ago. Also returning is fourth-place finisher David Verberg of George Mason, seeded No. 6 at 45.34. The man they’re all looking up to in the rankings is Nellum of USC, who is the only collegian to go sub-45 this season at 44.76. James Harris of Florida State could also make an impact on the team race, seeded No. 5 at 45.25.

800 Meters
Elijah Greer of Oregon has the chance to go for the indoor/outdoor 800 meters sweep in front of his home crowd, seeded No. 1 at 1:46.20. Three others have gone sub 1:47 this season in No. 2 Patrick Rono of Arkansas at 1:46.49 and Declan Murray and Casimir Loxsom of Penn State, both No. 3 at 1:46.77. Arkansas could make a significant impact on the team race in this event with four entries into the race, with Rono at No. 2 and Leoman Momoh just outside scoring position seeded at No. 10. Greer finished third last season to highlight three returning scorers, including sixth-place finisher Ricky West of Penn State, seeded No. 16, and Samuel Ellison of Villanova, who is seeded 21 but finished eighth last year.

1500 Meters
Andrew Bayer of Indiana is back to defend his NCAA title from a year ago, and seems to be rounding into form at the right time after running his season’s best 3:40.43 at the East Prelims last weekend. Top-seeded Riley Masters of Oklahoma is one of just three in the field to have gone faster than 3:40 this season at 3:38.79, along with Alex Hatz of Wisconsin and Jeremy Rae of Notre Dame. One of Bayer’s top competitors from a year ago may again prove to be his toughest competition, as Ryan Hill of NC State showed all-time collegiate indoor talent this winter in the mile but has been light on the schedule this outdoor season.

3000 Steeplechase
This event will most likely not be held past midnight as it was at the West Prelims last weekend due to thunderstorms in Austin, Texas, but we’re not sure you’d find many competitors from the West who would mind either way. In total, 11 of the 12 qualifiers from the West ran season’s bests despite the ungainly hour the race was held, including top-seeded Henry Lelei of Texas A&M — who finished fourth a year ago — improving his collegiate-leader status to 8:27.62. Six other men have broken 8:40 this season, including Florida State freshman Zak Seddon and Arkansas’ Stanley Kebenei at No. 2 and 3, respectively, along with 2012 sixth-place finisher Anthony Rotich of UTEP.

5000 Meters
Lawi Lalang, in search of more national titles and The Bowerman, could be joining some very elite company if he can sweep both the 5000 and 10,000 meters races outdoors after claiming both the mile and 5000 indoors. The last man to accomplish an indoor/outdoor double sweep? That would be 2009 The Bowerman winner Galen Rupp of Oregon. The all-time collegiate 5000 meters record holder has a tough field to get through to accomplish that, however. Fellow Bowerman Watch Lister Diego Estrada of Northern Arizona is the top seed at 13:15.33 and No. 2 all-time outdoors, while No. 2 seed Eric Jenkins of Northeastern is No. 7 all-time outdoors at 13:18.57 and could have a chip on his shoulder after his disqualification at 3000 meters indoors. Also in the field are 2012 scorers Paul Chelimo of UNC-Greensboro (runner-up) and Girma Mecheso of Oklahoma State (eighth).

10,000 Meters
In order to complete the sweep, Lalang will need to get through the 10,000 meters first. At 28:14.63 he is the No. 2 seed behind Mecehso of Oklahoma State, the only collegian sub-28 this season at 27:52.38. Also in the field is 2012 fifth-place finisher Jared Ward of BYU, seeded No. 4 this year, and Ryan Dohner of Texas, who finished seventh a year ago. In terms of the team race, Florida State has two in scoring position in No. 5 Michael Fout and No. 7 Breandan O’Neill, while Oregon has No. 3 Parker Stinson and Arkansas will field No. 6 Solomon Haile.

110 Hurdles
With three of the top four in this event representing top-five teams, there’s more at stake in this race than simply the individual title — and two of the three set season’s bests at the Prelims last weekend. Wayne Davis II of Texas A&M is the top seed after a 13.27 showing at the West Prelims, hoping to break through after a runner-up finish a year ago, while Eddie Lovett of Florida is the No. 4 seed after a 2013-best 13.39 at the East Prelims. Oregon’s No. 2 Jonathan Cabral didn’t improve his 13.33w (+2.6m/s) at the Prelims. Another who is peaking at the right time is Terrence Somerville of Cincinnati, who ran a season’s best 13.37 at last week’s Prelims. Joining Davis and Lovett as returning scorers are third-place finisher Spencer Adams of Clemson and eighth-placer Keiron Stewart of Texas.

400 Hurdles
Five men have dipped under 50 seconds this season, all of whom have been on the NCAA Finals stage before. USC’s Reggie Wyatt is the top seed at 49.17 and the top-returner after finishing third a year ago. Right behind him at No. 2 is Michael Stigler of Kansas, who is seeded at 49.42 and finished sixth as a freshman a year ago. Jeffrey Gibson of Oral Roberts had the fastest season’s best last week at the prelims at 49.80.

4×100
The biggest upset in this event arguably already happened when the top-ranked Texas A&M squad was disqualified in the Prelims. Alabama takes over as the top seed at 38.97, just one-hundredth of a second faster than defending champ No. 2 LSU and another one-hundredth faster than No. 3 Florida. Right behind the Gators at No. 4 is Florida State at 39.32 and Arkansas is No. 6 at 39.34.

4×400
Half of the top eight teams in the event are among those competing for the team title, which very well may come down to this final event. If it does, Texas A&M is the top seed at 3:02.52, narrowly ahead of Florida at 3:02.65 from the Texas Relays — a meet at which the Gators edged out the Aggies in the event. Oregon’s No. 5 team at 3:04.16 and Arkansas’ No. 8 3:04.68 put them right in the running for the title, as well.

High Jump
Though the field is loaded with 22 men who have cleared 7 feet this season, the headliner is without a doubt Indiana’s Derek Drouin against Kansas State’s Erik Kynard. The two tied this past weekend at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League Meeting at 7-8¾ (2.36m) at the same venue at which they’ll be competing this weekend. The two have combined for the last three outdoor titles, with Kynard taking the past two, while Drouin has claimed three indoor crowns, including this season’s. Drouin bested Kynard at the Texas Relays, but Kynard has cleared 7-8+ twice this outdoor season to Drouin’s once. If more reason to tune in is required, consider that the winner could likely be a finalist and potential winner of The Bowerman, and that the all-time collegiate record could very well be in jeopardy.

Pole Vault
Andrew Irwin of Arkansas has dominated the indoor pole vault in his first two seasons, winning the title both times, but an outdoor title has eluded him to this point thanks to Jack Whitt of Oral Roberts, who is back to defend his title. Sam Kendricks of Ole Miss is the man to beat, however, after posting the only 19-foot vault by a collegian in 2013 with a clearance of 19-¾ (5.81m). Akron freshman Shawn Barber also stands between Irwin and a championship, seeded No. 2 at 18-8¾ (5.71m).

Long Jump
Indoor champion Marquis Dendy of Florida failed to advance from the East Prelims in perhaps the biggest upset of the entire weekend, opening the door for No. 1 seed Damar Forbes of LSU at 27-4½w (8.34m, +2.3m/s) to have a better shot at improving from runner-up in 2012 to winning the title this year. Arkansas could make a significant statement in the team race with three in this event, led by No. 5 Jarrion Lawson.

Triple Jump
Dendy of Florida will have a chance to make up for his long jump mishap in the triple jump and gain his team back some vital points if they hope to defend their title. Seeded at No. 8, he joins top-ranked teammate Omar Craddock — the defending champ in the event. Craddock is the only jumper in the field to reach 54 feet this outdoor season, with four others who have surpassed 53 feet, including No. 4 Dave Brown of Texas A&M and Tarik Batchelor of Arkansas, both at 53-0 (16.15m).

Shot Put
Bowerman Watch Lister Ryan Crouser of Texas is far and away the top seed in the event at 69-2½ (21.09m) by more than five feet, but lurking at No. 6 is two-time defending champ Jordan Clarke of Arizona State, just waiting for his breakout competition of the spring.

Discus Throw
Should UCLA’s Julian Wruck not win the title in the discus, it would be the biggest upset on the men’s side. Just this past weekend, Wruck smashed the collegiate record with a throw of 223-7 (68.16m) among five throws that rank among the ten best in collegiate history, placing him sixteen feet ahead of defending champion Chad Wright of Nebraska. Aside from Wruck and Wright, two other men have surpassed 200 feet this season, and four scorers return from a year ago.

Hammer Throw
A pair of underclassmen are the top two seeds in the event in Oklahoma State’s Nick Miller at 234-11 (71.60m) and Virginia Tech’s Tomas Kruzliak at 232-5 (70.84m), but two veterans are right on their tails looking to improve on their top three finishes from a year ago. Alec Faldermeyer of UCLA finished third last season and is No. 3 at 228-10 (69.75m) this season, while Florida’s Jeremy Postin finished runner-up last year and is No. 4 now at 225-4 (68.68m).

Javelin
Illinois State’s Tim Glover defeated Texas A&M’s Sam Humphreys at last year’s NCAA Finals, but the tables have been turned. It is Humphreys who enters as the No. 1 seed by more than ten feet over Glover at 268-8 (81.90m) to his 258-0 (78.65m). Also in the mix are oregon’s Sam Crouser at No. 3 and third-place finisher Matthias Treff of Virginia Tech at No. 4.

Decathlon
Four of last season’s top eight decathletes are back for more this season, but it’s a pair of freshmen who have stolen the show. Johannes Jock of Texas is the top seed at 8,293, narrowly ahead of Maicel Uibo of Georgia at 8,223. Runner-up from a year ago Romain Martin of UT-Arlington is also in the field, as is third-place finisher and indoor heptathlon champ Kevin Lazas of Arkansas, who could make significant inroads in the Razorbacks’ team title hopes if he improves upon his No. 16 seed.

---

NCAA DI Outdoor Championships Women’s Preview

NEW ORLEANS – If the competition in Eugene, Ore., for the NCAA Division I outdoor team title is anything similar to what took place in Fayetteville, Ark., during the winter for the indoor title, the women’s championships could be among the most exciting in history.

And, if pre-meet rankings and formcharts are any indicator, that may very well turn out to be the case.

Accepted Entries: MEN | WOMEN
Entry Leaders: By Team | By Conf
Event-by-Event "Brackets"
Event-by-Event "Info Sheets"
USTFCCCA Stat Supplement

Start Lists: MEN | WOMEN

FOLLOW LIVE: Live Results | Oregon/Pac-12.com | ESPN3 | Broadcast Schedule

National Championships Central

A number of teams are all in strong contention for the overall title, while battles just as intense will be taking place in each event throughout the four day meet between June 5 and June 8 at Historic Hayward Field.

The Team Race

Will it be Kansas taking home its first NCAA outdoor title? Could Oregon complete the triple crown by adding a 2013 outdoor title to its indoor and cross country titles? Can Texas A&M win it all in its first year in the SEC over conference rivals LSU, Florida and Arkansas, or will one of the SEC’s old guard take the title?

Each answer is an equally plausible scenario for how the next four days of competition will shake down, as each of those teams plus a handful of others are all jockeying through a crowded field for the team title. The USTFCCCA National Team Computer Rankings and the Track & Field News formchart both project Kansas as the slim favorites — over Texas A&M at No. 2 in the USTFCCCA rankings and over Oregon at No. 2 by one point in the T&F News predictions.

In terms of sheer numbers, The Texas A&M women have the most entries into NCAA Finals events with 16 — half of which are sprinters and hurdlers and a quarter of which are top-10 contenders at 100 meters, a make-or-break event for the Aggies.

Florida and Oregon will both be represented by 15 entries into the NCAA Finals. Florida has seven sprints/hurdles entries, most of whom are seeded outside of scoring position and could provide a boon for the Gators should they work their way into the top eight of their events. Indoor champion Oregon is loaded with top-flight talent on the track in the sprints, middle distances and long distances among their 15 entries who will need to perform up to or exceed their seedings to bolster the Ducks’ title aspirations.

Kansas will bring 13 entries while Arizona, LSU and Texas will have 12 apiece. Arkansas will bring 11 entries and Georgia, Penn State, USC and Stanford all qualified 10.

As the projected top seed in the USTFCCCA computers, Kansas is the most top-heavy of the top-seeded teams with six entries seeded within the top four and six more seeded between No. 5 and No. 8 for a total of 12 seeded in scoring position. The next closest is LSU with nine seeded in the top eight — four in the top four and five between No. 5 and No. 8.

Texas A&M stands to be in perhaps the best position to add more potential scorers to its eight seeded within the top of their events, as the Aggies have four entries ranked between No. 9 and No. 12, the most of any top-10 team in contention for the title, to go along with their eight seeded in the top eight.

Oregon could also be a big beneficiary of improvement from the middle seeds into scoring position, as indoor 5000 meters runner-up Jordan Hasay is seeded No. 16 in the event entering the NCAA Finals, in addition to five others seeded between No. 9 and No. 16.

See the full breakdown of event entry rankings sorted by total entries below, with category leaders bolded and highlighted by a darker gray.

A Breakdown of the Top-10 Entries’ Seedings
Team	Total Entries	#1-4 (Seed)	#5-8 (Seed)	#9-12 (Seed)	#13-16 (Seed)	#17-20 (Seed)	#21-24 (Seed)	SCORING (Top 8)	TOP HALF (Top 12)
Texas A&M	16	4	4	4	2	1	1	8	12
Florida	15	5	2	3	2	2	1	7	10
Oregon	15	4	3	2	4	1	1	7	9
Kansas	13	6	6	1	0	0	0	12	13
Arizona	12	4	1	3	1	3	0	5	8
LSU	12	4	5	0	1	1	1	9	9
Arkansas	11	4	1	2	2	0	2	5	7
Georgia	10	3	3	2	1	1	0	6	8
UCF	8	6	0	1	0	1	0	6	7
Arizona State	7	4	1	2	0	0	0	5	7

Event-by-Event Previews and Storylines

100 Meters
Perhaps the most stacked event in the entire championships between men and women. Three members of the final Bowerman Watch List are in the field in defending 100 meters champ English Gardner of Oregon, reigning The Bowerman winner Kimberlyn Duncan of LSU and indoor 60 meters champ Aurieyall Scott of UCF, in addition to UCF teammate Octavious Freeman who also received mention and is a past member of the list. Furthermore Duncan, Gardner, Freeman and Texas A&M’s Ashley Collier are all among the top ten fastest performers in collegiate history. Keep an eye on Texas A&M’s quartet of top-10 sprinters, led by Collier with Ashton Purvis, Jennifer Madu and Olivia Ekpone, which could have an important role in the women’s title race.

200 Meters
Many of the same sprinters are in play in this event — two-time defending champ Duncan, Scott, Freeman and Gardner — and Texas A&M again has three in this event in No. 2 Kamaria Brown, Purvis and Ekpone, all in the top 14. Nine total women have run sub-23 this season including Paris Daniels of the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks. A potential darkhorse contender could be Kai Selvon of Auburn, who finished runner-up to Duncan last season and ran the seventh-fastest NCAA Prelims time in the country.

400 Meters
Defending champion Ashley Spencer of Illinois is rounding into form after a less-than-torrid start to the outdoor season, running a collegiate-leading 50.88 at the NCAA Prelims last weekend to become the first collegian under 51 seconds this season. The road to a repeat will be anything but easy with six scorers from last season’s meet returning including Arkansas’ Regina George and Phyllis Francis of Oregon, and a pair of indoor champions in the field in Diamond Dixon and Shaunae Miller. Dixon, George and Francis all have the extra motivation — or pressure — of running for valuable points in the incredibly tight team race. Florida could also make a push in the team title race with two sprinters ranked in the bottom half of the field.

800 Meters
Natoya Goule of LSU has dominated the event all season long, leading the event practically from wire-to-wire this outdoor season after claiming the indoor title this winter. At 2:00.76 as her fastest time coming in and a handful of races faster than anyone else in the country, her closest competitor figures to be Laura Roesler of Oregon at 2:01.75, along with LSU teammate and 2012 runner-up Charlene Lipsey in 2:03.13. Apart from Goule and Roesler, most of the field of 24 is separated by just over two and a half seconds. Look for a fast pace early from Goule, who has pushed the pace in all of her races this season.

1500 Meters
Emma Coburn, the fastest runner at 1500 meters for 2013 and the indoor mile champ will be focusing on the 3000 steeplechase, leaving the field at 1500 meters wide open. Based on season’s best times, Natalja Piliusina of Oklahoma State — who finished just out of points in 2012 at 10th — is the favorite at 4:09.57 by a second over Cory McGee of Florida State (4:10.55) and Amanda Winslow of Florida State (4:10.79), who both scored at last season’s meet. This event has team implications with both Florida (McGee and No. 4 Agata Strausa) and Oregon (No. 7 Anne Kesselring and No. 11 Becca Friday) fielding a pair of runners apiece.

3000 steeplechase
Emma Coburn of Colorado is the prohibitive favorite in the event with the best time in the country this season by more than 20 seconds at 9:28.26. After a redshirt season last year when she made the Olympics final, she is back to defend her 2011 title. Seven other women have broken 10 minutes this season, including Colleen Quigley of Florida State, who finished fifth in the event a year ago. Of the 24 in the field, 17 ran season’s bests at the NCAA Prelims.

5000 Meters
The biggest headline in this race isn’t necessarily the team race, but the race for The Bowerman positioning between top-ranked Abbey D’Agostino of Dartmouth (15:11.35) and No. 2 Betsy Saina of Iowa State (15:12.05) — who have both run all-time in-season top-five times in 2013. A win would give D’Agostino — who is currently in the "Also Receiving Mention" category of the Watch List — three NCAA titles this season after sweeping the indoor 3000/5000 titles, in addition to a defense of her 2012 outdoor title. Saina would have a chance to sweep the 5000 and 10,000 titles outdoors with a win to bolster her Watch List status. Right behind those two is Wichita State’s Aliphine Tuliamuk-Bolton in the all-time top ten, with 12 others faster than 16 minutes in 2013. Just outside the top 15 is Oregon’s Jordan Hasay, who could make a big impact on both this race and the overall team race.

10,000 Meters
Saina is again the headliner in this race, with both her (31:37.22) and Tuliamuk-Bolton (32:07.20) in the all-time in-season top ten list. Washington’s Megan Goethals — who will also be a factor in the 5000 meters — is the third-ranked runner at 32:52.78 and heads a pack of 19 runners within a minute of one another.

100 Hurdles
Among the biggest upsets of the NCAA Finals would be a loss in the 100 hurdles by Brianna Rollins (12.54w, +2.1m/s), who has been performing at an all-world level from the very first race of the indoor season. She will be chasing a higher spot in the all-time collegiate rankings, perhaps even the collegiate record of 12.48 set by Ginnie Powell of USC in 2006. Only a couple of hurdlers have been within even a quarter of a second of Rollins this season, including No. 2 Kori Carter of Stanford. Carter (12.76, +0.1m/s) knows a thing or two about taking down a big-name hurdler after twice defeating 400 hurdler Georganne Moline of Arizona — who finished fifth in the Olympics a year ago. UCLA’s Turquoise Thompson is right there as well, just a hundredth of a second back at 12.77 (+0.1m/s).

400 Hurdles
This race could very well boil down to a repeat of the Pac-12 Championships from about a month ago. In addition to Carter vs. Moline IV, the pair will have to deal with Thompson of UCLA, who finished runner-up in the event a year ago and is the No. 3 seed this year. Carter has had Moline’s number this season, defeating the Olympian in each of their three meetings during this outdoor campaign. Arkansas’ Sparkle McKnight and Clemson’s Kendra Harrison have also dipped under 56 seconds this year, providing the top non-Pac-12 competition in the field, and only four others have been under 57.

4×100 Relay
Only one team enters within a second of the top-seeded Texas A&M squad at 42.56, which gives the Aggies a big boost in the team race. Other team-title hopefuls with top-10 seeds in the race include UCF at No. 2 (43.32), Kansas at No. 3 (43.56), LSU at No. 6 (43.70) and Oregon at No. 7 (43.81).

4×400 Relay
The event that gave the Oregon Ducks the team title indoors could be their advantage in a tight outdoor team race, too, as they are ranked No. 1 in this NCAA Finals finale event at 3:26.73. Five other team title contenders are seeded within the top 10: Florida at No. 2 (3:27.43), Texas A&M at No. 4 (3:27.89), Arkansas at No. 5 (3:28.42), Kansas at No. 6 (3:30.73) and LSU at No. 8 (3:31.94).

High Jump
Along with Rollins losing in the 100 hurdles, two-time defending champ Brigetta Barrett losing in the high jump would be the biggest upset of the weekend. The collegiate record-holder is seeded well clear of the field with her record clearance of 6-6¼ (1.99m), but the battle for spots two through eight and their accompanying points are anything but clear. Not including Barrett, 13 jumpers have successfully cleared heights between 6-2 (1.88m) and 6-0 (1.83m), including 2012 runner-up Shanay Briscoe of Texas, fourth-place finisher Krystle Schade of Alabama and sixth-placer Saniel Atkinson Grier of Georgia.

Pole Vault
Three women have cleared heights higher than 14-7 this season, the most recent of whom was indoor champion Natalia Bartnovskaya of Kansas, who made 14-7¼ (4.45m) at the final meet before NCAA Prelims, while you have to go back to March for when Bethany Buell of South Dakota made 14-7½ (4.46m) and Alexis Paine of Alabama cleared 14-7¼ (4.45m). Buell is among three of the top four who will be returning from last year; Georgia’s Morgann Leleux finished runner-up, Buell was third and Washington’s Logan Miller was fourth. Also returning as point scorers from a year ago are seventh-placer Emily Grove of South Dakota and eighth-place finisher Paine.

Long Jump
Coincidentally, the returning four scorers from last season’s competition are seeded inversely from their finishes a year ago. Christabel Nettey of Arizona State finished eighth last season, but enters as the top-seed at 22-1¾ (6.75m) — the only collegiate woman farther than 22 feet in the championships — while Kyle Price finished seventh in 2012 and is ranked No. 2 in 2013 at 21-6w (6.55m, +2.9m/s). Indoor champion Andrea Geubelle of Kansas is ranked third at 21-5¼ (6.53m) after finishing sixth a season ago, and Karynn Dunn of Stanford finished fifth last season, but is seeded tied for 13th now.

Triple Jump
Three of the top four finishers from 2012 are again at the top entering the 2013 championships, all ranked in the top three. Runner-up Shanieka Thomas of San Diego State is the top seed by a foot at 46-5¼ (14.15m), well ahead of indoor champ and near-2012 champ Geubelle of Kansas and Florida’s Ciarra Brewer at 45-5¼ (13.85m). Geubelle will look to claim the title after her apparent winning jump last season was disqualified, and she went on to take third, while Brewer took fourth. Geubelle, Brewer and Texas A&M’s LaQue Moen-Davis — ranked No. 4 at 44-9½ (13.65m) — will also be battling for valuable team points.

Shot Put
Another prohibitive favorite has dominated this event all season in Oklahoma’s Tia Brooks, the defending champion in the event who has yet to lose this season and threw the all-time collegiate record indoors. Outdoors she is powering toward the outdoor collegiate record, having missed the 30-year-old record by just over an inch at the West Prelims with a huge 62-2½ (18.96m) mark and another just a quarter inch shorter. The field she’s up against is strong, with three other returning scorers from a year ago, including the No. 2 seed Felisha Johnson of Indiana State just shy of 60 feet and 2011 NCAA champ Julie Labonte of Arizona. Brittany Smith of Illinois, the runner-up from 2012, is seeded seventh.

Discus Throw
Anna Jelmini of Arizona State finished runner-up a year ago, but she enters this year as the top-ranked thrower by more than 11½ feet with a mark of 198-10 (60.61m). With Texas A&M’s Shelbi Vaughan not making the NCAA Finals, the top challengers to Jelmini are a quartet of throwers who have surpassed 186 feet, including 2012 fourth-place finisher Beth Rohl of Michigan State at No. 2 with a mark of 187-4 (57.10m).

Hammer Throw
Another Sun Devil of Arizona State is the favorite in this event, this time Chelsea Cassulo with a mark of 229-10 (70.07m). Four scorers from a year ago return, including two of the five who have surpassed 220 feet this season in sixth-place finisher Alena Krechyk of Kansas at 223-7 (68.15m) and fifth-place finisher Ida Storm of UCLA at 223-3 (68.05m). Smith of Illinois State also finished runner-up in this event a year ago and is seeded sixth this season.

Javelin
Brianna Bain of Stanford is the top seed in the event this season at 183-10 (56.03m) after finishing runner-up as a freshman a year ago, but she must contend with a group of underclassmen who are all gunning for the title. Freshman Marija Vucenovic of Florida — one of 11 freshmen in the field — is the No. 2 seed at 181-10 (55.43m) and will try to do what Bain couldn’t accomplish last year and win the title in her first year. Sophomores No. 3 Lauren Kenney of Penn State and No. 5 Fawn Miller of Florida, along with freshman Freya Jones of Georgia, are all seeded within 12 feet of Bain.

Heptathlon
Arkansas’ Makeba Alcide is the top seed in the heptathlon entering the NCAA Finals after her 5968-point performance at the SEC Championships, more than 150 points up on No. 2 seed Vanessa Jules of Marshall (5807). She was in a similar position during the indoor season after setting the collegiate record in the indoor heptathlon and then failing to claim the NCAA crown, which instead went to SEC rival Erica Bougard of Mississippi State. Alcide will have to be on top of her game to avoid a similar fate during the outdoor championships with the top ten all seeded within about 350 points of Alcide, including Bougard, 2012 fifth-place finisher Keia Pinnick and 2012 sixth-placer Allison Reaser of San Diego State.