2017 DI NCAA Indoor Championships

Florida's Whole Damn Team Might Not Be Enough To Stop Edward Cheserek

Florida's Whole Damn Team Might Not Be Enough To Stop Edward Cheserek

Oregon, Arkansas, and Florida have won the last eight NCAA indoor men's titles, and that will probably extend to nine this weekend in College Station, Texas.

Mar 9, 2017 by Dennis Young
Florida's Whole Damn Team Might Not Be Enough To Stop Edward Cheserek
Oregon, Arkansas, and Florida have won the last eight NCAA indoor men's titles, and that will probably extend to nine this weekend in College Station, Texas. Including Arkansas' 12-year winning streak from 1984 to 1995, those three schools have won 27 of the last 33 men's indoor titles.

Florida is the favorite, but its perch is precarious. Our projections include KeAndre Bates winning the long jump and taking second in the triple, Kunle Fasasi taking second in the 400, and Grant Holloway taking second in the 60 hurdles.

See full:
Team projections
Sprint projections
Field projections
Distance projections

The Gators also ranked second in the 4x400 relay. What this means is that they have very little room for error, and even less room for improvement. (Three events in which they could gain points are the 800, high jump, and long jump, where we have Andres Arroyo and Clayton Brown both taking sixth and Holloway getting fifth.)

All told, that's 57 points, but that could quickly become a number in the 40s if Bates, Fasasi, and Holloway don't end up in the top two in their respective events. 

Oregon, meanwhile, can bank on 30 points from Edward Cheserek in the mile, 3K, and 5K. We'll know how good the Ducks' team chances are right away on Friday night. The only non-Cheserek Oregon athletes we have scoring are Matthew Maton (fifth, mile), Damarcus Simpson (fourth, long jump), and Mitch Modin (heptathlon, mile).

But they also have Kyree King entered in the 60, Marcus Chambers entered in the 200, Tim Gorman in the mile, Braxton Canady in the 60 hurdles, and Maton in the 3K. If they advance out of their prelims on Friday---particularly the sprinters---the Ducks are gaining against the projections. 

Additionally, Oregon needs the 10 points that a DMR win would provide, and they probably need Cheserek in order to win it. If they don't run Cheserek in the DMR (half an hour after the 5K), then Florida's path to a national title gets much clearer.

We have Arkansas projected for 42 points, which could put the Razorbacks in the mix if things don't break Oregon and Florida's way. (Arkansas has not won an NCAA indoor men's title away from its home track in Fayetteville since 1999.) Kenzo Cotton is projected third in the 60 and 200. Obi Igbokwe is projected fourth in the 400. Andreas Trajkovski is projected for third in the long jump, and Clive Pullen is projected to win the triple jump.

Right now, the long jump and triple jump are set to create 18 points for Arkansas and 26 for Florida. To win this meet, Arkansas will need to wipe out that gap in the jumps, hope Cheserek doesn't pull off a ridiculous quadruple, and finish in the top four in the 4x4 and DMR.

Here are all three teams' entries:

Oregon (50 projected)


Athlete Event Projected place/points
Edward Cheserek Mile 1st (10)
Edward Cheserek 3K 1st (10)
Edward Cheserek 5K 1st (10)
Damarcus Simpson Long jump 4th (5)
Mitch Modin Heptathlon 8th (1)
Matthew Maton Mile 5th (4)
Matthew Maton 3K --
Relay DMR 1st (10)
Tim Gorman Mile --
Kyree King 60 --
Marcus Chambers 200 --
Braxton Canady 60H --


Florida (57 projected)


Athlete Event Projected place/points
KeAndre Bates LJ 1st (10)
KeAndre Bates TJ 2nd (8)
Clayton Brown TJ 4th (5)
Clayton Brown HJ 6th (3)
Grant Holloway LJ 5th (4)
Grant Holloway 60H 2nd (8)
Kunle Fasasi 400 2nd (8)
Andres Arroyo 800 6th (3)
Relay 4x400 2nd (8)
Eric Futch 400 --
AJ McFarland WT --


Arkansas (42 projected)


Athlete Event Projected place/points
Andreas Trajkovski LJ 3rd (6)
Travonn White LJ 7th (2)
Clive Pullen TJ 1st (10)
Kenzo Cotton 60 3rd (6)
Kenzo Cotton 200 3rd (6)
Obi Igbokwe 400 4th (5)
Relay 4x400 5th (4)
Relay DMR 6th (3)
Josh Washington 200 --
Eric Janise 400 --
Ken LeGassey HJ --
Gabe Moore Heptathlon --