NCAA Indoors: Women's Preview
NCAA Indoors: Women's Preview
by: Ryan Craven
On paper, the Oregon Ducks were slated to run away with the Women’s NCAA Indoor title for the second year in a row. On paper, they were an unstoppable force boasting an astonishing 14 entries, the majority of which were well within the top half of their respective fields if not heavy favorites. On paper, the Ducks had it all wrapped up before the gun was set to sound.
But here’s the thing…not a single team out there cares how the Ducks look on paper—They care how they look on the track.
Case in point, highly ranked Alex Kosinski was set to run the 3k and 5k for the Ducks before withdrawing late Wednesday afternoon from the meet for unknown reasons.
Even without Kosinski, the ever familiar “O” on the back of a green and yellow singlet will more closely resemble a target this weekend as competitors prepare for what promises to be an intense match up between the nation’s powerhouse track & field programs.
At the beginning of the week, a landslide victory for Oregon seemed inevitable. Now, just days before competition is set to begin, the race for the team title has tightened considerably and only one thing is clear: Anything can happen.
Here’s a look at the events that will have the greatest impact on the outcome of the meet.
200m
Second raked LSU will be looking to do some major damage in the 200m. Not only do they have a startling three competitors entered in the event, but the trio of Kimberlyn Duncan, Semoy Hackett and Rebecca Alexander are all under the 23 second mark and ranked first, second and fourth respectively. Fifth ranked Texas A&M will also be hoping to make an impact as juniors Jeneba Tarmoh and Dominique Duncan are expected to grab up all-american spots as well.
400m
The 400 looks to be an absolute bloodbath and most likely the deciding factor in which teams go home with some hardware and which don’t. Third ranked Texas will bring some heat with four qualifiers in the event, but they’ll have to watch their backs as fourth ranked Arkansas will have three of the top competitors in the event hoping to deprive the Longhorns of as many points as they can. Meanwhile, hometown favorite Jessica Beard of Texas A&M will attempt to improve upon last year’s third place finish as she is the only competitor under 52 seconds heading into the event.
800m
In the 800, none of the top ranked teams has much of a shot to inflict any major point deficit, but nonetheless Oregon’s Laura Roesler will battle LSU’s Charlene Lipsey and Brittany Hall in addition to Stephanie Brown of Arkansas to make the final and pick up any points they can. Up front, Sacramento State’s Lea Wallace will fight to hold onto her number one ranking and redeem herself from a disappointing 8th place finish at last year’s championship, but she’ll have to battle the likes of Michigan’s Rebecca Addison and BYU’s Katie Palmer to do so.
Mile
Here is where the Ducks will have their best chance to really pull away from the competition. Not only will Jordan Hasay be poised to capture her first national title, but she will be joined by fellow sophomore Anne Kesselring and Duck veteran Zoe Buckman. If all three can advance to the final, it will be a devastating sight to LSU, Texas and Arkansas who have no milers qualified for the meet.
3000m
The 3k promises to be a truly epic match up between some of the country’s finest harriers. Jordan Hasay will come back just a few hours after the mile to race a fresh Lucy Van Dalen. Also doubling back are seniors Sheila Reid of Villanova and Tennessee’s Jackie Areson. While Reid only has a leg of the DMR to worry about, Areson will be coming off of a very tough 5000m run. Look for Van Dalen to make it a hot early pace while trying to drop these fine competitors trying to double back. Translation…this could get ugly.
5000m
Seventh ranked Tennessee should be looking to make some noise with the duo of Jackie Areson and Liz Costello ranked first and second heading into the race. Iowa State’s Betsy Saina will try to pick up right where last year’s champion and former teammate Lisa Koll left off as she heads into the race with impressive credentials of her own. Mia Behm of Texas also has the potential to score and take advantage of the absence of any competitors from the other top ranked teams.
DMR
With the absence of Kosinski, the Duck’s DMR could be receiving some help from Jordan Hasay who more than likely would have focused solely on her difficult double on Saturday until the unexpected lineup change. If she does toe the line, she has the opportunity to run an impressive triple that could greatly salvage her team’s chances of winning the title. Regardless, the race should be one for the ages as Villanova, Virginia and Connecticut are all seeded under 11 minutes and could break the facility record of 10:58.19.
4x400
If there is one event that will have a tremendous impact on the outcome of the meet, this year’s 4x400m relay is it. Though the Ducks won the event last year and have pentathlon front runner Brianne Theisen on board, they are seeded at second to last in the event coming into this year’s competition. Meanwhile heavily ranked LSU, Texas, Arkansas and Texas A&M all have a relay that could potentially win the event and perhaps clinch the meet with one last brilliant effort. If the scores are close coming into this event, it’s going to be a nail biter.
Be sure to tune in and watch live as these teams square off in what promises to be an exhilarating weekend of track & field.
Schedule:
Friday, March 11th:
10:00am - 3:55pm (NCAA.com/aggieathletics.com)
3:55pm - 8:40pm (ESPN3)
Saturday, March 12th:
12:00pm - 4:55pm (NCAA.com/aggieathletics.com)
5:00pm - 7:50pm (ESPN3)
The 2011 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships will air on a tape-delay on Wednesday, March 16 from 2:30 – 4 p.m. ET on ESPN2.