A dream 60m matchup between Grant Holloway and Divine Oduduru. Oduduru’s 200m encore after his 20.08. A potential world record in the 4x400m. The men’s sprints at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships has it all and then some.

Here’s what to watch in Birmingham in the fastest events:

Men’s 60m - Hurdler Grant Holloway, 200m Star Divine Oduduru Square Off For First Time 

It says a lot about the incredible versatility of both Florida’s Grant Holloway and Texas Tech’s Divine Oduduru that neither is a 60m runner by trade, and yet they are the two strongest favorites for the NCAA 60m title in Birmingham. 

Holloway is a hurdler first and foremost-- the 60mH collegiate record holder has never lost a championship hurdle race indoor or outdoor-- but his foray into the flat 60m has gone off without a hitch; his NCAA-leading 6.51m performance in January was followed up with a win at SECs to make him the class of this field. Oduduru’s speciality is the 200m, and he’ll be riding a tidal wave of momentum after running the third-fastest indoor 200m in world history at Big 12s (20.08). His 6.52 60m win on the same day showed that he’s sharp for both of his events heading into nationals.

Grant Holloway is a cheat code.pic.twitter.com/GvaEDcunRr

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) January 26, 2019

The key to Holloway’s jaw-dropping 6.51 early in the season was a fabulous start, an aspect of his race he was unable to duplicate at SECs. He still ran 6.54 and won with relative ease, but a lackluster start against Oduduru-- who was fabulous out of the blocks in Lubbock-- could doom the Florida star at NCAAs.

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

Of course, a race as short as the 60m is vulnerable to upsets, and guys like NC State’s Cravont Charleston (6.54 PB), Washington State’s Emmanuel Wells (6.55) and Florida State’s Kasaun James (6.56 PB) are the secondary contenders to watch. There are, however, significant reasons to be skeptical of each of their title chances; Charleston and Wells both finished third in their conference 60m, and while James won the ACC title over Charleston, he’ll need to improve on his 6.56 best to win the national title. All three men will be making their NCAA indoor debuts.

Men’s 200 - Divine Oduduru And Everybody Else

With his 20.08 performance two weeks ago, Divine Oduduru took what was once shaping up to be a close NCAA 200m battle between he and teammate Andrew Hudson (20.33 PB) and has made himself one of the strongest favorites in Birmingham. Only two men in history-- Frankie Fredericks (19.92) and Eli Hall (20.02)-- have run faster, and if Oduduru is again in their orbit this weekend no one will touch the Texas Tech junior.

Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription!

Sign Up

Already a subscriber? Log In

Other than a slow-ish start to 2019-- Oduduru managed just a 20.51 opener in late January, which was surpassed by Florida State’s Kasaun James in a separate heat-- the Nigerian enters NCAAs with no blemishes. He was the outdoor 200m champion last June and finished runner-up to Hall indoors a year ago. He’ll win barring a monumental upset this weekend.

Men’s 400m - World Leader Kahmari Montgomery Is The Heavy Favorite, But Loaded Field Awaits Him

Houston's Kahmari Montgomery own the world’s fastest time in 2019 (45.04) and has the championship experience to make him a strong favorite for the title. He also has a very good chance to join an exclusive club: if Montgomery can break 45 seconds, he would become just the sixth American to do so indoors. Accomplishing that feat would likely notch him his first NCAA title, as no other collegiate has sniffed sub-45 this season. 

On paper, the gap between Montgomery and the field is enough to where the Houston senior might not even need his ‘A’ game to win in Birmingham; only Baylor’s Wil London has come within a quarter of a second of Montgomery (45.19), and that’s if you don’t factor in the altitude conversion that moves London’s mark up to 45.30. But still, Montgomery would be wise to be at his best against London and Houston teammate Obi Igbokwe.

Igbokwe did not compete in the conference 400m where Montgomery set the world lead, but if he did we might be previewing a toss-up race. Igbokwe’s 45.35 season’s best pales in comparison to 45.04, but the Arkansas transfer did beat Montgomery when the pair last raced over 400m on Feb. 9.

London popped off a huge nationals tune-up by winning the Big 12 in 45.19. That was an indoor PB for the 44.47 outdoor man by more than half a second.

Other contenders to watch include a man who beat all of the aforementioned in the 2018 NCAA outdoor final, South Carolina State’s Tyrell Richard, and SEC champion Quincy Hall of South Carolina, who will be making his NCAA Championship debut after running two years at a junior college.

Men’s 60m Hurdles - Grant Holloway Will Win, But Daniel Roberts Won’t Go Down Easily

Grant Holloway has never lost a NCAA hurdles championship, and in a season in which he’s become the fastest 60m man in the country, don’t expect him to start now. Surprisingly, the Florida sensation has not (yet) broken his 7.42 collegiate record this season, but his 7.43 stands as the second-fastest ever; a good performance in Birmingham is likely to be record-setting for Holloway.

3⃣-PEAT!@Flaamingoo_ becomes the second man in HISTORY to sweep the 60m and 60 Hurdles!

And his 2⃣8⃣ points set an #SECTF Indoors SCORING RECORD ????

?: https://t.co/v9To5sqSQG pic.twitter.com/w2OC34e0XH

— Gators Track and Field & Cross Country (@GatorsTF) February 23, 2019

For the first time in his career, Holloway has a worthy adversary in the 60m hurdles that should push him all the way to the line. Kentucky’s Daniel Roberts has been a revelation this season, improving from a 7.71 PR in 2018 to 7.48 at the SEC Championships two weeks ago, making him the fourth-best performer in NCAA history.

While Holloway is in his own versatile category as a 6.51 60m/7.42 60mH guy, Roberts has become sort of like Holloway-lite. He has 6.63 60m speed that would be noteworthy if not for the otherworldly talents of Holloway.

Again, Holloway is very unlikely to lose this race, but Daniel Roberts is the man to keep an eye on should the Florida star crack under the pressure of competing in four events this weekend.

Men’s 4x400m - Houston v. Texas A&M Round II

You couldn't have asked for a better NCAA preview than Houston and Texas A&M's 4x400m matchup on Feb. 9. The sprint powerhouses battled to the fourth (Houston, 3:01.51) and fifth-fastest (A&M, 3:01.56) times in NCAA history, the best marks ever outside of the NCAA Championships. A&M’s Devin Dixon split 44.24, the fastest indoor carry ever, while Houston’s Kahmari Montgomery wasn’t far behind with a 44.46 anchor. Since both schools ran faster than the 2018 USC squad-- who set the 3:00.77 world record* a month later at NCAAs-- on the same weekend a year ago, the prospect of the winning team on Saturday becoming the new world record holders is very real.

With such a small margin between the teams in their first matchup, it’s tough to choose a favorite for a race taking place one month later. Dixon has been on fire this indoor season, and if his teammates can get him the stick in the lead not even Montgomery may be able to catch him.

But each team’s stars will be coming off of individual races, so this race isn’t simply taking place in a vacuum. Whoever can muster the strongest effort on tired legs will walk away as champions in Birmingham, and just maybe the fastest indoor 4x400m quartet ever.