Sizzling storylines galore at Track & Field Championships in Austin

By Riley Zayas
Horns Illustrated Contributor

AUSTIN — Close races, top-tier athletes, and huge crowds cheering and chanting — the excitement for the first-ever NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships being held on the Forty Acres is tangible.

The storylines run deep throughout the teams competing with Texas, including some familiar foes from the Big 12 Conference coming to compete at Mike A. Myers Stadium this weekend.

“I’m definitely going to be facing some incredible competitors here at the NCAA Championships,” Kansas middle distance runner Bryce Hoppel said.

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“It’s the toughest meet to come into,” Texas Tech head coach Wes Kittley said prior to the beginning of the meet. “There’s so many great teams here, we respect them all. We love it being in Texas. So many of our kids will have their families here, it makes it so much more fun, a lot more familiar to us, and a lot easier to get to.”

Heat and humidity could play a role in the performances of the athletes

Anybody who has lived in Texas during the summer is well aware of the intense heat that picks up around June.

No doubt the heat, combined with the drenching humidity, will make running at the highest level a challenge, especially for northern teams who are used to freezing temperatures and aren’t acclimated to the high humidity. With this considered, it will be interesting to see how southern teams perform since this weather is familiar to them and they run weekly in these types of conditions. With this said, multiple athletes have mentioned that they are prepared for whatever weather awaits them come race day.

“I’m prepared for anything,” Texas sprinter Teahna Daniels said. “Rain, shine, it doesn’t matter to me. I’ve been training for this moment to possibly win a national championship.”

Hoppel also mentioned the importance of fighting off the heat, especially in long distance races which require a lot of energy.

“Definitely one of the first things is to stay hydrated. Just got to be ready for anything whether it’s the weather or the competition,” he said.

Combined events are must-sees

The 100m dash, long Jump and high jump are staple events at a track meet and sometimes the most watched. But there are two other events that are must-sees at the NCAAs — the decathlon and heptathlon.

While the decathlon primarily features male athletes and the heptathlon usually features the women competitors, both are relatively similar events. They both include the 100m/110m hurdles, shot put, high jump, long jump and the javelin. The decathlon also includes the 100m, 400m, discus, pole vault, and 1500m. At the same time, the heptathlon includes the 200m, 800m runs.

The combined events showcase many different facets of track and field, and often is the basis for finding the best all-around athlete in the NCAA.

Two athletes to watch in these events are Ashtin Zamzow and Ayden Owens.

Zamzow, a senior at Texas, is currently ranked No. 1 in the heptathlon and enters the meet as the favorite much to the delight of many Longhorn fans. Owens also holds the No. 1 ranking in the decathlon and hopes to bring the first NCAA decathlon title to USC.

USC vs Arkansas: A rivalry in the women’s championship

Although the sport of track is one in which many different teams compete, two teams will sometimes go head to head in many events, especially when both teams have runners entering races with top seeds. This is the case in the women’s championship with Arkansas and USC. Both Arkansas head coach Lance Harter and USC head coach Caryl Smith Gilbert are well aware of the rivalry which will be fought out this week.

“Of course it’s exciting competing against coach Harter,” Smith Gilbert said.

Fueling this rivalry is the fact that the two teams are considered the best in the nation, Arkansas at No. 1, USC at No. 2. Both coaches have emphasized the fact that there is much more to this meet than just one other team, and they are still racing against an entire field and not just a few select competitors, even if the rivalry is still very much there.

“I always tell my student-athletes that you’re competing against everyone,” Smith Gilbert said. “You can’t go chasing one team and then there’s someone else there. You have to respect all of your competitors.”

Harter added, “There’s always somebody that is a lower qualifier that has a great performance. You might go in as a favorite and find yourself not even in scoring position. It’s obviously about the preservation of what you’ve done to get here.”

Men’s 800m the race to watch on the men’s side

The men’s 800m will be a race to see as the top six runners are all within one second of each other, creating a fast environment in a medium distance race. Keep an eye on Kansas runner Hoppel, who enters the meet with the fastest seed time, but will be kept close by Texas A&M’s Devin Dixon. However, Hoppel says that he isn’t too concerned about seed times.

“I think I can go however fast I need to to win a race,” he said. “So when it comes to that I’m going to give whatever it takes.”

A portion of that confidence comes from the fact that he hasn’t lost a race all year. That streak could possibly be snapped when facing the best of the best. In the same way, victory is very near for the Jayhawk runner and Hoppel has shown that he can perform at an extremely high level all season. So have the other men in the race, though, making this 800m an all-out sprint in what looks to be one of the closest men’s races of the meet.

100m dash is the race to watch on the women’s side

On the women’s side, the 100m dash will be the race to watch.

Make sure not to blink, because it will be over before you know it. Headlined by Longhorn senior Daniels and NC A&T’s Kayla White, this event is another one which is certainly going to come down to the wire. In fact, both White and Daniels said that they feel that sub-10.8 seconds will be needed to take the win.

“Definitely a world lead,” Daniels stated. “It’s going to be fast!”

White commented, “Definitely 10.7 or 10.8.”

Entering the meet, Daniels is slightly faster than both White and Sha’Carri Richardson, the second seed out of LSU, with a time of 10.99 seconds. Richardson also has a best time of 10.99 with White not far behind; her best time is 11.11. The race will be a quick one and will draw many fans considering it features so many stars and top-tier athletes.

“Of course the 100 is the event to watch,” White said. “The pressure is on, but we’re going to run our best.

Texas in full force

Finally, the host team, Texas, will be well represented at their first NCAA Championships at home. Twenty athletes, nine men and 11 women, will wear the Burnt Orange including freshman Jonathan Jones.

Jones, who is from Barbados, finished second in the 400m at the Big 12 Championships and holds the third fastest time at these NCAAs. Tripp Piperi already got the Horns off to a hot start by winning the National Championship in shot put on the opening day of the meet Wednesday.

Texas’ pride will be evident on the track and also in the stands. The Horns have shown that they can bring large crowds to their meets, drawing 45,000 fans for this year’s Texas Relays.

“We’ve been trying hard to make sure that the fans have good access that they will enjoy the meet,” Texas head coach Edrick Floreal said. “I think we went above and beyond to make sure that everything is in tip-top shape and that the kids can compete well.”

This will be one of the most important meets Texas has ever hosted, bringing athletes, coaches and fans from all over the country. Being on campus, you can sense the excitement in everyone participating and the immensity of this competition. Some of that excitement comes from the fact that a lot of coaches and athletes love competing at Texas, a school that highly values track and field.

“We’re thrilled to be here, we love coming to run here at this facility,” Kittley stated.

LSU Pole Vaulter, Mondo Duplantis, also highlighted how excited he has been to compete on the Forty Acres. “It’s a great facility and probably the best place I’ve ever jumped, ever.”

With this venue being a favorite for many, there’s a true feeling that top performances will be on display and this year’s version of the NCAA Outdoor Championships will have a chance to call Austin home for many years to come.

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