The NCAA Championships is like the entire NCAA basketball tournament squeezed into four days, a glut of action for track fans. There’s so much going on that you need a guide to help you through all of it, and I’m here to do that every day this week. Fortunately, you can watch a lot of it on TV and all of it online. Today’s action will be webcast by the Pac-12 Network starting at noon in Eugene (3:00pm Eastern time). Each event preview gives you a quick-and-dirty rundown of what to watch for: the favorites, the challengers, a long shot, and how the event affects the team championship battles. The teams projected by Track and Field News to battle for the men’s championship are Arkansas, Texas A&M, Oregon and Florida. On the women’s side, TFN projects a tight two-way battle between Kansas and Oregon. The Duck women have been runner-up four times in a row and are looking to get over the hump. If you want more in-depth info, go to the USTFCCCA’s National Championship Central page or Track and Field News‘ formcharts for men and women.
Decathlon day 1
Begins at Noon local time (3:00pm ET) Favorites: Johannes Hock (Texas), Curtis Beach (Duke) and Maicel Uibo (Georgia). Hock and Uibo are freshmen from Europe who have gone over 8200 points (the Worlds ‘A’ qualifier). Beach won the NCAA decathlon in 2011.
Long shot: Kevin Lazas (Arkansas). The NCAA indoor heptathlon champion has yet to show the same form outdoors. If he does today and tomorrow, he could be in the fight for the win.
Scoring opportunities: Arkansas (Lazas, Nathanael Franks), Oregon (Dakotah Keys). A clutch competitor, Keys won the Pac-12 title by a mere 3 points
Men’s Pole Vault
Favorites: None. This is wide-open.
Challengers: Sam Kendricks (Ole Miss), Andrew Irwin (Arkansas), Jack Whitt (Oral Roberts), Shawn Barber (Akron). Kendricks cleared 5.81 meters (19′ ¾”), an IAAF Worlds ‘A’ qualifier, in perfect conditions at the Texas Relays but lost to Irwin at the SEC Championships. Irwin won the last two NCAA indoor titles but bombed out of last year’s west prelims. Whitt is the defending champion. Barber, a freshman, is the Canadian record holder and won bronze at last year’s World Junior Championships.
Long shot: Cale Simmons (Air Force). The senior has twice finished 5th at an NCAA championships (once indoors, once out).
Scoring opportunities: Arkansas (Irwin). The Hogs need big points out of this rather unpredictable event.
