If you’re looking for world-class action in track and field, collegiate meets are the place. NCAA track and field provides some of the most stellar performances year after year. Currently, the fastest woman in the world for the 100-meter dash this season is Tennessee senior, Jacious Sears.
Many things are at stake for collegiate athletes, so it’s no surprise that they continue to perform at such high levels. They’re preparing for two conference championships, two national championships, their country’s qualifier for major international championships, World Championships, the Olympics, and the possibility of scoring a contract with a major shoe company. College track and field also differs from other collegiate sports in that collegiate athletes may compete and train alongside professionals.
NCAA’s Global Record
It is easy to say that the NCAA produces some of the best track athletes in the world, but the statistics make that statement undeniable.
Every season, World Athletics, the international governing body for track and field, ranks athletes and competitions based on several factors. They use that data to provide athletes and meets with scores and they use those scores to rank performances.
Last year, the two highest-ranking meets in the world by the end of April were NCAA competitions. According to the World Athletics website, only two meets at the time scored over 85,000 ranking points. They were the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational and Texas Relays. The Pepsi Florida Relays was another collegiate meet in the top five last year.
MORE FROMFORBES ADVISOR
During the 2020 Olympics, there were 128 athletes named to Team USA for track and field. 95% of those athletes participated in the NCAA during their athletic career. Jasmine Moore, Athing Mu, Anna co*ckrell, Tara Davis-Woodhall, Yared Nuguse, JaVaughn Harrison, Elija Godwin, and Bryce Deadmon were some of the collegiate athletes who made the Olympic team that year. These athletes, along with their professional peers, took one of two paths. They either completed their collegiate eligibility before the Tokyo Games or after the Olympics. Track and field is one of a few collegiate sports where it is normal to see an NCAA athlete return to school after competing in the Olympics.
NCAA Champions Who Competed At The Tokyo Olympics
Athing Mu had a historical run during the 2021 season, leaving fans in awe of her talent. In February that year, she broke the indoor collegiate record for the 800-meter by over 2 seconds. She then broke the collegiate record again outdoors in April. To finish her collegiate season, she became national champion in the 400 and broke the collegiate record in that as well. Unsurprisingly, she won the U.S. Olympic Trials and her first Olympic gold medal in the 800-meter at 19 years old.
Anna co*ckrell had a season to remember leading up to the Tokyo Olympics. She became one of very few NCAA athletes to win the 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles at the national championship. She opted to only contest the 400-meter hurdles at the U.S. Trials, and her decision paid off. She ended up making her first Olympic team in the event.
JaVaughn Harrison is another athlete who completely shattered the ceiling of what collegiate athletes can do. Harrison became the first person in NCAA history to win the high jump and long jump at the national championships. He then went on to do something that hadn’t been seen in track and field since 1912: Harrison qualified for the Olympics in both the long jump and high jump. He placed 5th in the long jump and 7th in the high jump in Tokyo.
College Athletes This Year Who Could Make The Jump
Following in the footsteps of these outstanding athletes are a plethora of others who hope to accomplish the same dream this year. The Oregon Duck Jaida Ross, the new collegiate record holder in the shot put, is the second-best thrower in the U.S. this season. Chris Robinson, the Alabama senior who will be looking to defend his national title in the 400-meter hurdles this week, is also ranked number two in the U.S.
Jameesia Ford and McKenzie Long, athletes from South Carolina and Ole Miss, respectively, have developed a healthy rivalry in the 200-meter dash this year. Ford, the freshman, is the current indoor SEC and national champion in the event. Additionally, Ford equaled Allyson Felix’s U20 American record at the outdoor SEC Championships. Long, the senior is the first athlete since 2013 to be a back-to-back outdoor SEC Champion in the 200-meter dash. She is currently ranked number one in the world in the event. Both women have demonstrated excellent competitiveness throughout the year and have a strong chance of representing Team USA in Paris.
Although she injured herself several weeks ago at the SEC Championships, Jacious Sears is recovering diligently in hopes of competing at the U.S. Trials. If any collegiate athlete has a strong chance at going to Paris, it is Sears, the current 100-meter world leader.
NCAA Athletes Who Could Represent Other Countries In Paris
Despite many of the names mentioned above being American, even more athletes in the NCAA represent other countries. According to USTFCCCA, Kingston, Jamaica, will have the largest number of representatives at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships this week, totaling 15 athletes. If you look at the NCAA rankings list, many of the top 10 athletes in each event represent other countries. For example, in the 100-meter and 200-meter, five out of the top 10 men are not American. Since some of their countries do not hold the same athletic depth as the U.S., you can fully expect many of those men to become Olympians this summer.
Some of the men and women to watch out for who are still in the NCAA representing other countries: Tarsis Orogot from Uganda, Cheickna Traore from the Ivory Coast, Christopher Morales-Williams from Canada, Brianna Lyston from Jamaica, Amber Anning from Great Britain, Nickisha Pryce from Jamaica, and many more.
As the Olympics and Olympic Trials draw closer, fans and spectators should expect to see some of the greatest performances they have ever seen from current and former NCAA athletes. If you are itching to tune into these performances, the NCAA season concludes this week at Hayward Field. The best collegiate athletes in the country will be fighting for All-American status and team titles, June 5th-8th on ESPN 2.
