We're days away from the 2025 DI men's and women's indoor track and field championships. There's no better time than now for my championship predictions, event by event. Let's dive in.
Men's predictions
60 meters — Kanyinsola Ajayi, Auburn
- The men’s 60 meters is wide-open this year, and it’s possible my pick to win doesn’t make the final. That said, I’m picking Auburn’s Kanyinsola Ajayi to win this race. While Ajayi false-started in the SEC 60m final, he’s run sub-6.6 in every race since late January.
60 meter hurdles — Johnny Brackins Jr., Southern California
- As USC makes a push for its first men’s indoor title in more than half a century, Johnny Brackins Jr.'s success in the 60-meter hurdles will play a big role. After finishing as runner-up in the event last year and third at the USATF indoor championship, I think a motivated Brackins will lift the title this year.
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200 meters — Makanakaishe Charamba, Auburn
- Makanakaishe Charamba has run 20.1 at each of his last two meets; no one else has run 20.1 once this year. While lane draw can play a role in who wins the 200 meters, I think Charamba is the obvious favorite here.
400 meters — Auhmad Robinson, Texas A&M
- Auhmad Robinson hasn’t lost a race indoors all year after finishing as the 400-meter runner-up during the 2024 indoor season. Robinson’s undefeated streak will continue into the outdoor season.
800 meters — Tinoda Matsatsa, Georgetown
- Tinoda Matsatsa has been rolling since resetting his 1000-meter record in mid-January. The Hoya has an 800-meter win at the Valentine Invitational and Big East Championships. I think he continues his hot streak at NCAAs.
Mile — Nathan Green, Washington
- When it comes to mid-distance running, it’s hard to ignore the success of the Washington Huskies, who have won five of the last six miles or 1500 meters indoors and outdoors, including the last four straight. Nathan Green, who already has an NCAA title in the 1500m to his name, continues the trend in Virginia Beach.
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3000 meters — Ethan Strand, North Carolina
- The collegiate record holder is my pick here. Simple.
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5000 meters — Habtom Samuel, New Mexico
- Habtom Samuel is the fastest 5000-meter runner entering the championships and his outdoor 10K title proves he has the strength and stamina that can carry him to his first indoor crown.
Distance Medley Relay — Washington
- Washington has the world record in the DMR, while Virginia has the collegiate record. This race can go any which way, with schools like Oklahoma State and North Carolina making a push, too. Nonetheless, I’ll go with Washington since they’ve run the fastest time across all conditions.
4x400 meter relay — Texas A&M
- Texas A&M’s 4x400 meter relay recently won the SEC championship and the Aggies will bring a veteran, senior-heavy lineup to NCAAs. While schools like Arizona State, Florida and Arkansas can challenge, I like Texas A&M here.
Heptathlon — Peyton Bair, Mississippi State
- We may not be on collegiate record watch at NCAA championships like in the past three years, where we saw three Bowerman finalists in the combined events, but the heptathlon should still be exciting. Peyton Bair is a veteran from those intense battles of years past, and as the national leader in the seven-event gauntlet, he’s my front-runner to win.
High jump — Caleb Snowden, Arkansas-Pine Bluff
- The high jump title is for the taking this year. Scottie Vines, a freshman at Arkansas, leads the nation at 2.29 meters, while Nebraska’s Tyus Wilson is a veteran who seems to always be in contention. However, my pick is 2024’s runner-up, Caleb Snowden. While Snowden’s indoor season has been a tad bit underwhelming to date, I think he could be the first national champion in UAPB’s history.
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Long jump — JC Stevenson, Southern California
- JC Stevenson’s path to a long jump title won’t be easy since 60-meter prelims run in during his attempts, but coach Quincy Watts will have his pair of Trojans (Johnny Brackins is also doubling) ready for the hectic nature of a double. That said, I think Stevenson is capable of landing a far jump of 7.8 meters-plus early in his attempts. That’ll allow him to settle in amidst two events and eventually land the 8.0-plus meter jump that’ll win him the title.
Triple jump — Jonathan Seremes, Missouri
- I would not be surprised if the triple jump leaderboard at NCAAs looks similar to the SEC Championship leaderboard in the event. Atop that leaderboard was Missouri’s Jonathan Seremes. At SECs, he landed four jumps of 16.65 meters or greater, peaking at 16.97 meters, a good sign entering championships.
Pole vault — Aleksandr Solovev, Texas A&M
- Aleksandr Solovev has surpassed 5.65 meters at three meets this season, and while his failure to land a clearance at 5.50 meters at the SEC championship draws some concern, I think he’ll correct his mistakes at NCAAs after time to reflect on the loss.
Shot put — Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan, Ole Miss
- Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan is the only man to surpass 21 meters indoor this season in the shot put, making him the pick here. That’ll be three straight shot put titles for the Ole Miss Rebel.
Weight throw — Daniel Reynolds, Wyoming
- The weight throw could surprise us and someone under the radar could win. The event has been so great this year that the defending champion only has the sixth-best throw entering the championships. Nonetheless, my pick here is Wyoming’s Daniel Reynolds after his great series of throws at Mountain West Championships that went 25.06m, 24.43m, 24.44m, foul, 23.31 and 24.83m.
2025 INDOOR T&F CHAMP INFO: Schedule, selections, how to watch, history
Woen's predictions
60 meters — Brianna Lyston, LSU
- I was stuck between eight women who could win the 60 meters this year. It’s that wide open this year. That’s why I’m picking Brianna Lyston — the defending champion — to win. Lyston only opened her individual indoor season in mid-February, and hasn’t run slower than 7.13 seconds. Fresher legs and a faster PB makes her the pick.
60-meter hurdles — Aaliyah McCormick, Oregon
- Aaliyah McCormick is running her fastest at the right time of the year. She’s run sub-8 seconds in her last two meets, and has lowered her season’s best at every meet this year. She’s my pick to win the 60 hurdles.
200 meters — JaMeesia Ford, South Carolina
- JaMeesia Ford won last year’s indoor 200 meters and has the fastest time in the event this year. She’s the pick here.
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400 meters — Aaliyah Butler, Georgia
- There might be deja vu at the NCAA championships if you watch the SEC women’s 400 final. That’s a race where Aaliyah Butler ran 49.78 to win a race where four women ran sub-51. Someone from that race will win the NCAA title in the 400, and I’m going with Butler.
800 meters — Juliette Whittaker, Stanford
- After sweeping the 800 meters last year, Juliette Whittaker is the selection to win the 800 indoors. It’ll take an all-time time to beat Whittaker, and the former champion might run that mark herself.
Mile — Silan Ayylidiz, Oregon
- I’m picking the collegiate record holder here.
3000 meters — Sophia Kennedy, Stanford
- Sophia Kennedy is my dark horse to win a national title this year. She ran 3:42.53 at the Husky Classic before running 3:47.38 to win the ACC title in the 3000 meters. In a race I think could come down to the final two laps, Kennedy is my pick.
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5000 meters — Doris Lemngole, Alabama
- You may have forgotten, but Doris Lemngole set the women’s 5,000-meter collegiate record all the way back in December. Lemngole will face competition from the likes of Hilda Olemomoi (Florida), Lexy Halladay-Lowry (BYU) and Pamela Kosgei (New Mexico). However, the record holder gets by with the win.
Distance Medley Relay — BYU
- Oregon might have the collegiate record in the DMR this year, but BYU ran almost five seconds faster this year. Five seconds is a lot on the track, so the Cougars are the pick in what should be an exciting relay.
4x400 meter relay — Arkansas
- Arkansas only finished fourth at the SEC championships in the 4x400 meter relay, but the Razorbacks didn’t have their best lineup on the track. In what could be a close team title race, Arkansas will send out its fastest runners to get the most points they can with a win.
Pentathlon — Jadin O’Brien, Notre Dame
- I think Jadin O’Brien pulls off the three-peat in the pentathlon. While she doesn’t have the highest score so far this season, she’s proven to step up indoors when it counts the most.
High jump — Rachel Glenn, Arkansas
- To win the high jump this year, I anticipate it will take 1.95 meters or better. That’s getting into collegiate record range and who better to pick for that than Rachel Glenn, who tied a collegiate record to clinch a title win last year.
Long jump — Tacoria Humphrey, Illinois
- Two women have jumped beyond 6.90 meters this year, but only one of those women also won their conference championship. That woman is Illinois’ Tacoria Humphrey. She jumped 6.83 and 6.94 meters to win the Big Ten Title, and is trending upward entering the NCAA championship.
Triple jump — Winny Bii, Texas A&M
- Two women in the championship field have surpassed 14 meters in the triple jump, but Texas A&M’s Winny Bii has been the most consistent of the two. Bii has 10 jumps of 13.70 meters or better this year. That consistency throughout the season will lead to a title.
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Pole vault — Amanda Moll, Washington
- Amanda Moll has broken the collegiate record in the pole vault each of her last two outings. She’s the pick here.
Shot put — Axelina Johansson, Nebraska
- The shot put is extremely hard to predict a winner in. The four to pick from are Big 12 champion KeAyla Dove (Houston), Big Ten champion Axelina Johansson (Nebraska), defending indoor champion Mya Lesnar (Colorado State) or defending outdoor champion Jaida Ross (Oregon). Johansson is my pick after she closed her Big Ten title with four throws beyond 18.3 meters.
Weight throw — Anthonnett Nabwe, Minnesota
- Anthonnett Nabwe is the only woman to throw beyond 24 meters in the weight throw this year. While I think Cal’s Giavonna Meeks or Texas Tech’s Shelby Frank can contend, Nabwe is the pick here.
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