We’re about halfway through the 2024 outdoor track and field season, and freshmen around the country have already made an impact. Here are some of the top freshmen men’s athletes so far this year.
Luke Brown | Kentucky | Triple Jump
Luke Brown has jumped the No. 2 triple jump distance in the NCAA this year, with a mark of 16.48 meters. Brown hasn’t lost to a collegiate athlete this year and is tied for the most jumps over 16.40 meters so far this season at two.
Charles Godfred | Minnesota | Long jump
Charles Godfred has the second-best long jump of the outdoor season at 8.19 meters as one of three men to clear 8.00 meters so far this season. He cleared the mark twice, jumping 8.14 meters and 8.19 meters at the 44 Farms Team Invitational.
HALFWAY: Midseason superlatives for NCAA men's and women's outdoor track and field
Parvej Khan | Florida | Mid-Distance
Parvej Khan made himself a name to know at the SEC indoor championships and has lived up to his newfound hype during the outdoor season. Khan ran the No. 5 800 meter time in the country in 1:46.12 at Florida Relays and the No. 11 1500 meter time in the country in 3:38.76 at the Bryan Clay Invitational. That’s two of the most notable meets of the 2024 outdoor season and two notable performances from Khan, who’s quickly becoming one of the top mid-distance runners in the country.
AWARDS: Ranking the 10 men and 10 women on the fourth 2024 Bowerman watch list update
Brian Musau | Oklahoma State | Distance
Brian Musau might’ve run the race of the year when he beat fellow freshman Habtom Samuel in the 5000 meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational with a must-see kick. Musau crossed the line in 13:13.29, which is the sixth-fastest race in collegiate history. More impressively, that was his first race of the outdoor season.
RECORDS: Every collegiate track and field record broken in 2024
Malachi Snow | San Jose State | 110 hurdles
Malachi Snow leads the country with his 13.33 (+2.5) 110-meter hurdles finish. Snow has also impressed in the 100 meters with his 10.27 finish at the Stanford Invitational.
OUTDOOR CHAMPS: Schedule, location, TV channels, history for the 2024 NCAA outdoor track and field championships
Jordan Ware | Mississippi State | Sprints
Jordan Ware ran the No. 2 all-conditions 200-meter time in the NCAA this year in March at 20.18 seconds. Even if you want to credit Ware’s time to the wind, his 20.29 wind-legal race at Tom Jones is still a top-five wind-legal finish in the country this year. Ware looks like a threat in a wide-open men’s sprint field in his rookie year.
MONTH IN REVIEW: Recapping the top outdoor track and field moments of March
Habtom Samuel | New Mexico | Distance
Habtom Samuel opened his outdoor season by running the second-fastest collegiate 10,000-meter time at 26:53.49, unofficially securing his spot in the Olympics this summer. Less than a month later, he ran 13:13.34 in the 5000 meters for the seventh-fastest time in collegiate history. Samuel is only a freshman but has already shown distance versatility at an all-time level.
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