The start lists for the 2024 NCAA Division I outdoor track and field championships have been announced. Here's a look at heats you don't want to miss when action begins on the track.
Heat 2 women's 100 meters
Only the top two finishers in each heat are guaranteed spots in the final race, and the remaining three spots go to the three remaining fastest finishers. That means in Heat 2 of the women's 100 meters, two of Thelma Davies (lane 4, LSU), Rosemary Chukwuma (lane 5, Texas Tech), Brianna Lyston (lane 6, LSU) and Kaila Jackson (lane 7, Georgia) will be left in wait-and-see mode during the final heat.
This stands out because Chukwuma and Lyston are the only two 100-meter runners in Eugene with wind-legal sprints below 10.9 seconds. And Jackson with a 10.95 season's-best and Davies with an 11.01 season's-best aren't slouches either. Heat 2 should be exciting.
CHAMPIONSHIP UPDATES: Live updates of the 2024 NCAA DI outdoor track and field championships
Heat 3 men's 400 hurdles
Rivalries are what make sports special. We have one in the 400 hurdles that will see Alabama's Chris Robinson face Tennessee's Clement Ducos for the fourth time this year. Here are the duo's previous finishes
- East first round: Robinson first in 48.77, Ducos second in 48.93
- SEC Championship: Ducos first in 47.69 (DQ), Robinson second in 48.43
- Tom Jones Memorial: Robinson first in 47.95, Ducos second in 48.26
With the SEC championship seeing Ducos disqualified, the Tennessee hurdler has never defeated 2023's defending 400 hurdles champion Robinson. With the competitive nature of athletes, I'm sure Ducos wants to prove that the DQ was a fluke, and Robinson wants to prove he is one of the most dominant athletes in college track and field with another win. We're in for a treat when Heat 3 takes the track.
Heat 2 women's 800 meters
This heat is a must-watch because LSU's Michaela Rose and Arkansas' Sanu Jallow are running in lanes 5 and 6, respectively. The duo are the two fastest 800-meter runners in the country this season. Rose owns four of the five fastest times run in collegiate history, and Jallow owns the eighth-fastest time run in collegiate history. Could these two push each other to a collegiate record-breaking pace before the championship final?
START LISTS: |
Heat 1 women's 100 hurdles
This heat could impact the team title race. As mentioned earlier, only the top two finishers are guaranteed spots in the final, and LSU has its two 100 hurdlers in this same heat. Leah Phillips and Shani'a Bellamy will be running next to each other in lanes 6 and 7, but they won't be the only contenders to win this race.
In lane 4, you'll find USC's Jasmine Jones, a Bowerman watch list member. In lane 5, you'll find Washington State's Maribel Caicedo, who ran 12.38 (+3.1) and 12.49 (+1.3) in the West First Round meet.
From those four, two will have to wait two heats to hope their times are fast enough for one of the three remaining berths to the finals. If LSU or USC — ranked No. 2 and No. 9 in the latest USTFCCCA rankings, respectively — don't qualify their runners, it could hurt their chances for a team title.
RECORDS: Every collegiate track and field record broken in 2024
Heat 2 men's 400 meters
Heat 2 of the men's 400 meters could help shape the team title race. Arkansas, Alabama and Florida are the top three ranked teams and take up five spots in that heat. Arkansas (James Benson II and TJ Tomlyanovich) and Alabama (Khaleb McRae and Samuel Ogazi) each have two runners while Florida (JeVaughn Powell) has one runner in the heat. It's not often that five runners come out of the same heat in the sprints, so someone from the Razorbacks, Tide and Gators is on the outside looking in, missing out on key points in the team title race.
: Arkansas, Texas Tech win 2024 indoor titles | Florida, Arkansas win 2024 outdoor titles | How the outdoor championships work
💥HISTORY: Programs with the most titles | Men's champ history | Women's champ history | Bowerman history
🧠 WHAT TO KNOW: Wind and scoring explained | Greatest venues | Best uniforms | The difference between indoor and outdoor seasons
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