Believe it or not, there has been a collegiate indoor season this year – it just hasn’t dominated the news this time around. In the past we’ve gotten super performances in events like the 400 where collegians Kerron Clement (44.57), Kirani James (44.80) and LaShawn Merritt (44.93) still sit #1, #3, and #4 all time. Similar performances like Wallace Spearmon blazing 20.10 in the 200 – #2 all time or Paul Ereng covering 800 in 1:44.84 – a WR at the time. We’ve seen Ginnie Powell run the hurdles in 7.84, Jenny Simpson the mile in 4:25.91, and Destinee Hooker high jumping 6’ 6”.
This year, however, collegiate performances have seemed rather average for the most part. The high jump has been one exception where Eric Kynard (Kansas St, 7’ 7”) and Brigetta Barrett (Az St, 6’ 5.5”) have performed at a truly elite level. Also the men’s mile where four men have run under 3:56 – headed by Miles Batty’s CR 3:54.54. But for the most part “average’ would describe the season – especially on the track where performances just haven’t heated up yet this year.
That should begin to change this weekend, as the collegiate conferences take center stage. While the U.S. elites are gathering in Albuquerque to see who will represent us at the World Championships in Istanbul, the college athletes will be competing across the country for the opportunity to pursue collegiate titles in Nampa, Idaho in two weeks.
Heading into the conference meets, the SEC and Big 12 conferences dominate the top of the USTFCCCA’s top 25 computer rankings.
Men’s Top Ten College Teams
| 1. | Arkansas | SEC |
| 2. | Florida | SEC |
| 3. | Texas A&M | Big 12 |
| 4. | LSU | SEC |
| 5. | Texas | Big 12 |
| 6. | Arizona | Pac-12 |
| 7. | Arizona St | Pac-12 |
| 8. | Minnesota | Big Ten |
| 9. | Virginia Tech | ACC |
| 10. | Mississippi St | SEC |
Women’s Top Ten College Teams
| 1. | Oregon | Pac-12 |
| 2. | LSU | SEC |
| 3. | Clemson | ACC |
| 4. | Arkansas | SEC |
| 5. | Texas A&M | Big 12 |
| 6. | Florida | SEC |
| 7. | Kansas | Big 12 |
| 8. | Tennessee | SEC |
| 9. | Southern Illinois | Missouri Valley |
| 10. | Ohio St | Big Ten |
As has become the norm over the last half decade or more, the top names continue to be Oregon, Florida, LSU, Arkansas and Texas A&M. These will be the schools to keep an eye on this weekend at the SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12 meets. The following conferences will have online webcasts:
Web Casts
| Big 12 Championships | Big12sports.com |
| SEC Championships | UKathletics.com |
| SEC Championships | ESPN3 |
| ACC Championships | TheACC.com |
| MPSF Championships | FloTrack |
Once the conferences are complete, and we have a better idea of who’s healthy and what events they’ll be competing in, I’ll take a look at breaking down the upcoming the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Tags: NCAA