Terrance Laird is No. 1 in both the 100 and 200;
JuVaughn Harrison is No. 1 in both the high jump and long jump;
Noah Williams is No. 1 in the 400;
Damion Thomas is No. 2 in the 110H;
Sean Burrell is No. 2 in the 400H; and both the 4×100 and 4×400 relays sit No. 2.
Oregon is poised to make a run at the national title, should it make it unscathed back to Hayward Field through the West Preliminary Round. The Ducks qualified athletes across 13 events, with multiple athletes in the 100 (x2), 800 (x3), 1500 (x4), steeplechase (x2), 5000 (x3) and long jump (x2). Cole Hocker, who is ranked first nationally in the 5000 and third nationally in the 1500, set his sights on becoming the first man in NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships history to sweep both events in the same year (Sheila Reid of Villanova has been the only athlete to accomplish that feat, back in 2011).
Grand Valley State is seeking its first men’s national title and enters the meet ranked No. 1. The Lakers will enter the meet with 17 entries with nine sitting in the top-5. Athletes entering the meet as the top seed are
Dennis Mbuta in the 800 (1:49.07) and
Isaac Harding in the 5000 (13:47.08).
West Texas A&M heads into the NCAA meet at No. 2. Nine of the 10 entries for the Buffs of them sit among the top-5. Don’t blink, because you won’t want to miss
Benjamin Azamati. The national leader and NCAA DII record holder in the 100 (9.97) and 200 (20.20c/20.13A) is also part of the second-ranked 4×100 (40.04).
Top-ranked
LSU will enter the postseason with athletes across 13 events and boast seven top-5 nationally ranked performances. Leading the way for the Tigers with No. 1 billings are
Favour Ofili in the 200 (22.30w)
and
Symone Mason in the 100 (11.02) and
Lisa Gunnarsson in the pole vault (4.50m/14-9). The Tigers also have the top-ranked 4×100 relay of 42.52.
Southern California improved one spot to sit at No. 2 and will rely heavily on their sprints and hurdles squad. The Women of Troy will be paced by
Anna Cockrell, who is currently the fastest seasonal performer in the 400H at 54.77 and ranked No. 5 in the 100H.
Doane (Neb.) kept its hold on the top spot in the National TFRI. The Tigers snatched one season best at the Bronco Last Chance to add to its haul of top-5 nationally ranked efforts.
Richard Dover improved to No. 3 in the discus with his heave of 51.49m (168-11). He was previously ranked sixth going into the weekend.
Indiana Tech stayed at No. 2 for the third straight week. The Warriors earned three season best efforts that rank within the top-5 nationally at the Pacesetter Sports Invitational.
Jordan Highsmith, already ranked No. 4 on the Descending Order List in the 400, improved his mark to 47.20. Highsmith was also part of the 4×100 that turned in the national leading time of 40.55 and the second-ranked 4×400 (3:13.21).
The Razorbacks are eyeing a repeat of the 2019 season, when they were ranked No. 1 for seven consecutive weeks and won the national championship. Arkansas will come into the meet with 25 total entries that span across all events contested. Among the six top-5 nationally ranked marks,
Katie Izzo owns two of them and is expected to double in the 3000 (No. 3) and 5000 (No. 1). The Razorbacks also have the top-ranked DMR and the No. 2 4×400.
The second-ranked Aggies will eye its first podium spot since 2009 when they finished second in the team standings. Texas A&M will come into the meet with only 11 entires, but put an emphasis on quality. The Aggies have six of performances ranked within the top-5 nationally, with three of them being national leaders: