CONFERENCE PREVIEW: Eight Events to Watch at the Big 12 Championships

NEW ORLEANS — With the Big 12 outdoor meet leaving the state of Texas for the first time since 2012 and entering the state of Iowa for the first time ever, there’s an element of newness to this year’s meet. This is one of the best sprints, jumps, and throws conferences in the country–and no knock on the distance races, which are excellent. The sprints, jumps, and throws really are that good. In six of the eight events previewed below, an athlete is ranked first or second in the nation. In one of them, the nation’s top two athletes are in the Big 12; in another, two of the nation’s top three will be in Ames this weekend.

As of publication time, the heat sheets were not public, so these previews are based on regular season performances. But it’s typically a good bet that sprinters and field eventers will compete in their primary event at their conference championship.

Schedule | Heat sheets + live results (coming) | Live stream (Saturday and Sunday only)

Women’s javelin

Friday, 4:00 CT/5:00 ET

The excellently named Avione Allgood has finished seventh and second in the javelin at the last two NCAA outdoor meets–and she might not finish in the top two at her conference meet. Her teammate Elizabeth Herrs and Texas Tech’s Hannah Carson have the top two throws in the Big 12 this spring; all three rank in the top six nationally. Allgood won the conference in the javelin in 2013, and Herrs won last year. Can Carson make things no longer all good for herr?

Men’s high jump

Saturday, 12:00 CT/1:00 ET

Duffield won indoor Big 12s and indoor NCAAs, and finished second at both conference meets last year.

Adkins finished fifth at indoor Big 12s and second at indoor NCAAs, and third and first at both conference meets last year.

Gipson and Bryan are both freshmen; they were second and fourth at indoor Big 12s. They’re two of the three best freshman high jumpers in the country.

This event is unbelievably loaded, though Duffield has somewhat taken control of the event at the conference level. He hasn’t competed since his fellow Texan Jeron Robinson of DII Texas A&M-Kingsville tied him for the collegiate lead last weekend at 2.31 meters. That mark is just 2cm shy of the collegiate top ten all-time list.

Women’s 100 hurdles

Sunday, 4:15 CT/5:15 ET

After missing indoors, McReynolds has re-established herself as one of the three best 100 meter hurdles in the NCAA along with Bridgette Owens of Florida and Kendra Harrison of Kentucky. Those two women are the only two that are still active and have beaten McReynolds at an NCAA championship. The Baylor fifth-year senior is also 6-0 in hurdle finals at Big 12 meets, per TFRRS. She’s a heavy favorite and the most interesting question is: how fast will she run?

Men’s 110 hurdles

Sunday, 4:25 CT/5:25 ET

No Big 12 men made the NCAA final in the 110 hurdles this year, but Spencer Dunkerly-Offor (the Big 12 has the best names) and Chris Caldwell are both in the top three nationally. Thirteen-five and change is almost always good enough to make the NCAA final.

This event is wide open. Caldwell transferred in from Iowa Central and is an unknown at the conference level in the longer hurdles, though he won the indoor conference meet in the 60 hurdles and finished second behind Omar McLeod’s NCAA record at indoor nationals. His 13.56 wind-legal is more than two-tenths of a second faster than Dunkerley-Offor’s wind-legal best; Caldwell probably won’t get Dunkerleyed on.

Women’s 400

Sunday, 4:35 CT/5:35 ET

Okolo has raced just one open 400 this year, and it’s the fastest one in the country. Baisden has raced just one open 400 this year, and it’s the second fastest one in the country. At this meet last year, Okolo broke the collegiate record and Baisden ran the eighth fastest in-season time in NCAA history.

They’re joined in the all-time top eight by their teammate Ashley Spencer, who ran 50.28 in an Illinois uniform two years ago. This year, Spencer only has the fourth fastest time in the Big 12 and hasn’t broken fifty-two seconds. Texas went 1-2-3 last year and looks like a threat to do that again this year; at a bare minimum, it seems like they’ll put two women in the top three for the second straight year.

Men’s 100

Sunday, 5:05 CT/6:05 ET

Heavy winds led to insane times here a year ago: Trayvon Bromell ran a ridiculous 9.77 seconds with a 4.2 mps headwind, and Givans and Teeters ran the only sub-10s of their careers to date. After winning the NCAA indoor 60 meters and breaking 10.10 twice outdoors–once wind-legal–Ronnie Baker has emerged as a threat to join the sub-10 club.

Bromell has lost to a collegian in exactly one open outdoor final in his entire collegiate career. That was at this meet last year, when he stumbled hard and ran 26.84 seconds for dead last in the 200. He’s won every single other time he’s raced in a Baylor uniform outside, against collegians, without a stick in his hand. Expect that to continue this weekend.

Women’s 800

Sunday, 5:15 CT/6:15 ET

Way back in 2013, Piliusina and Williams went 1-2 in the 800 at the Big 12 outdoor championships. Since then, Oklahoma State’s Clara Nichols (’15 indoors) and Iowa State’s Ejiroghene Okoro (’14 indoors and outdoors) have taken the conference titles. Now–depending on what doubles they have to pull off–we could be getting a 2013 redux. Williams, Piliusina, and OK State’s Kaela Edwards are more than a second clear of the field this outdoor season.

Men’s 4×400

Sunday, 7:10 CT/8:10 ET

Baylor has won this relay thirteen out of the seventeen years that the conference meet has been held, including last year. Texas Tech has never won the 4×1 or the 4×4 at the Big 12 meet, but the Red Raiders relay has the fastest time in the conference by nearly two seconds this year. Both Tech and Baylor ran their fastest times of the season at the Texas Relays in March.

Don’t sleep on Texas here. Though the Longhorns have only run 3:08 this year, they have three of the eight fastest 400 runners in the conference, behind only Texas Tech.