CONFERENCE PREVIEW: What to Watch For at the SEC Championships

On a weekend filled with exceptional Division I conference championship meets, none are so exceptional as the SEC Championships hosted by Mississippi State in Starkville, Mississippi – which might just be the second-best meet on the outdoor collegiate track & field calendar behind NCAAs.

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That’s because the three-day meet starting today (Thursday) and concluding Satuday features in nearly every single event men and women who have won or contended for NCAA titles, or are near the very top of the collegiate leaderboards in their respective events.

In total, the meet features 25 athletes who have won an individual national title either indoors or outdoors. Those 25 combine for 38 career national titles. Countless more have been All-Americans over the course of the past few seasons.

Beyond the individual events, the team races will feature many of the teams that will battle in a month’s time for the NCAA team titles. For the men, No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 2 LSU and No. 3 Florida will all go at it, as will the women of No. 1 Arkansas, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Florida, No. 6 Kentucky, No. 8 LSU and defending national champion No. 9 Texas A&M.

A word of caution regarding the rankings: they are meant to project how teams will fare only at the NCAA Championships. For a smaller meet featuring fewer teams and requiring greater depth, take a look at the regional rankings. While many of the teams are spread out throughout several regions, they give a better barometer to compare teams in this setting.

Without further ado, use the chronologically listed guide below to follow along with many of the featured match-ups as they happen live on the SEC Network+ throughout the weekend. We’ve also included breakout boxes featuring events that include only one or two standout athletes.

Times listed below are for the finals. Check out the full schedule featuring preliminaries here.

Women’s Heptathlon

Thursday/Friday

Kendell Williams of Georgia may be the defending national champion in this event, but she just might also be the underdog this weekend. At the very least, she’ll likely need more than the 5877 points that won her the 2014 SEC crown.

That’s because not one, not two, not three, but four different women in this meet have topped that score already this season – including one of her own teammates in collegiate-leading Quintunya Chapman. The senior posted a score of 6146 earlier this year, while Alex Gochenour of Arkansas and Jena Hemann of Texas A&M both topped 6000 points in March at the Texas Relays. Williams’ chief rival, Erica Bougard of Mississippi State, also scored 5962.

Williams? She’s not yet finished a heptathlon this season after no-heighting in the high jump in the Drake Relays heptathlon, leaving her with this one opportunity to notch a qualifying score for the NCAA Championships. The champ hasn’t been totally inactive this spring, notching a 6.46m long jump for the No. 4 spot on the 2015 college list.

Men’s & Women’s Long Jump

Friday, 3pm ET/2pm CT

Both the men’s and women’s long jump go off at the same time, giving fans the treat of simultaneously watching what are likely NCAA Championships previews for the events.

Take particular note of the women’s competition, which features five of the nation’s top eight long jumpers – including two women tied atop the collegiate leaderboard. In what might become a budding rivalry over the next few years, frosh Keturah Orji of Georgia and sophomore Quanesha Burks of Alabama have both jumped 21-9 (6.63m) this season.

While those two will be looking to break their tie at the top, looking to upset them will be Orji’s teammate No. 5 Chanice Porter and the Kentucky duo of No. 6 Kenyattia Hackworth and No. 8 Sha’Keela Saunders – all of whom have surpassed 21 feet this outdoor season.

Meanwhile in the men’s long jump, will this be the weekend defending indoor/outdoor long jump national champ Marquis Dendy of Florida finds the form that won him four national titles in the past calendar year? He’s currently No. 11 on the long jump list in limited outdoor action, looking up at No. 2 Olabanji Asekun of Texas A&M – who beat Dendy this March at the Texas Relays – and his A&M teammate No. 5 Latario Collie.

Women’s High Jump

Friday, 5pm ET/4pm CT

Since winning her first of three NCAA high jump titles in March of 2014, Leontia Kallenou of Georgia has only lost only once to a collegian (a tiebreak loss to teammate Tatiana Gusin this January). This weekend might hold loss No. 2.

Even though she’s cleared 6-2¾ (1.90m) this season, that’s two centimeters lower than South Carolina’s Jeannelle Scheper. The Gamecock senior has gone 6-4¾ (1.95m) this season, as well as 6-3¼ (1.91m). The wild card? Kallenou has only jumped once this outdoor season in early April. How will the break in competition manifest itself this weekend?

Men’s & Women’s Triple Jump

Saturday, 2pm ET/1pm CT

Don’t think you’ll get enough of Keturah Orji or Marquis Dendy vs. Latario Collie on Friday? Good news: they’re all back Saturday afternoon.

Like in the women’s long jump, Orji is the collegiate leader in the triple jump – a position she also held for most of the indoor season. Key word: “most”. She lost that distinction at the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships to Florida senior Ciarra Brewer, who claimed the NCAA title to avenge three closely-contested regular-season losses.

The two again find themselves atop the collegiate leaderboard, with Orji leading at 43-2¼ (13.77m) and Brewer No. 2 at 44-3¼ (13.49m), but have yet to square off against one another this spring.

The stage is set for another 1 vs. 2 match-up in the men’s competition as top-ranked Collie squares off with defending indoor/outdoor national champion Dendy. The latter has only triple jumped once this year with a 54-4½ (16.57m) to win at the Penn Relays, while Collie’s season-best 54-8¾ (16.68m) came back in March. He’s not come within a foot of that mark since.

Men’s & Women’s 4×100 Relay

Men: Saturday, 4pm ET/3pm CT
Women: Saturday, 4:10pm ET/3:10pm CT

From the start of the men’s 4×100 relay, it’s nothing but finals on the track – and what a way to kick the afternoon off. Headlining the field are Texas A&M, LSU and Florida, who combined to take the top three spots at last year’s NCAA Championships. Florida won the title in 38.73, edging out Texas A&M in 38.84 – who themselves just barely edged out LSU, 38.85.

Look out for the big players in this race: defending 200-meter outdoor champ Dedric Dukes of Florida, reigning Bowerman Trophy winner Deon Lendore of Texas A&M, and the LSU duo of Aaron Ernest and Tremayne Acy. This season, those three teams are separated by just half of a second: A&M is No. 1 at 38.91, LSU is No. 2 at 38.93 and Florida’s No. 6 at 39.40.

You think that’s close? The women’s race is shaping up to be even closer. Only two-tenths of a second separate defending national champion No. 1 Texas A&M at 43.03 from No. 2 Florida at 43.14 and No. 2 LSU at 43.23.

Texas A&M was, as mentioned, the NCAA champion a year ago, while Florida was fourth and LSU made the finals but did not finish. Big names to watch in this race include defending outdoor 200-meters champ Kamaria Brown of Texas A&M and indoor 200 meters champ Kyra Jefferson of Florida, the LSU frosh duo of Mikiah Brisco and Aleia Hobbs, Dezerea Bryant of Kentucky and reigning 60 meters/100 meters national champ Remona Burchell of Alabama.

Men’s Discus Throw

Saturday, 4:30pm ET/3:30pm CT

Last year, Hayden Reed of Alabama took the discus world by storm when – as just a frosh – he upset the likes of Bowerman Trophy finalist and all-time farthest collegiate thrower Julian Wruck of UCLA to win the NCAA title before going on to win the USA title in the event.

As a sophomore this year, he finds himself in a similar position to a year ago, ready to upset the collegiate leaders. That mantle currently resides with Rodney Brown of LSU at 213-5 (65.04m), who leads the country by nearly two meters. Next closest in the SEC is No. 3 Tavis Bailey of Tennesse at 204-1 (62.20m), while young Reed has yet to crack the 200-foot barrier at No. 7 with a mark of 199-2 (60.70m).

Brown was third at last year’s SEC Championship before going on to finish 10th at NCAAs, while Reed was runner-up. Bailey ended up finishing third at NCAAs a year ago after taking fourth at SECs.

Women’s 1500 Meters

Saturday, 4:30pm ET/3:30pm CT

Sprints and field events dominate most of the headlines in the SEC, and deservedly so, but the conference is also home to some of the top distance runners in the country. A prime example is the women’s 1500, which will pit No. 3 Rhianwedd Price of Mississippi State against No. 5 Dominique Scott of Arkansas.

Price may enter with the faster time of the two at 4:11.67 to Scott’s 4:12.16, but Scott owns the head-to-head advantage between the two. In running that time at Mt. SAC, Scott beat Price by two seconds, and, dating back to the indoor season, Scott held off a hard-charging Price for the SEC indoor mile title. Expect another great race between these two.

Men’s 400 Meters

Saturday, 5pm ET, 4pm CT

Of all the stacked events this meet has to offer – which is a lot, judging by the list you’ve just read and will continue to read after this – none has as many potential fireworks in store as the men’s 400.

You’ve got the defending indoor national champion and the fastest man of the outdoor season in LSU’s Vernon Norwood (44.44). You’ve got the defending outdoor champion and the reigning winner of The Bowerman Trophy in Texas A&M’s No. 4 Deon Lendore (45.14). You’ve got the indoor SEC champion in No. 2 Najee Glass of Florida (44.79). And you’ve got the man who has been Texas A&M’s fastest man all year long in No. 3 Bralon Taplin (44.89).

At NCAA indoors, these were the top four finishers, with Norwood taking the win over Glass in one section, both running superior times to Taplin and Lendore in the second. If all goes according to plan, all four will be on the same track for the first time this season.

In other words, if you’re going to tune in to the SEC Network + for just one event, make sure it’s this one.

Men’s 800 Meters

Saturday, 5:40pm ET/4:40pm CT

Defending outdoor national champion Brandon McBride of Mississippi State told us way back in February that he was going to take a measured approach to his 2015 track season as he worked toward a berth onto the Canadian National Team for the 2015 IAAF World Championships. That played out indoors with a fourth-place finish at NCAAs.

That measured approach has continued outdoors, with his lone 800 of the season coming in a 1:46.28 in mid-April in a win at Mt. SAC – good for No. 6 on the collegiate list. He’ll once again have his hands full as he takes on sub-1:46 man No. 3 Alex Amankwah of Alabama (1:45.91), as well as last year’s outdoor national runner-up No. 8 Ryan Schnulle of Florida, No. 9 Blair Henderson of LSU, No. 13 Julian Parker of LSU and No. 15 Andres Arroyo of Florida.

Arroyo could have a particular large chip on his shoulder after missing the final at NCAA indoors. He had entered the championships as the second-fastest man in the country.

Women’s 400-Meter Hurdles

Saturday, 6:10pm ET/5:10pm CT

As far as plotlines go, the one being set up in the women’s 400-meter hurdles is at the same time as basic and as intriguing as it gets. The defending national champion, sophomore Shamier Little of Texas A&M, will most likely face the woman who is best positioned to take away her crown this summer, collegiate leader Kendra Harrison of Kentucky.

No one has come close to Harrison in the long hurdles all season long, with her 54.94 from early April still standing as the collegiate leader by nearly a full second. Back at No. 4 is Little with a best of 56.42 from that same weekend. Harrison has not run another since, while Little posted a nearly identical 56.43 the following weekend, and a less impressive 57.27 this weekend past.

A cautionary tale, however: Harrison won SECs by nearly a second last season (and not over Little, who finished third 1.25 seconds back), but it was Little who would eventually stand atop the podium as NCAA champion.

Also watch for Harrison in the 100-meter hurdles – another event in which she is the collegiate leader. That final will go off earlier in the day at 4:50pm ET/3:50pm CT.

Men’s 200 Meters

Saturday, 6:20pm ET/5:20pm CT

The last individual men’s sprint race of the SEC Championships before the 4×400 relay madness is set to be a good one. Defending outdoor 200 meters champion Dedric Dukes will square off with Aaron Ernest of LSU, who finished fourth at NCAA indoors this winter and fourth last summer at NCAA outdoors.

This year, Dukes is up to No. 3 on the collegiate list with a 20.23 at LSU earlier this May, while Ernest sits at No. 13 at 20.56 – one of only two 200s he’s run thus far this outdoor season.

Ernest was the indoor SEC Champion this year in this event, while Dukes was third before finishing fifth at NCAAs. Dukes, however, has sub-20 ability, having broken that threshold multiple times during the 2014 season en route to his national title.

Women’s 200 Meters

Saturday, 6:30pm ET/5:30pm CT

Reigning indoor champion Kyra Jefferson of Florida – a sophomore ranked No. 2 in the nation this outdoor season at 22.65 – isn’t the only sprinter with championship pedigree in this race.

The Gator will have to contend with indoor 400-meter national runner-up No. 5 Taylor Ellis-Watson of Arkansas, former indoor national champion No. 7 Dezerea Bryant of Kentucky, and reigning outdoor national champion No. 11 Kamaria Brown of Texas A&M.

Men’s & Women’s 4×400 Relay

Men: Saturday, 7:25pm ET/6:25pm CT
Women: Saturday, 7:35pm ET/6:35pm CT

Something interesting always happens when Florida, Texas A&M and LSU get together in a championship men’s 4×400 relay. This weekend should be no exception.

These three teams will likely be duking it out for the SEC team title – a foreshadow of the NCAA Championships battle projected to go down in less than a month – and each has one of the top-three relay teams in the country.

Led by Glass, Florida is No. 1 at 3:01.78, while the defending national champion Aggies, led by Lendore and Taplin, are No. 2 at 3:02.19 (in a race that was run without Taplin back in March). Only narrowly behind is Norwood’s LSU squad with two efforts of 3:02.61 and 3:02.79 from mid-April.

The women’s team battle between Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky and LSU (if Georgia is to win the team title, they’d better have a hefty lead entering this event with the No. 11 seed in the race) could very well also come down to this event.

Florida has been the class of the conference this year with a collegiate-leading 3:28.08 and two more performances faster than second-seeded Arkansas at 3:31.35. Both Kentucky and LSU are right in that same ballpack at 3:32.62 and 3:32.97, respectively.