USTFCCCA News & Notes
USATF Outdoor Championships: 10 Women’s Events with Collegians in Contention
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NEW ORLEANS – Last week we brought you a simple list of all the collegians set to compete at the USATF Outdoor Championships (& Junior Championships) this weekend – June 25-28 – in Eugene, Oregon.
Let’s dive a bit deeper now, shall we?
We’ve picked out 10 women’s events featuring collegiate stars from the 2015 season who have legitimate opportunities to perform well and make Team USA for the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China, on August 22-30 (qualification standards, for those interested).
We also have men’s event previews of collegians at USATF Outdoors here.
Keep scrolling below to read through each event, or click the links below to go straight to a section of your choice.
100 | 200 | 10,000 | 100H | 400H | Steeple | PV | LJ | TJ | HT
Each section will also feature the schedule of prelims/semifinals/finals pertinent to each event, as well as a list of 2015 collegians set to compete in each. The final column on each table – entitled "Rank" – is each athlete’s position on the USATF declared entries.
The window for USATF qualifying marks dates all the way back to the beginning of the 2014 USATF meet (plus a bit farther for others), meaning the number listed in the "rank" column may not match up with where they stand among Americans in 2015.
Legend for the tables:
* DI outdoor champion | ** DII outdoor champion | # NAIA Champion
^ DI indoor champion | ^^ DII indoor champion | + USATF Indoor Champion
Women’s 100 Meters
Final: Friday, 10:21pm ET / 7:21pm PT
Semifinals: Friday, 8pm ET / 5pm PT
Prelims: Thursday, 8:35pm ET / 5:35pm PT
| Name | Affiliation | Mark | Rank |
| Jenna Prandini * | Oregon | 10.92 | t3 |
| Aaliyah Brown | Texas A&M | 11.08 | 9 |
| Keilah Tyson | Kentucky | 11.09 | 10 |
| Jasmine Todd | Oregon | 11.12 | 12 |
| Dezerea Bryant | Kentucky | 11.14 | 15 |
| Morolake Akinosun | Texas | 11.24 | 19 |
| Katie Wise | Indiana St. | 11.25 | 20 |
| Sabria Hadley | Clemson | 11.28 | 22 |
| Alexis Faulknor | Southern California | 11.30 | 24 |
| Cierra White | Texas Tech | 11.33 | 25 |
| Alexis Browner # | Wayland Baptist | 11.39 | 27 |
| Mackenzie Flannigan | Boise St. | 11.40 | 28 |
| Dominique Booker | Kentucky | 11.44 | 32 |
Oregon’s Jenna Prandini had one of the all-time best NCAA Championship meets ever a few weekends ago on this very track, scoring 26 points for her national champion Oregon Ducks, including 10 in a win at this distance. She’s slated to compete in three events this weekend (200 and long jump), but she’ll have the luxury of only contesting the 100 on Thursday and Friday. The semifinals and final will be only 80 minutes apart, but Prandini won an NCAA 100m title and ran the fourth-fastest time ever at 200 meters by a collegian just 45 minutes apart two weeks ago.
She’s tied for third on the descending order list with Nianna Bartoletta of Nike. Ahead of her are Torie Bowie of adidas (10.80) and former Duck English Gardner (10.84), and behind her are some significant names in former world champ/Olympic silver medalist Carmelita Jeter of Nike (11.02), Barbara Pierre of Nike (11.05) and Jeneba Tarmoh of Nike (11.06). Needless to say, Prandini doesn’t want it to come down to a photo finish.
More Collegiate Storylines:
Aaliyah Brown of Texas A&M pulled one of the biggest upsets of the 2015 NCAA season, taking down 2014 NCAA Champ Remona Burchell of Alabama at the SEC Championships. Can she revive her upset tactics at USAs? She was only fifth at NCAAs.
Morolake Akinosun of Texas came within .01 of taking the NCAA title from Prandini in Eugene two weeks ago, running 10.97w to Prandini’s 10.96w.
While Prandini had a weekend for the ages at NCAAs, that wasn’t quite true for teammate Jasmine Todd. After running an all-conditions collegiate leading 10.88w at the NCAA West Prelims, she did not advance to the final once back in Eugene. She’s in the field here and likely ready for redemption.
Women’s 200 Meters
Final: Sunday, 5:31pm ET / 2:51pm PT
Semifinals: Sunday, 3:05pm ET / 12:05pm PT
Prelims: Saturday, 3:30pm ET / 12:30pm PT
| Name | Affiliation | Mark | Rank |
| Dezerea Bryant * | Kentucky | 22.18 | 1 |
| Jenna Prandini | Oregon | 22.21 | 2 |
| Kamaria Brown | Texas A&M | 22.24 | t3 |
| Kyra Jefferson ^ | Florida | 22.24 | t3 |
| Morolake Akinosun | Texas | 22.52 | 8 |
| Cierra White | Texas Tech | 22.84 | 15 |
| Brittany Brown | Iowa | 22.89 | 18 |
| A’Keyla Mitchell | Kansas St. | 22.96 | 19 |
| J’Nea Bellamy | UCF | 23.06 | 22 |
| Alexis Faulknor | Southern California | 23.08 | 23 |
| Keilah Tyson | Kentucky | 23.10 | 24 |
| Shannon Ray | Ole Miss | 23.15 | 25 |
| Dominique Booker | Kentucky | 23.29 | 26 |
| Quanera Hayes ** | Livingstone | 23.29 | 27 |
| Marie Veale | Cal St. Northridge | 23.29 | 28 |
| Katie Wise | Indiana St. | 23.37 | 30 |
| Alexis Browner # | Wayland Baptist | 23.39 | 31 |
Last year’s Diamond League champion Allyson Felix gets an automatic bid to the World Championships (she’s competing at 400 meters to satisfy the participation requirement), so that opens the floodgates for a deluge of collegians to make the IAAF World Championships team alongside the reigning Olympic champion in this event.
Currently, collegians occupy the top four spots on the declarations list on the strength of that historic 200-meter NCAA Championships final two weeks ago. National champion Dezerea Bryant of Kentucky is No. 1 at 22.18 (second-fastest collegian ever), Prandini is No. 2 at 22.21 (fourth-fastest collegian ever), and the duo of 2014 outdoor NCAA champion Kamaria Brown of Texas A&M and 2015 indoor NCAA champion Kyra Jefferson of Florida are tied at No. 3 in 22.24 (tied for the seventh-fastest collegians ever).
Of those four, Brown and Jefferson – both of whom are only entered in this event – will likely be the freshest if the full quartet makes Sunday’s final. Especially Prandini, but also potentially Bryant, could have three rounds of high-level 100-meter competition in their legs to go along with the two rounds of 200-meter action leading up to the Day Four final. Plus,
Prandini is also scheduled for the long jump, another event in which she has a chance to qualify (more on that below). For what it’s worth, an extra workload didn’t seem to deter either Prandini or Bryant when the 200 rolled around at NCAAs.
Whether we actually see a 1-2-3 sweep by collegians is far from certain, though. Just behind that quartet at 22.29 are both Tori Bowie and Jeneba Tarmoh, with such perennial national title threats as English Gardner (No. 12, 22.74), Kimberlyn Duncan (No. 14, 22.83) and Carmelita Jeter (No. 17, 22.88) starting to peak for this meet.
Women’s 10,000 Meters
Final: Thursday, 10:35pm ET / 7:35pm PT
| Name | Affiliation | Mark | Rank |
| Emily Sisson | Providence | 31.38.03 | 3 |
| Emma Bates | Boise St. | 32:13.28 | 8 |
| Chelsea Blaase | Tennessee | 32:28.39 | 12 |
| Erin Finn | Michigan | 32:41.65 | 14 |
Now at the end of her collegiate career at Providence, Emily Sisson has established herself as not only one of the best collegiate distance runners ever – indoor collegiate 5000 record, two NCAA titles and the fourth-fastest 10k time in collegiate history – but she’s also emerged as one of the United States’ top competitors.
In the fall she finished runner-up in the 12k .US National Road Race Championships ahead of such standout runners as Kim Conley, Sara Hall and Emily Infield. With her 31:38.03 at 10,000 meters on the track this spring – another race in which she defeated Infield, who is also in this race – she solidified the No. 3 spot on the descending order list entering these championships.
She’s raced just five times this outdoor season with only one 10k on her resume, and she cruised to the NCAA Outdoor title at 5000 meters with relative ease, so she should be fresh and ready to go for this race.
She’d likely need to run the race of her life to surpass either top seed Molly Huddle or No. 2 Shalane Flanagan – who, by the way, are the top two fastest women in American history at this distance – but that third spot is well within grasp but won’t be had easily. Sisson edged out No. 4 Infield by less than a second at the Payton Jordan Invitational earlier this spring.
Another collegiate storyline: Hayward Field was not kind to Emma Bates two weeks ago. The 2014 NCAA 10,000 meters champion’s plan to break the field with a late surge in the 2015 race backfired, instead sapping her of her own strength as she was swallowed by the pack for an eventual 10th-place finish. Her luck wasn’t much better at 5000 meters two days later, as she finished ninth in that race. All of this after dropping out of the USATF Cross Country Championships earlier this winter.
Her 32:13.28 from Payton Jordan, however, is good for the No. 8 spot on the USATF descending order list and No. 10 on the all-time collegiate list.
Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles
Final: Saturday, 5:52pm ET / 2:52pm PT
Semifinals: Saturday, 4:05pm ET / 1:05pm PT
Prelims:
Friday, 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT
| Name | Affiliation | Mark | Rank |
| Kendra Harrison * | Kentucky | 12.50 | 4 |
| Bridgette Owens | Florida | 12.73 | 9 |
| Tiffani McReynolds | Baylor | 12.77 | 11 |
| Jade Barber | Notre Dame | 12.85 | 12 |
| Morgan Snow | Texas | 12.96 | 14 |
| Sasha Wallace | Oregon | 13.00 | 15 |
| Danielle Demas | Sam Houston St. | 13.03 | 16 |
| Jacklyn Howell | Kentucky | 13.07 | 18 |
| Alex Gochenour | Arkansas | 13.15 | 20 |
| Taliyah Brooks | Arkansas | 13.23 | 23 |
U.S. hurdling is an embarrasment of riches these days. Take, for instance, Kendra Harrison of Kentucky. She’s the NCAA Champion in the 100-meter hurdles and ranked No. 2 in the world in 2015 at 12.50. But, she’s not a lock to make the team.
Reigning world champion Brianna Rollins gets a bye to Beijing so long as she competes (she’s in the field), giving Harrison and the field a bit more wiggle room, but not much. Of the top five women in the world this year, four are American in world-leader Jasmin Stowers, Harrison, No. 3 Sharika Nelvis, and No. 5 Dawn Harper Nelson. Each of them have run faster than 12.58 this season.
Harrison’s collegiate season was sleek and streamlined for this very purpose; she didn’t open her indoor season until the final weekend of February and competed only seven times during the outdoor campaign, capped off by an NCAA title in 12.50.
A note very much worth consideration: Harrison is scheduled to take on the 100-meter hurdles/400-meter hurdles double much like she did at the NCAA Championships. In the span of less than two hours, she could potentially run the 100H semifinals at 4:05pm ET, the 400H semifinals at 4:37pm ET and the 100H final at 5:52pm ET. All in the midst of a heat wave that could see temperatures rise to nearly 100 degrees.
Her top competition will be very familiar. Harrison finished fifth at the 2014 NCAA Championships, where Nelvis took the win and Stowers was runner-up. The two other women who topped her in that race, Bridgette Owens of Florida and Tiffani McReynolds of Baylor, will also be in this race at No. 9 and No. 11 on the descending order list, respectively.
Stowers has each of the three fastest times in the world – all sub 12.40 – while Nelvis has been metronomically clicking off mid-12.50 efforts for the past month before a 12.65 at New York into a stiff headwind two weeks ago.
Notably absent from the field is Michigan’s Cindy Ofili, who ran 12.60 at NCAAs for the runner-up spot and the seventh-fastest time in collegiate history.
Women’s 400-Meter Hurdles
Final: Sunday, 4:03pm ET / 1:03pm PT
Semifinals: Saturday, 4:37pm ET / 1:37pm PT
Prelims: Friday, 9:40pm ET / 6:40pm PT
| Name | Affiliation | Mark | Rank |
| Shamier Little * | Texas A&M | 53.74 | 1 |
| Kendra Harrison | Kentucky | 54.09 | 3 |
| Leah Nugent | Kentucky | 55.71 | 8 |
| Jaide Stepter | Southern California | 55.83 | 10 |
| Kiah Seymour | Penn St. | 56.35 | 12 |
| Nnenya Hailey | Arizona | 56.53 | 14 |
| Ariel Jones | Texas | 57.48 | 19 |
| Gianna Woodruff | Washington | 57.49 | 20 |
| Melissa Gonzalez | Texas | 57.78 | 21 |
| Tia’ Gamble | Kansas St. | 58.19 | 23 |
Here’s a bit of trivia for you. Did you know that with her NCAA-title-winning time of 53.74 two weeks ago, Shamier Little of Texas A&M became the youngest woman in the history of the world to break the 54-second barrier in this event? At just over 20 years of age, the Aggie sophomore is poised to take the world by storm this year.
She’s currently the world leader in the event and the only woman under 54 seconds in 2015. Her NCAA-winning time would be good enough to medal in each of the past two IAAF World Championships (silver in 2013 and bronze in 2011), and three of the past four.
She appears to be peaking at the right time, as well. She ran in only five finals in the event all spring long, dropping her season-best from 56.42 to 54.68 for the SEC Championships, and slashing nearly another second off for NCAAs. Whether or not her signature come-from-behind strategy that has now won her two consecutive NCAA titles will work at the national and international stages is up for debate.
The woman she caught for each of those two titles? That’d be the aforementioned Kendra Harrison from the 100-meter hurdles section above. The Wildcat senior, currently ranked No. 2 in the world at 54.09, will be on her sixth race of the weekend if she makes the final in this event, scheduled for Sunday.
Harrison and Little dueled two weeks ago to the second-fastest 400-meter hurdles final in NCAA history. The two combatants in the fastest-ever final will also be in the field, with Georganne Moline and collegiate record-holder Kori Carter back in action.
A former Olympic finalist, Moline is No. 4 in the world this year at 54.29 with three races under 55 seconds this season (compared to two for Little and two for Harrison). Carter has yet to find her stride this season after two seasons in a row of sub-54 performances, currently checking in at No. 12 in the world at 55.12. Cassandra Tate has also dipped under 55 seconds this year at 54.73 for the No. 8 spot on the world performers list in 2015.
That’s all without mentioning Lashinda Demus, the 2012 Olympic silver medalist and 2013 world bronze medalist. The four-time USATF Champion hasn’t broken 55 seconds since 2013 and currently ranks No. 24 in the world, but in fairness she had only broken 55 seconds one time at this point in the 2013 season before earning world bronze.
Earning silver in that 2013 race after winning the USATF title was Dalilah Muhammad, who is on the comeback trail after a 2014 season that saw her only run 58.02. She’s gone as fast as 55.76 this outdoor season for No. 22 in the world.
All of this to say: Little and Harrison have as good a shot as anyone to finish top three and make the team, but doing so will require getting over some significant obstacles – and we don’t mean just the hurdles.
Women’s 3000-Meter Steeplechase
Final: Saturday, 4:55pm ET / 1:55pm PT
Semifinals: Thursday, 10:05pm ET / 7:05pm PT
| Name | Affiliation | Mark | Rank |
| Colleen Quigley * | Florida St. | 9:29.32 | 5 |
| Courtney Frerichs | UMKC | 9:31.36 | 6 |
| Leah O’Connor | Michigan St. | 9:33.38 | 7 |
| Marisa Howard | Boise St. | 9:37.84 | 9 |
| Rachel Johnson | Baylor | 9:41.56 | 10 |
| Tori Gerlach | Penn St. | 9:53.98 | 19 |
| Emily Ritter | Rider | 9:54.34 | 20 |
| Maddie Van Beek | North Dakota St. | 9:54.42 | 21 |
| Emily Oren ** | Hillsdale | 9:54.43 | 22 |
Five collegians are in the top 10 of the USATF declarations list. How many could make it to worlds? The top three certainly have a good shot in national champion Colleen Quigley of Florida State, national runner-up Courtney Frerichs of UMKC and 2014 national champion Leah O’Connor of Michigan State, but getting even one of them through will be a Herculean task.
That’s because this is the deepest steeplechase field the USATF Championships have ever seen, which is explained in great detail by The Daily Relay. In short, eight of the top 30 women in the world are from the USA – more than twice as many as any other year since 2008 – and nine women have broken 9:40, a feat accomplished by just six women in 2013, the previous world championship cycle. That all without the all-time fastest American Emma Coburn having competed in her signature event in 2015.
Four of those nine are collegians. Quigley became the third collegian after Jenny Barringer (Simpson) and Coburn to break the 9:30 barrier during the collegiate season, while Frerichs and O’Connor lined up right behind them with PRs at No. 4 and 5 on the all-time list. Though a few more seconds back, Marissa Howard of Boise State enters as the sixth-fastest collegian ever (during the collegiate season, that is).
With so many other quick women in the field, including Stephanie Garcia and Ashley Higginson – not to mention Coburn – this race will likely play out very differently than NCAAs. With Coburn likely to lead the final early as she looks for a qualifying time, O’Connor likely won’t go out to the front right away and lead the entire race, allowing her – and the two other top collegians who will likely employ a similar strategy – to sit back in the pack and conserve some energy.
Conservation of energy will be crucial with temperatures near 100 degrees forecast for race time.
Also of note from the collegiate perspective is NCAA Division II champion Emily Oren of Hillsdale. This will be her first opportunity to rub shoulders with the country’s best in 2015 after dominating the DII scene all year long. She solo’ed a 9:54.43 for a 20-second win at the DII championships; what can she do in a deep and fast field?
Women’s Pole Vault
Final: Sunday, 3pm ET / 12pm PT
| Name | Affiliation | Mark | Rank |
| Demi Payne * + | Stephen F. Austin | 4.75m | 2 |
| Sandi Morris ^ | Arkansas | 4.72m | 3 |
| Carolina Carmichael | Memphis | 4.50m | 11 |
| Megan Clark | Duke | 4.50m | 12 |
| Kaitlin Petrillose | Texas | 4.45m | 16 |
| Stephanie Richartz | Illinois | 4.45m | 17 |
| Kristina Owsinski | Washington | 4.40m | 18 |
The collegiate season may be over, but the Year of the Vault marches onward.
Jenn Suhr has reclaimed her throne atop the world standings in 2015 at 4.81m, but outdoor collegiate record holder Sandi Morris of Arkansas and outdoor national champion Demi Payne of Stephen F. Austin are in great shape to take the two remaining spots for Team USA at the world championships.
Payne has gone 4.70m for the national title and 4.71m for a then-collegiate record in her past two outings, while Morris went 4.65m for national runner-up honors and 4.72m for the standing collegiate record in her two most recent finals.
Among non-Suhr Americans, only Mary Saxer at 4.62m has come within 10 centimeters of those marks this outdoor season.
Additionally, Payne is the reigning indoor USATF Champion in this event.
Women’s Long Jump
Final: Saturday, 3:45pm ET / 12:45pm PT
| Name | Affiliation | Mark | Rank |
| Quanesha Burks * | Alabama | 6.84m | 3 |
| Jenna Prandini ^ | Oregon | 6.80m | 5 |
| Sha’Keela Saunders | Kentucky | 6.75m | 6 |
| Shanice Stewart | Texas Tech | 6.58m | 11 |
| Jasmine Todd | Oregon | 6.50m | 17 |
| Kenyattia Hackworth | Kentucky | 6.49m | 18 |
With reigning Olympic champion and three-time-reigning world champion Brittany Reese securing one of those auto-bids into the World Championships because of her world champion status, the jobs of the three collegians harboring very realistic ideas of making the world team got a bit easier.
World-leading Tianna Bartoletta is as close to a sure-thing for worlds as there is at this meet – though, of course, anything can happen – but the remaining two spots are up for grabs.
Quanesha Burks of Alabama won the NCAA title on this runway two weeks ago, jumping a windy 6.91m for the fifth-best jump in NCAA Championships history under all conditions. She jumped a wind-legal 6.84m to win the SEC title and the ninth-best wind-legal jump in collegiate history. A similar effort on her part this week will likely get her through to Beijing.
Jenna Prandini of Oregon – tired of hearing about her yet? – and Sha’Keela Saunders of Kentucky both got big wind-legal marks at NCAAs for second and third, respectively. Prandini went 6.80m for the fourth-best wind-legal jump in meet history, while Saunders went 6.75m for a share of the 10th-best jump in meet history.
As you’ve likely read by this point, Prandini will be in the midst of a monster weekend, having just finished the opening round of the 200 meters within half an hour of the beginning of this event, and having gone through potentially three rounds of the 100 meters the previous two days.
Saunders will be fresh and well-rested, as this is her lone event of the weekend – as it also is for Burks.
Among the professionals seeking bids to Beijing over the collegians are Chelsea Hayes (6.74m in 2015), Funmi Jimoh (6.72m in 2015), Tori Polk (6.70m in 2015). Also lurking is Whitney Gipson (6.42m in 2015), who came close to breaking seven meters in 2013.
Women’s Triple Jump
Final: Friday, 9pm ET / 6pm PT
| Name | Affiliation | Mark | Rank |
| Keturah Orji * | Georgia | 14.15m | 1 |
| Ciarra Brewer ^ | Florida | 14.01m | 2 |
| Allie Saunders | Texas State | 13.64m | 5 |
| Tori Franklin | Michigan St. | 13.49m | 8 |
| Paetyn Revell | Texas Tech | 13.43m | 12 |
| Jasmine Todd | Oregon | 13.10m | 18 |
The match-up between outdoor national champion Keturah Orji of Georgia and indoor national champion Ciarra Brewer of Florida isn’t just a subplot in the USATF triple jump – it’s the plotline of the USATF triple jump.
Just as they have been on the collegiate scene all year long, the duo are 1-2 on the US rankings, including the indoor season.
Orji has been stellar all season long, capping her collegiate debut campaign with an exclamatory 14.15m leap to win the NCAA Championship outdoors and move to a share of the No. 4 spot in collegiate history. That puts her at No. 18 in the world for 2015, and moved her to No. 10 on the all-time U.S. performers list.
A number for Orji to shoot for is 14.20m, which is the qualifying standard for the IAAF World Championships.
Brewer slowed down after jumping a career-best 14.01m to win the NCAA indoor crown over Orji, finishing in the exact opposite manner as Orji with three consecutive fouls at the NCAA Championships to closer her collegiate career.
Brewer will need to regain that form to ensure herself a spot on the plane to Beijing, as a number of Americans have jumped better than her 13.49m during the outdoor season. Amanda Smock, the No. 7 American ever, has gone 13.87m, while Christina Epps has a 13.83m to her credit this outdoor season.
She’s even been passed up other collegian in Texas State’s Allie Saunders, who went 13.64m during the regular season before finishing seventh at NCAAs, and Marshay Ryan of Auburn, who jumped 13.53m for runner-up honors behind Orji.
Women’s Hammer Throw
Final: Saturday, 3:15pm ET / 12:15pm PT
| Name | Affiliation | Mark | Rank |
| Deanna Price * | Southern Ill. | 71.49m | 5 |
| Brooke Pleger | Bowling Green | 69.72m | 7 |
| Heavin Warner ** | Central Missouri | 67.24m | 12 |
| Kearsten Peoples | Missouri | 66.17m | 13 |
| Julia Reedy | Oklahoma | 64.41m | 18 |
Could Southern Illinois be represented by each of the top three women in the USATF hammer throw? The possibility for that certainly exists with three of the top five women either SIU grads or competitors for SIU during the 2015 season. Former Saluki greats Jeneva Stevens and Gwendolyn Berry are No. 2 and 3 among Americans in 2015, with surprise NCAA Champion DeAnna Price currently sitting at No. 4.
Price, who was the early-season collegiate leader in the event, finished her junior season with a significant career-best of 71.49m on her final throw to move to No. 3 on the all-time collegiate list and No. 9 on the all-time American list. Hers was the best throw by a collegian since 2007.
Among the women she bypassed on the all-time collegiate list with that effort? Berry (now No. 5 all-time) and Amanda Bingson of UNLV (now No. 4). Bingson, who has since become the American record holder in the event, has claimed each of the last two USATF titles. She currently sits at No. 29 in the world with a heave of 70.94m.
Currently leading the American descending order list is Amber Campbell, who threw 72.81m earlier this spring for the No. 10 spot on the world performers list, but that’s her lone throw farther than Price’s. Stevens has surpassed 71 meters three times this season – including a 72.69m heave – while Berry has gone 72.26m in 2015.