Collegiate Track & Field Stars Eye Outdoor Records

The Texas Relays proved historically fast this past weekend.

Four collegiate records fell at the feet of women who continue to push the envelope on what is fast: Texas took down three themselves in the 4×100 (42.00), 4×200 (1:28.05) and sprint medley (3:36.10) relays with Julien Alfred and Rhasidat Adeleke on all three; Masai Russell of Kentucky demoted Brianna Rollins-McNeal’s former CR in the 100-meter hurdles to second-best with her wind-legal 12.36 (+2.0) effort on the final day of the carnival (Russell previously smashed another one of Rollins-McNeal’s hurdling records, jointly held with Grace Stark, in the 60H).

From The USTFCCCA InfoZone: Meets & Results | Records & Lists

Two of those CRs are in “Standard Events” – or those events that will be contested at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships: 100H and 4×100 relay. Others, like the 4×200 and SMR – among other relays – are considered “Auxiliary Events” for record-keeping purposes.

If you average out the years in which current CRs were set in “Standard Events,” you’d get 2017 for the women and 2008 for the men. Read that first one again: 2017 for the women.

The oldest current women’s CR in a “Standard Event” is Diane Guthrie’s 1995 chart-topper in the heptathlon of 6527 points. Anna Hall made overtures at Guthrie’s best last year when she totaled 6458 points at the USATF Combined Event Championships. Hall, who was later a finalist for The Bowerman, closed the multi with an otherworldly 2:03.11 800-meter effort.

Just two current women’s CRs were set before 2010 – both by 2009 The Bowerman winner Jenny Barringer in her award-winning year. Barringer (now Simpson) went 3:59.90 over 1500 meters at the Pre Classic about one month after a 15:07.64 5000-meter clocking at the Stanford-hosted Payton Jordan Invitational. If Katelyn Tuohy has her druthers outdoors, like she did indoors, both of those records are on borrowed time (Tuohy smashed Barringer’s mile record under a roof).

Five men’s CRs in “Standard Events” were established last year, which helped usher the average year of that part of the record book further into the new millennium: Eliud Kipsang in the 1500 (3:33.74); Abdihamid Nur in the 5000 (13:06.32); Florida’s 4×400 (2:58.53); Mykolas Alekna in the discus (68.73m/225-6); and Kyle Garland in the decathlon (8720).

The oldest current men’s CR in a “Standard Event” is Rono’s hand-timed 8:05.4 mark in the steeplechase from 1978. Fast forward four years and you’ll find Keith Connor’s triple jump CR of 17.57m (57-7¾) that could very well fall this year to Jaydon Hibbert of Arkansas (Hibbert already bounded 17.54m (57-6½) to win the NCAA indoor crown, which is No. 2 on the absolute collegiate chart – a list that includes marks from both the indoor and outdoor season).

How many more CRs will fall this outdoor season? Time (and distance) will tell.