FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS, March 13–14 — Throwing in nearby Fowler Center, Ryan Johnson didn’t get the noise that some of the other Div. I champions got. Yet the Iowa soph, fresh off his Collegiate Record 84-2¼ (25.66) in the weight at the Big 10 meet, had to dig deep to get the nationals win he was favored for.
Leading with his 78-0 (23.77) from round 2, Johnson suddenly found himself behind when Virginia’s Jeremiah Nubbe popped a PR 79-8¼ (24.29) in round 5. He went to the well, and came back with an immediate response, 84-1½ (25.64), a meet record and the No. 2 throw in collegiate history. In the final round, Nubbe returned with a fine 79-5¼ (24.21); Johnson closed with the No. 5 toss ever, 82-11 (25.27) for Iowa’s first-ever win in the event.
The other big victory on the field came from Texas Tech’s Jonathan Seremes in the triple jump. His first leap of 54-11½ (16.75) gave him a short-lived lead. Kansas State’s Selva Prabhu took over with his second effort of 55-7½ (16.95). Seremes had trouble responding, fouled his third and improved to a not-quite-good-enough 55-3¾ (16.86) on his fourth.
Then came the final round, and the defending champion had his back to the wall. The Frenchman charged down the runway and bounded to a big 56-7¼ (17.25) to become the No. 9 jumper in collegiate history. Prabhu fell more than 3 feet short on his final jump. “I was just telling myself I can’t lose,” said Seremes. “That’s the only thing I was thinking. I can’t lose. I’m going to Worlds, I can’t lose at NCAA. I was just focused. I need a big PR, I get it. And now I’m just focused on Worlds.”
The remaining field events were all marked by how close they ended up being. On Friday, the pole vault saw five men still in the mix at 19-¼ (5.80). No one made it on the first try, and only Ashton Barkdull of Kansas made it on the second. Texas A&M’s Aleksandr Solovev made a clutch clearance on his third attempt to keep the pressure on. Neither was successful at 19-2¼ (5.85), and the Jayhawk junior took the win.
Said Barkdull of his winner, “I really didn’t feel like it was that great of a jump. But I just still stuck with it and hit the mat. I knew I touched it, but I looked up and I couldn’t believe it. It was staying. I was like, ‘I’ll take it in this moment.’”
The lead in the long jump bounced around, with first-round leader Jordan Turner of LSU ending up 7th. Greg Foster of Princeton took over in round 2 with his 26-7¾ (8.12), then De’Aundre Ward of Southern Mississippi flew past that in round 3 with his 26-11 (8.20). In the next flight, the last-place finisher from last year, Lokesh Sathyanathan of Tarleton State, languishing in 6th place, popped a PR 26-11¼ (8.21). In round 6, he backed that up with a 26-9¾ (8.17), while Kansas State’s Tafadzwa Chikomba improved to a PR 26-9 (8.15) to snatch 3rd. For the winner, from India, it was only his third trip ever over 8-meters; his absolute PR of 26-3¾ (8.02)had come 3 years ago.
Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan won his third shot title, despite falling well short of the meet record he was gunning for. Finding himself off-form, he had to deal with a bevy of spirited competitors doing the best throwing of their lives. The Mississippi senior grabbed the early lead with a 67-0 (20.42), improving to 67-4 (20.52) in round 3. Princeton’s Joe Licata threw his PR 65-11 (20.09) in 2; that put him in 2nd; he ended up 6th. Then eventual 4th-placer Ben Smith of Oregon threw a PR 66-10 (20.37) in 3. A round later, Nebraska’s Cade Moran took over the runner-up position with a PR 66-11¼ (20.40).
In round 5, Oregon’s Kobe Lawrence came the closest of all, bouncing back from a rough Big 10 meet to hurl a PR 67-3¼ (20.50) just 2cm away from Robinson-O’Hagan’s lead at that point. The champion came back with a 67-9 (20.65) to seal the deal. In the final round, the only improvement came from Air Force’s Texas Tanner with a PR 66-5¼ (20.25) for 5th.
Said the winner, “Today was all strength, I had to slow down. Even in warm-ups I was falling left, that’s because I was moving a little too fast. So I had to slow down. And once I started realizing that, the throws started to build.”
Harvard’s Tito Alofe, just 11th in the high jump last year, had four misses on the way to his 7-4¼ (2.24) winner. He cleared that bar on attempt No. 2. Oklahoma’s Kyren Washington made it on his third. The final bar of 7-5¼ (2.27) was a dead end for both, along with Scottie Vines of Arkansas and SEC champ Kimani Jack of Georgia, who had passed to that height.
MEN’S HIGH JUMP RESULTS
(March 14)
1. *Tito Alofe (Harv) 7-4¼ (2.24)
(6-10¾ [2], 7-½ [2], 7-1¾ [2], 7-3, 7-4¼ [2], 7-5¼ [xxx]) (2.10 [2], 2.15 [2], 2.18 [2], 2.21, 2.24 [2], 2.27 [xxx]);
2. *Kyren Washington (Ok) 7-4¼ (2.24)
(6-10¾, 7-½ [2], 7-1¾ [2], 7-3, 7-4¼ [3], 7-5¼ [xxx]) (2.10, 2.15 [2], 2.18 [2], 2.21, 2.24 [3], 2.27 [xxx]);
=3. *Kimani Jack’ (Ga-GB) 7-3 (2.21)
(6-10¾, 7-½, 7-1¾ [3], 7-3 [3], 7-4¼ [xxp], 7-5¼ [x]) (2.10, 2.15, 2.18 [3], 2.21 [3], 2.24 [xxp], 2.27 [x]);
=3. **Scottie Vines (Ar) 7-3
(6-10¾, 7-½, 7-1¾ [3], 7-3 [3], 7-4¼ [xxp], 7-5¼ [x]) (2.10, 2.15, 2.18 [3], 2.21 [3], 2.24 [xxp], 2.27 [x]);
5. Trey Bartholomew (Ok) 7-1¾ (2.18)
(6-10¾, 7-½, 7-1¾ [3], 7-3 [xxx]) (2.10, 2.15, 2.18 [3], 2.21 [xxx]);
6. ***Tshephang Dankuru’ (TxSt-SA) 7-1¾
(6-10¾, 7-½ [3], 7-1¾ [3], 7-3 [xxx]) (2.10, 2.15 [3], 2.18 [3], 2.21 [xxx]);
7. tie, *Antrea Mita’ (Hous-Gre) & *Tyson Ritz (Ok) 7-½ (2.15); 9. *Justine Jimoh’ (LSU-Ngr) 7-½; 10. Kennedy Sauder (Mia) 7-½; 11. Brion Stephens (Ga) 7-½; 12. Aiden Hayes (TxSt) 7-½; 13. **BJ Jennings (TxT) 7-½; 14. Arvesta Troupe (Ms) 7-½; 15. tie, ***Alan Hanna’ (KsSt-Bah) & Devin Loudermilk (KsSt) 6-10¾ (2.10).
MEN’S POLE VAULT RESULTS
(March 13)
1. *Ashton Barkdull (Ks) 19-¼ (5.80) PR
(17-8½ [2], 18-½, 18-4½, 18-8¼, 19-¼ [2], 19-2¼ [xxx]) (5.40 [2], 5.50, 5.60, 5.70, 5.80 [2], 5.85 [xxx]);
2. Aleksandr Solovev’ (TxAM-Rus) 19-¼ (5.80) =PR
(17-8½, 18-½, 18-4½, 18-8¼, 18-10¼, 19-¼ [3], 19-2¼ [xxx]) (5.40, 5.50, 5.60, 5.70, 5.75, 5.80 [3], 5.85 [xxx]);
3. James Rhoads (Wa) 18-10¼ (5.75)
(17-8½, 18-½, 18-4½ [2], 18-8¼, 18-10¼, 19-¼ [xxx]) (5.40, 5.50, 5.60 [2], 5.70, 5.75, 5.80 [xxx]);
4. **Dyson Wicker (Nb) 18-8¼ (5.70)
(18-4½, 18-8¼, 19-¼ [xxx]) (5.60, 5.70, 5.80 [xxx]);
5. Cade Gray (Tn) 18-8¼ (5.70) (17-8½ [2], 18-4½ [2], 18-6½, 18-8¼, 18-10¼ [xxx]) (5.40 [2], 5.60 [2], 5.65, 5.70, 5.75 [xxx]);
6. Anthony Meacham (Ks) 18-8¼ (5.70) PR
(17-8½ [3], 18-½ [2], 18-4½, 18-8¼ [2], 19-¼ [xxx]) (5.40 [3], 5.50 [2], 5.60, 5.70 [2], 5.80 [xxx]).
7. **Ricardo Montes De Oca’ (HPt-Ven) 18-4½ (5.60); 8. *Ismaila Sawaneh’ (Tn-Fra) 18-4½; 9. *Cody Johnston (Il) 18-4½; 10. tie, *Brian O’Sullivan (Rut) & Blake Sifferlin (Tn) 18-½ (5.50); 12. *Kevin O’Sullivan (Rut) 18-½; 13. Evan Puckett (Tn) 18-½; 14. tie, Logan Hammer (UtSt) & **Clarke Byram (Tn) 17-8½ (5.40); 16. **Sean Gribble (TxT) 17-8½.
MEN’S LONG JUMP RESULTS
(March 13)
1. Lokesh Sathyanathan’ (Tarl-Ind) 26-11¼ (8.21) NR
(25-10¾, f, 26-1½, 26-11¼, f, 26-9¾) (7.89, f, 7.96, 8.21, f, 8.17);
2. De’Aundre Ward (SnMs) 26-11 (8.20) PR
(25-6¼, f, 26-11, 26-3¾, 25-10¾, f) (7.78, f, 8.20, 8.02, 7.89, f);
3. *Tafadzwa Chikomba’ (KsSt-Zim) 26-9 (8.15) PR
(25-10¼, 25-9¼, 25-11½, 26-6¼, 26-¼, 26-9) (7.88, 7.85, 7.91, 8.08, 7.93, 8.15);
4. Greg Foster (Prin) 26-8¼ (8.13)
(25-7¼, 26-7¾, 26-5½, 26-8¼, f, f) (7.80, 8.12, 8.06, 8.13, f, f);
5. *Uroy Ryan’ (KsSt-StV) 26-4½ (8.04) NR
(25-10¾, 26-4½, 25-9¼, 25-2, f, 25-5¼) (7.89, 8.04, 7.85, 7.67, f, 7.75);
6. ***Temoso Masikane’ (Fl-SA) 26-4½ (8.04)
(f, 25-9½, 26-4½, 24-9¼, 25-½, 25-10¼) (f, 7.86, 8.04, 7.55, 7.63, 7.88);
7. Jordan Turner’ (LSU-Jam) 26-1¾ (7.97); 8. **Jayden Keys (Ga) 25-10¾ (7.89); 9. *Tyler Nichols (SnMs) 25-9¼ (7.85); 10. *DJ Fillmore (OhSt) 25-8¼ (7.83); 11. Kelsey Daniel’ (Tx-Tri) 25-5¼ (7.75); 12. *Kennedy Stringfellow (Ok) 25-0 (7.62); 13. Cade Gray (Tn) 24-11¼ (7.60); 14. **Emmanuel Njoku’ (Ia-Ngr) 24-5¾ (7.46); 15. *Justin Sluijter’ (HPt-Neth) 24-2¼ (7.37); 16. *Micah Larry (TxAM) 23-8 (7.21).
MEN’S TRIPLE JUMP RESULTS
(March 14)
1. *Jonathan Seremes’ (TxT-Fra) 56-7¼ (17.25) PR (9, 9 C)
(54-11½, 54-10, f, 55-3¾, 55-¾, 56-7¼) (16.75, 16.71, f, 16.86, 16.78, 17.25);
2. **Selva Prabhu’ (KsSt-Ind) 55-11¼ (17.05) PR
(54-½, 55-7½, 55-11¼, p, 54-2¾, 53-¾) (16.47, 16.95, 17.05, p, 16.53, 16.17);
3. Kelsey Daniel’ (Tx-Tri) 54-8¾ (16.68) PR
(53-4¼, 53-0, 53-4½, f, 53-8½, 54-8¾) (16.26, 16.15, 16.27, f, 16.37, 16.68);
4. Brandon Green (Ok) 54-7¼ (16.64)
(52-2, 53-8½, f, 54-7¼, 54-½, 51-11¼) (15.90, 16.37, f, 16.64, 16.47, 15.83);
5. *Aaron Antoine’ (KsSt-Tri) 54-5½ (16.60) PR
(53-¾, 53-9, 54-5½, f, 52-3¼, 52-10) (16.17, 16.38, 16.60, f, 15.93, 16.10);
6. Theo Mudzengerere’ (Ky-Zim) 54-1¾ (16.50)
(52-6¾, 53-6½, 54-1¾, 53-0, 51-5½, 53-7¾) (16.02, 16.32, 16.50, 16.15, 15.68, 16.35);
7. **Abraham Johnson (Ar) 54-1¼ (16.49) PR; 8. *Trevon Hamer’ (KsSt-Guy) 53-7 (16.33); 9. Viktor Morozov’ (Il-Est) 53-6¼ (16.31); 10. *Zavien Wolfe (Il) 53-3½ (16.24); 11. *Sterling Scott (Ms) 52-11 (16.13); 12. **Gilles Ouedraogo’ (Lib-BF) 52-8¾ (16.07); 13. ***Kevin Kemboi’ (OkSt-Ken) 52-5½ (15.99); 14. Floyd Whitaker (Ok) 52-¾ (15.87); 15. ***Temoso Masikane’ (Fl-SA) 51-1¾ (15.59);… 3f—*Jemuel Miller’ (UTSA-Bar).
MEN’S SHOT RESULTS
(March 14)
1. Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan (Ms) 67-9 (20.65)
(67-0, f, 67-4, f, 67-9, f) (20.42, f, 20.52, f, 20.65, f);
2. **Kobe Lawrence’ (Or-Jam) 67-3¼ (20.50) PR
(61-9¾, 64-7¾, 64-3¾, 64-¼, 67-3¼, f) (18.84, 19.70, 19.60, 19.51, 20.50, f);
3. Cade Moran (Nb) 66-11¼ (20.40) PR
(65-2, 64-6, 66-5, 66-11¼, 64-8¾, 66-10) (19.86, 19.66, 20.24, 20.40, 19.73, 20.37);
4. ***Ben Smith (Or) 66-10 (20.37) PR
(65-4¼, 64-10½, 66-10, 66-8¾, f, 63-8¾) (19.92, 19.77, 20.37, 20.34, f, 19.42);
5. Texas Tanner (AF) 66-5¼ (20.25) PR
(58-11¼, 61-9½, 63-¼, 61-11¾, 64-3¼, 66-5¼) (17.96, 18.83, 19.21, 18.89, 19.59, 20.25);
6. Joe Licata (Prin) 65-11 (20.09) PR
(62-1¼, 65-11, 64-10, 63-9¾, 63-0, f) (18.93, 20.09, 19.76, 19.45, 19.20, f);
7. ***Jarno Van Daalen’ (Fl-Neth) 64-6¾ (19.68); 8. *Michael Pinones (Tx) 64-5 (19.63) PR; 9. Ryan Henry (PennSt) 62-11½ (19.19); 10. **Dillon Morlock (MiSt) 62-7¾ (19.09); 11. *Roury McCloyen (MsSt) 62-6¾ (19.07); 12. *Logan Montgomery (SC) 62-6 (19.05); 13. Quentin Peterson (GW) 62-1 (18.92); 14. **Jl Van Rensburg’ (Tn-SA) 61-10½ (18.86); 15. Dylan Lambrecht (PennSt) 61-5¾ (18.74); 16. Piers Cameron’ (SnMs-GB) 61-1½ (18.63).
MEN’S WEIGHT RESULTS
(March 13)
1. *Ryan Johnson (Ia) 84-1½ (25.64) (x, 5 W; x, 4 A; x, 2 C)
(77-7½, 78-0, f, f, 84-1½, 82-11 [x, 5 C]) (23.66, 23.77, f, f, 25.64, 25.27);
2. Jeremiah Nubbe’ (Va-Can) 79-8¼ (24.29) PR
(f, 76-6¼, f, 77-2, 79-8¼, 79-5¼) (f, 23.32, f, 23.52, 24.29, 24.21);
3. Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan (Ms) 77-1¼ (23.50)
(76-2¼, f, f, 76-7¼, f, 77-1¼) (23.22, f, f, 23.35, f, 23.50);
4. Keyandre Davis (Va) 74-11¼ (22.84)
(72-1¾, 71-10¼, 74-11¼, f, 71-2¾, f) (21.99, 21.90, 22.84, f, 21.71, f);
5. Henry Zimmerman (TxAM) 74-11 (22.83)
(73-2, 74-11, f, 74-2½, f, 72-7¼) (22.30, 22.83, f, 22.62, f, 22.13);
6. Sam Innes (Mo) 74-5¾ (22.70)
(71-6¾, 74-¼, 74-1½, 73-11½, f, 74-5¾) (21.81, 22.56, 22.59, 22.54, f, 22.70);
7. **Aidan Ifkovits (Tn) 74-5¾ (22.70) PR; 8. Kade McCall (KsSt) 74-5¾ (22.70) PR; 9. *Nikolaos Polychroniou’ (Va-Gre) 73-4¾; 10. Benjamin Pable (NDm) 72-1½ (21.98); 11. *Grant Milbrath (SnIlE) 71-5¼ (21.77); 12. ***Seamus Malaski (Pur) 71-3¼ (21.72); 13. Bryson Smith (Ms) 71-0 (21.64); 14. Texas Tanner (AF) 70-2¼ (21.39); 15. Michael Pinckney (UCLA) 68-3 (20.80); 16. Gary Moore (KsSt) 67-8¼ (20.63).
