Joy and pain.
Those are two realities that can be used to describe the emotions and experiences that the athletes faced at the NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships last week. The athletes who hit the field or took the track made the four-day event worth-wild for those who attended and watched from afar.
Those fans who were in attendance and who watched on television saw the Florida Gators men’s track and field team, as well as the Texas women’s track and field team win their respective national team titles in front of an enthusiastic crowd in Austin, Texas, home of the Longhorns.
Another word that can be used to describe the championship meet is unexpected, which is what we love about the sport of track and field.
Athletes such as Rhasidat Adeleke of Texas put on a show for the home crowd in Austin, as she won the women’s 400m national title with her time of 49.20 seconds in the event. She defeated the likes of Britton Wilson, who holds the NCAA record in the event.
Her teammate Julian Alfred showed why she’s the best sprinter in the country, and why she’s a serious contender to win the Bowerman. Alfred got the day started by helping Texas win the women’s 4x100m title with their winning time of 41.60. She then won the women’s 100m with her time of 10.72 (2.3m/s). She also won the women’s 200m, running 21.73 (2.5m/s) in the event. Alfred and Adeleke’s performance’s helped the Longhorns win the team title.
On the men’s side, the Gators did what the Gators know how to do under legendary head coach Mike Holloway, and that is to win at the biggest stages. In the men’s 400m, Emmanuel Bamidele and Ryan Willie scored 19 big points in the event, with Bamidele winning the title with a new personal best of 44.24.
Bamidele and Willie then joined forces with Jacory Patterson and Jevaughn Powell on the 4x400m relay to break the NCAA record and clinch the team title with their winning performance of 2:57.74.
We recap these remarkable performances and more on this episode of Track Talk.
