CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND (pt.1): Can the Washington men claw their way back onto the NCAA podium?
After a season that started in December two weeks removed from the end of the cross country season in Boston at the hyper-fast Boston University Track & Tennis Center, went through The Podium in Spokane, and got into full gear in January at Washington's Dempsey Indoor, the Reno-Sparks Convention Center, the Albuquerque Convention Center, and other noted indoor track & field facilities around the country, the 2024-25 indoor collegiate season comes to an end for Washington's Division I and II schools this weekend.
The road for the Division I schools ends on the east coast at the Virginia Beach Sports Center in Virginia Beach, while the Division II schools head to Indianapolis for their championship meet at the Fall Creek Pavilion at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
We start our coverage with the NCAA Division I championship meet in Virginia Beach, just outside of Norfolk.
MEN'S PREVIEW...
Two years ago in Albuquerque, the Washington men's team got points in the weight throw, heptathlon, mile, 3000, and distance medley relay en route to a fourth place finish at the national championships.
Last year, Washington finished tenth, led by Luke Houser's second straight victory in the mile, while piecing together points in the heptathlon, long jump, and weight throw.
In the final USTFCCCA D1 indoor rankings, the Huskies are ranked fifth behind Arkansas, USC, Texas A&M, and Auburn.
The final pre-NCAA championship rankings reflect who each team has actually entered and qualified for the meet.
While Washington had nine men dip under 4 minutes in the mile (plus another out of indoor eligibility and another redshirting), only two qualified for the NCAA championships in that event in Nathan Green and Ronan McMahon-Staggs (above, #6130/Paul Merca photo).
Both enter the meet as the top two seeds, after North Carolina's Ethan Strand (3:48.32) and Virginia's Gary Martin (3:48.82) were entered in the 3000, and more importantly, will run on their distance medley relay teams fresh on Friday night.
For the Huskies, who also enter the number one seed in the distance medley relay with their all-conditions world best of 9:14.10 set at the Husky Classic, the key events to watch are the semis in the mile, which is the first event on the schedule at 7 pm local time (4:00 pm Pacific), where Green and McMahon-Staggs are running, and the 800 meter semis 50 minutes later, where Justin O'Toole, Kyle Reinheimer, and Cole Lindhorst (seeded 10th, 11th & 12th) will run for a shot at the finals.
Washington men's head coach Andy Powell will have to decide upon the conclusion of the 800 meter semis which four he will put on the track for the distance medley relay, where the Huskies are the target. As of now, it's a safe assumption that Green will anchor, but that's not necessarily a given.
How hard those five runners race in their semis will play a part in which four Powell puts on the track Friday night. Which ones from the world best team does he pull for the finals, and does he pull one or more of them if he feels they have a better chance to score in their individual events on Saturday?
Besides the runners competing in the mile and 800, the Huskies have on their travel roster freshmen Martin Barco and Thomas Diamond, along with seniors Rhys Hammond and Leo Daschbach to choose from. Freshman Bodi Ligons is slated to run the 400 leg.
The distance medley relay concludes Friday's program at 8:50 pm local time (5:50 pm Pacific).
The Huskies' Jami Schlueter, who is seeded 14th, is the first one on the track, as he opens the meet at 9:15 am local time (6:15 am Pacific) with the heptathlon 60 meter dash, plus the long jump, shot put and high jump the rest of the morning and early afternoon.
Washington's Big Ten pole vault champ Scott Toney, who is seeded 12th, goes at 6 pm local time (3 pm Pacific). He looks to improve upon his fifth place finish at last year's meet when he was at Penn.
Washington State's Mason Lawyer (9th in the 60; 12th in the 200) is entered in both the 60 and 200 meter qualifying rounds Friday, while the Cougars' cross country All-American Evans Kurui (9th) goes in the finals of the men's 5000 at 8:12 pm local time (5:12 pm Pacific).
Several Washington prep standouts are entered in the NCAAs including Trey Knight (Ridgefield) of Cal State Northridge and Jeremiah Nubbe (Rainier) of Virginia in the weight throw; Will Floyd (Seattle Prep) of Georgia and Jacob Andrews (Sehome) of USC in the 400 and 4 x 400 relay; Rob McManus (Cashmere) of Montana State in the mile; and, Andre Korbmacher (Squalicum) of Florida State in the 60 hurdles.
All will be in action Friday in hopes of advancing to the finals in their events on Saturday. The weight throw is a final on Friday starting at 6:05 pm (3:05 pm Pacific).
WOMEN'S PREVIEW...
The Washington women head into Virginia Beach ranked ninth in the final NCAA D1 rankings published by the USTFCCCA.
Going into the national championships (again, all rankings are based on athletes entered in the meet), the national top five are Arkansas, Oregon, BYU, Stanford, and Georgia.
DyeStat has Washington projected to finish in a tie for eighth with 28 points, with Oregon squeezing out the national title with 44 points in a meet that could come down to the final event with Stanford and Arkansas all battling the Ducks.
The Huskies' five individual entries in the meet are led by Amanda (left), and defending NCAA indoor champ Hana Moll (UW Athletics photo) in the pole vault, where they're the number 1 and 2 seeds. The twins kick off the meet at 2 pm local time (11 am Pacific).
Also competing in individual events are Chloe Foerster (8th) in the mile, and Amina Maatoug in the mile (7th) and 3000 (11th). Both run in Friday's mile semis at 3:30 pm local time (12:30 pm Pacific).
The Huskies have the fourth seeded team in the distance medley, with Foerster, Anna Terrell, Claire Yerby, and Maatoug, the foursome that ran a school record 10:40.44 at the Husky Classic. With Foerster and Maatoug entered in Friday afternoon's mile semis, Husky director of track & field Maurica Powell will travel juniors Mia Cochran and Julia David-Smith, and senior Maggie Liebich. Powell can declare her four runners shortly before the race.
The women's distance medley relay ends Friday's women's session at 5:20 pm local time (2:20 pm Pacific).
Washington State has two entries in the women's competition in All-American Micaela De Mello in the 60 hurdles, where she's seeded seventh, and pole vaulter Tatum Moku, who is seeded 13th.
The lone Washington prep entered in the meet is pentathlete Alaina Brady from Tahoma HS, who is competing for Notre Dame. Brady was tenth last year, scoring 4101 points.
The NCAA Division I indoor championship meet will not be shown live on TV, but you can stream all events live online via ESPN+ (requires subscription).
The meet will be shown on a delayed basis starting Sunday the 16th on ESPNU starting at 3 pm Pacific.
The NCAA Division I indoor championship meet microsite is available here, while the fan site is available here.
NOTE: The USTFCCCA, NCAA, along with the sports information offices of the University of Washington, and Washington State University contributed to this report.
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