Atlantic 10 2014 Outdoor Championship Preview

Sprints

“Their art revolved around a single explosive instant during which all was gained or lost.”

 

Men’s 100m

The current leader at 100m is Patrick Farnham of UMass Amherst with a time of 10.75, followed closely by Alec Peabody (Saint Josesph’s) and Jalen Young (Rhode Island), both with times of 10.79. Franham has made large improvements since last year when he did not make it to the finals in the 100m at conference. Each of these athletes will  also be trying to score points in events as deep as the 400m and as off-the-track as long jump. Strength to double and come back, as well as experience in high-pressure races, will come into play in this event where medals will be decided by hundredths of a second.

 

Women’s 100m

The heavy favorite for this event is Kiara Porter of VCU who leads the conference by over half a second with a time of 11.38. This time ranks her 6^th in the NCAA. Porter is coming off an incredible Indoor season where she took home Atlantic 10 Championship gold medals in the 60m, 200m and 400m,  as well as qualifying for NCAA Nationals in the 400m. The next fastest times belong to Maya Pedersen (Dayton) with an 11.84 and Jennifer Christian (Rhode Island) with an 11.95. Last year’s runner-up at this meet was Hannah Janeczak (Rhode Island) but she currently sits in 10^th with a time of 12.25.

 

Men’s 200m

Rhode Island continues to hold a strong presence in the sprinting events, holding the 1^st and 3^rd spots with Jalen Young in 21.31 and Kebba Nasso in 21.44 The 2^nd position belongs to Adrian Vaughn (George Mason) in 21.38. Both Nasso’s and Vaughn’s times were run indoor.  Four men return from last year’s 200m final: a trio of Rhodies in Young, Tyler Oliveria, and Anthony Davidson, as well as a sophomore from Saint Joseph’s, Alec Peabody. Peabody anchored his 4x200m team at the Penn Relays last weekend to the IC4A Championship heat.

 

Women’s 200m

Last year’s winner returns as this year’s fastest time entering the meet, Kiara Porter (VCU). She is yet to run an open 200m this Outdoor season but her Indoor time of 23.70 is good enough to earn her the top seed. Porter is followed closely in the seeding by Maya Pedersen (Dayton) in 24.17 and Jessica Ewing (VCU) in 24.48. Ewing ran that mark Indoors but has ran only 25.45 on a full-size track. Team tactics could play into whether VCU enters Porter and Ewing in each of the sprinting events, as they are both capable of earning points from 100m to 400m as well as relays. Sophomore Mary Allen (Richmond) won a silver medal in this event last year but currently sits at 16^th with a time of 25.03, an Indoors time that she has yet to better Outdoors.

 

Men’s 400m

The reigning Indoor IC4A Champion Kebba Nasso (Rhode Island) sits atop the conference with his IC4A winning time of 46.65. His current best this Outdoor season is 47.51. Teammate Jalen Young (Rhode Island) holds 2^nd in the conference with his time of 47.44, which is the conference’s fastest current Outdoor time. George Empty (George Mason) rounds out the top three with his time of 47.55. Six men enter the meet with marks under 48 and 13 have gone under 49. The addition of George Mason and VCU has made this event incredibly competitive. I am personally pumped to watch it.

 

Women’s 400m

Kiara Porter (VCU) continues her dominance in the sprinting events, having run 52.50 Indoors to hold the conference’s top seed. Porter won this event last year as s sophomore with a time of 53.61, a full second faster than the next competitor. She has run 52.92 so far this season. The next two seeds belong to a duo from George Mason in Daianna Barron and Dominique Graham, who have run 54.06 and 54.65, respectively.