By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photo by Errol Anderson

The 59th edition of the NCAA Division 1 men’s indoor track and field championships are scheduled for March 8-9 at the TRACK at New Balance in Boston, Mass.

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Here are 10 men’s storylines to follow at the event, as the meet is held for the first time at the venue:

No ratification, but plenty of motivation for Morales-Williams

Georgia sophomore and Canadian standout Christopher Morales-Williams ran the fastest indoor 400-meter race in global history Feb. 24 by clocking 44.49 seconds at the Southeastern Conference Championships at Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark.

Although Morales-Williams isn’t expected to have the mark ratified by World Athletics as the world record based on the starting blocks that were used in Arkansas, he still has an opportunity to not only improve his performance, but also capture another title for the Bulldogs with his effort in Boston.

The SEC coaches voted not to use the World Athletics-approved starting blocks because they are more sensitive.

As a result, Kerron Clement’s 44.57 performance from 2005 at the Division 1 indoor final in Arkansas still remains the recognized world indoor record by World Athletics.

Michael Norman ran 44.52 representing USC at the 2018 NCAA indoor championship meet, but that performance wasn’t ratified by World Athletics based on insufficient drug testing following the race.

In addition to mentoring Morales-Williams, Georgia coach Caryl Smith-Gilbert also guided Norman during her tenure at USC.

Elija Godwin won the 400 title for Georgia last year in 44.75 at the Division 1 indoor final in Albuquerque, N.M.

Auburn was the last men’s program to have different 400 champions in consecutive years, with Willie Smith capturing titles in 1977-78, followed by James Walker in 1979.

Six straight male competitors have produced sub-45 efforts to capture the Division 1 indoor crown, with Morales-Williams the only athlete in the field who has achieved the feat..

Morales-Williams is not only seeking the championship, but also attempting to join American athletes Michael Johnson, Fred Kerley, Randolph Ross and Godwin among the competitors with multiple sub-45 performances in their indoor careers.

Texas Tech seeks spectacular sprint showcase

Terrence Jones is the reigning men’s 60-meter champion for Texas Tech, but the Bahamian standout will have plenty of company from his teammates, as the Red Raiders have five of the 16 athletes scheduled to compete in Friday’s semifinals.

Florida is the only school in Division 1 indoor championship history to have five athletes score in a single event, with the Gators placing first, second, fourth, fifth and sixth in 2003 in the women’s weight throw.

The most scorers in a single men’s event at the Division 1 indoor final has been four, most recently achieved by Washington in the mile last year in Albuquerque, N.M.

UCLA also had four competitors score in the men’s shot put in 1994.

LSU had four athletes score in the 2018 women’s 60-meter dash final.

Don’dre Swint, Caleb Dean, Shawn Brown and Antoine Andrews are all scheduled to join Jones in the semifinals.

Jones, who shares the collegiate record of 6.45 seconds with Tennessee’s Christian Coleman and Brigham Young’s Leonard Myles-Mills, is looking to become the first male athlete to secure back-to-back 60 crowns since TCU’s Ronnie Baker in 2015-16.

No men’s program has had different competitors win the 60 title in consecutive years.

Leo looks to be leading man once again

Although winning the Division 1 indoor heptathlon championship is just another step during the year on his journey to potentially capturing the Olympic decathlon gold medal in Paris, German athlete and Texas competitor Leo Neugebauer is still motivated to capture another NCAA title after setting the collegiate decathlon record of 8,836 points in June at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.

Neugebauer accumulated 6,219 points Feb. 2-3 at the New Mexico Collegiate Classic in Albuquerque to remain the No. 5 all-time collegiate competitor, a slight improvement from his 6,214-point effort that took third at the Division 1 indoor final last year in New Mexico.

Kyle Garland won the NCAA indoor heptathlon championship last year for Georgia by producing a collegiate record with 6,639 points in Albuquerque. Garland and Neugebauer were among seven athletes in New Mexico last season to score 6,000 points or more, the most in any competition in NCAA history.

Although Neugebauer is the lone Texas competitor in the heptathlon – looking to join three-time winner Donovan Kilmartin (2004, 2006 and 2007) as champion for the Longhorns – Arkansas has four entries with Yariel Soto Torrado, Jack Turner, Marcus Weaver and Daniel Spejcher.

No men’s program in Division 1 indoor championship meet history has had more than two athletes score in the same year in the heptathlon, with the Razorbacks looking to contribute valuable points in their quest to repeat as team champions.

Tough runway act to follow

The men’s long jump final last year at the Division 1 indoor championship meet in Albuquerque produced seven athletes surpassing the 8-meter barrier, the most in NCAA history.

Half of the 16 finalists this season have reached the 8-meter mark indoors, setting the stage for another remarkable runway showcase.

Arkansas standout and Jamaican competitor Wayne Pinnock, fourth last year in New Mexico, shares the world indoor lead this year at 27-4.50 (8.34m), making him the No. 10 all-time collegiate indoor competitor.

Pinnock is not only looking to follow former Arkansas teammate and fellow Jamaican athlete Carey McLeod by capturing the title Friday, but he is also attempting to become the first men’s competitor in Division 1 indoor history to win long jump championships for two programs, including 2022 at Tennessee.

LSU was the last men’s program to have different athletes win consecutive long jump titles, with Rayvon Grey capturing the crown in 2019 and JuVaughn Harrison taking the title in 2021, with no Division 1 indoor final being held in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Johnny Brackins of USC could also be a factor after winning the USATF Indoor Championships on Feb. 17 in Albuquerque. Brackins, who is also a leading contender in the 60-meter hurdles, was seventh in the long jump for Baylor in 2022, followed by fifth last season for the Trojans.

Brackins is seeking the first men’s long jump title for USC since 1973.

Malcolm Clemons is looking to capture the first crown for Florida since 2017, with Jeremiah Davis pursuing the first championship for Florida State since 2011.

Lumberjacks hope to make up for lost time

Although Northern Arizona earned by a podium finish by placing fourth with only three athletes scoring in 2022 at the CrossPlex in Birmingham, Ala., the Lumberjacks still ponder what could have been in 2020, when they were among the championship favorites entering the Division 1 indoor final in Albuquerque, N.M., which was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Northern Arizona has three athletes entered in both the 3,000 and 5,000 in Boston, but Aaron Las Heras, Theo Quax and Nico Young have plenty of support, giving the Lumberjacks the potential to capture their first men’s team title.

Colin Sahlman is competing in the mile, Mitchell Effing is a finalist in the triple jump and Garret Bernt is scheduled to participate in the weight throw, in addition to the Lumberjacks qualifying in the distance medley relay.

Stanford athlete and Australian competitor Ky Robinson is also entered in the 3,000 and 5,000, in addition to Eritrean standout and New Mexico freshman Habtom Samuel, plus North Carolina’s Parker Wolfe and Oklahoma State’s Alex Maier.

Northern Arizona’s Abdihamid Nur was the catalyst for the Lumberjacks to place fourth in 2022, as the last male athlete to sweep the 3,000 and 5,000 in the same year.

North Carolina and New Mexico have never won a championship in either event, with Oklahoma State seeking its first 5,000 crown after Moroccan athlete Fouad Messaoudi won the 3,000 last year.

Stanford hasn’t won the 3,000 since Elliott Heath prevailed in 2011 and Robinson is pursuing the first 5,000 title for the Cardinal since Ian Dobson triumphed in 2005.

Worth his weight in gold

Harvard’s Kenny Ikeji had to complete three midterms ahead of hopefully passing his final exam Thursday in the men’s weight throw, which was not only adjusted from its original schedule Friday, but also moved to the infield at the facility as the first event of the three-day competition.

Ikeji, the reigning Division 1 men’s hammer throw champion representing Great Britain, is looking to capture the first weight throw crown for Harvard since Charles Ajootian and Ed Wosal won back-to-back titles in 1969-70.

Ikeji, who finished 10th last year in Albuquerque, N.M., became the eighth male athlete in collegiate indoor history to surpass the 80-foot barrier with his victorious effort Feb. 24 of 80-0.25 (24.39m) at the Ivy League Heptagonal Championships at Harvard.

Ole Miss sophomore Tarik Robinson-O’Hagan, who became the first men’s competitor in Southeastern Conference Championships history to sweep both the weight throw and shot put in the same year, was third last year in New Mexico in the weight throw final.

Washington’s Jayden White and Tyler Sudduth from Illinois were fifth and eighth, respectively, last season in Albuquerque.

Robinson-O’Hagan and Iowa State’s Cam Jones are looking to follow the success of North Dakota State standout Payton Otterdahl, who was the last male athlete to capture both the weight throw and shot put championships in the same year in 2019 at the Division 1 indoor final in Alabama.

LSU’s John Meyer is the only first-team All-American returning from the shot put final last year in New Mexico, placing seventh, with Robinson-O’Hagan grabbing 11th.

Middle men look to return to front of the pack

Yusuf Bizimana of Texas, a British standout, returns as the men’s 800-meter champion and Washington’s Luke Houser arrives in Boston attempting to defend his mile title from last year.

Michigan’s Nate Brannen was the last athlete to secure back-to-back 800 crowns in 2003-04.

Josh Kerr, who captured a gold medal March 2 for Great Britain in the men’s 3,000 at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in his native Scotland, was the last men’s competitor to win consecutive mile titles at the Division 1 indoor final in 2017-18 representing New Mexico.

In addition to Houser, fellow Washington standout and 2022 Division 1 outdoor 1,500-meter champion and last year’s runner-up in the event Joe Waskom is also returning from the indoor mile final in Albuquerque, along with Drake’s Isaac Basten – last season’s NCAA mile runner-up – and Moroccan athlete Anass Essayi from South Carolina.

Washington’s Nathan Green, the defending Division 1 outdoor 1,500 champion, moved from the mile final last year in New Mexico to challenge himself in the 800, joining Bizimana and fellow returning All-Americans Handal Roban from Penn State, who took third, and fifth-place finisher Sam Austin of Florida.

The last time the men’s 800 and mile titles were both won by the same athletes in consecutive years was 1979-80, with Evans White of Prairie View repeating in the 800 and Suleiman Nyambui from UTEP beginning his run of four straight championships in the mile.

Beckford ready for return to rarefied air

Romaine Beckford made history last year by becoming the first indoor champion in any event in the history of the South Florida program, with the Jamaican star capturing the men’s high jump title.

Beckford, now competing for Arkansas, is looking to produce another amazing achievement Saturday by becoming the only male athlete in Division 1 indoor finals to win high jump crowns for multiple schools.

The Razorbacks are seeking their first men’s high jump winner since Kenny Evans in 1998.

Beckford is trying to match the success of Texas Tech’s Trey Culver, the last men’s high jump competitor to capture back-to-back indoor championships in 2016-17.

Devin Loudermilk from Kansas and Louisville’s Trey Allen tied for third last season, with Sri Lankan athlete Ushan Perera from Texas A&M finishing fifth.

All three competitors are scheduled to return Saturday in Boston, along with Louisville’s Brion Stephens, who placed 16th last year in New Mexico.

Kansas, Louisville and Texas A&M are all seeking their first men’s indoor high jump titles, with Omamuyovwi Erhire of Nigeria looking to capture the first crown for Texas Tech since the Red Raiders won three in a row from 2015-17, with Jacorian Duffield’s victory followed by a pair of championships from Culver.

All lanes covered in deep DMR field

The top three men’s collegiate programs ever to compete on a 200-meter banked track, along with the fastest three schools ever to race on an oversized indoor surface are scheduled to clash Friday in the distance medley relay.

Oklahoma State, the defending champion and fastest group in collegiate indoor history at 9:16.40 from last year in Arkansas, is looking to become the first men’s program to repeat since Edward Cheserek led Oregon to back-to-back titles in 2015-16.

Ryan Schoppe is scheduled to return from last year’s winning lineup for the Cowboys, who clocked 9:28.77 in Albuquerque.

Washington, which clocked 9:16.65 last season in Arkansas, and Virginia – with a 9:18.95 performance at Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville this season – are also entered, both pursuing their first DMR titles.

Northern Arizona (9:17.43), North Carolina (9:17.92) and Michigan (9:19.33), which achieved the top three efforts on an oversized track in collegiate indoor history Feb. 17 at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame, are also among the field of 12 schools.

Michigan, led by Nate Brannen and Andrew Ellerton, won DMR championships in 2004-05. Northern Arizona and North Carolina are both seeking their first DMR crowns.

Finishing with a flurry, and possibly a title

Arkansas, Texas Tech and Florida are among the leading contenders for the men’s team championship, with all three programs scheduled to compete in the 4x400-meter relay Saturday, which could be the deciding factor in the quest for the title.

Arkansas, which prevailed last year in New Mexico in 3:02.09 to also secure the men’s team crown, is also the last program to capture back-to-back 4x400 championships in 2012-13.

Florida, which won the outdoor 4x400 title in June in Texas, hasn’t triumphed in an indoor relay final since 2005.

USC, the fastest lineup in global indoor history with its 3:00.77 performance from the 2018 NCAA championship meet at Texas A&M, is looking to win its first 4x400 title since that victory in College Station.

Texas Tech, Alabama and top qualifier Arizona State, which ran 3:02.73 on Feb. 10 at the Tyson Invitational in Arkansas, are all pursuing their first indoor 4x400 crowns. Justin Robinson should play a significant role for Arizona State, which finished fourth last year in 3:03.58, trailing third-place USC (3:03.16).

Georgia, despite boasting Canadian competitor Christopher Morales-Williams and his 44.49 all-time global effort Feb. 24 at the Southeastern Conference Championships, didn’t qualify in the 4x400 this season after placing second last year in Albuquerque in 3:03.10.