Deon Lendore and Arman Hall both made it to the semifinals of the men’s 400-meter dash at the 2013 IAAF World Championships in Moscow. No longer battling for medals or their respective countries, Lendore and Hall will battle it out for points that may have a larger bearing on the team standings at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. 

Lendore enters with the fastest time on the year with his 45.03 at the Southeastern Conference Championship on March 1. He is unbeaten all season in open races:

Texas A&M Triangular Meet - 45.74 for the win

Razorback Invitational - 45.47 for the win

SEC Prelim and Final - 45.47 and 45.03 for the win

Remember, he could go faster as he clocked a 44.94 during the 2013 outdoor season. 

As was the case on the professional level with stars like Kirani James and LaShawn Merritt, quarter-milers are not afraid to face each other. Hall and Lendore have faced off twice on the year. The A&M junior has come out victorious each time. 

Hall has come close, but has never pulled off the upset. The Florida sophomore has run a season’s best of 45.28 at the SEC Championship. If he could pull off the win in the 400-meter as well as the 200-meter dash, coach Mike Holloway will be one happy man. Hall may also be expected to have a big weekend in the men’s 4x400-meter relay. He most likely knows that the team title may be determined in that race and he could be facing off against the new NCAA record holders from Texas A&M, which includes Lendore on the relay. 

Lendore vs. Hall is the rivalry to watch. Could the bridesmaid that is Hall finally become the bride?

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Nine runners are seeded under 46 seconds and only six schools are represented by those nine. 

We’ve already discussed Hall, so Hugh Graham Jr. (45.94) and Najee Glass (45.95) are the other two Gators with hopes of competing in the NCAA final. They were separated by .01 of a second at the SEC Championships.

The only duo better is Notre Dame’s Chris Giesting and Patrick Feeney. Giesting got the upper hand at the ACC Championship over Feeney winning 45.71 to 45.81. Feeney won the men’s 400-meter dash at the New Mexico Invite in 46.53, while Giesting finished third in 46.77. Both have a feel for racing at altitude on the year. 

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Keep an eye on:

For years, the two Fighting Irish runners faced off against Pittsburgh’s Brycen Spratling in the Big East. They were able to tame him in their face-off at the ACC Championship, where Spratling finished fifth. He was sixth at the US Indoor Championship. Spratling’s season has included personal bests in the 60-meter dash, 300-meter dash, 400-meter dash and 600-meter dash. 

LSU junior Vernon Norwood is the third fastest seeded runner with his 45.39 behind Lendore and Hall. He ran the 600-meter run in 1:19.24 at the New Mexico Invite to put an altitude performance under his belt. Could we see an SEC repeat, if Lendore, Hall and Norwood sweep 1-2-3?