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The MPSF Indoor Championships are set to go off this Friday and promises intense match-ups from 19 of the west’s top track and field programs, including the Pac-12, Big West, Mountain West, Western Athletic, and West Coast Conference powerhouses. With so much action happening at every corner of the track, we decided to highlight six events that you absolutely cannot miss at the Dempsey.

6 EVENTS TO WATCH:

 

Women’s 60m

The women’s 60m is going to be a huge battle between Oregon Ducks and USC Trojans, headlined by multiple All Americans who are currently ranked nationally in the NCAA’s top 10 list, including the Oregon dynamic duo of Jasmine Todd and Jenna Prandini. Todd is a two-time All American who recently posted the second-fastest 60m time of 2015 with a 7.15 mark at the UW Indoor Preview. Prandini currently holds the fifth-fastest mark in the NCAA with a 7.19 run at the Don Kirby Open & Elite meet on Feb. 13. The USC Trojans bring a blazing fast crew that includes freshman phenom and No. 3 in the NCAA Ky Westbrook, four-time All American Tynia Gaither, and No. 9 in the NCAA Alexis Faulknor along with speedy freshmen Deanna Hill, Gabriella Cantrell, and sophomore Destinee Brown. Oregon’s Ariana Washington and Marybeth Sant will also round out the top 10 entries for a crazy fast showdown at the Dempsey. 

 

Prediction: After going 1-2 at Don Kirby Elite to tie and run a personal best 10 days ago, Todd and Prandini will ride the streak to repeat during Saturday’s final. 

 

Women’s 800m

The women’s 800m will provide some surprises as Arizona State’s NCAA 1500m champion Shelby Houlihan plans to make her 2015 debut in the event along with Stanford freshman phenom Elise Cranny. Houlihan is coming off of a seventh-place finish (4:30) in the NYRR Wannamaker Mile and Cranny most recently ran a 9:02 in the 3k at the Husky Classic. BYU’s Shea Martinez will also toe the line after running 2:04.79 at the Husky Classic, which currently stands as the sixth-fastest mark in the NCAA in 2015. Washington All American Baylee Mires has proven herself a strong contender all indoor season, breaking the school record with her season’s best mark of 2:05 at the UW Invitational. NCAA Outdoor runner-up Claudia Saunders will also look be in the mix and improve upon her season’s best mark of 2:06 in order to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. 

 

Prediction: The last time Houlihan ran an 800m was at the 2014 USATF Outdoor Championships where she crossed the line in a new personal best of 2:01. It will be her first attempt at the event this year, but her insane range will get her the win this Saturday.

 

Women’s High Jump

The women’s high jump will be one of the last battles for qualifying spots to the NCAA Indoor Championships with three jumpers in contention to earn a place in Fayetteville. Oregon’s Lauren Crockett is currently tied for the sixth highest clearance along with four other jumpers from around the country, and Arizona’s Lisanne Hagens and UCLA’s Zibby Boyer are currently tied with four other jumpers in the No. 12 spot on the NCAA descending order list. Crockett, a two-time All American has cleared 1.85m this season and Hagens and Boyer have both cleared 1.83m. 

 

Prediction: Crockett will take the title, but Hagens will use her 1.83m season’s best from the Don Kirby Open 10 days ago to improve once again at MPSF. 

 

Men’s DMR

The men’s distance medley relay promises to be a tight battle for a last chance to run a mark fast enough to crack the top 12 list of teams headed to the NCAA Championships. The Stanford squad got the job done at Alex Wilson this past weekend with a win in heat one, and the No. 7 fastest time run this season. The Oregon Ducks will attempt to build from their runner-up finish at last year’s NCAA Indoor Championships, but are on the bubble to punch their ticket to Fayetteville. Their 9:32 performance from the Rod McCravy Memorial only puts them No. 12 on the descending order list. The Washington Huskies finished eighth at last year’s NCAA Championships and have yet to run a distance medley relay fast enough to be in contention, but may use MPSF as a chance to earn the mark.  

 

Prediction: Oregon will get the job done and punch their ticket with a win under the cut-off mark from last year of 9:31. 

 

Men’s 3k

The men’s 3k will be a stacked field filled with Colorado Buffaloes and Oregon Ducks looking to run fast and punch their tickets to the Big Dance. Nearly every Colorado runner from the NCAA Cross Country Championship squad will be contending for spots on the line in Fayetteville, including Ammar Moussa, who has yet to run a 3k this season or a qualifying mark in the 5k, Jake Hurysz, who stands at No. 14 in the mile and has no mark for the 3k, Morgan Pearson, who stands at No. 11 in the 5k, and Ben Saarel who finished third in the 3k at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships but has yet to post a qualifying mark in 2015. Nearly every Oregon Duck is set to push that pace even harder, including five-time NCAA champion Edward Cheserek, 2014 NCAA cross country runner-up Eric Jenkins, and a slew of dangerously fast All Americans Will Geoghegan, Johnny Gregorek, Jeramy Elkaim, Jake Leingang, Parker Stinson, and Tanguy Pepiot. 

 

Prediction: Cheserek will take the win, and pull teammate Parker Stinson to a qualifying mark for the NCAA Championships.
 

 

Men’s Pole Vault

It will be a Washington showdown in the men’s pole vault with Jax Thoirs and teammate Lev Marcus attempting to improve upon their No. 9 and No. 11 marks on the NCAA descending order list. UCLA’s Michael Woepse currently holds the No. 5 highest clearance on the NCAA list with a mark of 5.55m set at the Don Kirby Open & Elite meet on Feb. 13. Woepse won the MPSF Championships last year with a clearance of 5.45m and finished 13th at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships. Thoirs’ mark of 5.50m puts him in a tie for ninth in the NCAA with Dylan Bell of Air Force, and Marcus’ clearance of 5.47m places him in a tie for No. 11 with Grant Sisserson of Cornell and Adrian Valles of Cincinatti. The last chance effort for these vaulters will determine final standing heading into the NCAA Championships. 

 

Prediction: Woepse will defend his MPSF title from last year.