Per the early-line forecast, Georgia looks powerfully primed for a third straight title after ’25 Outdoor and ’26 Indoor wins. (KIRBY LEE/IMAGE OF SPORT)
LAST YEAR’S FIRST FORMCHART projected the Georgia Bulldogs to steamroll the competition. And they did. They look ready to do it again. Coach Caryl Smith Gilbert’s SEC powerhouse is expected to score enough points in the sprints and relays, that they won’t even need the second wave, which has them adding numbers in both hurdles, triple jump, shot and javelin.
All in all, that projects to a huge winning score of 76 this year, leaving Florida’s 43 far in the dust, followed closely by Oregon at 39. Then there’s a bit of a gap before 7 teams clustered just 4 points apart.
Overall, just 4 of last year’s winners are favored to repeat: Doris Lemngole (steeple), Pamela Kosgei (5000), Aaliyah McCormick (100H), Hana Moll (PV).
The 10-deep predictions for each event (’ = athlete not eligible for U.S. international teams):
TOP 10 TEAMS
1. Georgia
76
2. Florida
43
3. Oregon
39
=4. Arkansas
33
=4. Texas A&M
33
6. USC
32
=7. BYU
31
=7. Illinois
31
=9. South Carolina
29
=9. Stanford
29
(complete team scores below event picks.)
100 METERS
1.
Shenese Walker’
Florida State
Sr
2.
Adaejah Hodge’
Georgia
Fr
3.
Victoria Cameron
Tarleton State
Jr
4.
Dajaz Defrand
USC
Sr
5.
Brianna Selby
USC
So
6.
Alicia Burnett
Ole Miss
Sr
7.
Alyssa Colbert
Texas Tech
Sr
8.
Carleta Bernard’
Texas
Jr
9.
Paje Rasmussen
BYU
Jr
10.
Alexis Brown
South Carolina
Sr
200 METERS
1.
Adaejah Hodge’
Georgia
Fr
2.
Gabrielle Matthews’
Florida
Sr
3.
JaMeesia Ford
South Carolina
Jr
4.
Camryn Dickson
Texas A&M
Sr
5.
Madison Whyte
USC
Jr
6.
Kelly Ufodiama
East Carolina
So
7.
Tiriah Kelley
Baylor
Sr
8.
Christine Mallard
USC
Sr
9.
Alexis Brown
South Carolina
Sr
10.
Dajaz Defrand
USC
Sr
400 METERS
1.
Ella Onojuvwevwo’
LSU
Sr
2.
Dejanea Oakley’
Georgia
Sr
3.
Madison Whyte
USC
Jr
4.
Sanaria Butler
Arkansas
Sr
5.
Shaquena Foote’
Georgia
Sr
6.
Kaylyn Brown
Arkansas
Jr
7.
Rachel Joseph
Iowa State
Sr
8.
Vimbayi Maisvorewa’
Georgia
Sr
9.
Elise Cooper
Texas
Fr
10.
Kaelyaah Liburd’
Florida State
Jr
800 METERS
1.
Gladys Chepngetich’
Clemson
Jr
2.
Juliette Whittaker
Stanford
Sr
3.
Makayla Paige
North Carolina
Sr
4.
Sanu Jallow-Lockhart’
Arkansas
Sr
5.
Analisse Batista
Arkansas
Jr
6.
Sophia Gorriaran
Harvard
Jr
7.
Mena Scatchard’
Stanford
Sr
8.
Veronica Hargrave
Indiana
So
9.
Lauren Tolbert
Duke
Sr
10.
Makayla Clark
Iowa State
Sr
1500 METERS
1.
Wilma Nielsen’
Oregon
Sr
2.
Şilan Ayyıldız’
Oregon
Sr
3.
Rosemary Longisa’
Washington State
So
4.
Sadie Engelhardt
NC State
Fr
5.
Billah Jepkirui’
Oklahoma State
Jr
6.
Aniya Mosley
Ohio State
Sr
7.
Carmen Alder
BYU
Sr
8.
Salma Elbadra’
South Carolina
Jr
9.
Chloe Foerster
Washington
Sr
10.
Claire Stegall
Florida
Fr
STEEPLE
1.
Doris Lemngole’
Alabama
Jr
2.
Angelina Napoleon
NC State
Jr
3.
Taylor Lovell
BYU
Jr
4.
Raygan Dimond
BYU
Jr
5.
Debora Cherono’
Texas A&M
So
6.
Leah Jeruto’
Oklahoma
So
7.
Jessie Fotheringham’
NJ Institute Of Technology
Fr
8.
Katelyn Stewart-Barnett’
Michigan State
Sr
9.
Shelby Jensen
Utah State
Jr
10.
Pamela Kosgei’
New Mexico
So
5000 METERS
1.
Pamela Kosgei’
New Mexico
So
2.
Jane Hedengren
BYU
Fr
3.
Vera Sjoberg’
North Carolina
Sr
4.
Sophia Kennedy
Stanford
Jr
5.
Hayley Burns
Northern Arizona
Jr
6.
Marion Jepngetich’
New Mexico
So
7.
Nancy Cherop’
Clemson
Fr
8.
Ava Mitchell
Northern Arizona
Jr
9.
Juliet Cherubet’
Oregon
Jr
10.
Jenna Hutchins
BYU
Sr
10,000 METERS
1.
Jane Hedengren
BYU
Fr
2.
Pamela Kosgei’
New Mexico
So
3.
Hilda Olemomoi’
Florida
Sr
4.
Edna Chelulei’
Eastern Kentucky
So
5.
Jadyn Keeler’
North Dakota
Sr
6.
Judy Chepkoech’
Florida
Fr
7.
Joy Naukot’
West Virginia
So
8.
Diana Cherotich’
Oregon
So
9.
Grace Hartman
NC State
Sr
10.
Paityn Noe
Arkansas
Jr
100 HURDLES
1.
Aaliyah McCormick
Oregon
Sr
2.
Jaiya Covington
Texas A&M
Jr
3.
Ana-Liese Torian
Auburn
Jr
4.
Emmi Scales
Kentucky
Jr
5.
Habiba Harris’
Florida
So
6.
Maddi Cooper
Georgia
Fr
7.
Oneka Wilson’
Clemson
Sr
8.
Danae Nembhard’
Auburn
Sr
9.
Marcia Sey
Howard
Sr
10.
Myreanna Bebe’
Tennessee
Sr
400 HURDLES
1.
Akala Garrett
South Carolina
Jr
2.
Michelle Smith’
Georgia
So
3.
Sanaa Hebron
Miami
Jr
4.
Amelliah Birdow
Texas
Jr
5.
Vanice Kerubo Nyagisera’
Kentucky
Fr
6.
Braelyn Baker
Duke
So
7.
Vanessa Balde’
Texas Tech
Sr
8.
Allyria McBride
Vanderbilt
Sr
9.
Natalie Block
Milwaukee
Sr
10.
Mackenzie Collins
Texas
So
4 x 100
1.
Georgia
Georgia
2.
USC
USC
3.
South Carolina
South Carolina
4.
Florida
Florida
5.
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
6.
LSU
LSU
7.
Texas
Texas
8.
Texas Tech
Texas Tech
9.
Tennessee
Tennessee
10.
TCU
TCU
4 x 400
1.
Arkansas
Arkansas
2.
Georgia
Georgia
3.
South Carolina
South Carolina
4.
Florida
Florida
5.
LSU
LSU
6.
Kentucky
Kentucky
7.
Texas
Texas
8.
Duke
Duke
9.
Iowa
Iowa
10.
Texas A&M
Texas A&M
HIGH JUMP
1.
Temitope Adeshina’
Texas Tech
Jr
2.
Rose Yeboah’
Illinois
Sr
3.
Alyssa Jones
Stanford
Sr
4.
Emma Gates
Arizona
Sr
5.
Shari Enoe’
Kansas State
Jr
6.
JaiCieonna Gero-Holt
Illinois
Fr
7.
Valentina Fakrogha
UCLA
So
8.
Claire Lowrey
Texas Tech
Jr
9.
Kemarah Howard
Kentucky
Fr
10.
Maria Arboleda Angulo’
Arkansas
So
POLE VAULT
1.
Hana Moll
Washington
Jr
2.
Amanda Moll
Washington
Jr
3.
Marleen Mulla’
South Dakota
Sr
4.
Anna Willis
South Dakota
So
5.
Molly Haywood
Baylor
Jr
6.
Ashley Callahan
Louisville
Sr
7.
Emily Fitzsimmons
Oregon
Sr
8.
Hannah Grace
Tennessee
Fr
9.
Mason Meinershagen
Kansas
Jr
10.
Ali Sahaida
Cal
Sr
LONG JUMP
1.
Sophia Beckmon
Illinois
Jr
2.
Alyssa Jones
Stanford
Sr
3.
Heidi Hudson
Arkansas
Jr
4.
Alexandra Kelly
Princeton
Sr
5.
Prestina Ochonogor’
Tarleton State
So
6.
Maud Zeffou-Poaty’
Kansas State
Jr
7.
Chisom Nwafor
Kansas State
Fr
8.
Janae De Gannes’
Baylor
So
9.
Eve Divinity
Louisville
Sr
10.
Sydney Willits
Iowa State
Sr
TRIPLE JUMP
1.
Daniela Wamokpego’
Kansas State
Jr
2.
Shantae Foreman’
Clemson
Sr
3.
Tamiah Washington
Texas Tech
Jr
4.
Destini Smith
Kansas State
Fr
5.
Georgina Scoot’
Princeton
Sr
6.
Rhianna Phipps’
Nebraska
Sr
7.
Skylynn Townsend
Georgia
So
8.
Grace Oshiokpu’
Texas Tech
Jr
9.
Asia Phillips’
Florida
So
10.
Agur Dwol
Oklahoma
Sr
SHOT
1.
Axelina Johansson’
Nebraska
Sr
2.
Akaoma Odeluga
Ole Miss
Jr
3.
Nina Ndubuisi’
Georgia
Jr
4.
Megan Hague
Auburn
Sr
5.
Ashley Erasmus’
USC
So
6.
Mine De Klerk’
Nebraska
Sr
7.
Alida Van Daalen’
Florida
Jr
8.
Jessica Oji’
Penn
Fr
9.
Gracelyn Leiseth’
Florida
Jr
10.
Elizabeth Tapper
Michigan
Jr
DISCUS
1.
Alida Van Daalen’
Florida
Jr
2.
Joyce Oguama’
Alabama
Jr
3.
Ines Lopez’
Arizona State
Sr
4.
Princesse Hyman’
LSU
So
5.
Sofia Sluchaninova’
Kansas
Sr
6.
Milina Wepiwe’
Harvard
Jr
7.
Anthonett Nabwe’
Minnesota
Jr
8.
Donna Douglas
Nebraska
So
9.
Cedricka Williams’
Tennessee
Jr
10.
Taylor Kesner
Wisconsin
Sr
HAMMER
1.
Elísabet Rut Rúnarsdóttir
Texas State
Jr
2.
Anthonett Nabwe’
Minnesota
Jr
3.
Kali Terza
Kennesaw State
Sr
4.
Giavonna Meeks
Texas
Jr
5.
Lara Roberts’
Texas State
Jr
6.
Emilia Kolokotroni’
Harvard
Jr
7.
Valentina Savva’
Cal
So
8.
Charlotta Sandkulla’
Virginia
Fr
9.
Mariana Pestana’
Virginia Tech
So
10.
Marie Rougetet’
Mississippi State
So
JAVELIN
1.
Valentina Barrios’
Missouri
Sr
2.
Manuela Rotundo’
Georgia
So
3.
Irene Jepkemboi’
TCU
Jr
4.
Evie Bliss
Bucknell
Jr
5.
McKyla Van Der Westhuizen’
Rice
Sr
6.
Skylar Ciccolini
Missouri
Sr
7.
Katelyn Fairchild
Texas A&M
Sr
8.
Taysha Stubbs’
Nebraska
Fr
9.
Jana Lowka’
Nebraska
Sr
10.
Shea Greene
Princeton
Sr
HEPTATHLON
1.
Sofia Iakushina’
Texas A&M
So
2.
Liisa-Maria Lusti’
Oregon
Fr
3.
Melissa Wullschleger’
Illinois
So
4.
Sofia Cosculluela’
Washington
So
5.
Katelyn Adel’
Alabama
So
6.
JaiCieonna Gero-Holt
Illinois
Fr
7.
Juliette Laracuente-Huebner
Cincinnati
Jr
8.
Meagan Humphries
Illinois
So
9.
Lucie Kienast’
Illinois
So
10.
Jenna Fee Feyerabend’
San Diego State
Sr
COMPLETE TEAM SCORES
1.
Georgia
76
2.
Florida
43
3.
Oregon
39
=4.
Arkansas
33
=4.
Texas A&M
33
6.
USC
32
=7.
BYU
31
=7.
Illinois
31
=9.
South Carolina
29
=9.
Stanford
29
11.
Kansas State
24
=12.
Texas Tech
23
=12.
Washington
23
=14.
Alabama
22
=14.
Clemson
22
=14.
LSU
22
17.
New Mexico
21
18.
Nebraska
18
19.
Texas
15
20.
Texas State
14
=21.
Missouri
13
=21.
NC State
13
=23.
Auburn
12
=23.
Kentucky
12
=23.
North Carolina
12
=26.
Ole Miss
11
=26.
South Dakota
11
=28.
Florida State
10
=28.
Minnesota
10
=28.
Tarleton State
10
=31.
Harvard
9
=31.
Princeton
9
33.
Baylor
7
=34.
Arizona State
6
=34.
Kennesaw State
6
=34.
Miami
6
=34.
TCU
6
=34.
Washington State
6
=39.
Arizona
5
=39.
Bucknell
5
=39.
Eastern Kentucky
5
=39.
Northern Arizona
5
=43.
Duke
4
=43.
Kansas
4
=43.
North Dakota
4
=43.
Oklahoma State
4
=43.
Rice
4
=48.
East Carolina
3
=48.
Louisville
3
=48.
Ohio State
3
=48.
Oklahoma
3
=52.
Cal
2
=52.
Cincinnati
2
=52.
Iowa State
2
=52.
NJ Institute Of Technology
2
=52.
UCLA
2
=52.
West Virginia
2
=58.
Indiana
1
=58.
Michigan State
1
=58.
Penn
1
=58.
Tennessee
1
=58.
Virginia
1
=58.
Vanderbilt
1
About the author: we’re never quite sure where reclusive Special Projects Editor Roy Conrad will show up next, although he is halfway to retirement at this point.