Nation’s Best Descend on Lexington for Annual McCravy Meet
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LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky will again welcome an elite field for what has become the nation’s best early-season indoor track and field meet – The Rod McCravy Memorial – this weekend inside Nutter Field House.
Coverage of the McCravy meet in recent years has focused on breaking down the truly world-class fields that have provided for some of the best early-season track and field entertainment the world over.
Kentucky head coach Edrick Floréal’s vision to bring the best athletes into Nutter Field House – thus proving that fast athletes make fast tracks – has become a reality. Lexington has developed a reputation as a springboard site to great seasons.
Indeed one might argue Floréal’s vision for turning Kentucky’s facilities into sites where the best athletes on earth go out of their way to compete, and train at, has mirrored his vision for turning Kentucky in to a track school, but that’s another story.
Why the best come to the McCravy
Plenty of the nation’s best programs, in addition to handfuls of world-class professionals, have started their indoor seasons at Nutter Field House in recent years.
In 2016 Florida went on to win the NCAA Men’s National Championship. All four 2015 NCAA Champion teams (the men’s and women’s champions indoors and outdoors) had competed in the McCravy earlier that year. In 2014 three of the four NCAA Champion teams had competed in the McCravy.
So there’s no denying how good the McCravy meet has become.
The field remains stellar this season with 10 ranked teams – from eight universities – entered. The men’s side features No. 6 USC, No. 7 Texas and No. 20 Penn State, while the women’s field is led by No. 4 USC and No. 5 Texas and also includes No. 8 Kentucky, No. 10 Purdue, No. 13 Baylor, No. 14 Miami, and No. 21 Ole Miss.
The McCravy as a proven launching point
If seeing the team that could hoist the NCAA Title come springtime – a possibility of some likelihood at least for those who believe the past is prologue – start their season in earnest isn’t reason enough to find this year’s McCravy interesting, consider how many athletes competed at The McCravy in recent years before going onto to greater glory.
The idea being that for the track fan in Lexington there’s plenty of opportunity to see, this weekend, the athletes who will set the world alight be it in at the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas, indoors in March or Eugene, Oregon, outdoors in June.
And recent history suggests that McCravy participants don’t just win NCAA Titles. They represent their nations at World Championships and star in Olympic Games. In the case of one participant – who notably is entered in a stellar field again this year – they reach heights no one has before them by breaking world records.
By my count 10 McCravy Participants competed at the Olympics last summer. And I honestly might have missed some.
Florida’s Arman Hall was part of the winning 4×400-meter relay, and went on to win Gold with the U.S. in that event at the Games.
Georgia’s Keturah Orji won the triple jump, and went on to break the American Record in a fourth-place performance in Rio.
Kentucky alumna Leah Nugent – entered in this year’s stacked 60m hurdles and 400m – began finding the form that would see her make the Olympic Final in the 400m hurdles at last year’s McCravy, adding to UK’s status as Hurdles U.
Trayvon Bromell defeated amongst others Houston’s Cameron Burrell, UK alum and three-time Olympian Rondell Sorrillo and Buffalo Bills wideout, and long jump world leader entering U.S. Trials last year Marquis Goodwin in a stellar 60m final at the 2016 McCravy. Bromell went on to make the Olympic Final in the 100m and 4x100m relay, after he won Gold in the 60m at the IAAF World Indoor Championships in the spring.
Kentucky’s Jasmine Camacho-Quinn ran one of the first races of her career at the McCravy last year. By the end of 2016 she had become the first freshman NCAA 100m hurdles Champion, NACAC U23 Champion and advanced to an infamous Olympic semifinal.
Florida’s Andres Arroyo won the 2016 McCravy 800m, and went on to make the Olympic semifinal in that event. Georgia’s Maicel Uibo and Karl Saluri began their years at the 2016 McCravy and finished them in the Olympic decathlon. The same can be said of Kendell Williams who began 2016 in Lexington and finished on the U.S. heptathlon team at the Olympics.
And that’s to say nothing of say Oregon’s Jenna Prandini who dueled against Sha’Keela Saunders in a memorable long jump two years ago and went on to deny Allyson Felix a spot on the U.S. 200m roster last summer, or Phyllis Francis who won the 2014 McCravy 400m before making the Olympic final in that event last year.
Go back further. Kentucky legend Dezerea Bryant beat Tianna Bartoletta in the 60m in 2014. Bartoletta won Gold in both the long jump and 4x100m relay last summer in Rio – to go along with her 4×1 gold from London.
Fans who’d been on hand in Nutter Field House those years probably turned to their friends and loved ones while watching those athletes compete and star during the Games this summer and said something to the effect of “I watched them in person. In Lexington … at The McCravy.”
Well, that was what I did.
And another thing
All those storylines – visible and telling as they may be – don’t mention the case of Kentucky track and field banner woman Kendra Harrison.
Last year she opened up her season at The McCravy by running one of the fastest 60m hurdles times in American history – a time unheard of in a season opener. A telling opening salvo in what would turn into a nearly flawless outdoor season, which saw her break the world record and win the diamond league, with the U.S. trials as the lone – if highly visible – hiccup.
Watched her at the McCravy? – Saw it coming.
Harrison is entered in the 60m hurdles on Saturday as part of a field that includes the bronze medalist to Harrison’s gold in the 2015 NCAA 100m hurdles final now one of the NCAA favorites, a bunch more NCAA medalists and a World U20 400m hurdles Gold Medalist.
Why 2017’s edition of the McCravy is relevant as ever
All this in lieu of the saying that history best predicts the future.
With London this summer for the IAAF World Championships in athletics – to say of nothing of Tokyo 2020 on the horizon, analysis of the past McCravy’s would indicate that many stars of those mega events will have tuned up for those runs to glory in mid-January in Lexington, Kentucky.
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Part II of this year’s McCravy Meet preview will look at the athletes, events and matchups to watch this weekend. The events that will feature the athletes most likely use this meet as an important checkpoint on the road to even bigger stardom.
Multiple 2016 Olympians are entered.
Meet Logistics
Saturday’s action will be shown streaming live on SEC Network+ via ESPN3 and WatchESPN with Dennis McNulty calling the action for the third-consecutive year. The live broadcast will feature highlights of some of the top events from Friday as well. The broadcast will start corresponding with the running-event finals at 12:45 p.m. ET.
Admission is free all weekend. Fans can purchase meet programs, which include heat sheets, near the track entrance for $1 each.
Multi-events will start the days off on both Friday and Saturday at 10 a.m. Field events will begin at 3 p.m. on Friday, and at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
On Friday the running events will get under way at 6:10 p.m., while on Saturday they will start at Noon.
Fans can park in the Green Lot outside Nutter Field House and Commonwealth Stadium for free on both days of the meet.
Fans can pick up 2016 UK track and field posters at Nutter Field House. They will have chances to win UK track and field items as well via social media prompts from @KentuckyTrack handles on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Honoring Rod McCravy
The high level of competition at the meet has turned into a fitting tribute to its namesake: the late Rodriq McCravy.
McCravy, a UK track athlete, died at the age of 19 in 1987 while sleeping in his dorm room. Although only a sophomore, Rod had already become the track team’s leader. His personal charisma and genuine care for others earned him the respect and admiration of all his teammates.
His personal impact on his teammates, friends, and coaches went well beyond athletics. A social work major, Rod is remembered as a dedicated, enthusiastic athlete, a conscientious student, a cherished friend and most important, an outstanding human being.
A graduate of Louisville Trinity High School, Rod was a two-time class AAA state champion in the 300m hurdles. He once held the UK freshman 400m hurdles record (53.35), and was part of a then-school record 4x400m relay team.
The meet is named in his honor to help members of the UK track and field community to remember him as well as provide an ongoing opportunity to speak about Rod and the positive influence he had on everyone who knew him.
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