Start lists for the 2023 DI men's and women's indoor track and field championships were released Wednesday, March 8. The start lists assigned lanes to athletes for every race and event, and a few heats already stand out.
Here are five must-watch heats on Day 1 of the 2023 indoor championships.
Section 1 — 60 meters (heptathlon)
The heptathlon's 60 meters is the first event of the indoor championships. We'll watch two of the top heptathletes, Ayden Owens-Delerme and Kyle Garland, go head-to-head from the very start in Section 1.
COMPLETE COVERAGE: Live updates of the DI indoor track and field championships
Heat 4 — men's 200 meters
Heat 4 of the men's 200 meters should be exciting. We'll see Texas Tech's Courtney Lindsey and his nation-leading 20.20 second time put to the test in lane three. In lane four, there's Georgia's Matthew Boling, who seems to make the 200-meter finals annually. Then lanes five and six feature Florida's Robert Gregory and Stanford's Udodi Onwuzurike, two sprinters capable of finishing with a top-eight time and a finals berth.
Heat 1 — women's 400 meters
The question everyone wants to know entering the women's 400 meters is, "how many Razorbacks will make the final?" Arkansas has six entries in the women's 400, and three of them — Joanne Reid, Paris Peoples and Amber Anning — are in Heat 1. Only the eight fastest times advance so this heat will be one to watch as the Razorbacks try to earn point-scoring opportunities.
🔮: Event-by-event predictions for the 2023 DI indoor track and field championships
Heat 4 — women's 400 meters
Heat 4 of the women's 400 meters stands out because we'll see Arkansas' Britton Wilson in lane four and Texas' Rhasidat Adeleke in lane 5. Those are two of the better lane assignments for two talented 400-meter runners.
Will Wilson be able to close the gap? Will Adeleke run near her collegiate record-setting pace? Heat 4 is shaping up to be entertaining already.
BUSY DAY: Every athlete set to double — and maybe triple — at the 2023 DI indoor track and field championships
Heat 1 — men's mile
South Carolina's Anass Essayi has the fastest mile time in the country, but everyone knows the Washington Huskies are the deepest team in the mile this year. Essayi will face three Huskies — Nathan Green, Luke Houser and Aaron Ahl — in Heat 1. It'll be Essayi's first test against a competitive field.
🏆: Arkansas sweeps 2023 indoor titles | Florida sweeps 2022 outdoor titles | How the outdoor championships work
💥HISTORY: Programs with the most titles | Men's champ history | Women's champ history | Bowerman history
🧠 WHAT TO KNOW: Wind and scoring explained | Greatest venues | Best uniforms | The difference between indoor and outdoor seasons
🥇 Tokyo Olympians: Karel Tiga | JuVaughn Harrison | Cole Hocker | Camryn Rogers | Ruth Usoro | Athing Mu | Tara Davis | Tyra Gittens
