The 2023 NCAA outdoor track and field postseason is here and record-breaking performances loom. We've seen seven outdoor collegiate records set this season, but at least 12 current records are at risk of falling during the remainder of the season.
For the purposes of this article, I won't add any records that have already been broken this year; one can assume that if a record has been broken once already, the chances of it falling again are high.
That said, here are the NCAA records that should be on high alert during the postseason.
Men's 4x100 meter relay
Florida set the men's 4x100 meter relay record in 2019 in 37.97 seconds. LSU is the only school that looks to be in reach of the record this year, running 38.26 seconds already. The Tigers have consistently reached low 38s in their times all season, and if the right race comes together, could break the record.
Men's 4x400 meter relay
Three-tenths of a second. That's how far Georgia was from breaking the collegiate men's 4x400 meter relay record at Texas Relays. This record has been on alert since March. If the Bulldogs don't break the record, it may be Alabama and its sixth-fastest all-time 4x4 mark of 2:59.15 making the jump or UCLA and its eighth-fastest all-time 4x4 of 2:59.25 making the jump.
Florida's record set one year ago of 2:58.53 may not last much longer.
Men's 1500m
Alabama's Eliud Kipsand set the 1500 meter record last year at 3:33.74. He's still in college and while he — nor anyone else for that matter — hasn't come close to his previously set record, he can't be counted out as a future record-breaker since he's already done it before.
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Men's pole vault
LSU's Mondo Duplantis' 6.00-meter pole vault in 2019 stands at the NCAA record, but its time may be running out. Princeton's Sondre Guttormsen has already vaulted the fifth-highest outdoor pole vault in NCAA history this season at 5.90 meters. He might not be done with his rise up the record books.
Guttormsen reached 6.00 meters at the 2023 indoor championships and could match that height before the season's finished. From there, he only has to add a centimeter to stand alone atop the record book.
Men's triple jump
Arkansas' freshman sensation Jaydon Hibbert is the leading candidate to break SMU triple jumper Keith Connor's collegiate record of 17.57 meters set in 1982. Hibbert leads the NCAA with his 17.17 meter jump this season and he jumped 17.54 meters at the DI indoor championships to claim the indoor record. Hibbert could take down a 41-year-old mark before his first year in college is over.
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Men's decathlon
Three men's decathletes could break the collegiate decathlon record. Arkansas' Ayden Owens Delerme, Georgia's Kyle Garland and Texas' Leo Neugebauer make up arguably the most talented trio of decathletes ever, with each owning top-five marks all time.
Garland set the collegiate decathlon record last year at 8,720 points before setting the 2023 heptathlon record during this indoor season. Delerme also broke the heptathlon record — albeit behind Garland — and Neugebauer already put up 8,478 points (No. 5 all-time) at Texas Relays this season.
This trio seems to bring the best out of each other, so a new decathlon record could be set by the season's end.
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Women 4x400 meter relay
Texas already broke three relay collegiate records this year, but hasn't added the 4x400 meter relay to its collection yet. It's a record Kentucky set last year in 3:21.93. The Longhorns are a bit off from the record currently, but still have run the eighth-fastest all-time 4x4 time at 3:23.27.
Texas could get the record if the conditions break right for its quartet. It's hard to doubt the Longhorns after their prior relay performance. Yet, if Texas doesn't break the record, watch out for Arkansas in the 4x4; the Razorbacks already set the indoor 4x4 record earlier this year.
Women's 100 meters
Texas' Julien Alfred already ran faster than LSU's Sha'Carri Richardson and her 10.75-second 100 meter record set in 2019. But Alfred's 10.72-second finish didn't count because of +2.4 wind.
The wind was only .04 seconds over the limit, so the 100 meter record is completely in reach for Alfred during the postseason. Her wind-legal personal-best time is 10.81 seconds at last year's Big 12 championships, so she knows how to put up a big-time performance when titles are on the line.
If not at Big 12 championships, Alfred could break the record on her home track during NCAA championships, Mike A. Myers Stadium — the same place Richardson set the record in 2019.
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Women's 400 hurdles
Arkansas' Britton Wilson already set the women's 400 meter record earlier this year, but she's been even better in her career across the 400 hurdles. Wilson ran the second-fastest all-time time of 53.23 seconds earlier this year, only behind Kentucky's Sydney McLaughlin's 52.75-second record set in 2018.
Wilson's run faster than her listed No. 2 mark with Team USA, running 53.08 seconds last year. If Wilson chooses to run the 400 hurdles during the postseason — she may have to make a choice given the proximity of the 400 flat and hurdles at NCAA championships — the Razorback could claim the record book's top spot.
Women's high jump
There may not be a more motivated "record-chaser" in women's track and field than Texas A&M's Lamara Distin in the high jump. The defending champion is chasing Arizona's Brigetta Barrett's 2013 record of 1.99 meters.
Distin's jumped 1.95 meters this season and has a personal best of 1.97 meters. She's attempted 2.00 meters already this season, and even attempted the height at last year's NCAA championships. Distin clearly wants the collegiate record all to herself and not just a tie, and it wouldn't surprise if she got it.
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Women's triple jump
In 2018, Georgia's Keturah Orji set the women's triple jump collegiate record at 14.62 meters. The biggest challenger to that record is defending champion Jasmine Moore of Florida. Her outdoor wind-legal personal best is only 14.39 meters, but she jumped 15.12 meters during the indoor season to set a collegiate record then. Moore's one of the most talented horizontal jumpers all-time and she has what it takes to knock down this record.
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Women's discus
Oregon's Joride Van Klinken is another collegiate record-holding athlete that's still in school. She set the women's discus record in 2021 at Arizona State at 70.22 meters. While she's "only" at a nation-leading 67.05 meters in the discus so far this season, she's still capable of reaching her record.
🏆: 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
