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The Experience of Covering an NCAA Championship for the First Time
by Orrin Konheim
As I was heading to the NCAAs in Virginia Beach, it hit me that though I had watched much NCAA-level running over the past five years (a separate article details how I got back into the sport over the pandemic), I had never been to a national-caliber meet. In fact, I had not been to a track meet of any sort in over 15 years. How would the experience live up to my expectations as someone who watches it on TV?
The first way I found that the national track meet can fail to live up to your expectations is if you go to the wrong place. I arrived at the Princess Anne Sports Complex in Virginia Beach about a half hour before the first final and noticed there were only seven cars in the lot. There are two indoor tracks in this city, and I was looking for the Virginia Beach Sports Center. Not a great start. If this had been on TV, this would never have happened.
Fortunately, things picked up extremely quickly when I got there. Within three minutes of entering the facility, I spoke to when I went in was a Virginia Tech athlete who apparently was 2023 National pole vault champion Julie Fixsen.
I sheepishly apologized for missing her event and asked her how she did. The results will tell you she placed fifth, but she said she was “proud to come from the strongest field in track and field history.”
I then met Oklahoma State’s Laban Kipkemboi and Colorado’s Isaiah Givens on my way into and out of the bathroom. Impressively enough, this was 25% of the first heat of the 1500. Not bad.
Before long, I was in the “mixed zone,” interviewing all the Americans in the women’s distance medley. Essentially, this is an area where you get the privilege of interviewing the athletes after they’re done competing. The downsides are that they are sweaty, and you can’t get good pictures (or even a good view of our events).
To be clear, Larry did not require me to get quotes from any athletes, but I figured, “when in Rome.” I was surprised to find myself face-to-face with the exceptional (and exceptionally humble) 800 runner Michaela Rose of LSU, who was one spot away from making the 2024 Olympic team.
I asked the sub-2 800 runner what keeps her going from one Olympic Trials to the next, to which she answered, “I just think it’s my calling, it’s what God wants me to do,” and “if you get an accolade, you just have to get to the next one.” The LSU distance medley relay team overperformed for an impressive fourth place, so hopefully, that will keep her fire going.
I’ve never liked the typical obvious questions in sports reporting, so I decided to ask something different. I asked Alabama 5K champion Dolores Legamolde why she runs so hard, and she interpreted the question as “how did I train for the race.” I don’t blame her: She probably gets asked that all the time. When I corrected her and asked her more about what motivated her to run, she gave me a quizzical look and answered that she wanted to win. Go figure.
I asked the BYU distance medley squad if they are equally into the prayer that anchor Riley Chamberlain said guides the quartet. To my surprise, I got a juicy tidbit from Jenna Hutchins about how she’s not part of the church (is that even allowed at BYU?) but feels a connection to the program in other ways. I asked Wake Forest’s Rocky Hansen about his favorite roommate on the road (Hunter Jones), I asked Brian Massau who his favorite training partner was (Denis Kipngetich), and I asked Gary Martin and his teammates if they were looking forward to Pi Day (yes, but more for the pies rather than the pizzas).
I also learned that the mixed zone (or at least this mixed zone) isn’t ideal for interviews. Not only is there too much noise pollution from various sources, you are also competing with several other news reporters. When 5K champion Brian Massau came by to be interviewed, I felt the cramped space of seven or eight other reporters asking their questions simultaneously. As a result, I decided to go after BYU’s Joey Nokes, who was passing by behind me. I went after the famously amenable Sam Whitmarsh of Texas A & M and mile leg Cooper Cawthra at the distance medley.
One of the most surreal elements of the event was coming face-to-face with so many big names in the sport. I bumped into Luis Grijalva within that first hour of getting myself situated and couldn’t resist getting a selfie. The same goes for BYU women’s coach Diljeet Taylor and Oklahoma State University coach Dave Smith. Smith’s gear wasn’t as visible, but I thought I recognized him from TV. I told him he looked familiar, and Taylor playfully introduced him as her husband as the two got jokingly flirty in front of me. I only knew these two from brief interview snippets on television, so it was funny to see their goofy sides so immediately.
My Jamaican friend came to support USF and is more oriented towards sprints, as Jamaican fans tend to be. When he asked me to tell him about the distance events, I told him I predicted Habton Samuel would win them. When Habton was walking the concourse before his race, I excitedly introduced him to my friend as the guy I predicted would win it. My friend was a bit nonplussed, which was a sign of the paradox of the event.
Habton Samuel’s time of 26:53.84 has been accomplished by less than 20 people this decade. It’s not far-fetched to say that this event’s caliber of talent would be comparable to the MLB All-Star Game. Yet, tragically, it can be challenging to explain just how impressive Habton Samuel’s 13:11 performance today was, or any other performance.
Perhaps because of this, I wasn’t surprised that it was last-place finisher (he was ranked 2nd in the field but had an off-day) Yaseen Abdallah who had the most significant demand for autographs. After the 5K, he was the only person in that field who felt like he had the aura of a star. This is mainly because he has a successful YouTube channel and speaks from the heart. Similarly, the University of Wisconsin Running Rats and whoever runs the University of Washington Instagram feed (Mike Bruscas, I also met him today).
Watching Yaseen Abdallah field autograph requests made me realize that my wish for the sport is not just for the times to get better and the races to be more exciting. It’s also for these athletes to get their fair share of attention.
Some additional notes:-Colorado coach Sean Carlson sat beside me during the men’s 5000 and gave me his predictions. Sadly, it would be unfair for me to reveal them for the conflicts of interest among his picks. The Citius Magazine reporter knows Coach Carlson’s pick, so she might reveal it.
The merchandise (hats, T-shirts, etc.) is unusually expensive. No one could tell me exactly where the proceeds of these sales go. It’s hard to know if it goes to a good cause, considering the teams can already afford to send such large contingents to the meet.
-Another exciting part of this experience is knowing who will be on the distance medley relay before it happens. Anyone who watches this event at home knows that even the announcers can’t figure out who’s running the event as it’s happening. The solution? Simply go up to the coaches, athletes, or media people on the team and ask, “Who’s running the DMR today? This is undoubtedly true if you want a benefit you don’t get on TV.
-I spent much time learning to pronounce and spell Ronan McMahon-Staggs’s name. It was beneficial to meet Ronan’s mother, Tonya Staggs, who talked interestingly about her son’s dual nationality and college career. An interview is attached.
Despite all the perks of being at the meet, I’d estimate the experience is better 75% of the time on TV if you want to be comprehensively informed about where the runners are at any given point.
