USA’s Nico Young Dismisses Tough NCAA Competition Before The Warm Up To The Olympic Qualifiers

This weekend, the New Balance Indoor arena will showcase the best collegiate sprinters in Boston’s NCAA track and field contests. The Friday and Saturday will feature the vivid bouts of indoor sprinting. But among those, the indoor 5000m and 3000 m might add a riveting parable of competitions of the NCAA track and field stalwarts.

Two young mid-distance American sprinters might find those occasions to prove the ultimate upper hand and evaluate themselves in the Olympic qualification scenario. Nico Young might elevate himself to earning uncharted glory at the NCAA level by proving his mettle in mid-distance sprinting. However, before facing the champion, Ky Robinson, the NAU prodigy unfurled some tidbits about this event being a precursor for his ultimate showdown at the Olympic trails.

The NCAA battles are here to stay 

Last year, Ky Robinson made a double whammy in the NCAA Outdoor by winning both the 5k and 10k events in the men’s category. Moreover, in the 5k event, he defeated Graham Blanks who also tuned in last season with some pleasing performances. But before heading to face the Stanford champion on Saturday in the 5k event, Nico capitalized on his learning curve. “It’s another great opportunity for me to get some experience, going into this outdoor session and Olympic trials,” he expressed in the pre-match conference. Flo Track’s X-handle shared that interview glimpse on X on March 8. The caption also revolved around the better practice concept before the Olympic trials. 

Eventually, both the sprinters will start their race from a lofty set point. But for Nico Young, the momentum will be on his side. This year, in the John Thomas Terrier Classic‌, the NAU junior crossed the ending line in 12:57.14 timing, keeping the Olympic qualifying time of 13:05 at bay. Even the record feat came in when Nico was reeling under knee pain. In that comparison, Ky Robinson lags slightly behind. His 5k best timing still ticks behind the 13:05 level (13:06.42). But despite that, the 2x All-American flouted any reason contributing to being complacent. Rather, he is eyeing the Stanford junior for another event. 

The rare occasion of making two out of two 

On Saturday this week, Nico Young will face Ky Robinson again at the NCAA 3k indoor event. But the NCAA double champion holds a better timing of 7:36.69 to stay ahead of the pack. In the seeding, Nico Young came in fourth for his best timing of 7:37.73. But the 3k event might pan out as more competitive as the sixth seed, Ryan Schoppe and tenth seed Luke Houser etched their marks valiantly in the past. But for Nico Young, the prized occasion holds value for another reason. 

Read more: 4 Big Storylines That You Might Have Missed From NCAA Long-Distance Event

As the 5k event will feature before the 3k, the motivation might work differently for the latter event. Moreover, Nico Young is quite famous for picking his pace thoroughly. So the 3k event will be a test for him. He already spoke about gaining experience. Therefore, the NCAA community will look up to Nico Young and how he utilizes his experience at the Saturday event. 

Also read: Record-Breaking NAU Track and Field Star Makes History as He Stuns Pro Athletes to Clinch Glory at BU Terrier Classic