The floodlights of Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, are about to witness a lot of tension on June 11–14, 2025. The field is ready to host the 103rd men’s and 43rd women’s NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, featuring 42 events over four days. Some quite old names to once again claim what they had before, and the blood freshmen, excited for their first outdoor NCAA. Have you made your choice between the athletes? Who are you rooting for?

What about Habtom Samuel? The University of New Mexico Lobos’ athlete, who smashed the NCAA 5,000 m record with a stunning 13:05.87 and is returning as the world’s No.2-ranked 10,000 m runner, looking to defend his 2024 national 10,000 m title. Doris Lemngole of Alabama stormed to back-to-back SEC steeplechase titles, clocking a dominant 9:20.83 this May—Alabama’s first repeat winner since 2016. She also shattered Hodges Stadium records with a blistering 9:13.12, securing the second-fastest collegiate steeple time ever. What about the shorter distances, like the 100 meters? This 20-year-old has been creating quite the havoc in this discussion. An American Coach has gone candid about him. What did he say?

In one of his recent videos of The Final Leg Track & Field, host Anderson Emerole spoke on June 10, 2025 that, “he’s you know in theory very capable of going 98 or something like that now he has other performances to back that per uh back that 9.75 up he’s run 9.95 with zero win he’s run 9.98 with you know plus 1.2 win so he has those performances and those times under the 10-second barrier and he’s the NCAA indoor champion in the 60 m so Jordan Anthony is the favorite entering these championships but he will have some competition.” Jordan Anthony has been nothing short of phenomenal this season.

The Razorback stormed the SEC Championships with a 9.95s in 100 m and 19.93s  in 200 m, becoming the first SEC athlete to go sub‑10 and sub‑20 in the same meet. He claimed the 2025 NCAA Indoor Championship in the 60 m, blazing a 6.49 s final—becoming the first Razorback ever to win that title At the NCAA West Preliminaries, he unleashed a wind‑aided 9.75 s (+2.1 m/s)—tying Andre De Grasse’s mark for the second-fastest all‑conditions collegiate 100 m ever, and ranking him among the top 10 humans ever under any conditions. Given his performances, fans have been speculating, “Yes he can win. Now hold on. I’m not saying he WILL win, but that he CAN.”

Even Emerole pointed it out in his video that Anthony is going to face some stiff competition in the race. One of the names he took was that of Abdul‑Rasheed Saminu from the University of South Florida. He shattered program records with a wind‑aided 9.87s at the Florida Relays and then drilled a legal 9.86s at the NCAA East Preliminaries—setting the world-leading time, a new Ghanaian national record, and ranking among the fastest Africans ever. But fans have been rooting for the 20-year-old Razorback.

Track and Field Community expects Jordan Anthony

Jordan Anthony has been setting fire on the tracks for the past few months, and the track and field community is all in it for it. Not only a fan but a witness of Jordan’s races made a comment saying, “I was at that NCAA Regional Qualifier. JA definitely eased up and left more in the tank in BOTH 100/200 heats.” In the videos that came out, Jordan can be running way ahead of his competitor in the 100 meters in the  NCAA West Prelims. Taylor Banks of USC finished second with a time of 9.91 s. 

Another fan commented, “Jordan has the best 60m and 200m among his top competitors, 100m ncaa title should be a bet to bank on.” The Razorback has a personal best of 6.47s in 60 meters and 19.93 in the 200 metres. For the NCAA 200 meters, his biggest competition might come from Jaleel Croal of South Florida, who is the only one to have a PB (19.95) very close to that of Jordan. There are also questions about his 100 metre performance, like a fan saying, “i don’t think he will go 9.7 again this season but 9.8 possible”

Not to forget the last time the 20-year-old touched 9.75, he almost broke a world record, and these things do not happen every day. There are also questions about his future. A fan commented, “Will Jordan Anthony run at USAs this year or will he play football and get the NIL money?” Jordan Anthony plays football as well. He joined Arkansas after stints at Kentucky (2022, redshirt, no catches) and Texas A&M (2023, 3 catches for 14 yards). In 2024, as a slot receiver for the Razorbacks, he hauled in 8 catches for 111 yards and 1 touchdown, using his elite track speed to stretch defenses .