You know that when Alfred broke the collegiate 60m record in her first race out the gate back in January that there were some chirps from the peanut gallery about her being too fit too early. That doesn’t appear to have been an issue.

There was a bit more debate before the championships about who would ultimately collect our sport’s Heisman, which – as questioned by Fred Kerely – is not announced until December. Compare that to football, which holds the award ceremony for its Heisman (which is called “the Heisman”) before the bowl games begin. That award would be an incredible card to hold in terms of bargaining power for an athlete negotiating a professional contract. But it would also impact the non-winners! Athlete valuations generally work backwards from the top dawg.

None of the other athletes in the hunt were able to pull off a double victory. Jasmine Moore was defeated by Ackelia Smith in the long jump, though she held onto her baby, the triple jump. Britton Wilson attempted the impossibly difficult 400m/400m hurdle double, and after losing to Rhasidet Adeleke in a great battle, looked spent once the hurdles were added in. And then Katelyn Tuohy committed to making it an honest race in the 1500m, except there was nothing left in the legs by the time the kick came. Tuohy then scratched from the 5,000m.

I don’t blame these athletes for attempting wild doubles! If you have already won some individual NCAA titles and broken records in the process, then why not go for something epic? Coming up short won’t have any significant impact on any of their potential contract offers. It's not like Katelyn Tuohy is not suddenly Katelyn Tuohy because she didn’t have the last 100 in one 1500m race. Shoe companies will still be lining up.

There was only something to gain here and Julien Alfred earned that raise.

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