While the world's eyes focused on the World Indoor Championships last weekend, track aficionados on this side of the Atlantic watched the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Even if Gebrselassie did not race, and Svetlana Feofanova was not on hand to break the pole vault record, I think many could argue that Fayetteville, Arkansas, saw a better track meet than Birmingham, England.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're saying. Like a bunch of college kids could manhandle the world's best. Some of them could, though not most. Look at the women's 4x400, where both Texas and Louisiana State ran faster than the gold medal time in Birmingham. Or the men's shot put, where both Carl Myerscough of Nebraska and Ohio State's Dan Taylor threw farther than World winner Manuel Martinez of Spain.

In the men's 400, the top three were all faster than the World bronze medalist. The pole vault winner, Washington's Brad Walker, went just as high as gold medalist Tim Lobinger of Germany at 19-0.25. Long jumper Brian Johnson of Southern went just a centimeter short of the gold medal distance of 27-2.5.

The stats are mighty impressive, but the NCAA meet also scored very high on the drama scale. In the distance medley, team favorite Arkansas counted on serious points from its male foursome, but anchor Michael Taylor kicked a lap too soon, finishing in what he thought was third place. When he realized his mistake, he threw himself back into the race, spent. The team finished a nonscoring ninth.

Alistair Cragg came through for the Razorbacks, defeating Boaz Cheboiywo in a very fast 5,000 (13:28.93 to 13:29.26), then winning the 3,000 a day later in 7:55.68.

LSU's Muna Lee pulled off the first successful women's sprint double in nine years. In the heats of the 200, she broke a 21-year-old collegiate record (held by Merlene Ottey) with her 22.49. Her incredible sprinting helped clinch a repeat title for the Tigers.

Redshirt freshman Laura Gerraughty of North Carolina captured the women's shot in an impressive 59-3. Auburn's Jamaican find, Elva Goulbourne, won both the long and triple jumps and chased Lee to the line in the 60.

World's still a fine meet
Now, to make my thesis stick, I would have to point out all the reasons the World Indoors did not make a good meet this year. I would have to point out the many disqualifications as well as make the same whining noises that other columnists have, pointing out that the absence of stars like Hicham El Guerrouj, Gabriela Szabo, Maurice Greene, Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones hurt it. I could also moan about it being an "over-35" championship.

In truth, I can't. The Worlds rocked, and I doubt anyone missed the stars once the action started. Over 35? Who cares? If they can still compete well, what's the issue? And just look at David Krummenacker, Regina Jacobs and Justin Gatlin. Some new, some old, but all will be major draws at any U.S., a status only enhanced by their World golds.

Dueling high school meets, again
Once again we saw two national championship meets for high schoolers, a situation that can't be very good for the sport. In New York, the National Scholastic meet had the faster track, and went head-to-head with Maryland's Nike Classic in recruiting some of the top talent.

The consensus is that New York had the best in the sprints. Reggie Witherspoon smashed the national record in the 400 with his 46.11, and he also clocked a dazzling 21.13 for one lap. California's Long Beach Poly broke two women's national relay records, the 4x200 (1:35.86) and 4x400 (3:41.54). Donovan Kilmartin also broke the national record in the pentathlon with his 4,303.

At Nike, Michelle Carter broke the national shot put record with her 54-9.5. In the pole vault, Tommy Skipper might have been on the way to one until his pole broke, so he settled for a still-fantastic 17-3.75. And New Jersey' Michael Morrison came oh-so-close to breaking the high jump record, the bar slipping off as he began to celebrate his clearance.

More time travel
A number of readers responded with their choices for meets they would like to see. Says Conrad Truedson, "For memorable moments how about Martin McGrady and Lee Evans in those classic duels in 1970, especially that 1:07.6 [world record for 600 yards]."

Geoff Foley adds: "My first indoor was Sunkist in the late 60s. How about Randy Barnes and his couple of shattering weeks indoors going 74 [in the shot] and then the indoor world record (I think it was at Sunkist) in the late 80s?"

Charles Belcher writes: "If I could turn back time, I would like to see Sebastian Coe, Steve Ovett and Steve Cram race one more time in the 800. Since this time machine allows me to do whatever I want, I would add Joachim Cruz to the race. That would be amazing!"

Ever-practical, Tim Geldean throws a curve: "Solid article. I completely agree that the constant "record quest" and the subsequent media attention (or more importantly, lack thereof) detracts from racing and the appreciation of true head to head competition. That being said, in answering your request for races we would like to see, I must change the subject ...

"For starters, I would like to see the upcoming World Cross Country Championships. And I would appreciate seeing all of the distance races (from start to finish) at: the USATF Nationals, World Championships, Golden League, etc.

"Of course I don't need a time machine for this to take place, but the catch is that I would like to see these events from the convenience of my own home on TV. There's a finite amount of times I can convince my wife that I have to go to the Olympic Trials or World Championships in order to see what TV won't show me. Imagine a football fan facing the choice of paying thousands of dollars to see the Super Bowl or just not seeing it. Maybe one of the myriads of ESPN channels will answer my call. Ideally it would be live, but I'm not picky. I picture myself at 2:58 a.m., propped in front of the TV, anxiously waiting for ESPN6's presentation of the 1974 World's Strongest Man competition to end. Next up, the men's 10,000 meter from the World Championships. Shown from start to finish. Now that's a race I would like to see ..."

Now the sport moves outdoors, as the weather across much of the North has suddenly taken on a Spring-like flavor. For many young people, the time to run, jump and throw has come. I only hope they can do so and remember this spring happily, despite the vast fears and uncertainties that the current world situation is promising.

Jeff Hollobaugh, former managing editor of Track and Field News, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com. He can be reached by e-mail at michtrack@aol.com.