Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Jun 6, 20185 min
Our predictions are here! We have made our All-American selections and have posted them below. You can also view all of our All-American picks on the PREDICTIONS page in the menu bar above. If you haven't already, be sure to read Garrett Zatlin's picks and see how his picks stack up.
You can view all of the entries and results by clicking the link here.
1. Isaiah Harris (Penn State)
2. Michael Saruni (UTEP)
3. Devin Dixon (Texas A&M)
4. Robert Heppenstall (Wake Forest)
5. Daniel Kuhn (Indiana)
6. Jonah Koech (UTEP)
7. Bryce Hoppel (Kansas)
8. Marco Arop (Mississippi State)
This year’s 800m field is incredibly deep with talent. The depth in this race makes it difficult to predict, as there are so many ways that the final could play out. Michael Saruni is the reigning indoor champion in this event, as well as the collegiate record holder. He should be the clear favorite, but his racing tactics aren’t always the sharpest.
Saruni came dangerously close to not even making the final indoors, and a similar mistake could cost him the title this week. Saruni and coach Paul Ereng have most likely addressed this, and Saruni’s best chance will come by leading from the gun and creating a gap that nobody can close in the last 200m. However, I can see him leaving it too late. Isaiah Harris is a veteran at this level and is hungry for a title. If Harris makes his move early enough, I think he could put himself out of Saruni’s reach.
1. Josh Kerr (New Mexico)
2. Sam Prakel (Oregon)
3. Robert Domanic (Ole Miss)
4. Mick Stanovsek (Oregon)
5. Sam Worley (Texas)
6. Oliver Hoare (Wisconsin)
7. Vincent Ciattei (Virginia Tech)
8. William Paulson (Princeton)
The men's 1500 is set to be a fast race. This season we saw a huge number of incredible performances with a ton of athletes dipping under 3:40. Not all of those guys are entered in the 1500 for NCAA's, so this field is a little more top heavy than the 800m. Josh Kerr is far and away the favorite, and he can win nearly any style of race.
Being the collegiate record holder shows that he has the ability to push from the start or sit back and unleash a monster kick. As far as the rest of this field goes, I think Oregon is going to have a strong showing with Prakel and Stanovsek finishing in high positions. Robert Domanic could be a threat if he’s right on Kerr going into the final straight. I’ve also picked freshman Sam Worley to have a huge race and finish 5th. He has had a great year so far and I think he has the ability to cap it off with a big finish.
1. Emmanuel Rotich (Tulane)
2. Matt Owens (BYU)
3. Aidan Tooker (Syracuse)
4. Brian Barraza (Houston)
5. Clayson Shumway (BYU)
6. Steven Fahy (Stanford)
7. Obsa Ali (Minnesota)
8. Bailey Roth (Arizona)
The steeplechase may prove to be one of the most difficult races to predict this year. There is so much talent in this field and the race could play out in any number of ways; fast from the gun, slow and tactical, or somewhere inbetween. Add in the barriers, and things become very unpredictable. I think Emmanuel Rotich has the experience to win in any of these scenarios and he is certainly hungry for a title.
The Syracuse duo of Aidan Tooker and Noah Affolder have the potential to assert a major presence in this race. I think Tooker will benefit from the way this race plays out, while the less experienced Affolder will struggle and finish outside the top eight. There is not as much of a clear favorite and because of this, I think the finish will be super tight no matter how the race plays out.
1. Justyn Knight (Syracuse)
2. Andy Trouard (NAU)
3. Rory Linkletter (BYU)
4. Sean McGorty (Stanford)
5. Grant Fisher (Stanford)
6. Dillon Maggard (Utah State)
7. Colby Gilbert (Washington)
8. Cooper Teare (Oregon)
The 5000 has the potential to be very fast this year. Knight has the top seed, but much of this field has the potential to go with him. If Knight doesn’t let anyone get too close to him going into the final 200, I think he will be able to hang on for the victory. The way this race plays out in my mind is Knight pulling away on the back stretch while a big pack chases him and ends up finishing within a couple seconds of each other. The Alabama trio is notably absent from my top eight, but I think that some big finishes in the 10k will have drained the kick from their legs and they won’t be in contention for the 5k title.
1. Matthew Baxter (NAU)
2. Tyler Day (NAU)
3. Alfred Chelanga (Alabama)
4. Connor McMillan (BYU)
5. Gilbert Kigen (Alabama)
6. Rory Linkletter (BYU)
7. Mike Tate (Southern Utah)
8. Vincent Kiprop (Alabama)
This 10,000 final on the first day of NCAAs reminds me of a cross country race. The big field all on the track for one race contributes to this, but the number of guys who will be wearing the same singlets could introduce some serious team tactics. I think that the NAU duo of Baxter and Day will work together the same way they did on the cross country course and run the entirety of the race up front and finish together...except there is no Justyn Knight ahead of them this time. It would be awesome to see these two fist bump as they cross the line in first and second.
The three Alabama superstars will surely have a strong presence in this race. They like to push the pace and work together which is the perfect combination for a 10k on the track. Dropping some of the other talents in this field early on will ensure that they can grab some top spots. These three don’t rely as much on a kick as some others do, so it is in their best interest to make this race fast and I think that they will do just that.
BYU’s Connor McMillan and Rory Linkletter are seasoned veterans who both have titles on their mind. I can see these two falling off a bit, but kicking hard from 300 to 400 meters out and making up some ground for respectable finishes. Mike Tate is the only one without a teammate in my top eight. I was surprised that Tate is running the 10k and not the 5k at NCAAs after his success in the shorter distance during indoors. Much like the Alabama trio, Tate will be up front from the get go. However, he may be subject to the strong kicks of the BYU guys and not finish as high as I’m sure he hopes to.