Maura Beattie
Feb 27, 20205 min
Besides the top conferences where there are countless athletes ranked in the top 16 of the NCAA, some of the smaller conferences boast an athlete or two who could find their way into the national meet. The Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) and the Mid-American Conference (MAC) have a handful of interesting storylines that we thought would be fun to highlight.
Illinois State will most likely load up in the 800 meters and the mile with Hattie Plumb, Rachel Hickey and Grace Beattie. Plumb enters the 800 as the conference favorite after recording a 2:08 season best, only one second off from her 2:07 PR. She is also the reigning indoor and outdoor 800 meter conference champion from 2019.
Even though she is the MVC leader, Plumb will need to use her experience to take down teammate Hickey who has also run 2:08 this season. Hickey, a strong middle distance runner, is coming off of two personal bests, one in the 800 and one in the mile. Her most recent PR (a 4:50 mile) comes from the Notre Dame Alex Wilson Invite where Hickey placed 4th.
Plumb and Hickey will battle each other in the 800, but Plumb should come out on top based on her accolades and MVC experience.
Hickey, however, is the favorite heading into the mile over teammate Beattie. Hickey and Beattie both own a mile PR of 4:50, but it’s Hickey's speed that should propel her to the top spot. Hickey is a middle distance runner whereas Beattie competes in the longer distance races. Beattie has run 4:52 this season, but will most likely be shifting her focus to the 3000 meters and 5000 meters. The mile will simply be run to score some points for the Redbirds.
The closest competitors are Edna Dar (Missouri State) and Imani Davis (Indiana State) with PR’s of 2:10 in the 800 meters. Meanwhile, Rita Maurais (Loyola), Mimi Reimers (Loyola), and Dar boast PR’s of 4:57 for the mile.
It appears to be anyone’s race in the men's 800 meters at the Missouri Valley Conference. Four men own a PR of 1:52 and another four men own personal bests of 1:53. It is difficult to gauge who the favorite will be based on current season best’s, but Loyola’s Kevin White has the upper-hand heading into the weekend.
White’s personal best is 1:47, but he ran that time back in May 2018. The senior has struggled a bit since 2018, but that doesn’t mean he won’t succeed this weekend. He owns a 3:43 1500 meter PR and a 4:04 mile best. Given his experience and extensive track record of success in the middle distances, White will still be the conference title favorite coming into this weekend. It's not unusual to see him peak in the postseason.
Teammate Demetri Panici is another name to keep in mind as well with 1:51 PR and recent 1:52 showing at the Alex Wilson Invite.
With two Loyola runners leading the way, White and Panici should be able to work together to bring in some valuable points for the Ramblers.
Kimathi Johnson of Illinois State is the reigning indoor champion in the 800 meters and has had a decent season thus far. Johnson has set new personal bests in the mile and the 3000 meters. He is entering the MVC Championships with a 1:50 800 meter personal best and a 1:53 season best in 2020.
Johnson just finished 11th at the Notre Dame Alex WIlson Invite behind the Loyola duo of White and Panici, but he will likely rebound and respond favorably to a smaller, less top-heavy field this weekend.
Petronela Simiuc (Toledo) and Ashley Tutt (Northern Illinois) are two names to watch for this weekend at the Mid-American Conference Championships.
Simiuc has been having a breakout season, specifically in the mile. The Toledo runner has dropped eight seconds off of her mile PR this winter, running 4:34, a time that ranks her at NCAA #8. She is slated to compete in the mile this weekend.
Her closest competitor is Emily Akin (Miami (OH)) who has a personal best mark of 4:49 that she recently ran at the Alex Wilson Invitational.
Simiuc is also entered in the 800 meters with her 2:08 personal best. The 800 meters is not her main event and she is set to be challenged by Varvara Lissichkina (Akron) who has run 2:09 this season.
Even with Lissichkina in the field, Simiuc has competed against professionals all season long and has no fear sticking her nose into the competition. Simiuc is still the favorite, but facing someone who is a half-mile specialist like Lissichkina won't be easy, especially not in a race that could be tactical.
Meanwhile, Northern Illinois' Ashley Tutt will be loading up this weekend in the mile, 3000 meters and 5000 meters. The mile is not her strongest event, but she could challenge for a top three finish.
Tutt, the 2019 MAC champion this past cross country season, owns the second fastest time in the MAC in the 3000 meters and the fastest time in the 5000 meters. She ran her 9:29 3k PR back in December after her 50th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships. The NIU Husky is also coming off of a 16:20 5k performance at Iowa State.
Doing the triple can be difficult, but for someone who owns a 33:58 10k PR, the multiple races shouldn’t be a problem for Tutt who has proven to be plenty durable both last fall and this winter. She will just have to work her way through Simiuc in the mile, Semra Karasian (Toledo) in the 3k and Emily Smith (Eastern Michigan) in the 5k.
MVC: Jack Anstey of Illinois State is entered in the mile. Anstey just ran the second sub-4:00 mile of his career at the UW Last Chance the other weekend. He won the mile last year at the MVC Championships and was 7th in the 1500 meters at the 2019 outdoor track national meet. Anstey will be challenged by an up-and-coming talent in freshman Adam Fogg (Drake) who has run 4:00. Fogg beat Anstey at the Iowa State Classic by two seconds, so Anstey will be looking for redemption.
MVC: Grace Beattie of Illinois State and Mackenzie Altmayer of Bradley battling in the 3000 meters will make for an interesting race. Beattie and Altmayer own PR’s of 9:40 and 9:46, respectively. These two placed 2nd and 3rd at the MVC Indoor Championships last year with Altmayer taking silver.
MAC: Eastern Michigan’s Owen Day and Baldvin Magnusson are two key athletes competing this weekend, Day in the 800 and Magnusson in the mile, 3k, and 5k. Day has run a PR of 1:50 this year and has a 4:01 mile best from 2019. With his combination of speed and stamina, Day should win the 800. Magnusson is the favorite in the 3k and 5k and is a challenger in the mile. He has run PR’s in all events this season and his best race came at the Meyo Invite when he finished 2nd in the 3k in 8:03.
MAC: Miami (OH) does not compete in the Mid-American Conference in the winter nor can they qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. But if they did, Sean Torpy and Finley McLear would be two names to watch for. Torpy matched his 1:48 800 PR at the Alex Wilson Invite the other weekend and McLear dropped a 1:48 800 PR at the Meyo Invite. The Redhawks do compete at the MAC Championships during the outdoor season and are also able to qualify for NCAA's during that time. They will be a key program to watch in the next months.