April Anarchy Final Four: All Regions (Men + Women)

Grace: On the women’s side, I think I’m most surprised about Jenny Simpson making it to the Final Four. This is not because her accomplishments or talent as a NCAA runner was less than the others, but simply because I believe she had the toughest Elite 8 matchup. She went up against #2 seed Karissa Schweizer (Missouri) and I thought Schweizer’s recent success and popularity as a Bowerman athlete would lead her to the Final Four, although her six NCAA titles speak for themselves as well.

Maura: I agree with Grace for the women. Simpson does have one of the best resumes for collegiate women ever, but being paired up against Schweizer (who graduated eight years after her) seemed like it was going to be a difficult when you consider that we have a younger audience. But I guess when you go against someone who could run a fast mile, steeplechase, and throw down a collegiate record in the 5k, the depth will outlast recency and popularity.

Now let's turn to the men's side.

Don’t get me wrong, Centrowitz was a solid competitor during his time as an Oregon Duck, but he didn’t have nearly the same impact on the NCAA as Chris Solinksy did. Even so, he came out on top and qualified for the Final Four. The buzz around Centrowitz’s name was probably a big factor in the voting.

Ben: I wasn't surprised to see her advance from the Elite 8 to the Final Four, but when we started April Anarchy, I did not expect to see Allie Ostrander in the Final Four. Her three NCAA titles in the steeplechase are very impressive, but she was never able to earn a title outside of her main event. She did finish runner-up in cross country to Molly Seidel and was a consistent runner on the grass. Still, I thought Dani Jones or Jordan Hasay would take her down.

As for the men, I'll say the same thing as Maura. I was surprised to see Matt Centrowitz make it this far. He had some strong performances during his time as a Duck, but he doesn’t have the number of titles that some other top middle distance stars have. His overwhelming popularity has helped him out, but I thought Solinsky would be the one to beat him.

Michael: I have to say I am a bit surprised to see Allie Ostrander in the Final Four. She faced a lot of very strong competitors during her time in the NCAA and had some narrow victories to get her this far. Ostrander is obviously an incredible athlete and is deserving of this spot, but at the beginning of the tournament, I would not have picked her to win her entire region.

On the men's side, I am somewhat surprised to see Justyn Knight make it this far. Knight had countless impressive performances while at Syracuse, but accumulated only two titles. In a similar way to Ostrander, Knight took down some very big names during our bracket challenge such as Robby Andrews, Grant Fisher and recently Andrew Wheating. Did Knight earn this spot with his performances? Absolutely. He just had a very difficult path to get here.

Maura: For the women, I’m going to go with Simpson vs Ostrander. Simpson dominated practically every distance while in college. Five collegiate records during her time as a Buffalo and countless All-American honors highlight her resume. Of course, then you have Ostrander, maybe the “greatest steeplechaser of the NCAA.” Her three straight steeple titles have given her the upper-hand during April Anarchy. I think this matchup will come down to a popularity contest.

To the men, I think Justyn Knight vs Galen Rupp should prove to be interesting. Knight’s collegiate career ended nine years after Rupp’s did and voters may look to vote for the younger athlete who threw down some strong performances during his senior year. Rupp added to the Oregon legacy of distance running and his name has been a mainstay when talking about all-time greats. Can the younger star outscore the veteran? Or does the veteran have too many accolades to be trounced?

Grace: I think both matchups on the women’s side will be interesting, but I’m going to go with Jenny Simpson vs Allie Ostrander. I agree with Maura in the fact that it will come down to a popularity contest between the two. I personally think it is hard to compare the two athletes because Simpson was versatile and excelled at basically every distance while Ostrander was a steeplechase specialist and also had consistent success on the cross country course. There’s a valid argument to be made for both of these runners.

Ben: The Flanagan vs Coburn matchup is really fascinating because both are very popular runners who have/had very successful collegiate and professional careers. The former UNC runner has the edge in terms of titles and accomplishments during her time in the NCAA, but Coburn is the younger athlete who has come out of college more recently. Will recency bias rule the day or will Flanagan’s edge in titles prevail?

As for the men, I am curious to see if the only non-Oregon runner can advance. Justyn Knight will go up against Galen Rupp in a battle of two supremely talented distance runners. I thought Rupp would lose to Murphy, but he prevailed rather easily. Knight, however, could prove to be more of a challenge. He has done very well throughout April Anarchy, but I wonder if he will continue to have success as he goes up against a runner who has a better overall résumé.

Michael: I am also very intrigued by the Flanagan vs Coburn matchup. Both had very impressive college careers and both have had recent success as professionals and are extremely popular. The two are very different athletes in terms of event specialties, and Flanagan racked up more titles while at UNC, but I am very excited to see how the voters decide this matchup.

On the men’s side, the Knight vs Rupp matchup will be the one to watch. I think Edward Cheserek will comfortably take down Matthew Centrowitz (although I could be wrong), but Knight vs Rupp could go either way. Rupp has more titles and the arguably more impressive resume, but Knight is recent and has some seriously dominant performances on his side.

Grace: For the women, Karissa Schweizer is the logical choice. She won six NCAA titles and appears on the record boards multiple times. Alysia Montano won two titles, Kara Goucher won three and Jordan Hasay won two.

Maura: Iowa State’s Lisa Uhl. She was oh-so-close to stopping Alysia Montano’s Cinderella story to the Elite 8, but she fell short. Uhl’s 10k collegiate record of 31:18 still stands 10 years after she set it. Her countless NCAA titles and All-American honors should’ve been enough to catapult her to the Elite 8.

For the men, give me Lawi Lalang who didn’t make it out of the second round, losing by 36% to Matt Centrowitz. Lalang was a stud for the Wildcats, showing incredible range from the 1500 to the 10k. It was extremely rare to see Lalang finish outside of the top three at an NCAA championship from 2011 to 2014.

Ben: I’ll go with Sally Kipyego. The #1 seed had, in my mind, the best credentials of anyone in the field. A three-time cross country champion along with five titles on the track is a tally that no one else could match.

On the men's side, I think I will have to go with Lawi Lalang who was eliminated in the second round of April Anarchy. His plethora of titles from the mile to the 10k showed how much range he had and his times were some of the best that the NCAA has ever seen.

Michael: I think Molly Seidel is one of the best runners to not make the Final Four. She does not have as many NCAA titles as someone like Sally Kipyego, but she won titles in the 3k, 5k, 10k and cross country. Seidel did not make is past the second round after a tough matchup against Allie Ostrander, but her range and dominance is very impressive.

As for the men, Leo Manzano has to be in the conversation for this. He did not make it past the second round when he lost to Grant Fisher, but few runners rival his dominance in the NCAA. Manzano has the combination of top-tier times and national titles that are essentially unmatched by other collegiate milers. Seeing him go out so early was a bit of a surprise to me.

Grace: 1) Edward Cheserek 2) Emma Coburn 3) Galen Rupp 4) Allie Ostrander

Maura: 1) Edward Cheserek 2) Emma Coburn 3) Jenny Simpson 4) Galen Rupp

Ben: 1) Edward Cheserek 2) Shalane Flanagan 3) Allie Ostrander 4) Justyn Knight

Michael: 1) Edward Cheserek 2) Jenny Simpson 3) Shalane Flanagan 4) Galen Rupp