grace mclaughlin
Apr 23, 20204 min
Unsurprisingly, #1 Abbey D’Agostino beat #16 Katie Erdman (Michigan '07) to move on to the next round. Her seven national titles outshined Erdman’s middle distance prowess.
D’Agostino is known for her toughness at the 2016 Olympic Games in which she endured a horrific knee injury in the midst of her 5k race. Yet, she still finished and supported another injured athlete to get across the line. This grit and mental fortitude was visible in her college years as she managed to pull off impressive doubles, win close races and run some of the fastest times ever by a collegiate athlete.
Abbey D’Agostino goes up against another middle distance star in this round and if she wins, it is likely that we’ll see an epic matchup between her and #4 Kara Goucher in the Sweet 16.
Trying to knock out the #1 seed in the Blue Region is #8 Laura Roesler. A star at Oregon, Roesler was an 800 meter runner who shined on Oregon’s DMR and 4x400 relay during her college career. Roseler only won two NCAA titles compared to D’Agostino’s seven, but her outdoor PR of 2:00.54 puts her on the top 10 list in the NCAA and among an elite group of women. She was also the 2014 Bowerman Award winner, something that very few middle and long distance runners can boast. Will that accolade be enough for her to pull off the upset?
One of the most shocking results from the first round was #12 Colleen Quigley winning against #5 Weini Kelati (New Mexico). Quigley was extremely consistent and excelled in the steeplechase during her college years. The 2016 Olympian has plenty of name recognition given her recent success, but so does her Round of 32 matchup...
Quigley goes up against another talented Olympian in hopes of making it to the Sweet 16, but Kara Goucher’s talent during her college days will make that a tough challenge. Kara Goucher easily made it into the round of 32 with a win against #13 Kate Avery (Iona ‘15). Goucher won three NCAA titles and left a legacy at the University of Colorado as one of their all-time greats. She went on to become a successful professional runner, 2008 and 2012 Olympian, and a major voice in the track and field world.
If she wins this matchup, we could potentially see her face off against #1 seed Abbey Cooper in the Sweet 16. However, her biggest challenge in this round may be Quigley's recent success and fans of the steeplechase.
Oregon’s Jessica Hull won four national titles during her collegiate career and then joined the now disbanded Nike Oregon Project. In an odd twist, the most memorable performance of her collegiate career may have been when she took runner-up honors in the 1500 meters at the Outdoor National Championships and set a PR of 4:06. Regardless, the Oregon ace was someone who was better than what her numbers showed. She was the face of NCAA distance running in the late 2010's. Will that be enough for her to get past one of the greatest distance runners from the early 2000's?
Going up against Hull is Stanford’s #3 Lauren Fleshman. The former Cardinal easily surpassed #14 Christy Cazzola (Wisconsin-Oshkosh '13) and advanced into the second round. Fleshman was a five-time national champion at Stanford and her career is highlighted by winning gold in the outdoor 5k three years in a row. She was consistent at national meets and established record-setting times in the early 2000’s.
Fleshman went on to be a professional runner and excelled in the 5k, just like her college days. Like Hull, she was also a member of the Nike Oregon Project before leaving to be sponsored by Oiselle.
Regardless of who wins this matchup, we could be in store for a thrilling battle in the Sweet 16.
In this matchup, we have two Bowerman Track Club athletes going up against each other to get into the next round.
Courtney Frerichs earned seven All-American honors and one national title during her college years. She is well known for her talent in the steeplechase and holds the collegiate record with a time of 9:24 from her 2016 national title run. Could that be enough to topple an all-time great like Flanagan in this round?
Former Nike athlete and now coach Shalane Flanagan won back-to-back NCAA cross country titles in 2002 and 2003 as a UNC Tarheel. She beat #15 Skylyn Webb (UC-Colorado Springs '19) to get to the Round of 32. Flanagan won three national titles during her time in college, but will now be facing one of the greatest steeplechasers to ever race in the NCAA. Much like Goucher and Quigley, the recent success of Frerichs may be her biggest challenge in this round when it comes to the voting.