April Anarchy Round of 32: Red Region (Women)

This matchup brings us a classic battle of the 800 meter specialists. On paper, Raevyn Rogers is one of the best 800 meter runners to ever compete in the NCAA. However, despite the difference in seeding, Rogers and Wright actually have relatively similar credentials.

During her time at Oregon, Raevyn Rogers won six national titles - five individual titles in the 800 meters and a 4x400 relay title during the 2017 outdoor season. Meanwhile, Phoebe Wright won five national titles while at Tennessee - three DMR titles and two individual 800 meter titles. All-American honors? Rogers has eight and Wright has nine.

The biggest spot where Rogers earns an edge over Phoebe Wright is that she holds the collegiate record in both the outdoor 800 meters (1:59.10) and the DMR.
 
 Regardless of who wins this round, it will set up a very interesting matchup in the Round of 16, with the winner taking on either Jordan Hasay or Emily Sisson.

Jordan Hasay is an athlete who was able to stretch her success across all facets of the sport of running. She was incredibly dominant within the PAC-12 conference as well as throughout the country during her time at Oregon. She was a two-time NCAA champion, the runner-up at the 2011 NCAA XC Championships, and the 3rd place finisher at the 2010 and 2012 NCAA XC Championships.

Those three top-three finishes at the national meets during cross country show her incredible consistency and strength at the meet year after year, a rarity in today's era. Her endless number of All-American finishes is an aspect of her resume that is hardly just as impressive as her title victories.

Emily Sisson, the former Friar, also showed some skill over the cross country course, having finished in the top-15 three times between her careers at both Wisconsin and Providence.

Hasay gets the nod in terms of cross country prowess, but Sisson may have had some slightly better track performances. She was the winner of the NCAA 5000 meter title during both the indoor and outdoor seasons of her junior year and was also able to produce a blistering 5k PR that indoor season of 15:12. She did this at the BIG East Championships and won the race by a whopping minute and eight seconds. Sisson was able to position herself nicely in many championship races and was a vital piece of both the Badger and Friar teams.

Allie Ostrander’s distance prowess overtook BYU’s middle distance ace Nachelle Mackie in round one. The ability for Ostrander to produce eye-popping times and finishes in events ranging from the 1500 to the 10k was too much for Mackie’s 800 meter resume and this could be the case for round two as well.

Dubbed by The Stride Report as the “NCAA's greatest steeplechaser of the modern era”, Ostrander will take on the athlete that kept her from winning her first NCAA title at the 2015 national cross country championships, Molly Seidel.

Ostrander had a killer freshman campaign in the fall of 2015 and was in the conversation for the individual title in Louisville, Kentucky. After winning three of four meets leading up to NCAA's (which included beating Seidel in Wisconsin), all eyes were on the young Boise State star. However, Seidel would get the better of Ostrander at the national meet as both women finished 1-2 to end the day.

Molly Seidel not only beat Ostrander that day, but she broke the “Foot Locker Curse.” One of the most prestigious meets for a high schooler, the Foot Locker Cross Country Championships had never produced an NCAA individual champion on the women’s side.

The so-called “Curse” was all the buzz heading into NCAA's.

Coming off of her first NCAA 10k title in 2015, Seidel was a woman on a mission. She won four of five meets heading into NCAA's, only losing to Ostrander at the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational. Seidel got her revenge on Ostrander a month later, breaking the curse and continuing her tear that winter.

A complete Division Two stud, Jessica Tebo’s nine NCAA D2 titles helped make a case for her as being one of the NCAA’s best products during the 2000’s. Her consistency and success on the track and grass are quite notable. How can you not vote for someone who won three straight cross country titles, three straight mile titles and owns four D2 top-10 marks all-time?

As for Dani Jones, we've all seen what she can do. Winning national titles in the DMR, 3k, cross country and outdoor 5k highlight her resume and emphasize her incredible range.

Like Pixler, Jones holds multiple all-time bests which includes a 4:27 mile and a 15:17 indoor 5k. Both of her times were run just this past indoor season, which would’ve set Jones up for a stellar weekend at the National Championships if not for COVID-19.