Bullet Points: Nationals Reactions (Day One)

Well, that was close. In one of the bigger surprises of the day, Brandon Miller (Texas A&M) and Isaiah Jewett (USC) nearly missed qualifying for finals. After the pair led down the backstretch of their heat, Lipscomb's Shane Streich came roaring up and was able to take the win over the final 100 meters. Miller and Jewett finished 3rd and 4th in their heat, but both qualified on time to make the final.

While those two favorites managed to get through, some other big names were not so lucky. Kameron Jones (Clemson) led heat one from the gun, but faded hard over the final 100 meters, ultimately finishing 4th and missing out on the final. Between Jones' surprising miss and Miller's near miss, it seems fair to say that the lack of championship experience for some of these guys has potentially played a role. Both of these men are better front-runners, so it's understandable if they weren't able to kick on the final straightaway after working from the front.

Samuel Voelz (Notre Dame) also missed out after getting nipped at the line by Eric Brown of Auburn. In what was arguably the best race of his career, Brown ran a personal best and edged Voelz by 0.02 seconds for the last "Q" spot. This was a stunning development as Voelz is quietly one of the better tactical runners and truthfully didn't do much wrong in this race. He perfectly positioned himself, but simply got edged by a surged Eric Brown.

It had been a rollercoaster year for Devin Dixon, but it ended on a low with the Texas A&M star running 1:52, well off qualifying position. After a strong regional showing, it looked like Dixon was headed in the right direction, but things didn’t pan out in his final NCAA race.

With Jewett and Miller looking less than their best, the NCAA title race looks to be wide open. A number of men put together strong races, and unlike indoors, there appears to be no consensus favorite. However, Finley McLear and Charlie Hunter both looked incredible in their preliminary heats.

Similar to the 800, a number of favorites faltered in the 1500 meters. We shockingly saw Casey Comber (Villanova), Ryan Adams (Furman), James West (Oregon) and Lucas Bons (BYU) all miss out on the final. While none of these were in the talks for a national title, it was surprising to see them all come up short after a number of strong showings during the regular season. Adams was one of the most consistent runners all season long, Bons was the most underrated, West was peaking at the perfect time and Comber was the experienced in these kinds of races.

Outside of that group, the rest of the favorites raced as expected. Yared Nuguse (Notre Dame), Cole Hocker (Oregon) and Eluid Kipsang (Alabama), among others, all easily moved on and ensured a star-studded final on Friday.

Not necessarily a marquee name heading into the race, Isaac Basten of Drake had himself a day. The sophomore ran a new personal best of 3:39.57, earning the fourth ‘"Q" out of heat two before moving on to Friday. Basten had subtly been making a name for himself, but his run yesterday confirmed that he’s the real deal. Could he continue to carry this momentum into the final and emerge as an All-American? Right now, that seems plenty possible.

Remember how drivers suddenly forget how cars work when it rains? Running must be similar. Tom Dodd of Michigan and Dais Malebana of Nebraska got tangled up at the back of heat two, causing them both to hit the deck and DNF. It’s hard to say if either would have factored into the final results given their positions at the time, but Dodd has continuously been unlucky this year with falls in big-time races.

Reed Brown was notably disqualified for “impeding another athlete” based on the final results. The Oregon senior hadn't been having his best season and didn’t figure to play much of a role in the final had he made it. Still, this is a 3:56 miler we're talking about and a DQ on his home track is quite the surprise. Plus, there is significant debate as to whether or not Brown should have actually been DQ'd.

The steeplechase may have been the most predictable race (for qualifiers) with two exceptions: Jackson Mestler (Oregon) and Fitsum Seyoum (Virginia Tech). Mestler and Seyoum were heavy favorites to make the finals after strong regular seasons where they secured big wins and top-times on a consistent basis, so seeing both miss out was a bit of a shock.

You have to feel for Alexander Korczynski of Northeastern. He led six laps of heat two but ended up fading badly, falling on a water pit and missing out on the final. It may not have been the day he was looking for, but it was a bold tactic and he certainly put himself in the mix. Kudos to a strong effort.

Given most of the title contenders moved through, there was not much to take away heading into Friday’s race. Ryan Smeeton (Oklahoma State), Bennett Pascoe (Arkansas State) and Ahmed Jaziri (Eastern Kentucky) all figure to be among the favorites. On paper, Jaziri did not have a great race, but he fell late in the race as the result of another athlete going down and was able to rally to the finish line. On paper, this was actually a very solid outing for him and we should actually be encouraged by his result.

Usually, runners who fall end up having poor races. However, all of the athletes who tripped over the barriers in the late stages ended up making the final. Alec Basten (Minnesota) fell with a few laps left, but was able to recover and finish 2nd in his heat. If anything, that was actually one of the more encouraging performances that we saw out of the steeplechase.

How about Ky Robinson? The freshman from Stanford ran 8:36 to win his heat, showing off a finishing kick that he has put on full display this year in the steeplechase. He's only getting better with each race and his kick is scary good. If he's within striking distances of the leaders in the finals, then Robinson could be a major name to watch.

The first heat was FAST. The top-eight finishers all ran personal bests, ranging from 8:31 to 8:33. All three time qualifiers came from that heat and set up what could be a very fast final.

How many of you out there had Patrick Dever winning that race? The Tulsa man had the race of his life, setting a massive personal best and claiming the NCAA title in a time of 27:41. Not only did he shatter the previous meet record of 28:01, he also easily broke 28:00 for the first time in his career.

Dever was always a top-tier talent, but not someone who we envisioned winning a national title. He perfectly positioned himself in this 10k, was patient, responded to moves appropriately and was left with enough of a kick to pull away from Mantz in the final straightaway. It may be hard to find someone who runs a better race than Dever this week.

Speaking of running fast times, 16 of the top-19 runners set personal bests yesterday while an astonishing 10 men went under 28 minutes, with the top-six runners posting marks of 27:45 or faster. The pace was quick from the start thanks to Wesley Kiptoo (Iowa State), but unlike other races, the field didn’t let him breakaway and the Cyclone star ended up pulling them to some fast marks. Kiptoo would fade to 11th, proving that his aggressive front-running tactics won't always work.

It’s hard to say someone had a bad day when they set a personal best. Barry Keane of Butler and Vincent Kiprop of Alabama were two highly favored men in this race that, despite running lifetime bests, finished 14th and 15th.

The 10k continues to be an ironically interesting event at Nationals. Looking back on recent years, the favorites have been beaten more often than not. Conner Mantz (BYU) looked in position to win another NCAA title after taking the lead with 400 meters left, but he would be caught down the homestretch by a hard-charging Dever. Even with a fast pace, this year’s race produced a great display of tactics, reminding viewers and fans that the 10k isn’t as boring as we often make it out to be.

The strength of the NCAA is going to be scary in the coming years. Six of the men who ran under 28:00 have eligibility remaining based on their current class standing. Despite the fact the 10k standard to make regionals already got dramatically faster in 2021, this rising group could only raise that bar further in the coming years.