Ben Weisel
Apr 25, 20197 min
*Honorable mentions below*
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Kemboi is still yet to race outdoors which is a little worrying, but we will give it a few more weeks before we ring the alarm bells.
Joe Klecker caught most of the headlines a few weeks ago, but like Garrett mentioned, Dressel’s 3:49 which converts to 3:43 is a very encouraging sign for a long distance specialist. This past weekend Dressel ran a solid 13:42, but during a weekend where so many people ran under 13:40, it forced him to be pushed back in the rankings. Something else to keep an eye on is whether Dressel runs the 10k this year. He hasn’t run one since the 2016 PAC 12 Championships, but the 10k might be his best opportunity to score points.
As Garrett predicted, Rockhold had a breakout race at Bryan Clay running 13:35 and finishing as the 2nd overall collegiate. It was good to see the Colorado State runner healthy again, and he will be in the mix at Nationals in the 5k (or maybe even in the 1500).
Given the opportunity to run fast, it was surprising to see Tooker only manage a 3:45 in the 1500 a few weeks ago. Still, it’s a solid run for one of the favorites in the steeple. All eyes will be on him when he debuts in his top event.
Suliman backed up his strong indoor season by running 3:40 at the Joe Walker Invite and beating indoor mile runner-up Casey Comber. At Bryan Clay, he bettered that time by two seconds and finished 6th right behind Sam Worley. The Rebel keeps running fast times, but the final piece will be putting it together at a national championship meet.
The Longhorn sophomore's season debut in the 1500 was impressive. 3:38 and a 5th place finish in a deep field at Bryan Clay. While it is a very impressive time, Worley finishing 5th shows that he has a ways to go to be considered one of the favorites in the 1500 at Nationals.
Kurgat opened up his outdoor season with a bang by running 13:34 at Stanford. After an underwhelming indoor championship meet, it was important for the Cyclone to come back strong outdoors (and he did just that). I still believe in his potential to score in the 5k and 10k.
I think we can now assuredly say that Kigen is "back" after his 13:34 at Bryan Clay. Finishing as the top collegiate overJoe Klecker, Cole Rockhold, and Rory Linkletter shows that Kigen needs to be taken seriously not only in the 10k, but also the 5k.
After running the fastest steeple time in the country, Michalski has worked on his speed by running a few 1500's. The Hoosier ran a PR in the 1500 at Tennessee Relays and then ran 3:46 in at the Cardinal Classic. His 3:44 time shows that he has some wheels for a fast finish, and further cements his place among the steeplechase favorites.
Mantz worked on his speed this weekend by running the 1500 at Bryan Clay. 3:45 for one of the top 10k runners in the country is solid and shows that the Cougar has some finishing speed.
In what looks to have been a tactical 1500 at the Cardinal Classic, Mau ran 3:45 to finish 6th. The time isn’t too concerning considering the way the race was run, but for the Hoosier to finish behind so many people is worrying. I predicted at the beginning of the year that Mau could be one of the favorites in the 1500, but I’m not feeling too sure of that anymore.
Like Clayton Young, Day dropped down in distance to run the 1500. 3:46 isn’t a sparkling time, but it's solid for one of the top 10k favorites. Look for him to run a quick 5k in the next few weeks.
Nuguse continues to impress this outdoor season. After running 1:48 at Stanford, the DMR star from Notre Dame ran an impressive race at Bryan Clay to finish 3rd in the 1500 and run a time of 3:38. With no relay to keep him out of the individual title race, Nuguse will be one to watch as he continues to get better every time he toes the line.
Teare had a breakout race at the Cardinal Classic to run a huge PR in the 5k with a time of 13:32, finishing 2nd to Grant Fisher. Beating Edwin Kurgat is also a good sign for the Duck who now owns the #2 fastest time in the country.
As we mentioned here, Brandt ran a quiet 13:36 at Mt. SAC to finish as the top collegiate. After running 13:36 and 28:55, the Bruin is set up well to score in two events like he did at the Indoor National Championships. Despite the fast times, he may continue to be one of the more underrated names in the country.
In Linkletter’s first race back since the World Cross Country Championships, he ran a blistering 13:36 at Bryan Clay. To run a PR in the 5k after training for a 10k cross country championship is impressive and leads me to believe that he could have a very fast 10k in him come Payton Jordan. With last weekend’s performance in the books, it is safe to call Linkletter one of the 10k favorites.
A 3:48 1500 at Bryan Clay is certainly not the performance the Cougar wanted, but we shouldn’t put too much stock in it as he has run well in his main event (the 10k). I’m sure we will see him bounce back in the 5k soon.
Boy oh boy, what a race for Villarreal at Bryan Clay. Taking the defending 1500 champion all the way to the line would have been impressive even if the race was slow. For the Wildcat to compete with Hoare AND run 3:37 is a very encouraging sign for Villarreal’s title hopes. We know that he has the 800 speed and a potent finishing kick, so if he can hang with any pace, then he could pull off the upset at Nationals.
Ali's outdoor debut was in the 5k at the Duke Invitational where he ran 13:48 to finish as the 2nd best collegiate. It's a solid time, but all eyes will be on the Golden Gopher when he steps on the track to race the steeplechase.
Arop reasserted his dominance by running 1:45 and dragging his teammates along to fast times in the process. Over the beginning of this outdoor season, it seems like Arop and Hoppel are putting themselves into a different class than everyone else in the 800.
It feels like Hoppel is trying to replicate his indoor season which is probably a good call since he finished the winter with a national title. The Jayhawk still hasn’t lost a race this year on the track after he won the 800 and 1500 at both the LSU Battle of the Bayou and the Kansas Relays. Although he hasn’t run under 1:48 yet, Hoppel has proven that he can run as fast as he needs to in order to win.
Klecker continues to prove that he was one of the best distance runners across any distance. His converted 3:39 is one of the top times in the country in the 1500. With this type of speed, it isn’t hard to imagine Klecker beating either Fisher or McDonald in a tactical 5k or 10k. On the other hand, he just ran 13:35 at Bryan Clay to finish as the 3rd collegiate behind Gilbert Kigen and Cole Rockhold. While this is a blazing fast time, it is (a little) worrying that Klecker was beat by two college runners who aren’t necessarily top five favorites in the 5k. I am still extremely confident in Klecker, but there's just a kernel of concern.
Michael and I said Hoare needed to make a statement this weekend...mission accomplished. Running 3:37 and holding off Carlos Villarreal for the win at Bryan Clay certainly counts as a statement. Beating indoor champ Geordie Beamish probably felt pretty good as well. If he wasn’t already the favorite in the 1500, this weekend proved that he is. There will be plenty of people chasing him, but I think Hoare is in good shape to repeat as the 1500 champion.
In his first 5k of the outdoor season, Fisher dropped a PR of 13:29 at the Cardinal Classic. As we already knew, Fisher is a boss. What we don’t know is if Fisher can take down the favorite in the 5k, Morgan McDonald. This race doesn’t answer that question, but it certainly makes me feel better about his chances.
Entered in the second heat of the 5k at Bryan Clay, McDonald picked up a regional time running 13:50. Not sure why we didn’t see him put in a hard effort like Fisher, but I’m sure he will be ready to throw down a big time in the next few weeks.
Devin Dixon (Texas A&M)
William Paulson (Arizona State)
Thomas Ratcliffe (Stanford)
Steven Fahy (Stanford)
Cade Bethmann (Ole Miss)
Isaiah Jewett (USC)
Geordie Beamish (Northern Arizona)
Alex Rogers (Texas)
Aaron Templeton (Furman)
Ryan Forsyth (Colorado)