Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Dec 5, 202212 min
Updated: Dec 6, 2022
When it was announced earlier this summer that Ella Baran would be venturing to Colorado as a graduate transfer, our writers at The Stride Report understandably had some questions about how she would fare in the Division One scene.
Baran proved to be an all-time great at the Division Three level. She ran marks of 4:40 (mile), 9:13 (3k) and 15:49 (5k). Those first two personal bests are Division Three records while her previous 5k PR sits at NCAA #2 all-time (again, for Division Three).
But despite her grand success, it was hard to know how she would respond to the major leap in competition that she was going to face while with the Colorado Buffaloes. Yes, 15:49 is a great time, but that kind of result would only be able to take the former Johns Hopkins runner so far in the always-loaded PAC-12.
So what has Baran done?
She has simply gotten better.
A lot better.
Few women have better momentum than his Colorado standout as she has seemingly improved with every passing race. She impressed us with a 17th place finish at the Cowboy Jamboree, did a fine job at Nuttycombe by placing 47th, had a phenomenal effort by finishing 7th at the PAC-12 XC Championships and then capped off her cross country season with a monumental 30th place All-American honor at the national meet.
Baran was clearly on a hot streak coming into this past weekend and it was not at all crazy to suggest that she could run a personal best. In fact, it felt plenty realistic that she could crack the 15:40 barrier if everything went her way.
But then the Buffalo standout dropped a monster time of 15:33 in the second heat, taking home the win with relative ease after putting in a massive surge over the last 500 meters, essentially running away from the field unchallenged.
I'm so impressed with this distance running veteran. Not necessarily because of her win or even her time (although 15:33 is still pretty incredible). Instead, what I was the most impressed with was seeing Baran handle that field was such ease and look incredibly comfortable while doing so. She clearly had great command of her fitness and her ability to switch gears was so impressive, especially after starting the race so far back.
As for the rest of this heat, you gotta love what you saw out of NC State's Sydney Seymour. The graduate transfer from Tennessee had a rough end to her cross country season relative to expectations. Coming into this race, it seemed crucial for the Wolfpack runner to regain her confidence and produce an encouraging performance to build off of as we enter winter break.
And for the most part, she did exactly that!
Seymour didn't win and wasn't able to respond to Baran's big move, but she was competitive throughout the entirety of this race. She was patient, made moves only when she had to and was rewarded with an outstanding mark of 15:35, just a touch over a second from her PR in this event.
I'll be curious to see what she can do in the future, but that time should be enough to automatically qualify her for the national meet without much of an issue. And if she can use this result as a momentum booster, then Seymour could be just as dangerous as she was this past outdoor track season.
New Mexico's Gracelyn Larkin was the next collegiate to cross the line in this race, posting a great mark of 15:37. She was initially seeded in the fastest heat, but instead ran in this section which, in retrospect, was probably the right call.
Larkin, like Seymour, is probably safe to qualify for the national meet in this event, although I wouldn't be surprised if she needed a scratch or two in order to advance. And let's not forget, this is someone who ran 15:29 last spring and has finished her last three national meets as an All-American.
As long as she gets to the national stage, Larkin will be a threat. I think Saturday was a very nice reintroduction to the indoor track scene without having her go through the trial by fire that we saw in the first heat.
Seeing Zofia Dudek hang on for a time of 15:40 in that same heat of the women's 5000 meters was actually really solid. She was the only one to truly go with the pacer and then had to run the rest of her essentially by herself (until the final moments).
Dudek ultimately faded (hard) from her large lead over that final kilometer. But if she was able to run that fast after a brutal last few laps, then what can she do one month or two months from now on Washington's 300 meter indoor track in another fast field?
I'm confident that Dudek will eventually run faster this season, but I admittedly don't know how much faster. The pressure will also be on for her to dip under that 15:40 barrier as it seems unlikely that she'll maintain an automatic qualifying spot to the national meet for this event.
BYU's Aubrey Frentheway and Stanford's Lucy Jenks ran times of 15:42 in that same heat.
For Frentheway, this is an encouraging step in the right direction as, historically, her best results have come on the grass rather than the track. I still think she's capable of dipping into the 15:30s based on what we saw from her this past fall, but I have a feeling that she'll give the 3k some serious consideration this year.
As for Jenks, her recent PR felt like some much-needed validation of her talent. The Cardinal standout ran 15:41 for 5000 meters last spring, qualified for the outdoor national meet and placed 49th at the 2021 NCAA XC Championships.
But Jenks' most recent cross country campaign was a bit quieter by comparison and although she also boasts a personal best of 9:04 (3k) from last winter, it felt like this rising Stanford talent needed to reestablish her presence.
And sure enough, she did that this past weekend.
Brynn Brown (North Carolina), Kassie Parker (Loras, unattached), Maggie Donahue (Georgetown) and McKenna Lee (BYU) all ran sub-15:45 in that second heat. And while I would like to offer some level of analysis, I can't say that I'm too shocked by any of the results that we saw. For the most part, these performances were largely in-line with our expectations.
We should also note that Syracuse veteran Amanda Vestri has returned to NCAA competition, running 15:42 to easily win the third heat of the women's 5k. If she's firing on all cylinders, and she seemingly is, then this Orange ace could be really dangerous in the future.
The definition of being a "contender" or being "nationally competitive" is dramatically changing. Times that once put you in the national title conversation are now comically distant from even sniffing national meet qualification.
And that couldn't have been more evident on Saturday.
There are a lot of names who I want to cover, but I can't analyze all of them in an effective manner by simply typing paragraphs upon paragraphs for each and every name. So I've opted to employ a bullet-point format, but only for this section.
Here are the 16 collegiate men (who weren't mentioned in Part One of our analysis) who ran under 13:40 for 5000 meters this past weekend in Boston...
Heat Two
*attached collegiates only
Jack Aho (North Carolina) - 13:31
Aho didn't have any cross country eligibility remaining this past fall which is probably why his runner-up finish in the second heat (behind an unattached Athanas Kioko won the race in 13:22) may seem like a surprise. But make no mistake, Aho is one of the most experienced long distance talents in the nation. The veteran had already run 13:39 prior to this past weekend, although even with a PR, I wasn't totally expecting him to take down the likes of Zach Facioni, Scott Beattie and Duncan Hamilton. This is really encouraging progress considering that Aho had never run under 14:00 for 5000 meters on the indoor oval until this past weekend.
Scott Beattie (Tulsa) - 13:32
Another week, another race where a Tulsa runner will fly under the radar despite being having an outstanding performance. Scott Beattie may not have won his heat or been the top collegiate in his section, but a 13:32 mark validates what he's done over the last three seasons. If he can find that edge that takes him to the next level, and I truthfully don't know what that would look like, then he could be a legitimate name who mixes it up with some of the best runner who were in the first heat.
Chad Johnson (Iowa State) - 13:33
I really love this performance for Chad Johnson, a guy who didn't have the most exciting cross country season this past fall. Johnson has been a steady and reliable name for the Iowa State men over the last few years. He has occasionally shown moments of brilliance like this, leading us to believe that he could have more to offer, but we're still waiting on him to build on a result like this.
Christian Allen (BYU) - 13:34
I can't say that I'm too surprised by Christian Allen's effort. He ran 13:36 for 5000 meters on the outdoor oval last year while with Weber State and he has continued to provide great value for BYU as a graduate transfer. And although his cross country season didn't end like he probably wanted it to, I still think there's a chance for him to reach that next level...but it might be in the 10k during the spring rather than the 5k during the winter.
Zach Facioni (Wake Forest) - 13:34
This was a solid result for Zach Facioni, but it didn't shock us. The Wake Forest star showed some guts by following an unattached Athanas Kioko (who is now a WF volunteer coach) late in the race. However, I don't know if Facioni totally expected Kioko to run 13:22. Regardless, I liked that Facioni was gutsy and gave himself a shot. It may not have worked out for him, but I wouldn't be worried about that. I have a feeling that the 3k is going to be his best race this season anyway.
Duncan Hamilton (Montana State) - 13:34
The Montana State star tried to bridge gap between the chase pack and the leaders late in this race, but that ultimately left him with limited finishing strength. A 13:34 mark is still really solid, but Hamilton is clearly better than this. He is an animal on the track and I imagine that he'll post something crazy-fast at altitude which everyone will then freak out about.
James Mwaura (Gonzaga) - 13:39
It was fairly obvious that James Mwaura wasn't at 100% this past cross country season, so a 13:39 mark was actually fairly solid for this Gonzaga ace. At the end of the day, I imagine Mwaura's goal was to get healthy during the fall, get fit during the winter and then be competitive during the spring. After all, his best event is the 10k.
Awet Beraki (Adams State) - 13:39
Isn't it absolutely wild that a guy who ran 13:39 for 5000 meters one day after the D2 NCAA XC Championships didn't even qualify for that race? Awet Beraki's performance at the South Central Regional XC Championships was clearly fluke and this result was proof of that. Even so, I imagine that there will be multiple men flirting with a sub-13:40 performance at the D2 level this winter (and many of them will probably be from Colorado Mines).
Heat Three
*attached collegiates only
Ryan Martins (Loyola (Ill.)) - 13:33
Bravo, Ryan Martins! I'm so darn impressed. What a race for this Loyola star who has come out of nowhere and turned into one of the top names in the nation. He had a solid cross country season, but his competition was admittedly limited until the national meet where he finished 29th. But to now have a 13:33 personal best AND a win in his heat? With momentum on his side, Ryan Martins is probably one of the last guys who I would want to race right now.
Nickolas Scudder (Charlotte) - 13:33
No surprises here! Ben (my fellow podcast co-host) and myself suggested that Scudder was going to be one of the top contenders in this field. And while he didn't win, it seemed fairly clearly that his success from grass was able to effectively translate to the oval. The real question, however, is what does he do from here?
Joey Nokes (BYU) - 13:33
I absolutely love this result for Joey Nokes. This guy had a monumental breakout season on the grass this past winter, emerging as one of the more lethal low-sticks in the country (despite not being one of the top-two scorers on his team). Seeing him run 13:33 validates everything that he did on the grass and indicates that he'll be a name near the top of these results for years to come.
Yacine Guermali (Gonzaga) - 13:33
Yes, it's true, Guermali didn't have much to get excited about on the track when looking at his resume prior to this past weekend. But if we're being honest, his multiple moments of brilliance this past cross country season did lead us to believe that he could be a competitive name in this kind of field. Were we expecting him to run 13:33? No, but then again, we weren't expecting a lot of guys to run as fast as they did.
Davin Thompson (BYU) - 13:35
Another race, another strong and steady performance for the youngster who continues to produce solid result after solid result. Davin Thompson was a highly valuable middle-lineup scorer for the BYU men on the grass and has clearly maintained that fitness on the oval. I haven't seen too many underclassmen who have raced at his level and be as consistent as he has been.
Kirami Yego (South Alabama) - 13:38
Sure, this was a massive personal best for Kirami Yego, but anyone who monitored his performances on the grass this past cross country season knew that he was plenty capable of this result. He is still pretty new to this level, so for him to hold his own in this field was encouraging to see.
Marcelo Rocha (Providence) - 13:39
This Providence veteran did exactly what he did last year. He posted respectable results on the grass and then ventured to the indoor oval at Boston University to run a 5k time around the 13:40 mark. And truthfully, I'm not sure there is anything more to say than that.
Heat Four
*attached collegiates only
Matt Strangio (Portland) - 13:39
This is a really nice step in the right direction for Matt Strangio. Over the last few years, I have been the biggest believer that he was going to be a distance running weapon on the track. He is certainly trending upwards and making incremental improvements, but his rate of progress will likely need to quicken if he's going to reach the nationally competitive level that I think he can reach.
What if I told you that Ceili McCabe and Olivia Markezich's 3k race, where the two women were separated by 0.04 seconds, wasn't the closest distance race of the weekend?
That's because Alabama ace Flomena Asekol and Oklahoma State standout Gabija Galvydyte battled to a pair of 4:32 marks in the mile. And who won in the end?
Well, the answer to that question isn't exactly simple.
That's because both the live results and the TFRRS results indicate that these two women TIED at 4:32.84 exactly. What a wild result, I don't know if I've ever seen a tie in a race as fast and as competitive as this.
The initial pace seemed to go out a bit slow relative to the final times that these two women ended up running. But in the final 350 meters, Galvydyte powered to the lead while Asekol closely flanked her outside shoulder.
The two women rapidly ramped up the pace (along with Alli Cash of Asics) in the latter-half of the battle and when it looked like Galvydyte had the slim edge in the final straightaway, Asekol was able to do just enough to get the tie.
I am in complete awe of Galvydyte. This is someone who came to Oklahoma State as a 400 meter hurdler, having never raced anything longer than 1000 meters according to World Athletics.
But last winter, Galvydyte proved to be a very strong 800 meter runner, showing a promising rise on the indoor oval before running an incredible mark of 2:01 to finish 3rd at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
And after earning an encouraging top-80 finish at the cross country national meet a few weeks ago, Galvydyte has now taken advantage of her aerobic base to throw down a monster time of 4:32 in her first-ever mile effort.
Although, she had run the 1500 meters once last spring in a time of 4:19.
However, what impressed me the most about Galvydyte is how strong she looked. She seemed to be in such great command of her fitness, showing off a powerful stride and an ability to ramp up the pace at will. In the most crucial moments of that race, she showed a stunning amount of confidence despite her inexperience in the event.
As for Asekol, her end to the 2022 cross country season was a good one, finishing 14th at the NCAA XC Championships. And although she had such great success over the 6k on the grass, this Alabama star has proven that she can be (almost) as good in the 1500 meters, owning a personal best of 4:12.
Last year felt like a learning experience for Asekol who seemingly relied on her talent rather than her tactics to advance throughout last spring.
But on Saturday, Asekol looked like a much more refined runner while still maintaining that same relentlessness that we saw from her on the outdoor oval. She was patient, but wasn't afraid to respond to surges and she made her final move at (almost) the right time.
And now, a 4:32 mile mark now puts her in the All-American conversation.
Do I still want to see Asekol go after the 3k and 5k this season? Yes, I do. I actually believe that the 3k could be her best event. She has been outstanding during cross country, but also has the turnover (as shown by her recent mile effort) to become a lethal talent over 3000 meters.
Either way, you gotta respect the trajectory that this Crimson Tide ace is following.
We'll wrap up today's analysis with Carley Thomas, the Washington middle distance runner who rallied throughout last year after previously breaking her femur during COVID. Her comeback campaign was brilliant and we saw how dangerous she could be when she had momentum.
Thomas hung tough with the honest pace that we saw in the second-half of this mile effort, but she is simply better suited for the 800 meters. Either way, a 4:36 mile PR has to give her tons of confidence about how she can approach certain half-mile races in the near future.