First Thoughts: Cook & Galvydyte Earn Quick Mile Wins, Matsatsa Makes Collegiate Debut (Part Two)

Hello, friends! Welcome back to the site and our post-Boston U. coverage. If you haven't already, be sure to read up on Part One of our weekend analysis for a few talking points on the men's and women's 5k and 3k races.

You can also watch our post-race video interviews with all of the major stars from yesterday on our POST-RACE INTERVIEWS page.

Oh, and while you're at it, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube page! Alright, let's jump into all of the other action that took place on Saturday...

Going into this weekend, my thought process was the following: Elliott Cook is an established middle distance standout who was much better on the grass this past fall than we were expecting him to be. In fact, he even qualified for the NCAA XC Championships, individually!

So when you place an already-nationally competitive miler in a time trial scenario with more aerobic-based strength, I figured that you would get a pretty fast time. As such, I gave Cook a prediction that he would run 3:56 in the mile.

And even THAT was too conservative.

A 3:55 mile effort (which was 0.16 off of his PR) was huge for Cook who was relentless in this race. He was incredibly patient and worked his way up the field while Sam Ellis controlled the race for much of the latter-half. But even when Ellis had a gap and was trying to pull away, Cook simply wouldn't let off the gas, chasing the former Washington runner to the line.

And although he didn't get the win, Cook did produce a result that certainly caught my attention.

With a second 3:55 mark now on his resume heading into winter break, Cook has to feel pretty good about his national qualifying chances. And even if he ends up as a backend seed outside of the top-eight, I'm not sure there is a whole lot to dislike about him. He has tremendous range, is clearly in the prime of his fitness, proved to be relentless against top competition and has a valuable year of championship experience under his belt.

Not far behind Cook was Cal Poly standout Aidan McCarthy, the Mustang star who ran 3:56 in the mile, just as I had predicted. He was outstanding in the final stages of this race, taking over the chase pack with 300 meters to go and truly pushing to catch Ellis. Without McCarthy, I'm not sure that Cook is able to find enough momentum to get as close to the win as he did.

Trying to figure out what McCarthy is going to run on the national stage this winter isn't as straightforward as one would think. He is arguably at his best over 800 meters, but he has always been an excellent miler and his speed could help him in more tactical settings.

Plus, with standout miler Davis Bove now on this roster, and sophomore Carson Smith just running 3:59 in the same mile race, the Mustangs could end up putting together a very strong DMR. And if they do, then the mile/DMR double is far more realistic for McCarthy.

Regardless, I liked how McCarthy attacked this race, even if it didn't end with him being the top collegiate. It felt like he was a major reason why that chase pack ended up being faster than expected.

Speaking of faster than expected, Boston University's Parker Schneider was incredible! The Terrier ace just ran a 3:56 mile PR, opting to be a bit more aggressive in the early stages of this race and somehow hanging on for an excellent time.

I'll admit, I didn't at all expect Schneider to run that fast. Sure, he had a few decent performances here and there, but personal bests of 4:04 (mile) and 3:43 (1500), as well as a "just okay" cross country season, didn't at all suggest that he could run 3:56!

As impressive as that race was, we still need to wait and see what Schneider does throughout the rest of this season in order to truly gauge his talent. Offering any kind of analysis now would be nearly impossible given that he has made a leap far beyond what the rest of his results had previously shown.

Nonetheless, Schneider has now primed himself as a legitimate favorite for a Patriot League title. And given that his home track is at Boston U., you have to imagine that he'll be in a handful of quick races over the next few months.

We already briefly mentioned Carson Smith, but we should reiterate how impressive a 3:59 mile PR is for this sophomore. Much like Schneider, he had strong credentials, but this was certainly a deviation from his resume (in a good way).

The rise of Smith will likely be massive in terms of the personnel that Cal Poly can field for a DMR -- something that largely shouldn't be a surprise given that Ryan Vanhoy is their coach. Yet again, he has put together (and developed) a group of middle distance talents who can't collectively be matched by most teams.

Also, shoutout to Bennett Booth-Genthe. The Pomona-Pitzer veteran just ran 4:00 in the mile, an excellent time for the Division Three level. The Sagehen ace is one of the more dynamic and experienced middle distance talents in the NCAA. And with both Alex Phillip and Ryan Wilson now out of Division Three, you could make an argument that Booth-Genthe deserves to be our TSR #1 runner in our preseason D3 indoor track rankings (but I'll let Kevin, Conor and Gavin decide that).

I'd love to go in-depth and offer some kind of analysis on Gabija Galvydyte's 4:33 mile victory, but there isn't a whole lot to discuss. The Oklahoma State star ran 4:32 in this same event at this same meet last year and her cross country season (while limited) suggested that she was as fit as ever, at least aerobically.

By simply following the rabbit, something that only Gladys Chepngetich (Clemson) also opted to do, Galvydyte outran her ACC opponent for a three-second win over a field of women who, frankly, just weren't as established as this Cowgirl runner was.

Moving forward, the biggest thing that we'll be looking to see out of Galvydyte is consistently racing at this level throughout the rest of the winter months. Last year, this Lithuanian star had a strong indoor track campaign, but it wasn't up to par with her season opening effort.

Galvydyte ended up having an outstanding season on the outdoor oval, showcasing her true potential in the middle distances. If she is able to keep this up for the next three-plus months, then don't be surprised if this Oklahoma State talent finds herself in the top-five of our rankings.

Behind Galvydyte was a long list of women who ended up breaking the 4:40 mile barrier, many of whom ran 4:37. However, the only other woman to go under 4:37 was superstar rookie Sophia Gorriaran of Harvard.

The middle distance freshman sat in a large chase pack for most of the race and didn't really play much of a role until the final 400-ish meters. But when it was time to go, Gorriaran was brilliant, aggressively going to the front of the chase pack, a group which she led en route to a new personal best of 4:36.

Of all the women in this race, it was the true freshman who maybe ran the smartest -- but that shouldn't necessarily be a huge surprise. After all, Gorriaran was one of the more accomplished high school middle distance stars ever and had even competed at the 2021 Olympic Trials over 800 meters.

And, ya know, she attends Harvard. It's only natural that she ran a smart race.

But in all seriousness, this was a great first effort of the season for Gorriaran. She took advantage of her cross country base in an event that is on the longer end of what she usually competes in. The Harvard rookie earned valuable experience against nationally competitive women and will likely begin to drop down in distance to her primary event, the 800 meters.

The 3rd place finisher was the aforementioned Gladys Chepngetich who ran 4:37. And all things considered, that's a pretty strong result! The Clemson rookie seemed to hit the wall pretty hard with 300 meters to go, so the fact that she held on for bronze with a mob of accomplished milers chasing after her is fairly impressive.

I said this in our meet preview, but I would have thought that this Tiger talent would be better suited for the 3k or 5k given her aerobic base from cross country. That said, I don't really mind that she was a bit more aggressive and ran with Galvydyte. Given her perceived skillset (which we're still learning more about), seeing Chepngetich take advantage of her strength rather than her late-race speed seemed to work out for the most part.

As for everyone else, the contingent of Klaudia Kazimierska (Oregon), Elise Thorner (Florida), Lauren Freeland (Michigan State) and Sivan Auerbach (Oklahoma State) all rushed to the line with 4:37 mile marks. Behind them was Grace Boone (Oklahoma State) who ran 4:39.

For Kazmierska, this is a solid effort, but we know that she is capable of so much more. She had a great year on the track last winter and spring over the 1500 meter and mile distances. This isn't a shockingly great race for her, but it's a nice way to shake off the rust.

Thorner has to feel pretty good about this effort. Her cross country season wasn't quite as exciting as we had hoped it would be, but a 4:37 mile PR has to give her confidence.

Freeland was due for a time like this and the same could be said for Auerbach as well as Grace Boone, someone who we knew was better than her previous marks.

One of the most valuable recruits in the entire nation from the Class of 2023 was Tinoda Matsatsa, a Maryland native with electric personal bests of 1:47 (800) and 3:58 (mile). And when he signed with Georgetown, it felt like the perfect marriage between Matsatsa's skillset and the Hoyas' middle distance ethos (as well as their proximity to each other).

On Saturday, the Georgetown freshman made his collegiate debut, running 1:49 over 800 meters to fend off the field for a wire-to-wire win. That wasn't too surprising given that the freshman was the most accomplished and most talented middle distance runner in that field, but it was still a strong front-running effort, nonetheless.

And no, I don't think it truly told us anything new about him.

Nice race by former Lehigh runner and current Northeastern runner, Kerem Ayhan. Him and Rhode Island veteran Collin Ochs seemingly had a strong understandings of how this race was going to play out and they responded fairly well. They let Matsatsa establish a gap a little before 400 meters to go, and then slowly began chipping away at that lead before finishing just a few steps behind them.

If those two men get into a fast enough race and maintain that same level of composure, they could both have 1:48 (800) marks on their resumes at the end of this season (and Ayhan already has that on the outdoor oval).

With Sophia Gorriaran opting to contest the mile instead of the 800 meters (and also pacing this race through 600 meters), BYU's Meghan Hunter became the clear-cut favorite to win this race on Saturday.

And sure enough, she delivered.

However, I didn't expect to see this Cougar veteran produce a 2:03 (800) mark in December. Yes, she's been a nationally competitive name before, but her outstanding 2:01 half-mile PR from the 2023 outdoor national meet was the only instance where she had EVER dipped under 2:04 for that distance.

And given her less-than-exciting season opener from last year, I didn't think it was unfair to suggest that Hunter would run 2:06 in her 2023 season opener.

But to her credit, Hunter stuck right with Gorriaran during her pacing duties and then attacked the final lap incredibly well. In fact, her final split ended up being (somewhat) on par with her opening two laps.

With a final time of 2:03.54 (800), Hunter should be proud of her achievement, but she also can't settle for that being her best time of the season. Last year, the final automatic national qualifying time in the 800 meters was 2:03.12 and the last time in after scratches was 2:03.20.

Regardless, what this performance did in our eyes was validate the excellent late-season success that Hunter had last spring. Seeing her effectively carry that fitness from the outdoor oval to the indoor oval six-ish months apart is super impressive. Now let's see if she can continuously chip away at that time over the next few months.

Also, nice race for Kaylie Politza (Oklahoma State) who ran a new personal best of 2:06 (800). While I don't necessarily expect her to play a major role on the national landscape, I could see a scenario where she acts as a key piece in Oklahoma State's DMR.