First Thoughts: D1 NCAA Indoor Championships (Day Two)

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Well how about that?

The women's mile finals were extremely interesting to me. There were a handful of unique storylines and narratives surrounding a handful of the top women in this field. However, what was even more interesting was how certain runners opted to approach their race tactics.

I'm not entirely sure why Amina Maatoug led from the front and tried to establish the pace entirely on her own. Sure, that's far easier for me to say in retrospect, but the Duke star would have been just as good as anyone else if she had sat back and had taken a more tactical approach. She had better turnover than most of the women in that field.

With 400 meters to go, despite being the title favorite coming into this race, the Blue Devil distance standout began to fade, likely a consequence of leading an honest pace at altitude.

I also didn't expect Illinois' Olivia Howell to be the one to follow Maatoug for most of the race. The BIG 10 star is typically more conservative in her race tactics and doesn't necessarily have a lengthy history of being at the front early-on in these kinds of fields.

But just because we didn't expect it to happen doesn't mean that Howell wasn't fit enough to do it. When Maatoug faltered, Howell looked just as good as anyone else while Gregory bridged the gap between the Illinois veteran and the rest of the field.

Gregory yet again put together a masterclass showing. She was brilliant. The Razorback veteran was perfectly patient, waited to strike, conserved energy and just did all of the small things right.

When Gregory got around Howell on the final turn, I was convinced that the Razorback star was going to win her first national title. But what I don't think most people were expecting was for Howell to have another gear off of the turn. She used the momentum of that final curve to swing past Gregory in the last few meters, effectively giving the second-to-last seed in this mile field a national title.

As a fan of the sport, this was a challenging race to watch.

Both of these women absolutely deserved NCAA gold. Throughout their careers, they've been consistent, have done well on championship stages and have amassed plenty of accolades.

Howell ran the best race. It's as simple as that. She just made one more right move than Gregory did. The Illinois star pulled off a massive upset victory and can now leave this era of collegiate distance running as a national champion. And in a string of years that include Katelyn Tuohy, Parker Valby, the Alabama women and Lauren Gregory, that's pretty darn impressive.

At the same time, you can't help but feel for Gregory.

She was just so ridiculously good this weekend despite (apparently) battling a minor foot injury. The elder Arkansas distance star has been so consistent and so valuable for so long...it's hard to properly emphasize how incredible her collegiate career has been.

But with only one more year of outdoor track eligibility remaining, Gregory is now facing the very realistic possibility of being the greatest (or one of the greatest) collegiate distance runner to never win a national title.

Although for now, let's talk about the rest of this field...

Flomena Asekol finished 3rd place overall by taking almost exactly the same approach that we saw from her in the prelims -- just sit in the pack, wait out the race and move up when needed.

The Alabama runner was far from the most exciting woman in the field, but that hardly matters when you earn a bronze medal. And although we did see Asekol make a clear jump up in her fitness this winter, becoming far more refined in the process, I didn't at all expect her to finish 3rd overall in this race.

I also didn't expect Virginia's Margot Appleton to finish 4th place overall! Not only was this her first appearance on the national stage (for track) as an individual, but this was also her first race at altitude according to TFRRS!

And yet, despite all of that, the Virginia star executed a perfect race plan. She was at the absolute very end of this field through the first lap or two. But over the entirety of the race, Appleton climbed up to the leaders, giving herself a ton of momentum heading into the final few laps.

Just fantastic racing from someone who looked like a true veteran.

As for Maia Ramsden, a 5th place finish is hardly a poor performance. Frankly, that's actually a great result given how much she struggled in the prelims on Friday night. But it's also fair to say that this Harvard ace was viewed as a national title favorite, especially when you look at the entirety of her resume this winter.

But from an outsider's perspective, the altitude may have played a role in how Ramsden responded to certain moves (which, again, is just speculation). It was clear that the Crimson ace couldn't quite respond to all of the shifting of bodies around her, but she put her head down and ran through it anyways -- and I think that deserves major respect.

As for the rest of this field, the Oregon women were just never in the race. Izzy Thornton-Bott tried to climb up the pack, but she just never got any sustainable momentum.

Lindsey Butler, meanwhile, just had a bad day. Sure, maybe inexperience within this event played some type of role, but a 4:31 miler doesn't falter like that just because she's run this distance only "x" times before.

I imagine she'll be back on the outdoor oval ready to return to the 800 meters.

Finally, Annika Reiss snags the final All-American spot in 8th place -- maybe those excellent altitude-based mile races from earlier this year really did pay off...

Michaela Rose, Roisin Willis and Juliette Whittaker were viewed as the title favorites going into Friday and Saturday. And to no one's surprise, they all looked like legitimate contenders for 800 meter gold this weekend.

After Rose took on an aggressive front-running approach in her prelim race, she seemingly let the Stanford rookie duo of Willis and Whittaker go to front and lead for the first 200 meters in the finals. But one lap was all that the LSU star was willing to let the Cardinal women have.

On the second lap, specifically on the back straightaway, Rose took over with a commanding lead and began to push the pace just like she had the day before. With both Willis and Whittaker giving chase, the rest of the field was essentially left in the dust.

For a moment, it looked like Rose maybe had an edge and a chance to win it all. But on the last curve, it was clear that Willis and Whittaker were going to time their final moves perfectly. The Stanford freshmen swung off the curve, passing a fading Michaela Rose and ultimately going 1-2.

Oh, and their times?

1:59.94 (800) for Roisin Willis and 2:00.05 (800) for Juliette Whittaker...at altitude.

I don't know if I've ever seen a rookie duo in the middle or long distances that have been this special before. Sure, we've seen Athing Mu emerge as a national-caliber star as a rookie and it's the same with a handful of other women.

But have two true freshmen on the same team ever had this kind of impact before?

I can't imagine a scenario where they have.

But it's not just that Willis and Whittaker went 1-2 in this race -- it's a collection of every little thing that built up to this moment.

It's one thing to have one rookie megastar. But two? That's EXTREMELY rare. Not only that, but to have these two women be so inexperienced, racing at altitude, toeing the line for their third race of the weekend AND running as fast as they did with such poise and composure...I just don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like this duo.

As for Rose, it was a valiant effort, and she stuck to the same game plan that we had seen from her all season long. That said, I can't help but wonder if waiting until 400 meters to go would have been a better time for her to make her big push.

I can appreciate that Rose waited until 550ish meters in to take over, clearly learning from her prelim race the day before, but in an all-out battle with two women who are just as aerobically talented, going that early still seemed like a risk.

Regardless, Rose has an argument to be viewed as the winner of TSR's "most improved" honor in our 2023 End of Season Awards coming up soon. She just ran 2:00.85 for 800 meters at altitude and that would usually win you the national title during most years.

Let's move to everyone else...

Yet again, Claire Seymour continues to come up in the clutch. Her last few performances in late February clearly gave her momentum going into the NCAA Indoor Championships. But truthfully, those results only mattered if she ended up delivering on the national stage.

And with a 4th place result in one of the fastest 800 meter finals that we've ever seen...I just don't know how she does it. She was completely out of All-American consideration for most of the season, but somehow flipped a switch out of nowhere.

Sure, Seymour has had a history of peaking in the postseason, but this was her best job yet.

Sarah Hendrick should probably be happy, although maybe not satisfied, with a 5th place finish. She took a more conservative approach in this race and simply followed the field in front of her. That decision ultimately landed her a mid-pack All-American spot.

Despite my claims that Hendrick needed to improve her tactics this year (which she did), this race may have actually played more favorably into her past tendencies to get out hard and set an aggressive pace.

Am I unfairly moving the goal posts for Hendrick? Sure, maybe a bit, but regardless, she had a really nice season and I would argue that it rivaled the success we saw from her last spring.

As for Tobias, Nielsen and Rynda, a trio that finished 6-7-8, there isn't much to say here. They're all talented, but when you look at the women who finished ahead of them, you just have to shrug. This final All-American order was plenty realistic.

Can we just kinda skip over the whole Katelyn Tuohy thing?

I just don't know what more we could possibly say.

She ran this race exactly how we thought she would and she won gold with complete ease. The NC State icon is the best of the best and she has a very real chance of becoming the D1 distance running G.O.A.T. by simply staying in the NCAA for long enough.

And with an Adidas NIL deal secured, that seems possible...

When it comes to chatting about everyone else, this race was super straightforward...or at the very least, it was wildly predictable. That's why I'm going to keep this section relatively short.

The Alabama women ensured that their presence was felt in that lead group. They didn't exactly stay there the entire way, but they had a clear role in this race.

Taylor Roe started way back at the end of the pack, but then slowly climbed her towards Tuohy and the lead group during those final few laps.

Olivia Markezich led this race for a good amount of time (slightly surprising) and was in jeopardy of falling out of All-American contention with two laps to go (slightly surprising) before throwing down an excellent kick to barely snag silver (not super surprising).

Did I think that the Crimson Tide women would end up having a greater impact? Yes, I did.

But was any other result a shocker to you? Personally, no, I don't think so.

Sure, Amina Maatoug finished 14th overall, but trying to come back from a mile final where she went all-out and struggled a bit makes this 3k result understandable.

Also, Maia Ramsden placing 8th in this 3k final after a hard-fought All-American result in the mile was super encouraging to see! She end up salvaging a really respectable weekend, joining Katelyn Tuohy, Hilda Olemomoi and Kelsey Chmiel as the only double individual All-Americans from this past weekend.

Finally, how about Simone Plourde? The Utah ace began to pick up some major momentum in the latter-half of the season and she truly delivered on her potential. A 4th place finish in this kind of field validates her 8:53 (3k) mark from a weeks ago in a big way.

It also didn't hurt that she's an altitude-based runner who was racing at 5000 feet of elevation.

Trying to talk about the nuances of this race before the last two laps doesn't seem to make much sense. All you need to know is that Elliott Cook led a fairly modest pace through the first few laps before the Washington men surged from the back to take over going into the second-half of the race.

Nathan Green and Anass Essayi stayed a bit further back in the pack until they came through 1200 meters. From there, they began to move up to put themselves into a proper position going into the final lap. The same could be said for Isaac Basten who was working to put himself in the perfect spot for his always-lethal kick.

For most of the second-half of the race, it was Luke Houser taking control at the front -- and it stayed that way through the very end.

In a mad dash over the final 200 meters, it was all of the main contenders gunning for the win -- Anass Essayi, Isaac Basten and the Washington men (minus Brian Fay). But no one could get around Houser who simply held a perfect spot in terms of fending off kicks. He even stopped teammate Joe Waskom from getting ahead, a move/decision that likely saved Houser's title hopes.

On the final straight, Houser was in the lead, taking up most of the space in lane one while maintaining a multi-stride lead on the ensuing pack that wasn't making up enough ground in those final 50 meters...except for one runner.

Isaac Basten, who has been known as a mile and 1500 meter tactical star with a lethal kick, put in a massive surge of speed on the inside rail, BARELY missing out on the win which Houser thought he had earned somewhat clearly.

But in reality, the Washington star only secured gold by 0.03 seconds.

In a race where the Huskies had four men in the finals, and Thomas Vanoppen was scratched due to an injury, it felt almost inevitable that the mile national champion was going to be from Washington. There were simply too many ways for the Huskies to navigate around the field while blocking any opposing moves.

It also helped that they had all run 3:52 in the mile (or 3:51 for Waskom) this winter...

As for Basten, you gotta give him credit. He is willing to be patient, but also bold, with his finishing moves. He is always going to be in contention at the very end of these races and he has gotten within reasonable reach of winning a national title now more than once (sorta).

I don't really know what more he could do tactically other than literally time his kick better than anyone in NCAA history ever has.

And then we have Anass Essayi who finished in 3rd place overall.

The South Carolina superstar was viewed by many as the national title favorite in this race. If you weren't picking Joe Waskom, then you were picking the guy who had run 3:50 (mile) and 7:41 (3k) throughout these winter months.

But the tactical nature of this mile final, which forced the Moroccan star to jump to the outside of the main pack a couple of times, made it difficult for him to get into an ideal position over the final lap. He ran well, but surprisingly, his finishing speed wasn't that much better (or worse) than anyone else in the field.

There's not a whole lot to talk about when it comes to Conor Murphy and Elliott Cook. They had great seasons, but they weren't quite as tactically refined (yet) as the top-five guys in this field. Still, they were rewarded with All-American honors that they absolutely deserved.

Yep, this is going to be a fun one to chat about.

I'm still not totally sure how I feel about Clemson's Tarees Rhoden taking this race out as insanely quick as he did.

Going through the first 200 meters in 24.01 seconds at altitude is a bit bold and the Tiger standout basically maintained that hot pace on the second lap despite the clearly-more-talented Navasky Anderson taking over just 300 meters in.

Rhoden is the reason why this race was so fast, but at what cost to himself? Is there another race approach that could have allowed him to yield a better result?

At the same time, I can't help but commend Rhoden for making this race exciting. Heck, he makes most of his half-mile races exciting! And for him to still hang on for a 4th place finish (he was initially in 5th place before a DQ) is actually super impressive.

But Rhoden is just the guy who ultimately set the stage for the actual showdown.

Mississippi State's Navasky Anderson, a half-mile superstar from last spring, charged past Tarees Rhoden on the second lap, coming through 400 meters in an insane split of 50.55. And throughout the next lap-and-a-half, Anderson maintained a fairly decent lead.

Of course, slowly but surely, the Texas duo of Yusuf Bizimana and Crayton Carrozza, two national title favorites in their own right, began closing down the gap. And by the time they reached the final curve, it was clear that Anderson was just trying to muscle his way through the line while the Longhorns were leaning heavily on their last-second speed.

In the final straightaway, Bizimana was closing fast on Anderson, but the finish line was rapidly approaching and there was only so much time to respond to the challenge. As a result, in literally the final 10 meters of the race, Anderson drifted into Bizimana's lane and cut-off any further advancement that the Texas star was going to make.

As Bizimana fell through the line and Anderson attempted to stay on his feet, the Mississippi State runner had (initially) won gold. But when a yellow penalty flag went up, it was immediately apparent that Anderson was going to be facing a possible disqualification.

And after some waiting, that was the case.

Navasky Anderson was DQ'd.

Yusuf Bizimana was a national champion.

Let's be clear: As much as I like Navasky Anderson (I had him winning the national title), there's no doubt in my mind that he committed a foul. The rules are very transparent. You simply can't stop any runner's progress and clearly established path with any part of your body.

And that is exactly what happened.

Yes, Anderson did have a stride or two on Bizimana, leaving some open space next to Anderson's right shoulder. And yes, Anderson never significantly touched Bizimana in any notable way (that I could see).

But at the end of the day, that doesn't matter.

Bizimana couldn't advance because of Anderson. And because of that, the initial national champion was eventually disqualified.

But let's move off of the craziness and actually appreciate what the Texas men just did.

A 1-2 finish in the men's 800 meters felt like a massive statement. Both Bizimana and Carrozza had previously been All-American contenders over the last few years, but it also felt like they had stepped up their fitness to a new level this winter.

And when you saw how they raced on Saturday night, it was undeniable that both of these Longhorn stars are just flat-out the best that they've ever been. They are clearly stronger, are able to utilize their turnover/speed far more easily and they are tactically excellent.

Oh, and the best part?

They are both set to return next year.

Let's also talk about Penn State's Handal Roban, a guy who was listed at NCAA #16 on the national leaderboard coming into this weekend.

The Nittany Lion rookie (by eligibility) showed promise early-on in the season, running a huge 1:47 (800) mark on his home track. And although that was a great time, it was clear that he was an underdog when it came to All-American contention.

Following a pair of strong 800 meter results in mid-to-late February, Roban went into the 800 meter prelims this past weekend as someone who I did not expect to advance to the finals. That, of course, wasn't the case. Roban perfectly gauged himself in a very fast heat to secure the last at-large qualifier to the finals.

But surely he wouldn't be able to do that, or even better that effort, in the finals...right?

Wrong.

In a race that was extremely fast and loaded with multiple national title favorites, it was Roban who ran with incredible composure. He quietly moved up throughout the field (initially sitting at the back), wasn't afraid to follow the Texas men and just had the slightest bit of strength in the final moments of the race to get past Rhoden.

And when it was all said and done, Roban secured bronze at his first-ever national meet.

I think it's safe to say that this rising Penn State middle distance talent may have peaked better than almost anyone else in the distance events this season (with the possible exception of Luke Houser).

As for the rest of the field, they just couldn't keep up with the top-heaviness that we saw from the top-five (and eventually, top-four) finishers. Will Sumner, a true freshman, was the only guy who truly had an "off" day. Sam Austin (5th) and Baylor Franklin (6th) at least hung on to run 1:48 in the 800 meter finals.

Did this race have an exciting finish?

Yes.

Were any major surprises or a ton of significant changes that happened during the race?

No, not really.

Montana State's Duncan Hamilton led this race for nearly six-and-a-half minutes. And behind him, nothing really changed. Through 2400 meters, top contenders such as Drew Bosley, Dylan Jacobs, Casey Clinger, Jackson Sharp, Fouad Messaoudi, Ryan Schoppe and Alex Maier simply sat behind the steeplechase star, waiting for someone to make their move.

And with 600 meters to go, that big move came from Drew Bosley who overtook Hamilton and began pressing the pace even harder.

In retrospect, that was probably a very smart decision for an aerobic-centric guy like Bosley. He likely knew that he didn't have the same speed-based kick that a few others do, meaning that he probably wanted to start surging a bit further out to take that kick out of the men behind him.

But one of the more pleasant surprises was seeing Wisconsin's Jackson Sharp, one of the last seeds in this 3k field, move up to the front over the final few laps, battling with Bosley. And very quietly, tucked on the inside rail behind Bosley's left shoulder, was Fouad Messaoudi.

On the final lap, Bosley initially got some separation, but Messaoudi and Sharp were rapidly responding. And by the end of the last curve, it was obvious what was going to happen. Messaoudi, the Oklahoma State star, perfectly timed his final move and strided past Bosley in the final moments of the race.

Fouad Messaoudi is your new 3k national champion.

I do have a lot of thoughts on a handful of different guys from this race, but I only have a few items to say about each. Let's employ a bullet point-style list to wrap up this analysis.