First Thoughts: Duke & Stanford's DMR, Plourde's Huge 3k Victory & Hart Goes 13:29 (5k)

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It's Saturday morning.

And as I'm crafting this article, there are almost certainly going to be some insanely great performances today that will require TSR's attention and analysis. But for the sake of time and uniformity, today's First Thoughts article will review the results that came through on Thursday and Friday night.

So with that, let's begin...

I have so many good things to say about this race. I don't even know where to start.

Dalia Frias is a freshman star who has become increasingly more valuable for the Blue Devils throughout this year. Putting her on the lead-off leg seemed like the obvious move, but it was also unclear exactly what kind of position she would put the rest of this Duke lineup in.

But the only thing that this California rookie had to do was not blow up. She just needed to do her job and get the baton to her 400 meter leg within reasonable striking distance of the leaders. And with a 3:22 (1200) split in 4th place, Frias did exactly that.

However, the real heroes of this Duke DMR were their middle-lineup legs, Megan McGinnis (400) and Lauren Tolbert (800). With splits of 52.28 and 2:04, respectively, that middle distance duo essentially covered the entire gap between them and the leaders (which, in this case, was Notre Dame).

Yes, Olivia Markezich is a star who had a somewhat realistic chance of fending off Duke anchor Amina Maatoug for the win. But in that scenario, it was clear that the Blue Devil superstar was going to be favored to take home the win.

Sure enough, that's what happened as Maatoug silently kept her foot on the gas and continued to click off splits that eventually required turnover from Markezich that she simply didn't have. And by the last lap, the Dutch miler crossed the line in an incredible overall relay time of 10:49.

I am so impressed by the Blue Devils. They had a very realistic shot of qualifying for the indoor national meet, but a lot of things had to go right if they were going to run this fast. Sure, it helps that Maatoug split 4:29 on the anchor leg, but this is also a VERY young relay. It would have been very easy for any of these women to crumble under the pressure -- but they didn't.

And now, they're going to the NCAA Indoor Championships.

So what does Maatoug run at the national meet then? She's probably favored in the mile assuming Tuohy doesn't contest the event, but then should would have to double back for the DMR after the prelims, run the mile finals the next day and then triple back for the 3k.

Logistically, it makes more sense for Maatoug to run the DMR/3k double, but her best event and her best chance at NCAA gold likely comes in the mile.

So who knows what happens...

We also have to acknowledge what Katelyn Tuohy did. That NC State DMR was essentially out of this race entirely when she got the baton. They were basically non-factors. But by the end of the race, I had to tilt my head and ask myself, "Is...she going to catch Maatoug?"

No, Tuohy didn't catch Maatoug, but a 4:23 split is INSANE.

FOUR. TWENTY. THREE.

I cannot begin to put into words how impressive that is. I don't even know what to say about her anymore. The level of composure and strength that she has shown this year is just mind-boggling. A collegiate who is 20 years old shouldn't be this poised and this strong.

There is not a ton to talk about with the Stanford women despite putting together an incredible DMR effort on Friday night. The Cardinal women put together a top-tier relay once more, but were pushed by no one as they basically soloed the race.

 After watching the race and trying to examine the times, I was able to get a few (very) unofficial splits for the following women...

No one should be surprised by those splits. On paper, all of those women were capable of running that fast. But to have all of those women run that fast on the same day is obviously a different story, especially when you realize that they were running all alone.

But Tanaka on the opening leg feels like it makes much more sense. She recently ran a pair of personal bests in 800 (2:05) and the mile (4:37) in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. In theory, a distance like the 1200 meters is an ideal spot for her. And given that the opening leg is always a bit more tactical than the anchor, someone with Tanaka's experience should thrive in that kind of role.

Gosh, it's hard not to be a big fan of Simone Plourde right now.

What she has done this winter, and since the fall, has been so impressive. Her growth as a runner, both fitness-wise and tactically, has taken a leap upwards that is pretty rare.

We knew after the 2022 cross country season that Plourde could eventually be a true NCAA distance star. And after running 8:57 (3k) earlier this season, I thought, "Huh, she may be ahead of schedule."

But what I didn't anticipate was Plourde running an incredible time of 8:53 over 3000 meters this past weekend. In that race, she took down a slew of established distance standouts, including Sadie Sargent (8:57), Lexy Halladay-Lowry (8:57), Ella Baran (8:57), Grace Fetherstonhaugh (8:58) and teammate Emily Venters (8:58).

This race saw a lot of movement. Whittni Morgan was the main star of the show at the front of the pack while it felt like a slew of collegiates exchanged spots through 70% of the race. But through all of that madness, it was Plourde keeping herself at the front the field and not making any excessive moves that she didn't have to.

That turned out to be a great decision. In the final few moments of the race, the rising Utah star overtook Whittni Orton Morgan. And a short time later, the Adidas pro dropped out despite there being less than a minute left in that race (which may have been intentional).

And when she did step off the track, the gap between Plourde and the rest of the field was striking. Frankly, I didn't realize how far ahead she was!

What I love about this result for Plourde was that it's not just an 8:56 or 8:57 mark that will barely allow her to sneak into the national meet. An 8:53 PR over 3000 meters is a convincing result that makes me wonder if she can realistically challenge for All-American honors.

Not only that, but this is someone who has run 4:36 in the mile before -- and that was before the breakout year that she's currently having! The turnover is absolutely there for Plourde to be competitive in a tactical setting, making her a high-upside pick for the indoor national meet in a little over two weeks time.

But here's the craziest part -- only one of the women who finished behind Plourde in this race are (at the moment) expected to qualify for the indoor national meet over 3000 meters. In this case, that runner is Sadie Sargent who, as we just mentioned, ran 8:57.

And despite four other women running 8:57 or 8:58, Plourde's time now moves Taylor Roe's mark of 8:56 into the NCAA #15 spot and Sargent to NCAA #16 on the national leaderboard. You may think I'm miscounting when you look at the national leaderboard yourself, but it's important to remember that Amaris Tyynismaa won't be running at the national meet this year.

And if you go down the list, it doesn't look like anyone is going to be scratching out of this event. So by the time I publish this article, there's a good chance that Sargent, and dare I say Roe, won't even be locks to qualify for the national meet over 3000 meters.

What an absurd sentence.

This past cross country season was a big one for Devin Hart.

The rising Stanford talent had shown glimpses of promise in the past, but truly emerged as a legitimate, high-value scorer on the grass in the fall. The Cardinal runner placed 13th at Nuttycombe and 10th at the PAC-12 XC Championships.

However, the one knock against Hart is that historically, he hasn't been super consistent over the entirety of a single season. He's no stranger to running fast times, but maintaining those kinds of marks and finishes throughout a three-month span has been a challenge for this Palo Alto-based runner...except for this winter.

Not only has Hart put together a complete season of performances over the last few months, but he also seems to be peaking at the right time. He's run 7:51 (3k), 7:52 (3k), 13:33 (5k) and most recently, 13:29 (5k). There's not a single bad result in that string of races.

But what impressed me the most about Hart was how he ran Friday night's race. The men's 5k in Seattle was expected to be dictated by the BYU men -- and for a while, it was.

Casey Clinger paced fellow teammates Brandon Garnica and Joey Nokes for a good portion of this 5k effort. However, Nokes eventually fell off the pace and Clinger was eventually relieved of his pacing duties.

This, in turn, left Garnica to do some work of his own. And while he did open up a small gap on the rest of the field, it was Devin Hart who quietly positioned himself to cover the gaps. And over time, the Cardinal veteran chipped away at the lead, using Garnica as bait to capture momentum and eventually overtake him.

And when he did, Hart was clearly going to win this race. He pulled away, established a gap and hammered home a strong 5k PR of 13:29. That was one of the best races from start to finish that I've ever seen Hart run.

With a time of 13:29.31, the Stanford athlete now sits at NCAA #18 on the national leaderboard. That means that Hart needs two athletes ahead of him to scratch out of the 5k if he wants to qualify for the national meet. That, of course, is assuming that no one else will run any faster in the 5k this weekend (which, at this point, seems somewhat safe to assume).

Admittedly, it's a bit hard to see why any of the athletes ranked ahead of Hart over 5000 meters would scratch from this event. Yes, certain guys like Jacobs, Bosley, Fay and/or Gilman could scratch the event to be fresh for the 3k. But that doesn't seem guaranteed to happen at all.

However, Isai Rodriguez hasn't raced since December and he's not entered in any event at the BIG 12 Indoor Championships this weekend. All signs point to him being finished for the season, but that is strictly speculation and not anything that I have confirmed.

This leaves Hart with one name who he has to hope will scratch.

And at this point, it's anyone's guess as to whether or not that dream will come true.

On paper, Ruby Smee is a really strong distance runner. At yet, at the same time, she doesn't have a resume that is going to standout like it will for a few of her fellow west coast rivals.

She's nationally competitive, but she doesn't own a truly elite time. She can hold her own in both the 5k and the 3k, but she doesn't have a ton of range. She's one of the more veteran runners in the NCAA, but she's only been to one national meet on the track.

And yet, none of that matters.

Because few women in the entire nation are more consistent and more reliable than Smee is. Here's a fun fact: In the six races that Smee has toed the line for this season, she has never finished outside of the top-three. And keep in mind that she's contested the mile, the DMR, the 3k and the 5k.

Sure, some fields are more competitive than others, but Smee has also earned new personal bests of 4:47 (mile) and 9:04 (3k) this winter. And while her recent 15:38 (5k) win in Seattle wasn't a personal best, it was only two seconds off from her PR.

In terms of the actual race, there isn't a whole lot to talk about. Professional runner Courtney Wayment (who represents On) acted as the pacer for most of the race before stepping off -- and she did a nice job. Behind her, we saw Smee try to navigate through a sea of Stanford, BYU and Washington runners.

When Wayment began to get separation, Smee was the only one willing to try and close the gap. And by the final lap, it was clear that the San Francisco runner was just the best collegiate distance talent in the field.

With a time of 15:38 over 5000 meters, Smee now sits at NCAA #14 on the national leaderboard. And unless three women at the Ivy League Indoor Championships decide to have the race of their lives, this west coast ace is going to qualify for the national meet.