First Thoughts: How Many Different Ways Can We Say That Someone Is Fast? (Part Two)

The women's steeplechase had quite the weekend, earning some of the nation's top marks after a handful of distance talents had already worked their way up the NCAA leaderboard over the last few weeks of this season.

We finally got to see 1500 meter ace Gabrielle Jennings (Furman) toe the line for the steeplechase, a race that some may suggest is her main event. Her improvements in the 1500 meters have been super impressive, so it seems only right that she translated that success to the water pits and barriers. The Furman ace followed a loaded field at the Drake Relays to a new personal best of 9:43.

That's an outstanding time which gives her resume the unique spark that we knew we would eventually see. However, this does make things rather tricky. What event will she pursue in the postseason? She looks outstanding in both the 1500 meters and the steeplechase this year and frankly, it's not like Jennings is so much better in one event than she is the other.

In my mind, the decision of which event she should pursue depends on what her ambitions are. Sage Hurta looks like the very clear and overwhelming favorite to take home the national title in the 1500 meters, something that I think very few people would argue with me about.

However, Jennings could absolutely be the favorite to finish runner-up in that event and with the women's 1500 meters looking a bit wide-open than a few other races, I think her path to a high All-American finish would be better in the metric mile compared to the steeplechase.

On the flip side, I think the steeplechase national title is more realistic for Jennings than the 1500 meters. Joyce Kimeli is the probably the favorite for NCAA gold in the steeplechase right now given her nation-leading time, but it's not like she's the same overwhelming favorite as Hurta is in the 1500 meters. It's very possible that Jennings could be Kimeli.

Conversely, I would also argue that there a handful of women who are on the same level (or close to the same level) as Jennings in the steeplechase such as Hannah Steelman, Madison Boreman, Krissy Gear, Charlotte Prouse and Adva Cohen (depending on the day).

How will she balance those aspects in her postseason decision? Well, your guess is as good as mine.

Speaking of Boreman, it is so encouraging to see her not just running well, but running at the top-tier All-American level that we saw from her a few years ago. The Colorado veteran was the NCAA runner-up in the steeplechase at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships, but then missed (almost) all of 2018 and had some up-and-down cross country performances.

That said, I think one could argue that Boreman was regaining momentum this past winter on the cross country course. She slowly moved her way up the Buffaloes' varsity lineup and emerged as a surprisingly great scorer.

Now, the Colorado veteran is back in the steeplechase, this time running a mark of 9:48 at the Oregon Relays. That time is only two seconds off of her personal best and it signals that her momentum from this past winter was the real deal.

With her experience and past championship accolades, as well as a history of great Colorado steeplechasers behind her, Boremann could end up being a major threat to the rest of her competitors at this distance.

Also, how about New Mexico's Elise Thorner? The redshirt freshman came out of absolutely nowhere, running 9:52 at the Drake Relays. The Lobos already have a dynamite steeplechase duo in Prouse and Cohen, but to have the next generation already behind them is flat-out impressive and a testament to what Coach Franklin is doing in Albuquerque.

How will Thorner fair in the postseason with such little experience? Truthfully, I don't know. Usually, I'm not as high on underclassmen in the postseason given their inexperience. That said, New Mexico is a powerhouse when it comes to the steeplechase, so if any youngster is going to have success in this event come late May / early June, then I think it will be Thorner.

Finally, keep an eye on Rebekah Topham. Few women in the NCAA are as experienced as this Wichita State distance standout in the steeplechase. Some people forget that she was an All-American in this event during the 2019 outdoor track season, placing 8th overall.

Seeing her take home the win this past weekend at the John McDonnell Invitational over Alabama's Leah Hanle, 9:58 to 10:01, is encouraging and a step in the right direction. With a personal best of 9:53, Topham may be able to find herself in the top-eight of this year's national meet once again.

I'm not going to lie, I didn't think Bennett Pascoe was even remotely capable of running time as fast as 8:38 for the steeplechase. The Central Arkansas runner has been a respectable distance talent, but he wasn't anyone who was making an impact at the national level. In fact, prior to this past weekend, his steeplechase personal best was a modest (but solid) time of 9:00.

That's why it absolutely blows my mind that Pascoe was able to run 8:38 for the steeplechase this past weekend at the John McDonnell Invitational. Just that time alone leaves me with so many questions, especially since none of his other marks really suggested that he could run that fast.

Where did that time come from? Can he replicate that performance? How will he fare in a more competitive field? Will his success in the steeplechase translate to other distance events? How much better can he get?

Truthfully, I'm not sure there's a whole lot that we can evaluate with this performance. It's not like it isn't impactful, but it's more because we don't know have any other data points to work off of. I'll be excited to see what Pascoe does next.

As for David Too, the Iowa State distance talent has been flying under the radar thanks to the incredible performances from his team in the longer and middle distances. However, running 8:47 earlier in the season (barely losing to Clayson Shumway) and then coming back a few weeks later to run 8:40 at the Oregon Relays this past weekend is the kind of consistency and progression that should really excite the Cyclones.

In the past, we've seen numerous athletes build a ton of momentum and if they time it right, they'll peak in the postseason, specifically for the steeplechase. That may be the case with David Too this spring.

Also, is there an NCAA distance athlete who is more dynamic than Washington State's Colton Johnsen? Seriously, is there? I personally don't think there is. This past winter, he ran 3:57 in the mile, 7:53 in the 3000 meters and 13:43 in the 5000 meters. To also have a personal best of 8:43 in the steeplechase is range that simply can't be matched by anyone else in the NCAA right now.

However, it's not just Johnsen's time that makes him stand out. He also took down a slew of talented Washington steeplechasers in the process. Guys like Julius Diehr (8:46) and Joe Waskom (8:46) are no pushovers, especially Diehr who has a ton of experience in this event.

For Johnsen to get a clutch win over them makes me believe that he'll ultimately pursue this event in the postseason. After all, the 5k and 1500 are stacked beyond belief this year.

Does Grace Forbes know that she isn't supposed to be this good in this many distance events? After running the nation's leading time in the 10,000 meters a few weeks back, the Rice star came back to run 4:14 for 1500 meters in a true solo effort. She won by 13 seconds.

Ok, hear me out. I think this performances makes Forbes a stronger national title contender than her actual 10k time from a few weeks ago does. The 10k can sometimes be a tactical affair at the national meet and speed will very much play a role when it comes to fast finishes and responding to surges.

With Forbes having a 4:14 time in her legs (which isn't too surprising given her 4:37 mile PR from earlier this year), I have to think that she's the best suited for pretty any kind of race on the national stage when it comes to the 10k. The PA native really hasn't been challenged this year and honestly, I think NCAA gold could be in her grasp.

As for Katie Wasserman, the rising Notre Dame star already caught our attention earlier in the year when she ran a jaw-dropping time of 15:33 for 5000 meters. Now, this past weekend, she just flexed her middle distance speed by winning the 1500 meters at the Drake Relays, running a time of 4:14 and taking down a rising star in teammate Olivia Markezich.

Much like Forbes, I like the fact that Wasserman has a little extra leg speed under her, although that's a not total shock since she ran a 4:37 mile in the winter of 2020. Even so, taking home a win over Markezich and Air Force's Mahala Norris is quietly impressive, especially for someone who we currently view as a 5k runner right now.

Laurie Barton running 2:01 is probably the least surprising performance of the weekend. I may have already said that about Sage Hurta, but if I did, then I'm changing my answer to this Clemson runner.

The NCAA runner-up in this year's indoor 800 meters just ran 2:01 this past weekend, essentially matching her personal best and taking home a fairly comfortable win by two seconds.

What am I supposed to say about this performance? Should we really be all that shocked? Barton continues to be an elite 800 meter runner and we knew it was only a matter of time before she dropped a fast 800 time. She joins the ocean of women who have run 2:03 or faster this year.

 Speaking of running 2:03, where on Earth did Michaela Lewis come from? The South Alabama sophomore just ran a massive personal best of 2:03 at the half-mile distance after running no faster than 2:06 this season. In fact, Lewis didn't run any faster than 2:10 this past winter!

Lewis earned a 3rd place finish behind Barton and Andrea Foster who was running unattached and finished 2nd overall. However, let's forget her overall finish for a moment. Let's talk about her time. 2:03 may not be relatively as strong as it once was when looking at this year's women's 800 field, but it's still an incredibly quick mark.

But what I can't get over is her level of progression. Someone like Shafiqua Maloney has made very steady improvements and has worked her way down to 2:01 over the course of this year, but Lewis' progression has taken leaps instead of steps. Much like Bennett Pascoe, I'm not sure what we should think about this performance other than it being really good. I just want to see what else she does after this past weekend.

Finally, a quick shoutout to Presley Weems who ran at LSU this past weekend. She just cut off a second from her personal best in the 800 meters and has also joined the 2:03 club. I personally believe that this Auburn runner is better suited for the 1500 meters, especially because her half-mile speed theoretically makes her a true threat when it comes to a fast finish. But I suppose we'll see if Weems agrees with our analysis in May.

Jonathan Davis is a guy who doesn't get enough attention for what he has done lately. He was a narrow runner-up to George Kusche at the BIG 10 XC Championships this past winter and earned All-American honors on the grass in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Now, the Illinois star has repositioned himself as one of the nation's better distance talents just like he was a few years ago. This past weekend was evidence of exactly that as Davis ran 3:39 to take down a field which consisted of 3:57 miler Tom Dodd, 4:01 miler Evan Dorenkamp and a promising Wisconsin runner in Jack Meijer.

Right now, 24 different collegiate men have run under 3:40 for 1500 meters, an insane stat that truly shows the level of distance depth in the NCAA this year. With a time that is currently listed at NCAA #21, it may be easy to overlook what Davis can do in the postseason.

However, the Illinois veteran had a ton of success on the grass and he's taking home big wins over some top competition. He may be forced to stay within the the BIG 10 due to conference protocols, but a recent display of 1:48 from the other weekend speed isn't something that all sub-3:40 guys have.

There will certainly be a lot of debate about altitude conversions and how much is too much. This mile performance was likely the reason behind some of those debates that we saw take place over Twitter from this past weekend.

BYU's Casey Clinger and Lucas Bons each ran a pair of 3:59 miles in Provo, Utah this past weekend, a location that sits at 4500 feet of altitude. For being that high up in altitude, running 3:59 is no joke. In fact, only one other runner (Doug Padilla) has ever run under four minutes in Provo.

On paper, it's not a total shock that Clinger and Bons were able to run this fast. They obviously train at altitude and both were super quick to readjust to collegiate running after coming back from their mission trips. Yes, converted 1500 times of 3:36 and 3:37 seem faster than we would expect, but with Clinger being as talented as he is and with Bons running 3:55 in the mile this past winter, it's not like the conversion is overwhelmingly generous.

We then had BYU's Aidan Troutner and Southern Utah's Nate Osterstock each earn converted 3:39's after running 4:01 and 4:02, respectively. I'll just be honest, seeing both of these men with 3:39 marks is...well, I'm not sure I agree with it.

Yes, running miles as fast as that at altitude is impressive and yes, Osterstock has been running incredibly well as of late. However, I just don't know if I could see these guys running 3:39 if they were at sea level. I am often a bigger fan of altitude conversions than most people, but this does seem like a little much.

That said, Troutner is a much better talent than some people realize and I still like the fact that Osterstock flexed some pleasantly surprising middle distance speed, regardless of what the conversion says.