First Thoughts: Jones Runs 1:45 to Edge Zahafi, Hall Runs 2:04 in Heptathlon, Hendrick Runs 4:18

Yes! There were meets not named "Raleigh Relays" that happened this week!

And that is exactly what we'll cover in this article.

We *may* revisit the Raleigh Relays in a separate article / later in the week (there were great performances that need additional coverage), but for today, we'll focus on everything else.

And yes, don't worry, we'll make an effort to talk about the D2 and D3 performances in the near future as well.

Let's begin...

On an episode of the Blue Oval Podcast, both myself and my fellow co-host Ben Weisel made a proclamation about Jonathan Jones that, in retrospect, was kinda dumb...but it was also proven to be correct!

Our hot take was that in an 800 meter race that was all about positioning, Jones wasn't as much of a favorite as guys like Carrozza and Bizimana were (I may have thrown Zahafi in there as well). However, in races that were going to be super fast and all about testing ones aerobic fitness, Jones was better suited for that kind of race, especially if it had a pacer.

With ESPN deciding not to replay Thursday's action from the Texas Relays (that I could find), I only have the results to go off of. While there didn't appear to be a pacer in this race, we can still say that it was insanely fast.

And sure enough, that benefitted Jones, proving our initial hunch.

Jones fended off Zahafi in the final stretch to outrun his competition and earn a blistering personal best of 1:45 for 800 meters.

At this point, I have no further asks of Jones. He has done everything I could reasonably ask him to do. He ran a quick 1:46 mark on the indoor oval, finished runner-up at the NCAA Indoor Championships and just took down an elite field in a time that is now the new Barbadian outdoor 800 meter record.

His stock has never been higher and if he continues to build off of his performances, then he might, and I mean might have a shot at taking down Brandon Miller...but that's asking a lot.

As for Zahafi, he didn't get the win, but a low 1:46 mark has to feel good after falling at the indoor national meet. Much like Jones, his aerobic fitness is amongst the best in the NCAA and a fast time-trial setting was going to favor him.

And based on the results, that seemed to be the case.

We then come to Carrozza and Bizimana who each ran 1:46 and 1:47, respectively. If you're Pete Watson, you have to be thrilled with the fact that you had three guys run 1:45, 1:46 and 1:47 in the same race.

And heck, they were missing guys (like Lindhorst) who could have been in the mix as well!

For Carrozza, this is an exciting extension of his indoor fitness. That 1:46 mark is very strong and it signals that a fast 1500 meter time, likely around 3:38 or so, is in his future.

As for Bizimana, running 1:47 is by no means bad and tactically, he's one of the best in the NCAA, specifically when it comes to positioning in championship races. However, with Brandon Miller likely controlling the front of every major 800 meter race for the next few years, Bizimana needs to take the next step where he can hang in races that are being run in 1:45 to 1:46 range.

There's no question that this middle distance star from the United Kingdom can be an 800 meter All-American in every season of competition that he contests. However, trying to get him to reach the next level will be the real test.

As the headline suggests, Florida's Anna Hall ran an outstanding time of 2:04 for 800 meters at the Texas Relays...as part of the heptathlon. The fact that she ran that fast, while also contesting several other events, makes her result that much more impressive.

Now, to some extent, we probably should have seen this coming. When Hall was previously at Georgia, she was still a fantastic multi-event specialist, but she was also running fairly quick 800 meter times, such as a 2:07 mark in an open race that was not associated with the pentathlon/heptathlon.

However, when Hall got to Florida, she ultimately ran 2:05 for 800 meters at the SEC Indoor Championships as part of the pentathlon.

A time like this was, while certainly quicker than expected, was in the cards for Hall.

Regardless, pursuing the 800 meters in the postseason (past conference meets) seems unlikely. Hall is way to good in the jumps and in the multis to pursue the half-mile where there is zero guarantee that she'll advance to the national meet.

But if she runs another second faster then...who knows?

While his brother Moad was battling the Longhorns in Austin, Texas, Ayman Zahafi was defending his home track against an up-and-coming Michigan star in Miles Brown.

Zahafi's time of 1:47, paired with his win over a national-caliber name, is encouraging.

However, I'm not sure it really tells us anything new.

We saw Zahafi beat a fairly competitive field at the Alex Wilson Invite this past winter, but he faltered at the indoor national meet and if you asked most of us at TSR how his ACC meet was, most of us would probably say, "it was fine, I guess".

Zahafi is incredibly gifted and super talented. He can go out and run a fast time on command. Seeing him run 1:48 or faster four different times during the winter is evidence of that. That's pretty hard to do!

However, Zahafi still needs to be better in races that are tactical or have others fighting him at the front. Improving that area of his resume will allow him to be an All-American contender that we know he's capable of being.

As for Brown, this was a solid outdoor rust-buster. I'm still a big fan of this rookie and I think his youth gives him tons of upside. He needs to find the right race to replicate that his 1:47 mark from the indoor track season, but I'm not looking too heavily into a result from late March.

I was initially confused as to why Maloney was entered unattached in this women's 800 meter race...until I realized that she was a senior at last year's outdoor national meet and therefore was out of eligibility for the spring season.

She took home the win in a time of 2:04, but if she's out of eligibility, then there may not be a whole lot more to say here.

Texas' Brooke Jaworski, after having a fantastic indoor track season where she ran 2:03, was the top attached collegiate in this race with a solid time of 2:04. Teammate Valery Tobias, who was an All-American in this event at the indoor national meet, settled for 5th place overall in a time of 2:05.

For Jaworski, I don't have much to say here. This was very on par with expectations and I don't think anyone is really surprised by her result.

As for Tobias, this was a little bit of a surprise. I'm not totally shocked by her time. A 2:05 mark is pretty solid and it's fairly competitive. However, seeing her take losses from two less established 800 meter runners, both from Grand Canyon, was a little surprising.

For someone who was fresh off of running back-to-back 2:03 marks at the indoor national meet en route to a 4th place All-American finish, I thought Tobias would've been a little bit better in this race.

Even so, it's hard to really look too heavily into this early-season result. Tobias' 2:05 mark got the job done and at this point, her focus will be peaking in late May and early June.

Let's talk about Grand Canyon's Kelly Moodry and Alexa Hokanson, two women who just came out of nowhere and ran a pair of 2:05 marks. Where did that come from? Grand Canyon isn't exactly a middle distance powerhouse, although I suppose there was enough history for these two women to deliver on a big stage.

This past winter, Moodry actually ran 2:05 at the WAC Indoor Championships and later ran 2:05 in her outdoor debut. That means that her latest effort at the Texas Relays is her third 2:05 mark since the middle of February and her third 2:05 mark in her third straight meet.

As for Hokanson, her story is a bit similar. She ran 2:06 at the WAC Indoor Championships, ran 2:05 in her outdoor debut and now just earned a 2:05 personal best.

In other words, there have beeen signs that these two women were beginning to reach their athletic primes. I just happened to miss them.

However, it's now clear that both of these women have tons of recent momentum and that could lead to some exciting fireworks throughout the spring months for both of them.

When you look at the national leaderboard in the men's 1500 meters, you can hilariously see Arizona State's Vincent Mauri sticking out like a sore thumb. His strong 3:43 effort from this past weekend is the fastest non-Raleigh Relays mark for 1500 meters so far this season.

Mauri is a talented middle distance runner. He's much better than some people realize. The Sun Devil ace is fairly consistent and can respond to certain moves pretty well. He can also effectively move up in distance, although the 1500 meters is clearly his forte given his 3:41 personal best.

Truthfully, I don't have much to say about Mauri, but when you look down the results, there is one name who stands out: Northern Arizona's George Kusche. The Lumberjack star, who was an All-American in cross country in the fall, had a tough outing this past weekend, placing 5th in this 1500 meter race in a time of 3:47.

His personal best for the distance is 3:39 and he has also run 3:57 in the mile.

Kusche hasn't been the same since the Millrose Games. He started his season off with an incredible 5k time of 13:28, but as fate would have it, that time ultimately wasn't fast enough to advance him to the national meet (which is wild).

Since then, he's run 4:07 in the mile at the Millrose Games, 4:00 in the mile at the Husky Classic, finished 4th (mile) and 11th (3k) at the BIG Sky Indoor Championships (he was also DQ'd in the 800 meters) and now can't run any faster than 3:47 for 1500 meters in a race where he should have won (or placed 2nd) rather easily.

When he's at his best, I sincerely believe that Kusche is one of the most dynamic and explosive distance talents that the country has to offer. However, the Husker-turned-Lumberjack has simply struggled as of late.

Luckily, the outdoor season is a long one and he will have plenty of time to regain his momentum...I think.

Two half-mile specialists opted to start their outdoor track seasons in the 1500 meters, a move that I liked quite a bit. For Sarah Hendrick (Kennesaw State), she ran an excellent time of 4:18 for 1500 meters. Meanwhile, Kassidy Johnson (Kansas State) ran 4:20 at the Texas Relays, earning a fairly comfortable win in the process.

Hendrick won her 1500 meter race with ease, winning by 12 seconds. That's super encouraging to see. I can't help but wonder what she could actually run if she was in a loaded 1500 meter field. We all know that she's amongst the best in the 800 meters, but going out and soloing a 4:18 makes things interesting, at least when it comes to the rest of her season.

As for Johnson, I really liked her going out and trying the 1500 meters to start her season rather than the 800 meters. After finishing her indoor season on a massive hot streak and earning a 5th place All-American finish, the goal for Kansas State and Johnson should have been to sustain her momentum heading into the spring months.

And with this 1500 meter performance, I think they did exactly that. There wasn't much pressure for Johnson to run something insanely fast and she didn't have to face a crazy-fast field, either.

Instead, she was able to put down a solid time, win fairly comfortably and maintain her confidence heading into April. It may seem small, but I really like that move...

...yeah, I don't have much to say here. Abdalla was a stud on the indoor oval and he ran much faster than this at the BIG 12 Indoor Championships. Seeing him run 13:48 is far from surprising and honestly, it's actually a bit slower than I was expecting.

I also thought that this would be a big race for Texas teammates Haftu Knight and Rodger Rivera. They both ran 13:41 during the indoor track season, but Knight ran 14:02 and Rivera didn't even run.

Moving on...

I have been a big believer in the Hebner sisters for a while now. After transferring between a handful of different schools, Monica and Isabel finally look like they are in a spot that's comfortable and beneficial for both of them.

On Thursday night, Monica won the Texas Relays 10k in a time 34:25 while Isabel was close behind in a time of 34:27. Those are solid and respectable times, although based on results from last year, I'm not super confident that those marks will qualify them for the West Regional Championships.

Either way, I think it's clear that the 10k is their marquee distance. After all, Monica was a 10k national qualifier back in 2019 when she was with Duke. With a personal best of 33:52, it's very clear that the best performances are still to come for both Hebner sisters.

I could see the Hebner sisters venturing out to California in the near future and attacking a faster 10k race where they potentially scare the 34-minute barrier. While I'm sure the two Longhorn siblings benefitted from pushing each other on Thursday, I think it's fair to say that competing in a larger, deeper and more competitive field would do them wonders.

I love the steeplechase. I think it's a fun event where certain names who wouldn't usually get national attention are able to build their reputation through a niche race. Plus, the barriers and water pits make this a wildly unpredictable event. You never know with absolute certainty what is going to come next.

However, what little certainty this event has can be epitomized by the steeplechase performances of Duncan Hamilton (Montana State), Riley Osen (Portland) and Ed Trippas (Princeton). This trio offers tons of stability to an event that could certainly use it.

Hamilton ran 8:43 this past weekend in his season debut, leading teammate Levi Taylor to a very respectable mark of 8:50 in the same race. Hamilton has been great for multiple seasons now, recently emerging as an elite distance talent this past winter.

Hamilton boasts a personal best of 8:31 in the steeplechase, so this rust-buster, despite being one of the fastest marks in the country, is actually a bit slower relative to his PR. Remember, this is also the same guy who finished 5th in the steeplechase at the outdoor national meet last spring.

Osen, meanwhile, is a long-time veteran who has built his reputation in the steeplechase. The Portland ace recently ran 8:44 this past weekend, but he actually owns an 8:41 personal best. Not only that, but Osen just ran a big 3k PR of 7:57 this past winter, a massive improvement from his previous marks that may signal a potential improvement on his outdoor performances.

Don't forget, Osen was an 8th place All-American in the steeplechase in 2018.

And finally, we have Princeton's Ed Trippas.

You may see his 8:49 time at the Texas Relays (en route to a win) and think, "Oh that's a pretty solid mark." But for Trippas, that mark is relatively slow.

How slow you ask?

How about 30 seconds slower than his PR?

Now, obviously, running 8:49 is super impressive and it typically makes you a nationally competitive name in this event. However, Trippas had a breakout year during the summer of 2021, running 8:19 and eventually going on to represent Australia at the Olympic Games.

Right now, he has to be viewed as a title contender for this event, but it will be interesting to see if he replicates that magic in 2022...

Moving on, BYU's Kenneth Rooks needs to be noticed now. If you forget about him, then he could comeback later in the season and be the national qualifier you didn't have in your predictions.

Rooks was excellent in 2019. He was a national qualifier and earned a wicked fast personal best of 8:36. He's still somewhat young and inexperienced, but between the spring of 2019 and the winter of 2021, Rooks didn't have a single mark on his resume.

A lot can happen over the course of nearly three years and after running a season opening time of 8:45, Rooks is off to a tremendous start. If he builds on this performance, then his PR could be in the low 8:30s by seasons end.

Finally, we have Munir Kabbara who ran 8:46. The UCLA ace came out of nowhere this past weekend, and I mean NOWHERE. His fastest steeplechase PR prior to this weekend? 9:00. His next-fastest steeple time? 9:08.

This was a massive jump up for Kabbara and while I want to say more about him, I'm not sure that I can. The rest of his times aren't nearly as strong as his recent 8:44, meaning that it's hard to really gauge what we should expect from him at all.

In my mind, he's the biggest unknown in the NCAA right now.