First Thoughts: NCAA D2 Indoor Championships

Additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin

The NCAA D2 Indoor Championships are all wrapped up, leaving us with plenty to talk about! Below, we recap each race and offer some analysis on some of the top finishers in the distance events. So with that, let's jump right into it...

We all knew going into this past weekend that the 5k and 3k were events that Christian Noble was expected to win. Even in the fastest year of Division 2 history, Noble maintained the "heavy-favorite" status going into the weekend. However, Isaac Harding didn't seem to care about who was the "favorite" as he certainly made sure that Noble worked earned his NCAA gold medals.

Harding finished 2nd to Noble in both races this past weekend, but was clearly the only legitimate challenger who actually threatened one of the best names in D2 history.

Noble and Harding both maneuvered through the men's 5k field, covering moves from Jan Lukas Becker and Dylan Ko before Harding made one final surge that left Noble as the only one in the field who could keep pace. However, with just 150 meters to go, Noble overtook Harding and came away with a comfortable one-second victory in 13:47 to Harding’s 13:48. Those marks are the sixth and seventh fastest times in NCAA Championship history.

Fast forward 24 hours and this duo was at it again, this time in the 3000 meters. Harding stalked Noble, moving up when Noble did. Both found themselves chasing Becker yet again as a five-meter gap opened up.

Patiently, Noble closed the gap and made his move with 600 meters to go. Harding made another pass at 200 meters and Noble looked vulnerable for a mere second as he stumbled, leaving the window open for Harding. Even so, Noble gathered himself and passed Harding with 150 meters to go and withheld one last effort from Harding, coming away with a two-tenths of a second victory, 8:00.45 to Harding’s 8:00.63.

And similarly to the 5k, those were the third and fourth fastest times in championship history.

Noble became just the second D2 athlete to ever sweep the 5k and the 3k at the NCAA Indoor Championships. He joins Sydney Gidabuday as the only other athlete with that accomplishment.

With this double, Noble has solidified his place in the history books. He ran multiple collegiate records this year and showed off rare mile speed. The Lee veteran did more than run fast this season. In fact, he showed off some of the best range and consistency in the nation as well as an ability to race both tactically and all-out.

Was this the best season ever by a D2 distance runner? After seeing what Noble did this winter, it's a fair question to ask...

As for Harding, he threw every punch he could and he’ll go down as one of the top performers in championship history because of it. Despite not taking home a national title, the silver-lining for Harding is that he now knows that he can run with the best. This was likely a huge boost in confidence, although his experience from competing at a high D1 level likely prepared for him grand success this winter.

We knew Harding had the potential to be a special D2 talent, but what he accomplished this past weekend toppled our expectations.

There were fireworks on the track for Saturday's first running event. After the mile preliminaries gave us the typical, tactical championship racing; the exact opposite happened in the final.

The gun went off and Colorado Mines' Luke Julian immediately jumped to the front. His move left only five men in contention after his 59-second opening quarter. However, it looked to be Ryan Riddle’s race to lose after he made a move with 800 meters to go. At 1200 meters, he saw a minor lead open up.

But with a lap to go, James Young and Tony Torres furiously covered the small gap and caught Riddle in the final straight. Young blew by Riddle, who was clearly showing tired legs after his third mile of the weekend, with Torres closely behind him.

The end result?

Young ran 4:00.40.

Torres ran 4:00.86.

Riddle ran 4:01.21.

Those are the second, third and fourth fastest times in D2 NCAA Championship history. They’re also the fourth, sixth, and eighth fastest mile times in D2 history.

The rest of the field was four seconds back, starting at 4:05 with Luke Julian hanging on to the 4th position. Ian Johnson finished 5th and Mason Strader finished 6th as both picked up their second All-American award of the weekend (in addition to their DMR performances).

This is what happens when you have a deep field of accomplished milers who have a "sacrificial lamb" of sorts when it comes to pacing. In theory, these men probably wouldn't have run as fast as they did without Julian making the gutsy decision to go out as hard as he did.

Were we expecting Young or Torres to run as fast they did? No, not necessarily. However, it wasn't a total surprise to see Torres at the top of this field. He peaked during cross country and was beginning to peak towards the tail-end of this indoor track season. He clearly capitalized on that fitness in this mile final. Despite not always being in the same tier as Young and Riddle over the past few seasons, Torres showed incredible poise this weekend.

As for Young, he was another name who peaked in the postseason, delivering on the exciting potential that we saw from him last year. Since February of last year, he has secured five wins (including relays and this past weekend) and hasn't really faltered since then.

In retrospect, Young's win over the Pittsburgh State duo of Mason Strader and Connar Southard from early February is a lot more impressive after seeing how well those men ran in the DMR. If we had observed that February mile race with the context that we do now, then I think we would have considered Young to be a more serious title contender coming into this race.

 As for Riddle, you have to give him major kudos. He had an outstanding season, showing off a dynamic level of fitness that made him one of the best talents in the country. While he was likely viewed as a title favorite coming into this meet, it's hard to fault the Missouri Southern star who went for it and came up short in one of the fastest D2 mile races ever.

Mbuta is arguably one of the best 800 meter runners we have ever seen in recent D2 history. It just so happens that he also had to race the best D2 800 meter runner ever in two of the last four seasons (Thomas Staines). After being a title favorite in 2020 and ultimately not getting to race, it was only a matter of time before Mbuta took care of business.

Sure enough, the GVSU star traversed a tricky last 200 meters with an inside move that ultimately left him with the victory. He ran 1:48.62 in the finals, just three-tenths of a second ahead of his personal best, and took home the title by just over a tenth of a second.

It was one heck of a weekend to have the best 800 meter race of Mbuta's life.

Seb Anthony and Butare Rugenerwa made very late charges and joined Mbuta under the 1:49 barrier, but the inside move from Mbuta likely gave him the edge as Anthony and Rugenerwa had to navigate to the outside lanes to make their passes.

Just like Noble and Young had to do in their other races, Mbuta was tested to the highest level. His time from the indoor national meet is the third-fastest mark in NCAA Championship history with Anthony's and Rugenerwa’s marks now sitting as the fourth and fifth fastest.

Truthfully, this race could've gone a lot of ways. Not just because the times were so close, but because of how certain men have been running all season long.

Mbuta had a little bit of a roller coaster season. He was fairly inconsistent, but never bad. The GVSU star posted a ton of top times, but there were certain loses that left us scratching our head. However, it looks like he timed his seasonal peak better than anyone else did this winter.

As for Anthony, this was a huge performance. We knew that he was one of more talented and accomplished individuals in the field given his past experience. However, he wasn't matching the excitement and the firepower that we saw from him as a freshman...until this past weekend.

And when it comes to Rugenerwa, it's hard to call this a poor race for him considering that he finished 3rd in the nation and ran a time of 1:49. Sure, maybe he could've timed his move a little better, but this was such a close race and it's hard to really fault anyone in this top-three for the tactical decisions that they did (or didn't) make.

I picked Pittsburg State to finish higher than their seventh seed indicated, but I never expected them to come away with the title at the end of Friday night. But that’s why they run the races, I suppose.

In an instant classic, we saw three teams finish two-tenths of a second apart from each other. Pittsburg State and Grand Valley State were separated by one one-hundredth of a second, 9:46.68 to 9:46.69 in a thrilling lean at the finish. Missouri Southern was 3rd in 9:46.89.

Ryan Riddle ran the fastest split of the race with his 4:04.43, but had to overcome a two-second lead from Pittsburg State and Grand Valley State. With 400 meters to go, Riddle made a hard charge with Strader, hanging on as best as he could. Meanwhile, Futter faltered to the 4th position before making one last hard effort.

As Strader passed Riddle, the Missouri Southern ace stumbled a bit, leaving the door open. Futter took full advantage of that opportunity as he snuck in for a 2nd place result.

Reece Smith propelled NW Missouri into the 4th place position after he posted the second-fastest mile split behind Riddle with a time of 4:04.52. His team finished with a time of 9:47.36, just slightly behind Missouri Southern. All four of the men who anchored their DMR team had already run a mile prelim nearly two hours prior, making their performances that much more impressive.

Overall, seeing Pittsburg State's lineup run as well as they did was wildly exciting. They didn't have the same superstar names that a few other relays did, but the Strader and Southard duo offered a lot more balance and evenness which, in the end, is what allowed them to be competitive throughout the entirety of this race.

As for Grand Valley State, this is another one of those situations where it's tough to fault them for any tactics or how they performed. The Lakers still posted an excellent time and simply got nipped at the line after a heroic finish by Strader. Grand Valley State didn't necessarily lose this race, it was more that Pittsburg State won it.

When it comes to Missouri Southern, the real hero of this race was Riddle. Kimutai put the team in a bit of a tough position with a 3:01 lead-off leg which, when it comes to the national title, wasn't a great way to start the race. Luckily, Riddle rebounded well from his mile prelim and ran the fastest split in the field. His effort was almost enough to take home the title.

One of the main questions that we had going into this past weekend was, how many All-American performances were the Orediggers going to have in the 3000 meters?

Guys like Dylan Ko, Luke Julian and Kyle Moran were expected to be the veterans who captured most of the top finishes for Colorado Mines, but it was actually freshman Loic Scomparin who made a statement.

The rookie earned back-to-back 3rd place finishes in both the 3k and 5k this season. That's incredibly impressive for someone who is fairly inexperienced. In fact, his only real racing experience (against non-teammates) before this weekend was on the grass when he toed the line at the RMAC XC Championships.

His performances of 13:49 (5k) and 8:01 (3k) aren’t entirely surprising when you consider that his altitude conversions put him at 13:53 and 7:57, respectively, coming into the weekend. Still, those marks validate the idea that Scomparin's conversions from earlier in the season were plenty legit.

The idea of Scomparion holding his own this weekend wasn't a total shock. However, seeing him racing well in BOTH the 5k and 3k was a little surprising. Also, in fairness to Dylan Ko, we should mention that he still had a phenomenal weekend as well, posting times of 13:50 (5k) and 8:05 (3k).

Moran, Ko and Scomparin might look to the 10k when it comes to outdoors and that could spell trouble for the rest of the field. All three of these men look to be better the longer the distance gets, so we could see an assault at the team title if all three are on their game.

As for Julian, it’s probably safe to say that this past weekend didn't end how he wanted it to. He was looking to solidify his place as one of the nation’s best milers, but he left Alabama not even the best miler in his own conference. A 5th place finish in the mile is not a bad performance by any means, but it's fair to say that he probably wanted a bit more.

This was Lauren Bailey’s race to lose. She knew it, Florance Uwajaneza probably knew it and the rest of the field likely knew it. It became evident early-on in this race that if you were going to take down Bailey, you were going to have to have a record-breaking effort in the process.

With less than two minutes to go into the race, it was just Bailey and Uwajaneza left to battle it out for the title. Bailey didn’t have a split slower than 39 seconds the entire race and she led wire-to-wire, making her time of 16:03 that much more impressive. Uwajaneza fought valiantly, but ultimately gave up too much time in the middle of the race.

Bailey’s mark of 16:03 was a new meet record and the second-fastest 5k time in D2 history. Uwajaneza ran 16:10, the fourth-fastest time in D2 history. Both of these runs were of epic proportions and it’s a joy to see them come out on the biggest stage for both athletes.

However, in retrospect, this is probably something that we should've expected. This was not a field that was going to let the pace be slow. Many of the top entrants were not athletes who were going to utilize sit-and-kick strategies. That's why, for the most part, this field was somewhat predictable.

Zoe Baker, Jennifer Comastri and Jessica Gockley had a nice races as well as they all dipped under the 16:30 threshold, marking personal bests for all three. You have to give credit to that trio as they knew that they likely couldn’t run as fast as Bailey and Uwajaneza. As a chase pack, they were able to work together to put together a very strong race.

It would've been easy to let that aggressive pacing create burnout by the last mile for some of these women, but that trio properly channeled their energy and were rewarded for their measured approach with personal bests. Truthfully, they probably ran the smartest races out of anyone.

Remember when we were concerned about Stephanie Cotter and her lack of racing this season? Yeah, me too. With that concern no longer holding any merit, let me be clear about this: Stephanie Cotter is one of the best D2 milers we’ve ever seen. Tactically, she might be the best.

Cotter qualified for the mile finals and we finally got to see her matchup against Allie Ludge. When Ludge made her move, Cotter matched her step for step as the two stars put a gap on the rest of the field. Cotter made a decisive move with 200 meters to go and from that point on, it was never a question as to who was going to win. The Adams State star closed in 30 seconds and won the race by more than a full second in a time 4:50.72.

But as saw the other women come across the line, Ludge had actually fallen behind a few women. CSU-Pueblo's Hailey Streff used her outstanding middle distance speed to close in 30 seconds to earn a super impressive 2nd place finish. Meanwhile, Grand Valley State's Klaudia O'Malley actually caught Ludge at the end as the two Laker standouts finished 3rd and 4th, respectively.

In the end, Cotter successfully defended her title from 2019 when she was just a freshman. If last year wasn't canceled, we’d probably be looking at a three-time NCAA mile champion. She may not have a personal best that puts her name on the all-time D2 leaderboard, but that's because Cotter has been racing at altitude for most of her college career.

The Adams State star knows how to handle any kind or race, tactical or fast. She has handled most of these fields that she has raced against with relative ease and makes challenging races look comfortable. If you couldn't beat her this past weekend, there's likely a chance that you won't beat her throughout the rest of her time at the D2 level.

Coming into the weekend, Indianapolis' Cleyet-Merle had a two-second lead on the rest of the women's 800 field when looking at seed times. She was in a class of her own and it was going to take someone having a big breakout day to beat her.

Breakout performances did indeed happen as both Yasmine Hernandez (2nd place) and Taryn Chapko (3rd place) set personal bests in their attempt to take down the U. Indy athlete. However, that didn't stop the Greyhound ace from winning a national title.

Cleyet-Merle bided her time and made a move from 300 meters out that no one else could truly match in the end. In the last 200 meters, she put nearly a full second between her and Hernandez, eventually posting a time of 2:07.43 with Hernandez running 2:08.27.

Chapko, just a freshman, ran 2:08.48 to finish 3rd. She’s quickly becoming one of the best in D2 over the course of 800 meters and is essentially a true national-caliber superstar. We've been so impressed by her progress this season and her poise has been unreal for someone as young as herself.

As for Hernandez, this kind of performance was a long-time coming. She had been running top times for years, but never really had a performance that would put her into an elite tier.

That, however, all changed this past weekend as she at least kept things interesting with the overwhelming title favorite. Her experience clearly played a role, as did her extensive resume of wins from this season. Hernandez was able to perfectly blend positioning and fitness into one standout race this past weekend and she was rewarded with a PR and a silver medal.

Now, with the outdoor season on the horizon, Cleyet-Merle will look to better her personal best of 2:06. And with that, comes being the title favorite yet again for the spring season.

When declarations came out, we were all a little bit shocked that Ritter was only going to race the 3000 meters despite being the D2 leader in both that distance and the mile. However, in the end, the Lee Flames' ace ended up making the best decision and walked away with a national title victory over a VERY strong field.

Ritter, much like Noble on the men’s side, simply waited for the race to play out in front of her and pounced when the time was right, showing off the patience of a true veteran.

Bailey opted for the same strategy as the 5k as she took to the lead. That, of course, was fine by Ritter who tucked in right behind her. The D2 record holder never seemed to panic and always knew what her next move was as she went with Hannah Roeske with 400 meters to go. With one lap remaining, it had become a four-woman race and with 150 meters left, it was Ritter who swung wide. After the turn, the race was over.

Ritter finished in 9:22, the fifth-fastest time in championship history. Roeske finished runner-up behind her in a time of 9:23 while Curtis-Collins and Uwajaneza also posted times of 9:23 for 3rd and 4th place, respectively. All four of those performances were inside the top-10 for times in meet history.

This was a huge breakout season for Ritter. Yes, we had known that she was already a great talent coming into this winter. However, she reached the upper-echelon of the NCAA last year, but only got better in 2021. Her progression has continued despite reaching the highest levels of competition.

As for Roeske, it is hard not to be impressed by the veteran. The experience of the multi-time D3 All-American was on full display. She took down an elite D2 field (with the exception of Ritter) and perfectly integrated her 2:14 800 meter speed into a fast longer distance race. That is a lot more difficult to do than some people realize, especially for someone who voluntarily stepped up to the D2 level this year.

And how about Mackenna Curtis-Collins? This was her very first NCAA Championship on the track as an individual, but it certainly didn’t look like it. She raced well and was patient throughout the race, leading to a very strong performance, capping off her 2021 indoor season.

Admittedly, some of us were concerned with how Curtis-Collins performed at the G-MAC Indoor Championships a few weeks back. However, that turned out to be more of a fluke than an actual indicator of her current fitness.

Before we gloss over the 12-second victory from Grand Valley State, let’s just say that it was a dominant performance. Through the first two legs, it looked like CSU-Pueblo was going to be able to hang tough, but Chapko’s 800 meter leg put that suspicion to rest very quickly. Ludge took care of the rest as she ran 4:47 by herself to take home the DMR crown.

The battle for 2-3-4, however, was one that we wish we could have seen more of. CSU-Pueblo's Yasmine Hernandez was able to hold off Southwest Baptist's Elysia Burgo who was actually able to make up five seconds between her and Nicolette Schmidt. However, the extra two-second cushion that Hernandez had was just enough for the Thunderwolves to finish runner-up while the Bearcats finished 3rd. Augustana (S.D.) was one one-hundredth of a second behind that trio to finish 4th overall.

Burgos might have had one of the best races of her season as she split 4:46 to bring her team back into the thick of things. The only person close to her split was GVSU’s Allie Ludge. Had they been able to battle it out, we likely would have seen something in the 4:45 range.

Still, that leaves us wondering, why did we only see Burgos toe the line for the DMR and not the open mile? We thought she could've been a key name to watch in both races, regardless of whether or not she doubled.

Meanwhile, PJ English and Nicolette Schmidt were doubling back after making the mile finals and helped lead the Vikings to a 4th place finish. They were a team that I thought would finish higher than their seed time coming in and they did just that, improving three spots from the seventh seed.

Both women were able to come back the next day and finish inside the top-eight for their second All-American performance in a little less than 24 hours, giving us more reason to believe that Burgos should've also pursued the mile.