First Thoughts: Non-Raleigh Results

As it turns out, the Raleigh Relays wasn't the only meet that produced a handful of top distance marks this past weekend. With a handful of big-time names finally returning to the track after extended hiatuses, collegiate distance running fans were treated to some outstanding performances which left us at TSR with plenty to analyze...

Unattached performers don't always get brought onto our radar. It's difficult to catch certain results when TFRRS doesn't always recognize those athletes in their system. However, Clemson's Kameron Jones was a stud this past indoor track season, running a jaw-dropping time of 1:46 (unattached) on Clemson's home track.

The transfer from Maryland has always been a solid middle distance talent, contesting events like the 400, 500 and 600 prior to joining the Tigers. However, the Clemson coaching staff has since moved him up to the 800 -- a decision that turned out to be an exceptionally good one.

Jones threw down a massive time of 1:46 this past winter and validated his top-tier level of fitness with a mark of 1:47.49 this past weekend. That result currently has him listed at NCAA #2 in the event and forces us to ask the question, "Just how good can this guy be?"

Much like Arkansas' Shafiqua Maloney on the women's side this past winter, Jones is still relatively new to this event. The fact that he has run so well on more than just one occasion is incredibly encouraging. Of course, we have to wonder how that inexperience will impact him down the line. Will he use that untapped potential and build upon it, even in the postseason? Or will that lack of experience of racing at such a high level, specifically in tactical races, come back to create issues in the postseason, specifically at the regional meet?

It's far too early to tell, but the other big development with Jones is that he'll likely be transitioning to a new program after this season. With Clemson discontinuing their men's track and field program, we can't help but wonder where Jones will end up next. That, of course, is assuming that the Tigers aren't able to save their program by season's end.

Of course, if we're going to talk about breakout 800 meter talents, we need to talk about Adam Swanson, the middle distance specialist from Eastern Illinois. This freshman (who is actually a true sophomore) came out of NOWHERE this past weekend at the Texas Relays, dropping a huge time of 1:47.66 which was part of a weekend double in the 1500 meters where he also ran 3:46.91.

A performance like that was truthfully unprecedented for Swanson. The Eastern Illinois talent had a solid indoor track season, running 4:06 in the mile and opened up his outdoor season with a 1:49 personal best. However, to suddenly drop a 1:47 this past weekend alongside a strong 1500 meter double is huge.

Sure, Swanson had been trending in the right direction, but this was a statement performance which essentially leap frogged the expected trajectory that he was making.

Much like Kameron Jones, we're not sure how Swanson's relative inexperience will impact him in the postseason. However, that weekend double was promising and it leaves us encouraged for how he'll handle multiple rounds that often come with these middle distance events in the postseason.

There are a handful of other key names in the 800 meters who we could take about, but then this article would get absurdly long. Texas A&M's Carleton Orange is back and just ran 1:48 while North Carolina A&T standout Abbas Abbkar, an individual national qualifier in the 800 meters during the 2019 outdoor track season during his time with Savannah State, also ran 1:48 this past weekend and was barely off of his personal best.

And how about Cade Bethmann? One of the top middle distance talents (when healthy) on an elite Ole Miss roster seems to be nearing 100% again after a year where he has rebounded from a rumored injury. He just ran 1:48.93 this past weekend at the Ole Miss Classic. We know that he has 1:47 speed in his legs which could make him much more dangerous over the next few months as he regains momentum and build off of a very strong season opener.

If there is anyone who I'd be scared to race later this postseason, it's the guy who has so much to prove after his teammates lit up the indoor oval this past winter.

Truthfully, there isn't as much to talk about in the women's 800 meters compared to the men when it comes to non-Raleigh Relay results. That said, Danae Rivers is finally back and that's a big deal when talking about the middle distances.

The Penn State star was the 2019 indoor national champion in the 800 meters and has been one of the country's best middle distance talents of the past decade. With personal bests of 2:02.53 (800) and 4:29 (mile), as well as the 1000 meter collegiate record of 2:38, Rivers is someone who has to be in the title conversation whenever she's at her best.

The Nittany Lion veteran recently ran 2:05 at the Maryland BIG 10 Invite this past weekend. That mark may not be anything super special, but it was a convincing win over her Penn State teammates and a very solid season opener after such an extensive amount of time off.

Personally, I've always felt like Rivers was better suited for the 800 meters, but with that event looking beyond crowded this year in the top ranks, is it fair to suggest that Rivers may pursue the mile? She was set to pursue that distance at the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships before COVID cancelled the meet, so it's certainly possible that she'll do it again. There's no question that she's enough to contend with Krissy Gear and when she's at the peak of her powers, Rivers has the the necessary skillset to at least challenge Sage Hurta...well, at least on paper.

Let's briefly transition to Valery Tobias, the Texas middle distance runner who has been putting up some solid numbers over the last few seasons. Despite not qualifying for the indoor national meet, Tobias was still able to carry her momentum to the outdoor oval, posting a very respectable 2:05/4:28 (800/1500) weekend double at the Texas Relays.

Are either of those marks going to change how we view the NCAA hierarchy? No, not really, but this is a rising talent who needs more attention. She's still running personals bests and is doing so on a weekend double. If she's able to maintain this momentum into the postseason, Tobias may be someone who is best suited to get through the rounds that come with the regional meets.

Speaking of top middle distance talents from Texas, how about Kathryn Gillespie? The Longhorn veteran has been waiting quite a long time to make her return to collegiate competition and she certainly impressed in her season debut.

The 4:34 miler threw down a 2:09/4:17 weekend double at the Texas Relays, the latter mark being a personal best. Make sure not to sleep on this veteran, she knows how to navigate around the nation's top fields and has some really lethal middle distance speed, as evidenced by her personal best of 2:45 for 1000 meters.

The women's 1500 meters is going to be a tricky event to figure out this year. With a cross country season no longer holding out key names from the "All-American contender" category, there will certainly be more overall depth in an event like the 1500 meters. The return of Gillespie is a great example of that.

But how many of these women will actually pursue the 1500 meters when it comes to the national meet? And for those who do pursue the event, how many will actually be better than Gillespie? Sure, Gear and Hurta are solid talents, but a few other top contenders may ultimately choose to go after different events.

Someone like Courtney Wayment may end up running in the steeplechase this spring and truthfully, the 5k may be her best distance based on what we've seen from her.

And what about Allie Schadler? She ran 15:33 for 5000 meters back in December, so would the 1500 meters really be her priority this winter?

BYU's Olivia Hoj was a great mile talent this past winter, but owns a PR of 10:05 for the 3k steeplechase. With a recent personal best of 8:56 for 3000 meters, you'd have to think that she'd also give the 5k a go this spring.

As for, Lauren Gregory and Katie Izzo, would they really opt out of an event like the 5000 meters after running in the 15:30's this past winter? Heck, the 10k seems more likely for Izzo than the 1500 meters does.

Simply put, the women's mile could potentially be wide-open when it comes a slew of All-American spots. Yes, it's still super early in the spring season, and there are still a heavy number of talents just like Gillespie who are racing for the first time in over a year.

Even so, I would like to think that this Texas runner could be someone who eventually enters that All-American conversation come May and June.

I also want to briefly talk about Laurie Barton and Ceili McCabe, two runners who have posted times of 4:18 and 4:19, respectively. Barton's time came this past weekend while McCabe's mark of 4:19 came a week prior.

For Barton, this isn't much of a surprise. She ran 2:01 (800) and 2:42 (1k) this past winter, so it was plenty realistic to think that one of the nation's best middle distance talents could muster a time of 4:18 for 1500 meters.

However, seeing McCabe run a mark of 4:19 is impressive and very encouraging. The West Virginia runner has slowly been gaining momentum and is developing into a true low-stick for the Mountaineers. She was great on the grass this past winter and fall and even showed some promise on the indoor oval in the longer distances.

For someone who has never run a collegiate race in the 1500 meters or the mile, McCabe was gave us a spark that we think she can build on. The Mountaineer ace could be a dangerous name to watch over the next few months as she gains more comfort with that distance.

The WVU product already has NCAA Championship experience from cross country this past winter and has been steadily improving with each passing month. I'm becoming an increasingly bigger fan of hers as the year goes on.

When talking about Texas, it's easy to get distracted by the greatness of guys like Yusuf Bizimana, Graydon Morris, Haftu Knight, Crayton Carrozza, etc. However, one guy who hasn't always gained enough attention is Cruz Gomez. He has been making very steady improvements and he is finally cracking the tier where he's gaining national attention.

Running 3:43 for 1500 meters this past weekend at the Texas Relay is quite the mark and it's even more impressive that he took home the overall win, even if it was against a field that he was heavily favored to beat.

But let's also not pretend like this is the first time that Gomez has ever run a fast time or made a splash. This past winter, Gomez recorded personal bests of 4:01 (mile) and 8:06 (3k). Not only that, but he was part of Texas' DMR which eventually placed 3rd at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Even so, running 3:43 for 1500 meters is probably the best performance of Gomez's young career as that time roughly converts to a 4:00 mile. Oh, and let's not forget that Gomez is only a sophomore with freshman eligibility.

Coach Pete Watson is doing an outstanding job with some of the younger guys on this roster. It's taken a year or two for him to develop the guys that he actually recruited, but the results have been plenty promising as of late.

The Penn Quakers are entering a new era in their program where they no longer have the Daly twins leading the charge. They'll also be without veteran Anthony Russo who will eventually head off to Notre Dame after this year.

That, however, hasn't stopped this Ivy League program from making some noise. This past weekend, we saw Ryan Renken and Noah Carey each dip under 14 minutes at the Penn Challenge, running 13:52 and 13:58, respectively. The two juniors sandwiched Zachary Michon (St. Joe's) who ran 13:53 for the runner-up spot.

This was a key development for the Penn men. While the Ivy League may not be having any league competition this spring, seeing the Quakers develop two potential front-runners for next fall is encouraging. They'll need to find some additional scoring potency by the 2021 cross country season after losing a handful of key names to graduate transfer situations.

As for Michon, this was a really nice run, one that makes him an increasingly more interesting name in the Mid-Atlantic region. This Saint Joe's product is no slouch as he ran 4:04 (mile) and 8:06 (3k) during the 2020 indoor track season. By next fall, don't be surprised if Michon emerges as a top finisher who earns an individual qualifying spot to the NCAA XC Championships.

Admittedly, this is a performance that flew a little bit under our radar as we finished up our recaps of the indoor track season. The NAIA star from Milligan dropped an unbelievable time of 15:39 for 5000 meters back on March 19th, destroying the field by over a minute and a half.

And if that wasn't enough Kearny also ran a 4:26 for 1500 meters at the same meet and recently ran 33:09 for 10k this past weekend.

The NAIA has recently been headlined by Huntington's Emma Wilson, a transfer from Illinois. However, Kearny is posting some unreal times right now. She looks like a juggernaught who can walk away with multiple national titles at the end of this year, even against Wilson who just recorded a 16:06/4:27 weekend double and has a 10k personal best of 32:38 which was run back in December.

The Texas Relays gave us plenty of exciting performances, but it feels like the Oklahoma State Cowboys were the ones who stole the show. After coming off of a dominating display of fitness at the NCAA XC Championships where they earned a spot on the podium, the men from Stillwater opted to head to the outdoor oval and use that cross country fitness to make an early-season statement.

Isai Rodriguez continues to make an argument that he belongs in the "superstar" tier of NCAA distance talents, running an outstanding time of 28:08 in the 10,000 meters at the Texas Relays. That was a win by over 40 seconds against teammate Alex Maier who ran 28:40 for runner-up honors.

That is the fastest time in the NCAA so far this spring as Robert Brandt and Vincent Kiprop ran no faster than 28:23 in Raleigh.

I'll be honest, I was skeptical of Rodriguez's ability to be a true standout star talent following the 2018 cross country season where he finished a shocking 4th place overall at the NCAA XC Championships behind McDonald, Fisher and Kurgat.

After that performance, Rodriguez went on to have a decent, but relatively quiet 2019 indoor track season and was then absent from the 2019 outdoor track season. His 2020 cross country season ended poorly and we didn't see him race again until this past fall.

However, it was this past fall and winter where he proved that his 4th place national cross country finish from 2018 wasn't a fluke. Rodriguez was consistently battling with some of the top distance talents in the country and even took home some key wins over a few highly-ranked talents. His win over the entire Tulsa team, for instance, was a much bigger victory than some people realize. it also helps that he finished 8th at the NCAA XC Championships.

Now, with a 28:08 personal best now on his resume, we have to ask...where does Rodriguez stand in the NCAA's hierarchy of distance talents? Wesley Kiptoo, Robert Brandt and Vincent Kiprop are likely the national title favorites for this year's 10k and you could probably argue that Edwin Kurgat is in that conversation that as well now that he's set to return this spring.

However, Rodriguez now has an interesting argument to be part of that same title conversation. The only issue is that we're not entirely sure how he races in tactical settings. Do we have reason to believe that this year's national meet will feature a tactical 10k? No, especially if Kiptoo ends up in the field, but it is something to think about.

Even so, the Oklahoma State star has entered another tier. Oh, and the best part? This is only his third track season between indoors and outdoors. Truthfully, he hasn't much NCAA experience on the oval, meaning that he might have an even higher ceiling that he could still reach.

As for the rest of the Oklahoma State crew, you have to be super impressed by Alex Maier. Running 28:40 as a sophomore is some next level stuff and it gives us reason to believe that he'll be the star that his high school marks suggested he could be.

Maier had an excellent cross country season this past winter and fall, emerging as a wildly valuable scorer and becoming a key reason why the Cowboys had so much success on the grass. However, I'm not sure there were many people predicting Maier to place 17th at the NCAA XC Championships earlier this month. That result truthfully came out of nowhere, but it has since been legitimized by his 28:40 mark. On paper, those two results seem to align with expectations and give us reason to believe that Maier has truly made a step up in his fitness.

 As for Victor Shitsama, he was the only other key development for Oklahoma State in this 10k race. He ran 29:03 to finish 3rd overall, taking down Texas' Haftu Knight who ran 29:09 for 4th place.

For the most, that performance seems to make sense for Shitsama. He was really solid this past winter and fall, but didn't have the same eyebrow-raising results that Maier did. Running 29:03 seems to match the 34th place finish we saw from Shitsama at the NCAA XC Championships.