Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Apr 19, 202113 min
We've got another recap after publishing Part One yesterday! Here are a few more interesting headlines that caught our attention this past weekend...
It's not exactly a surprise to hear that NC State star Hannah Steelman is dominating on the track this spring. After all, we just saw her finish 5th at the NCAA XC Championships and earn an All-American honor in the 5k at the NCAA Indoor Championships just one month ago.
However, seeing her run 15:30 for 5000 meters this past weekend, en route to a dominating win, is wildly impressive. With the possible exception of her cross country national meet performance, this is probably the best result of her career. Based on that time and given how other women are performing at this distance so far this season, it's probably fair to put Steelman in the national title conversation for this event.
Of course, the issue with that possibility is that the steeplechase (which has historically been Steelman's primary event) comes before the 5k at the national meet -- and that is NOT an easy double to effectively pull off.
Sure, Steelman has been a double All-American in those two events before, but trying to come back from the steeplechase and then contend for a 5k national title seems like a bit of a stretch. Even so, this Wolfpack ace just ran an outstanding time, dominating competition that featured Jessica Drop (Georgia), teammate Katelyn Tuohy and Jeralyn Poe (Northern Arizona). None of those women ran under 15:40.
I would like to see what Steelman can do in the 10k, but I think the next race for her will likely be the 1500 meters. I imagine Coach Henes will want to develop some leg speed in Steelman if/when tactical races become more apparent in the postseason. We've seen that exact thing happen with fellow distance standout Elly Henes, as recently as this past winter.
As for the other women in this field, you have to give some kudos to Jessica Drop. The Bulldog distance talent took advantage of a fast field and gave herself an excellent time 15:41. She had an outstanding indoor track season, arguably the best of her career, and although this isn't a personal best for her (which sits at 15:38), you have to be encouraged by her ongoing ability to stay consistent and produce top-level times and finishes.
As for Tuohy and Poe, they have had stretches throughout the last year or so where they haven't been racing. Part of that is due to eligibility, part of that is due to the pandemic and part of that is due to injury.
That, of course, hasn't stopped these women from coming back in a big way. Tuohy ran 15:47 in this Virginia Challenge 5k while Poe was close behind in 15:49.
For Tuohy, this is yet another encouraging step forward after rumored injuries ailed her during the summer and the fall. Sure, this might not be a personal best, but it's a fast mark and one that will put her in the national qualifying conversation.
As for Poe, this was a great validating performance. After becoming an All-American on the grass with Michigan State in 2019, it had been a while since we last saw her toe the line. However, she ran 32:38 for 10,000 meters back in December, a huge mark that really showed us just how strong Poe has grown while in Flagstaff. When you pair her 15:49 effort with all of her other best results, it's hard to ignore the fact that Poe could be a sneaky-strong challenger later in the season.
Prior to this past weekend, our analysis surrounding Wake Forest star Zach Facioni and UNC ace Thomas Ratcliffe stemmed from their recent 1500 meter performances. Their latest efforts resulted in each athlete posting times of 3:39 for the distance, although Ratcliffe was the one who emerged victorious in that effort.
Coming into the men's 5000 meters at the Virginia Challenge, it felt fair to say that Georgetown's Robert Brandt was the clear favorite to be the top collegiate (or even the overall winner). The Hoya star has been putting together some of the best races of his life and had already run 13:24 (unattached) back in early March. Between his 27:39 (10k) and recent 3:38 (1500) performances, Brandt seemed boarderline untouchable in this race.
Of course, Zach Facioni had other plans. The Demon Deacon star pulled off the upset of the weekend, taking home a narrow win over Robert Brandt, 13:35.33 to 13:35.50. Despite the closeness in times, this is a massive victory for Facioni. It shows that he can still run a fast mark and get a major win at a big-time meet over a top-ranked talent in Brandt.
All of that is important to consider as we have reason to believe that this year's 5k at the NCAA Championships will feature an aggressive pace, especially if guys like Kiptoo and Mantz pursue the event (and I think they will). If Facioni can hang on to a relatively fast pace and still take down top talents, then that bodes well for him moving forward.
As for Ratcliffe, he finished 3rd overall with a time of 13:36. That's an excellent mark and one that isn't all that far off from his personal best of 13:32. We know how talented this Tar Heel ace can be when he's healthy, so seeing some consistency from him has been encouraging, even if he didn't get the win.
I do have to wonder what Ratcliffe will aim to run at the NCAA Championships later this season. Will he try the 5k or the 1500 meters? It's technically possible that he could double, and we do know one top-name who will likely try that double at the regional meet, but Ratcliffe seems fairly balanced between the two events. I'm honestly not sure what he'll end up pursuing, but I think his win over Facioni and Tubby from the other weekend would likely incentivize him to run go after the 1500 meters over the 5k.
Seeing Adrian Wildschutt win the men's 10k at the Virginia Challenge in a time of 28:25 was easily the least surprising result of the weekend. We knew that he would be an aggressive front-runner who could go after a fast time and we knew that he had potential to run away from the field.
Based on the results, that seemed to be what happened as no one else finished within 25 seconds of the Florida State star. I'll be interested to see how he handles a tactical race, but if Wildschutt is going to keep running hard from the gun, then I guess it doesn't really matter if he gets experience in a tactical race or not.
Iona's Ehab El-Sandali (28:50), JP Trojan (28:55) and Thomas Pollard (28:59) all ran under the 29 minute barrier as well and while I would like to say that these are surprises, I'm not sure that they are.
Sure, some of these guys weren't all that consistent this past fall, but we've seen performances from them in the past where they've run fast times and have given this year's 10k some depth, so it's hard to see these results as a total shock.
As for the rest of the men on the 10k national leaderboard, we have now reached a total of 37 men who have run under 29 minutes for this distance. That is INSANE and I truly don't know if people understand just how much jaw-dropping depth that is one in one event...and it's only mid-April!
Other men who went under the 29 minute barrier this past weekend at the BIG 10 Invite #3 included Michigan's Tom Brady (28:46), Iowa's Daniel Soto (28:48) and Wisconsin's Seth Hirsch (28:49). Before this section gets too long, allow me to briefly analyze the importance of those results.
For Brady, this is a validating performance. He had a breakout indoor track season with times of 7:57 (3k) and 13:48 (5k), but this result gives us a bit of affirmation that he is the real deal and that his newfound fitness can continue to extend to another level. Despite what this season has shown us so far, running under 29:00 for 10,000 meters is no joke.
I also can't help but love this performance from Iowa's Daniel Soto. He has been an underrated distance talent for a while now, quietly posting great times and emerging as a consistent performer at the NCAA level.
This, however, is the one result that really captures our attention and makes us think, "Oh! He's more than just a decent distance talent." Is he going to have a difficult time qualifying for the NCAA Championships in this event? Yes, but it's not unrealistic, especially if he can build upon this time and create some momentum.
As for Seth Hirsch, it's tough not to feel happy for this Wisconsin veteran. He was an absolute star at the high school level, but he was truthfully underwhelming for a good portion of his time in Madison, Wisconsin. However, over the last few seasons, he has grown into a solid cross country contributor, a 13:59 (5k) runner and now a 28:49 (10k) runner. Hirsch's recent rise has been encouraging and his latest result is far more indicative of his actual talent from high school.
Syracuse standout Amanda Vestri has been outstanding this year, posting top times on the indoor oval and emerging as a high-level cross country runner, taking down Hannah Steelman at the ACC XC Championships.
Vestri has always been a top talent, and although she struggled a bit at the NCAA XC Championships, it's clear that her fitness has been elevated to a new level. Sure enough, a dominating win at the Virginia Challenge, en route to a NCAA #3 time of 32:43, was enough to completely blow away the rest of the field.
The women's 10k may not be quite as crazy as the men's (although it's a lot faster than we're giving it credit for), but I really like what Vestri could do at that distance this year. She was a stud during cross country and you can tell that she gets better as the events get longer. Her growing experience and rising momentum makes her far more dangerous than some people realize.
As for Ashley Tutt (33:24) and Michaela Reinhart (33:44), these were really solid performances, but they may not get the same attention as a few other results mainly because they were run under 33 minutes. Specifically for Tutt, this was a mark that really validates our suspicions that her cross country success could effectively translate to the outdoor oval, specifically in the longer distances. The same can be said for Michaela Reinhart who was quietly great on a handful of occasions when racing on the grass this past winter and fall.
There was a lot that happened this past weekend in the steeplechase. In order to properly analyze the notable performances, I wanted to take a bullet point approach to this section...
Auburn's Joyce Kimeli is on a different level. The indoor 5k national champion just threw down a monster time of 9:37 for the 3k steeplechase this past weekend, blowing away her prior personal best of 9:52. Yes, we knew that Kimeli had reached an elite level of fitness based on her indoor track performances, but this was not what we expected, especially since she had broke 10 minutes in the steeplechase only once prior to this season. With the steeplechase/5k double a realistic option for some people, and no lone individual emerging as the overwhelming title favorite for the event, it seems like a forgone conclusion that Kimeli will pursue this event in the postseason...unless she ends up running a monumental 10k time.
The Arkansas duo of Krissy Gear and Gracie Hyde put on a show in the steeplechase at the UF Tom Jones Invitational, posting times of 9:45 and 9:57, respectively. For Gear, this is a massive performance, but it's also one that seems to follow her recent progression. The Razorback ace is a super dynamic talent, emerging as a top miler this past winter while also earning a big All-American finish in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Seeing her translate her recent boost in fitness to an event that she already had success in isn't a total stunner, although this time was a bit faster than I was expecting. As for Hyde, she was one of the many athletes on Arkansas' roster who was underappreciated (on our end) for what she did on the indoor oval. However, it seems like she has found her ideal event. No, 9:57 isn't quite the same as 9:45, but it's still a really solid mark that confirms our suspicions of her being a talent who can be competitive in high-level meets.
I'm loving what we've seen out of Ceili McCabe this year. The West Virginia runner, despite her youth, has been so darn good on so many occasions. She's coming off of a 9:57 steeplechase effort from this past weekend which resulted in her being the top collegiate finisher in that race. McCabe has already run 4:19 for 1500 meters earlier in the year, finished 4th at the BIG 12 XC Championships and finished 8th at the FSU Winter XC Classic. Oh, and she was just two spots shy of earning All-American honors at the NCAA XC Championships (42nd place). This was the first collegiate steeplechase that we've seen her finish and it went incredibly well. Her youth gives her a high ceiling and allows her to be far more dynamic than certain veterans who find themselves settling in to just one or two events.
If McCabe is the new exciting spark of the steeplechase, then La Salle's Grace Mancini is the experienced veteran who has been making her way into the national spotlight for a while now. And after this past weekend, it looks like she has finally reached that point. The Philadelphia-based athlete took home a big win at the Quaker Invitational, running a massive time of 9:50 in what was essentially a solo effort with only one other runner in the field. Over the years, Mancini has gotten increasingly better in the steeplechase, although this was a big jump after she only had a PR of 10:07 prior to this past weekend. Even so, maybe we should've seen this coming. She did, after all, just run 15:58 for 5000 meters.
Also, a quick shoutout to Summer Allen who earned an altitude-converted 9:59 for the 3k steeplechase. That's a solid mark and it supports my unsubstantiated assertion that great cross country runners make great steeplechasers.
Ahmed. Jaziri. Wow. Eastern Kentucky has an extensive history of developing elite steeplechasers. Seeing them have another one isn't exactly a surprise. After all, we knew that Jaziri owned a personal best of 8:35 coming into this season. However, to see him drop a monster time of 8:23 this past weekend is mind-boggling. He had been very impressive on the indoor oval, earning All-American honors, consistently beating top names and often running top times. However, based on his 8:35 steeplechase mark, it wasn't surprising to see that he was having so much success. The difference is that running 8:23 is just so beyond our expectations and it now makes us wonder...can anyone get remotely close to taking down Jaziri this season? At least collegiately? He is very experienced in this event and even when Ryan Smeeton is at his best (with a personal best of 8:27), he's still four seconds off from this Colonel ace.
But wait! There's more! Eastern Kentucky actually has TWO men in the top-two spots of the national leaderboard in the steeplechase. Freshman Pedro Garcia-Palencia finished with a time of 8:38, a mark that I truthfully didn't see coming...and honestly, the EKU coaching staff may not have seen this either. According to his EKU Athletics profile, Garcia-Palencia had only run 9:01 for the steeplechase at the European U20 Championships. That's why seeing him come out of this weekend with a time of 8:38 is otherworldly and I now have reason to believe that EKU can be just as good as BYU and Portland have been in the past when it comes to this event.
The EKU men were great in the steeplechase, but we have also have to give credit to Butler, a program that was already incredible in the 1500 meters, but arguably just as good in the steeplechase. Remi Schyns (a graduate transfer from EKU) and Jonathan Besselink (a graduate transfer from Wagner) both had the race of their lives, running 8:40 and 8:41, respectively, in the same race at Jaziri and Garcia-Palencia. Not only that, but junior Clark Otte also ran 8:45! What Butler is doing right now is incredible. I knew that the introduction of new graduate transfers would benefit them, but I didn't think they would be as good as they were on the grass and I didn't think their steeplechasers would run times that are currently listed in the top-five of the national leaderboard for this event. Schyns and Besselink have been respectable steeplechasers in the past, but after their recent improvements, I'm all-in on what the Butler coaching staff is doing.
We also need to recognize what Furman's Cameron Ponder accomplished. Running 8:41 is a special time despite so many fast marks being run on the same weekend. Yes, this may be one of the better times on his resume, but it also isn't a total shock that he ran as fast as he did given his 3:59 (mile) and 7:54 (3k) marks from this past winter. And how about teammate Carson Williams? The freshman ran 8:46! We're often focused on a few select programs when it comes to developing top steeplechasers, but Coach Robert Gary is doing some quietly great things at Furman outside of developing overall distance depth...and this isn't the first time we've seen this.
Speaking of programs known for developing great steeplechasers, the Georgetown men just had freshman Parker Stokes and freshman Jantz Tostenson run 8:38 and 8:49, respectively, this past weekend at the Virginia Challenge. A part of me wants to be surprised by these results, but truthfully, I'm not sure I am. Don't get me wrong, seeing guys as young as Stokes and Tostenson run as fast as they did is impressive, but Georgetown is a historically great program when it comes to this event and Stokes has a steeplechase background from his time in high school. After running 3:43 the other weekend, it makes sense that a guy who is predominately a steeplechaser would carry that success to his main event.
The West Coast Classic produced an awesome battle between Oregon's Jackson Mestler and Stanford's Ky Robinson. The veteran Duck won on his home track with a time of 8:44 -- a quick mark, but nothing that was out of his range given his experience in this event and his past performances. However, Ky Robinson is only a rookie and his steeplechase marks during his prep days in Australia, while strong, didn't suggest that he would run 8:45. He kept things honest with a top talent like Mestler and put together a really impressive kick that may have gotten lost in the results. I really like that performance by Robinson and he has given us yet another weekend where he hasn't faltered despite the challenge(s) in front of him.
As for a few other names, Virginia Tech's Fitsum Seyoum held his own at the Virginia Challenge en route to a time of 8:46. However, with a steeplechase PR of 8:40 and experience on his side, I thought he would've been a bit closer to the leaders. Then we have Duncan Hamilton, a breakout distance talent from this past winter who earned a converted 8:43 this past weekend. That's a little faster than I expected, but this is a guy who was running crazy quick converted marks all winter long. Seeing that also materialize in the steeplechase doesn't surprise me.