Five Things to Watch: 2023 ACC Indoor Championship Preview

Written by Maura Beattie & Garrett Zatlin

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Written by Garrett Zatlin

The women's 800 meters at the ACC Indoor Championships never disappoints. There are often a handful of individual stars who come out of these prelims and finals who eventually headline the top of the national leaderboard.

Oftentimes, one of those top individuals is from Virginia Tech. And in 2023, that will be no different with the return of Lindsey Butler, the defending indoor conference champion.

Butler is the clear-cut favorite to take home gold this weekend. She was last year's indoor national champion over 800 meters, has run 2:42 for 1000 meters this season, has run a flat-track converted time of 2:03 for the half-mile distance and just dropped a 4:31 mile PR two weeks ago.

She's been here before, has had success on this stage (multiple times) and is just flat-out better than the rest of her competition.

The women's 800 meters, nationally, has never been better. There are 11 women who have run under 2:03 for that distance this season (one via conversion), meaning that Butler's 2:03.18 flat-track converted mark from earlier this month sits at NCAA #12.

It would take five women running faster than that time in order to bump this Hokie superstar out of the NCAA Indoor Championships as far as automatic qualifiers go. But there's also a chance that we see one or two scratches as well, meaning that in all likelihood, Butler is probably safe to race in March even if she has a tough weekend.

But in the grand scheme of things, that's not the most important part of this race.

Friday and Saturday will be Butler's opportunity to remind everyone why she won the 800 meter national title last winter. In a year where a pair of Stanford rookies and Michaela Rose look like legitimate national title threats, it's Butler who remains in that conversation without an elite-caliber time this season.

And as she looks to gain momentum prior to the national meet, a big-time mark could swing the national title conversation back into her favor. Luckily for her, no one peaks better for their conference meet than this Virginia Tech ace.

Butler has run 2:01 (800) four times throughout her college career.

Three of those times came at an ACC Championship.

In other words, grab your popcorn and prepare for the Lindsey Butler show.

On paper, it's unlikely that anyone else in this field can legitimately challenge Butler. However, the likes Katherine Mitchell (Boston College), Amina Maatoug (Duke) and Esther Seeland (Virginia) are all nationally competitive names in their own right.

Esther Seeland is probably the best pure half-miler in this tier. She's run 2:03 (800) this season and owns a personal best of 2:02 for the distance. She's been on numerous championship stages and has been fairly solid throughout the entirety of these winter months.

It is plenty possible that Seeland has a big breakout race and captures a runner-up finish. But a breakout race would also have to be accompanied by Butler not peaking like she usually does in order for this former D3 star to secure a win.

Katherine Mitchell, however, is someone who is probably the most likely out of this second group to have a breakout race. She is, after all, having a breakout season.

The Boston College star had been phenomenal in the month of February. She's run 4:35 in the mile and 2:03 over 800 meters. In fact, she currently sits at NCAA #14 on the national leaderboard for the event!

No one has more motivation to run fast than Mitchell. Right now, she's qualified for the indoor national meet, but it's plenty possible that she could be bumped out of qualifying if she doesn't improve her time this weekend.

If Butler makes a move to break away, then I would expect Mitchell to be the one who is most likely to follow her...or at least, try to follow her. There's a lot riding on the line for this Eagle standout.

Amina Maatoug is one of the more interesting entries in this field. The Duke ace has been beyond excellent this season, running times of 2:04 (800), 4:29 (mile, flat-track converted) and 8:55 (3k). However, it should be noted that she owns an 800 meter personal best of 2:03 from her time in the Netherlands.

One could argue that in terms of raw talent, Maatoug may actually be able to match Butler. But the half-mile is clearly not Maatoug's primary event relative to the mile and the 3000 meters. She's more than capable of earning a runner-up finish, but trying to match her Virginia Tech rival seems unlikely.

But hey, we've been wrong before.

Written by Garrett Zatlin

Wake Forest star Thomas Vanoppen, a tactical virtuoso from Belgium, is the far-and-away conference title favorite in the ACC men's mile this weekend. He is, after all, the reigning outdoor conference champion in the 1500 meters.

Since the beginning of last spring, Vanoppen has been racing at a completely new level. He has been able to throw down times that aren't just nationally competitive, but some of the best that the NCAA has to offer.

The Demon Deacon ace ran 3:37 for 1500 meters last spring and finished 4th in the same event at the outdoor national meet just a few weeks after winning the ACC title. And during the fall months, Vanoppen was one of the best middle lineup scorers in the nation.

And after running 3:54 in the mile two weeks ago, it feels like no one else in this ACC mile field can realistically challenge Vanoppen. Not only does he have the fastest seed time by two seconds, but he's also the most experienced and most tactically refined miler who will toe the line for the prelims on Friday.

The Virginia duo of Wes Porter and Gary Martin both ran a pair of 3:56 miles at Boston University the other weekend. In terms of talent, they aren't lacking in that department.

But Martin is still so young (although he's rapidly improving) and Porter's progression, while certainly there, is probably not going to accelerate enough to match Vanoppen's talent by this weekend. The latter is a very similar story for North Carolina's Jesse Hunt, another 3:56 miler.

The interesting thing about Hunt is that he's actually the top returner from last year's ACC mile final. And yes, that means that he beat Thomas Vanoppen (who placed 3rd) in that race with a runner-up result.

Vanoppen has obviously grown significantly as a racer since then. But the same could be said for Hunt who simply looks sharper and has a lot more speed within his turnover than ever before. In another tactical scenario like we saw last year, the Tar Heel veteran has a real shot at pulling off a major upset over the Wake Forest star come Saturday.

Other names such as Steven Jackson (Boston College), James Donahue (Virginia), Viktor Idhammar (Virginia Tech) are also going to be on my radar. Each of those men have run 3:57 in the mile this season, but none of them have any other performances that have come all that close to replicating the magnitude of those times.

Breakout talents like these three indicate that they have some untapped upside that could be unlocked on a championship stage. But as we see with their inconsistency this season, they're still new to this level of racing and likely the championship tactics that come with it.

One of these men is going to be a top-five finisher on Saturday. However, I'm just not sure who that is going to be and who is going to experience a harsh learning curve.

Written by Garrett Zatlin

You'll have to excuse my lengthy analysis for this section. It wasn't necessarily intentional, but I do think that the men's 3k is the most fascinating distance field that we'll see at the ACC Indoor Championships this weekend.

One of the more pleasant surprises of this 2023 indoor track season has been the rise of North Carolina sophomore, Ethan Strand.

The Alabama native was already one of the better prep runners in the nation prior to joining the Tar Heels. But the development of these younger UNC talents has fluctuated and Strand, while plenty talented in 2022, didn't necessarily show signs of being a true star coming into this winter season.

That, of course, has all changed over the last two months. After running a 3:59 mile mark at Virginia Tech, the second-year distance ace dropped a 3:55 mile PR at Boston University before posting an incredible 3:53 split on the anchor leg of North Carolina's DMR at the Alex Wilson Invite (en route to a win).

To put it simply, Strand is on a hot streak. He's one of the most dangerous men in the NCAA right now despite being one of the more inexperienced runners as well. He has been completely unafraid to compete with top veterans and his racing style is relentless.

Strand is primarily a miler, but he has also run 7:52 for 3000 meters this year. In that race, he took home a comfortable win by almost nine seconds, essentially soloing that mark.

In a far more competitive field, Strand looks like he's due for a PR -- likely a big one. And with his mile speed, as well as his ability to instantly gears, you have to wonder if he has a realistic shot to win ACC gold despite his youth.

Of course, one could argue that Strand isn't even the best contender on his own team. That's because Tar Heel superstar Parker Wolfe is also entered in this race.

The Colorado native is an interesting entry in this field. Wolfe evolved into a true national-caliber superstar this past fall and carried that momentum into December when he ran a 13:19 for 5000 meters.

But Wolfe didn't race again until mid-February when he ran 3:56 in the mile at Vanderbilt. And while that is an excellent, speed-based result for an aerobic-centric runner like himself, the Tar Heel veteran just hasn't given us much to analyze.

To be clear, Wolfe has done nothing wrong this winter. He has thrown down a truly elite 5k time and he has also flexed underrated turnover/speed. But two races in one season going into this meet is odd and it's hard not to ask why that was the case.

Wolfe is also going to be doubling back from the men's 5000 meters which he'll be contesting on Thursday. Yes, that does give him two nights of rest before the 3000 meters, but other top names such as Antonio Lopez Segura (Virginia Tech), Zach Facioni (Wake Forest) and Strand are all going to be fresh.

That shouldn't make a dramatic difference, but it could at least have some impact.

North Carolina veteran and former Michigan runner, Jack Aho, has also been having a quietly great indoor track season of his own. After running times of 13:31 (5k) and 3:59 (mile), the long distance talent ran 7:49 (3k), giving him one of the most complete resumes in this field.

Aho is experienced, has momentum, has improved his versatility and has generally been pretty consistent. He may not have the tactical acumen or star power to secure an ACC title, but he can absolutely be in the mix late in this race.

Those, however, are just the main contenders from North Carolina.

Their in-state conference rivals, Wake Forest, are priming to be just as dangerous.

It depends on who you ask, but Zach Facioni might be the biggest threat for the Tar Heel men if this race is honest from the gun. This Demon Deacon veteran is highly experienced and has been legitimately contending for ACC gold medals since he was a sophomore.

 With personal bests of 7:46 (3k) and 13:30 (5k), the former coming two weeks ago, Facioni likely has every incentive to make this race fast as tries to qualify for the indoor national meet. He's also tactically savvy enough to be patient and strike when he needs to.

I would argue that this Aussie distance runner probably has the highest floor of anyone in this field, meaning that he seems the least likely to have a bad race. And yes, I'm including Parker Wolfe in that conversation.

But for as good as Facioni is, he has yet to have a true career-defining race. That, however, could all change this weekend in a 3k field that is looking quite dangerous.

Fellow teammate Thomas Vanoppen is a very interesting entrant in this field. The Wake Forest star from Belgium is primarily known as a miler. In fact, he'll be racing the mile prelims on Friday and then coming back to race the mile finals on Saturday (assuming he qualifies).

Vanoppen has taken the necessary steps to improve his aerobic fitness this year. He had an excellent 2022 cross country season and ran 7:48 for 3000 meters earlier this season. But having a mostly-pure miler double back to a longer racing distance two and a half hours later makes it feel unlikely that he'll play a major role in this race.

However, Vanoppen is a brilliant tactician. And if this race is slow/strategic enough, then he could utilize his positioning and finishing speed to be a factor at the end of this race. That becomes even more of a possibility if his mile final is won in 4:00 and not 3:55.

Finally, we have Joaquin Martinez De Pinillos...and I have no idea how to analyze him.

In terms of raw times and personal bests, De Pinillos is probably closer to the same tier that North Carolina's Jack Aho sits in. But the Wake Forest is also very inconsistent, making it challenging to know what he'll do next.

Last spring, he ran 13:39 in his first 5k of the season, but then struggled mightily in that same distance over the rest of the season. Similarly, De Pinillos hasn't run any faster than 4:07 in his two mile efforts this winter, but he did run 7:53 (3k) a month ago.

At his best, De Pinillos is a top-five contender in this field. We just don't know for sure which version of him we'll get when he toes the line.

Written by Maura Beattie

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone...but in case you’ve been living under a rock, Katelyn Tuohy is the real deal.

The sophomore talent (by eligibility) is running lights out this season, recording not only NCAA records in the mile and the 3k, but also finishing highly among some of the best professional-based races in the country.

Tuohy is only entered in the women's 3k at the ACC Indoor Championships and is the overwhelming favorite given her recent 8:35 PR (nope, that's not a typo).

Her PR is 15 seconds faster than the next-best competitor which is Notre Dame’s Olivia Markezich. But given how much stronger Tuohy is compared to everyone else, another sub-8:40 performance would be very surprising for this Wolfpack stud. This weekend is likely just a tune-up race for the grand finale in March and she'll likely only do as much as she has to.

That feels like a ridiculous suggestion to make when you consider who else is in this field. But that's the reality we live in with Katelyn Tuohy. So instead, the key question we have about this race is...who will be the runner-up?

Markezich may have the second-fastest seed time, holding an incredible mark of 8:50 (3k) from December, but Duke’s Amina Maatoug will be chomping at her heels.

The Blue Devil star is riding a high this winter and hasn’t let her NCAA inexperience be a liability. Instead, she's taken the opportunity to push her fitness to an entirely new level. Her 8:55 (3k) PR is obviously impressive, but her flat-track converted 4:29 mile takes the cake.

Maatoug's dynamic speed will be key if this 3k race turns tactical and there's a good chance that it might. But there's also a catch -- this Dutch distance athlete is also entered in the women's 800 meters.

The women's 800 meter finals is set to go off at 1:40 pm. The women's 3k is set to go off at 2:20 pm. In other words, Maatoug is going to have a little less than 40 minutes to recover for a 3k race which features a handful of the best distance talents that the NCAA has to offer.

That's going to be an incredibly tough double, but this is also one of the most dynamic distance runners in the country. There's a good chance that she rebounds perfectly fine.

Olivia Markezich does deserve love here as she’s been incredibly consistent this winter when it comes to producing top-tier times. Aside from her phenomenal 8:50 (3k) mark from early December, her 4:34 mile at the Meyo Invitational and recent 4:30 DMR anchor split suggests that she can hang with both the speed-based and strength-based runners in this field.

And given how relentless she has looked this season, proving to be unafraid of the best women in the nation, Markezich feels the most likely to actually try and battle Tuohy.

Of course, there are more than just two women vying for a 2nd place finish.

NC State’s Samantha Bush, one of the most versatile athletes in the NCAA, is entered in both the mile and the 3000 meters. She has recorded two personal bests this season, a flat-track converted 4:35 (mile) as well as an outright 8:54 (3k) PR.

Bush has been fairly consistent this year, but has also not looked quite as sharp as she has in prior seasons. This, of course, is not at all to suggest that she's having a poor season. For the most part, she's been dropping (slightly) down in distance over her last three races and has still earned personal bests.

Even so, finishing runner-up on Saturday could be a massive confidence booster for the dynamic distance ace before the indoor national meet.

We then come to two high-potential dark horse talents in Virginia’s Margot Appleton and North Carolina’s Brynn Brown.

I really like the potential of Appleton right now, probably more than Brown (but not by a lot). The Cavalier ace came oh-so-close (six-hundredths of a second close) to running sub-9:00 in her 3k debut after conversions. And since then, Appleton has run a four-second PR in the mile, crossing the line in an incredible time of 4:33.

Could she be standing on the podium in her second-ever 3k? And could she realistically dip under nine minutes on Saturday? I would say yes to both of those questions. Sure, women like Tuohy, Markezich and Maatoug are simply more proven, but Appleton's momentum is just as good...and relatively speaking, maybe even better.

Still, we can’t overlook Brynn Brown.

The Tar Heel distance talent actually tied with Appleton in that Camel City race, also recording a flat-track converted time of 9:00. We also can't forget that Brown was the 3rd place finisher in this event at last year's ACC Indoor Championships.

And with valuable experience now on her side, this Texas native will be looking to jump up another place against some stiff competition.

Taking all of the contenders into consideration, Maatoug and Markezich have the greatest chance of duking it out for 2nd place. Even so, you can’t overlook Appleton whose newfound mile prowess changes the dynamic of this race quite a bit.

Written by Maura Beattie

Without NC State’s Katelyn Tuohy, the current NCAA mile record holder, in this field, the women's ACC mile title is practically wide-open.

Do you choose the Tar Heel duo of Carlee Hansen and Taryn Parks? Or how about Katie Thronson of Notre Dame in her ACC Indoor Championship debut? Could Wolfpack ace Samantha Bush win gold after finishing runner-up last year? Or will the win go to rising Hokie talent Ava Hassebrock who is having a breakout season?

There is so much to consider and so little time before the ACC mile prelims.

Considering that Hansen and Parks are the only two women with a heavy-hitting teammate in this field, things could play into North Carolina’s favor assuming that they both make it to the mile finals. Both sophomores have personal bests of 4:36, but only Hansen has run that fast this season.

Of course, Parks is only two seconds shy of that, so that's not too concerning when questioning if she's simply fit enough to contend (and win) this conference title.

Head-to-head, Hansen and Parks are 1-1 in the mile this season, but when it comes to my predictions, Hansen is getting the nod over her teammate. That's largely based on the fact that she beat Parks by eight seconds two weeks ago.

But don't let that one result skew your impression of Parks. She is, after all, the reigning ACC mile champion from last winter. The UNC third-year talent is tactically sound and has underrated turnover in the final moments of certain races.

However, it doesn't feel like the North Carolina women are going to be the ones to ensure that this race stays quick. Instead, we would turn your attention to Katie Thronson and Sam Bush, two strong milers who are viewed as endurance-centric athletes.

Thronson, the Notre Dame talent who came to South Bend, Indiana as a graduate transfer from Tennessee, has been having herself a solid season thus far.

She has chopped time off of her PRs in both the mile and the 3k this season, running 4:37 and 9:07, respectively. Thronson might not have the same middle distance resume as her competitors, but her 3k/5k marks speak volumes to what she could do in the mile.

And then we come to Sam Bush who could be argued as the conference title favorite given her flat-track converted mark of 4:35 from earlier this month. The Wolfpack veteran will be gunning for the mile title after finishing a close 2nd place in 2022, missing out by less than a second to Parks.

Bush checks off all of the boxes when it comes to being a legitimately competitive miler. She has 2:04 half-mile speed and 15:35 (5k) strength. In theory, she’s a threat no matter how this race plays out.

And that leads us to our final runner to watch, Ava Hassebrock of Virginia Tech.

Hassebrock began the 2022-2023 indoor track season with a 4:41 mile personal best. However, she has since dropped that time down to a flat-track converted 4:36 mark. Five seconds is a sizable amount of progression and it goes along nicely with her 9:12 (3k), a 23-second improvement.

The Hokie middle distance talent was the 7th place finisher in the mile at the 2022 ACC Indoor Championships and could greatly improve upon that placement this weekend with the right race situation.

At the end of the day, we will be graced with the 2022 ACC mile champion (Parks), the 2022 ACC mile runner-up (Bush), the 2022 ACC mile 6th place finisher (Hansen) and the 2022 ACC mile 7th place finisher (Hassebrock) all in one race.

Those four ladies, along with Thronson, will be fighting tooth and nail for the individual victory. And truthfully, it feels like it's anyone's title to win.

*Predictions via Maura Beattie

*Assumes all runners will contest the race(s) that they are entered in.