Instant Reactions & Thoughts: 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships (Day One)

Beadlescomb, Yearian and Payamps going to the front early-on and contributing to a quicker pace seems like a smart move. These guys have some of the best raw talent in this field and it's probably best to make things honest in a prelim where numerous men would thrive in a tactical setting.

Is Illinois veteran Jonathan Davis wearing a t-shirt instead of a singlet?

As I'm watching this, the Drake duo of Isaac Basten and Adam Fogg are sitting pretty far back right now. Basten admittedly looks like he's struggling. He's still within striking distance of the leaders, but he looks pretty uncomfortable.

Fast forward to the second half of this race and it's been a tough day for Payamps. I was really confident in his ability and I thought he ran with such great control earlier this year at Boston University. However, in a race as variable and as surge-centric as this mile prelim, it's understandable if he maybe wasn't able to get into the same rhythm.

Interesting to see Jonathan Davis and James Young get a bit more aggressive with their tactics and pass Beadlescomb who doesn't look bad, but he doesn't look great at this point, either.

Wow, this race is TIGHT on this final lap.

....how is Basten still in this?

Wait, is he moving up?

Davis looked SO strong in this prelim and it is really impressive to see that Beadlescomb had another gear at the end. I love seeing athletes being able to control their fitness as well as they did. If I was them, I would be fairly encouraged about their chances in the finals.

Holy crap, Isaac Basten is going to qualify for the finals! Kudos to him, I completely counted him out and misread him in this race. I'm not at all surprised to see him running from the back portion of the pack, but he just looked like he was struggling. Of course, it doesn't matter what he looked like if he got the job done.

Update: Apparently Illinois' team van was stolen and it had Davis' singlet inside which is why he wore the t-shirt.

It looks like Nick Dahl and Mario Garcia Romo are going to the front, but gosh, this pace looks fairly slow. Is this what Garcia Romo wants? Heck, is this what Eliud Kipsang wants?

Really interesting decision by Reed Brown to go to the front. I'm not sure if I like this move or not. A faster pace may work against him given some of the guys who are in this field, but trying to avoid a race that basically turns into an 800 meter prelim is also a smart approach if you're the Oregon veteran.

Both Evan Dorenkamp and Mario Garcia Romo are trying to follow Brown, but they don't seem to want to dictate this race. That is especially true for Garcia Romo who seems fairly passive right now despite being near the front.

Things were beginning to ramp up...and then a technical delay suddenly put us at a point in the race were Kipsang is at the front leading while Dorenkamp is chasing. It's a smart move for Kipsang if he's going to hold on and take it all the way. At the very least, he may be trying to spread out the field so that he doesn't have to deal with any kickers.

This entire field seems to be ramping up the pace and chasing the leaders. There is A LOT of urgency in this chase pack, but Garcia Romo seems completely unfazed. He's getting passed and he's not making an effort to respond.

I love seeing Dahl make a move towards the front and I think it was a smart move from Osterstock to follow Dahl's early kick. I think both men are better suited to try and separate themselves from 300 meters or 400 meters out rather than 100 meters or 200 meters. It carries risk, but it fits some athletes better than others.

Ah, there we go. Now Mario Garcia Romo seems completely engaged. He is showing a lot of speed and control in this final lap and has so much more fluidity than the rest of this field which seems gassed after fighting with each other for positioning. This is why Garcia Romo is one of the best in the country.

Dorenkamp is trying to survive on the home stretch, but Kipsang barely gets him! What an incredible last minute kick for Kipsang who is going to make the mile finals after a tactical mile prelim for the second-straight year. On paper, that is the LAST scenario that I think Kipsang wanted.

As for Dorenkamp, he is exceptionally talented, but this is where championship experience (and inexperience) can play a role. The Penn State star has great speed, but he exerted tons of energy trying to match almost every single move made in this field, half of which didn't even make an impact.

Mia Barnett has been unafraid to compete with the best of the best this season. While I maybe wasn't expecting her to simply run hard from the gun, I do love that she chose to put herself out there. What did she have to lose?

Nice to see Rachel McArthur putting herself near the front and taking a chance. I don't know if that is necessarily the move I would have implemented if I had McArthur's speed, but she hasn't exactly been great on the national stage, so maybe she's mixing up her approach.

Julia Heymach and Sintayehu Vissa are sitting back and waiting patiently in the middle of this pack. These are two established, elder runners and I have a lot of confidence that they'll be able to strike from this position.

Gosh, I didn't expect Barnett to be maintaining her lead well into the second-half of this race which, admittedly, has been pretty static.

There we go. Sure enough, Heymach and Vissa let the field come back to them and now they are racing for the lead while closing the gap on Barnett. Just such brilliant racing from these two, there's a reason why they are two of the best in the nation.

After faltering in this field, McArthur has rallied back on this last lap! Her middle distance speed could be very useful here...

...and it was! Great final surge from McArthur who I thought was out of this picture. She probably didn't need to make the initial move to the front like she did, but her kick was electric and she timed it perfectly.

Alright, look. I know Barnett faltered towards the end, being the first woman out from an automatic qualifying spot, but I think I like her decision to be aggressive with the pace even more now. She had nothing to lose and her progression throughout this entire season suggested that she had yet to reach her peak. Sure enough, Barnett ran a new PR and she made this prelim fast enough where she'll almost certainly get into the finals as a time qualifier.

Update: She did.

Madison Boreman and Emily Mackay are the ones who seem to be taking control early-on. Chepkemei is also in a good spot, but how she responds to the moves within this race is what we will be watching.

There's been some backend shuffling and Leather has now made a move late in this race to join the leaders. However, up until this point, the race has been fairly unexciting and very static.

Ellie Leather is beginning to start an early kick and is beginning to push the field on the second-to-last lap. She seems to be the one initiating a lot of pressure and tension on this field as the final lap approaches.

This race is going to be tight!

Mackay looks a little iffy on the final lap, but she's hanging in there.

Chepkemei is covering these moves well. REALLY well. She has impressed me.

What a wild final effort by Howell! She swung around on the outside lane and used the momentum from that move to earn a finals bid. The Illinois runner really cut it close, but her patience was admirable. It's clear that she is a veteran who is (somewhat) comfortable navigating these fields.

In the mass barrage of kicks, Mackay was overtaken and she BARELY lost to Chepkemei by 0.01 seconds. As a result, Mackay is OUT of the mile finals. This is a stunning development, mainly because we thought Mackay had all of the tools to thrive in a tactical setting. Rarely do you see the top seed get sent out in the prelims.

Brandon Miller got out super hot...and no one should be surprised. This is probably the most predictable move that anyone could have made in the distance events this evening.

Luis Peralta is also going out very hard with Miller. On paper, he is the one of the better runners in this field, so if he's trying to avoid his past prelim woes, then this is probably a good call.

Kieran Taylor following close behind Miller and right alongside Peralta isn't exactly what I thought he would do. I thought this Arkansas middle distance talent would be a bit conservative with his approach. Even so, he looks really strong through these first two laps.

Texas's Jonathan Jones has a quietly great spot on the inside rail, but has a few strides on the pursuing pack, meaning that he isn't boxed in.

That was a HUGE move for Florida's Sam Austin who made a hard-charge for the front. I love that gutsy move from the rookie. He was the last seed and had nothing to lose. That move may have been a bit too aggressive and a bit too early, but I liked what I saw.

At this point, Taylor is trying to salvage his race. He's fading into the chase pack, but he's still in it and is showing a lot of poise in the chaos of crunch time.

Oh man, this is a BIG group that is going all-out...

Despite Peralta fading back into the chase pack, I liked how he closed and made a quick surge to get into the finals. His successful positioning in a tight field at the Windy City Invite seemed to translate fairly well to this prelim race.

Great run for Cole Johnson and I really like how Taylor fought to the line. However, if Johnson gets in to the finals, then Taylor will ultimately wonder if his faltering momentum in those final few strides was the difference between the 800 meter finals and an early exit.

Rivera is out very quick, but given that he is the clear favorite in this field and given how fast the first heat was, he likely wants to avoid any flukes. Smart decision, but hardly a surprising one.

Aman Thornton is also out very quick, and while he may not be the same national-caliber star that Rivera is, it's not entirely uncommon to see Clemson runners attacking from the front. That seems to be a common trend with middle distance talents in this program.

Moad Zahafi (Texas Tech) is comfortably sitting in 3rd and he's in a fairly good spot to respond and react to the action that's taking place both in front of him and behind him. This is the kind of composure and championship acumen that we simply didn't know if he had.

WHOA! Thornton steps off! That's a pretty major surprise, because if that quick pace benefitted him like we thought it did, then that battle for the final qualifying spot would be a lot more complicated and a lot more intense.

Tiarnan Crorken is quietly sitting in the top-three. He looks really relaxed and super calm. It feels like his long stride is making it a challenge for the chase pack to draft off of him and get too close.

Really big move late in this race for Bizimana to put himself in the qualifying conversation for the finals. He is great at positioning and is usually pretty decent at executing a game plan.

No surprise that Bizimana made it through to the finals, but I am thrilled to see Cole Johnson advance after his performance in heat one. He's a crafty veteran who is sneaky-good at positioning himself in a variety of races. I do think that many of the men in this field are just flat-out more prepared for a championship 800 meter race, but Johnson is going to be an All-American tomorrow and that seems like the result of his years of patience.

Jaworski is out very quick, but Maloney is making up the early gap. This should hardly be surprising. Maloney is a notorious front-runner and in a field of experienced veterans who are great tacticians, Jaworski likely wants to work in space early-on.

Florida's Imogen Barrett is trying to close the gap that the leaders have. She's still in this fringe position just off of the main group which now includes BYU's Claire Seymour. The Cougar veteran is so good in these postseason races and she looks like she's running with A LOT of confidence right now which is encouraging to see.

Michigan's Aurora Rynda just made a great move and she's showing so much poise. She's letting the action develop around her and then she's attacking during the lulls in this race. This is what happens when a veteran with a fast mark has championship experience.

Kassidy Johnson has worked her way into the lead pack. Based on her credentials, she has no business being near the lead, but if this race ends like I think it will, then she's going to have one of the best postseason peaks of any middle distance runner in the country.

...is Maloney fading?

Really impressive races by Seymour and Johnson who looked so calm and collected during that race. Seymour is going to prove, yet again, that her regular season performances are not at all indicative of her postseason success.

Rynda swung around Maloney on the final straight and got the final automatic qualifying spot! Wow! This is wild! Maloney is the definition of consistency and reliability. The LAST person who you thought would be at jeopardy of not making the finals is Maloney.

Barrett ran well, but she just couldn't close hard enough and had to settle for 5th place in her prelim. That's a shame as she turned out to be a much more promising half-miler this season than I thought she would be. However, she worked really hard trying to cover a lot of moves in this race and that may have hurt her in the end.

Geez, Lindsey Butler did not have a good start and got boxed out almost immediately. There's been a lot of early contact and the Virginia Tech star had to do some work, probably more than she preferred, in the early portion of this race.

I like the spots that McDonald and Tobias are in (behind Butler), but they'll have to respond to the rest of the field when they make their moves just like everyone else.

Hendrick and Giesing are also in a good position, but much like McDonald and Tobias, the effectiveness of their positioning will largely depend on who makes a big move.

It looks like Galvydyte is the one who is charging all the way up from the back portion of the chase pack. That was a very big and very decisive move.

The last lap was wild as a little bit of everything happened. Tobias getting boxed in ultimately didn't hurt her, but it could have been an issue if she didn't move out and try to get around to open space.

Much like Barrett in heat one, I thought Hendrick ran a great race, but she exerted a lot of energy by running in lane two and consistently responding to one or two moves that I don't think she needed to. That likely gave Keegan an edge over Hendrick in the final straight.

Despite the tactical hiccup, if that is going to be one of Hendrick's poorer races of the season, then I am very encouraged about what she can do in the finals.

Also, how about Keegan? The Villanova veteran quietly came out of nowhere to pass Hendrick at the end. It was a performance that will fly under the radar, but it was also a very good one. The second-half of her race was actually (slightly) quicker than her first-half.

One final note...take a look at the women who made it to the finals. The one thing that (almost) all of these women have in common is that they are established star 800 meter runners with extensive national meet experience. Five of these finalists were All-Americans in the 800 meters at last year's indoor national meet. In other words, experience matters...a lot.

Ah yes. Wesley Kiptoo going straight to the lead in a first-lap split of 28 seconds. And the one person who is immediately following him? Nico Young, the guy who would thrive the most in an ultra-fast race.

Nur and Wildschutt are also in the immediate chase pack, but that is hardly surprising. Both of those men thrive in all-out settings. I thought Jacobs would be a bit more conservative, but in a field full of distance talents who are at their best in this setting, it's probably best for him to chase rather than hang back.

The field is coming back to the leaders and Kemboi is bridging gap. I'm not trying to be that guy, but what did Kiptoo's early-race aggression do in that situation? It seemed to be largely ineffective.

Wildschutt is now going for the lead and is taking advantage of the fact that this time trial setting suits his raw fitness. He's just so much better than some of the men in this field and any fast pace will allow him to get some distance on his competition.

Young is just quietly hanging out in 3rd pace. He's not doing anything crazy and seems to be responding to what moves impact the overall chase pack as a whole. Nice poise for the second-year collegiate.

Kiptoo has returned to the lead for a mid-point push. The pace is ramping up, but it's still reasonable for a lot of these guys.

Alright, the lead is back to Wildschutt. Is this a coordinated effort? Or does Wildschutt not want Kiptoo to control the on-and-off surges of this race? Am I just reading too deep into this?

Ok, so now Kiptoo takes over the lead via the inside rail. Was that an intentional move by Wildschutt to let him take over? Are they just switching off in a pattern that I'm not realizing yet? Is anyone else asking these questions? Is it concerning if I'm the only one wondering this?

The lead is back to Wildschutt! This is boarderline comical.

Wildschutt is really trying to gap the field now, but Young and Nur are trying to cover the move. I don't know who is benefitting more from how this race has unfolded, but I'm wildly entertained.

Nur is taking a very brave approach of trying out-run Wildschutt...a guy who is known for his ability to out-run his competition. Yet, regardless of how this works out, I have to hand it to Wildschutt. He is validating his 5k race from Boston University and he's responding to all of the moves made in this field.

At this point, we have to acknowledge that Kiptoo is completely out of this race. I'll address that further when the race is finished.

Wowwww. This is one of the most impressive displays of aerobic dominance that I have seen in awhile. In a race that was aggressively paced and full of random, momentum-changing surges, Nur has been able to run away from Wildschutt...who was trying to run away from Nur. This race feels like it was all about raw talent and aerobic fitness and at the end of the day, the best names truly emerged on top.

Nico Young and Ky Robinson have been two underappreciated runners in this race! They were relentless in their pursuits of the leaders and refused to go away. As Nur gapped Wildschutt, these two men were able to smell blood in the water and their kicks, specifically from Robinson, proved to be good enough for the runner-up and 3rd place spots.

Guys like Bosley and Sprout will be underappreciated for their All-American performances. Their results, when paired with Nur, Robinson and Young, indicate that the future of NCAA distance running is in good hands.

Dylan Jacobs was my pick for the national title, but these surges and lead changes probably halted momentum for some of these guys. With the second-half of this race getting faster, it's understandable why Jacobs faltered a bit.

I just don't understand why Kiptoo continues to use these front-running approaches. They just don't make sense and on the national stage, they have failed to produce any amount of notable success for him. Kiptoo's tactics need to change. No, they have to change. He is arguably one of, if not the, most gifted distance runners in the country and it's a crime that he doesn't have at least two or three national titles at the D1 level right now.

Also...death, taxes and Amon Kemboi being an All-American.

Seeing Chelangat go to the front and handle this pace makes sense. She is a true front-runner and a faster pace that is set under her terms benefits her strengths as a runner.

Haley Herberg is sticking close to Chelangat and that makes plenty of sense since she is also a runner who employs front-running tactics. In fact, that has been her marquee racing style for a few seasons now.

Two key veterans, Jenna Magness and Lauren Gregory, are sitting in a solid spot near the upper-portion of the chase pack. They're able to monitor the leaders and react accordingly, so I would expect them to be near the front in the second-half of this race.

Herberg is taking over the pace now, but is that of her own doing? Or is Chelangat letting off the pace and purposefully giving it over to Herberg? Does it matter?

It should be noted that Katelyn Tuohy is slowly working her way up to the lead group...

Magness looks like she's exerting lot of energy by running in late two, but I also don't know how else she would react to the moves being made by the leaders if she was boxed in. Tactically, this looks like it was her only option from a positional standpoint.

I can't say enough good things about Wayment and Gregory. They are simply stalking Chelangat, only reacting to what she does and showing such incredible patience. No movement is unnecessary. These are what experienced stars look like.

Wow, this lead group slowed down A LOT. Chelangat is clearly toying with the field and is manipulating the pace, but what is the intention here? What was the purpose? To crowd the lead group and introduce new contenders to the chase pack? In theory, that actually sounds like a good idea.

If you had "Alexandra Hays taking over the lead in the second-half of this race" on your bingo card, then congrats, you're a winner! However, just because it surprised me doesn't mean I don't like it. Hays wasn't one of the main contenders who we spoke about coming into this race, so I like that she's actually trying to dictate this race on her own terms rather than just sitting back.

Alright, well I blinked and all of the sudden, Hays has dropped from the lead and Chelangat is back in front, pushing the pace. Regardless of how she finishes, I still liked the move from Hays...

Magness is STILL running in (what looks like) lane two and yet, she is still in an All-American position.

Wayment is taking over with three laps to go! She's making a push and Gregory is responding...and so is Tuohy! Although I'm not going to lie, this feels like it's a half-lap (or even a full lap) too early. However, if anyone can implement a strength-based kick, it's going to be Wayment.

Chelangat's aerobic strength as a runner wouldn't make you think that she would respond to these last few laps as well as she has. However, there's a little more speed in her than I thought. It's not going to be enough, but it's respectable.

Wow, Tuohy is really making a move!

Oh my gosh!

She might do it!

Wow.

Thrilling finish. Absolutely electric race. I still think Wayment went too early, but she is clearly the best distance runner in the nation. Making her move from a few laps out forced her to rely on her aerobic strength and that was clearly enough.

I won't lie, coming into this race, I wasn't entirely sold that Katelyn Tuohy was at a truly elite collegiate level (yet). Yes, she was strong in cross country and yes, she ran 8:54 for 3000 meters back in December. However, I think a lot of people assumed that Tuohy was already amongst the most elite distance runners in the nation despite not having a career-defining performance. Welp, this was her career-defining result, at least for someone as young as her. She fought to the line and took down some outstanding veterans who were having some of the better races of their careers. Congrats to Tuohy, she was remarkable.

There were a lot of great runners to highlight, but Magness continues to produce All-American finishes after her 6th place result. I'm going to miss Magness when she graduates, mainly because she makes me look smarter than I really am when I predict her to be an All-American.

It looks like Texas is using an altered lineup (which is something that we predicted). This roster is designed to put together an elite DMR lineup, and they have some of the best replacements in the NCAA, but you have to wonder if they'll have enough firepower in general.

The Wisconsin men are out in front, something that we predicted could happen on the Blue Oval Podcast. One could actually argue that Adam Spencer is the best lead-off leg in this field. He's just that good.

Gomez was a major x-factor in this field given how up and down he has been this season. However, he has had massive success in the distances that are slightly longer than 800 meters and he has split 2:49 for 1200 meters before. Having him lead off was a smart (and logical) decision, but he faltered and was the second-to-last finisher on his leg. That is just the risk that some of these guys on this relay held.

I love that Joe Waskom is fairly young and willing to be aggressive for this Washington DMR, but if his surge to the front disrupted Gomez any further via contact, then the Huskies could have been DQ'd.

Oh wow! Wisconsin's Adam Spencer made a monster move in an attempt to separate himself from the field. I didn't realize that he had that in him with the madness of the chase pack eventually catching up to him earlier in the race.

SUPER impressive leg by Michigan veteran Tom Dodd who has been fairly quiet this season. With Cole Johnson doing the 800 meters, it made sense to put an 800/mile specialist like Dodd on this leg. Nice call by Coach Kevin Sullivan who opted to go with the veteran to keep his Wolverines in the mix.

Wow, this 800 meter leg suddenly got really tight across the board. There were only two to three leaders when they got the baton, but it looks like we are seven men deep in this leg in terms of title contention. Not only that, but Notre Dame is back in the mix...sorta. Nuguse will at least have a shot at the win when gets the baton.

Speaking of which, Nuguse did a good job of not wasting all of his energy at once to catch the leaders, but I thought he could have been just a little more patient when trying to catch up to the leaders...but hey, I'm just a guy behind a computer.

I love seeing Schoppe take over the lead. He has tons of momentum this season and is fresh, taking over the lead and trying to out-run Notre Dame. Schoppe is putting the Fighting Irish in a position where Nuguse has to fight even harder for the lead after expending energy to get caught up.

Alright, so maybe Schoppe's move was a little too aggressive as he ultimately faltered. However, the surges that were made to get to the front, specifically by Yaseen Abdalla (Texas) and Sam Ellis (Princeton) was a lot for Nuguse to respond to. It also didn't help Notre Dame that Nuguse had his momentum stalled twice in this race and that Jackson Sharp continues to crowd the lead pack.

In the end, Nuguse has nothing left, but STILL salvaged a runner-up result. Instead of Notre Dame, it was Yaseen Abdalla and the Longhorns who showed lethal speed and looked super fresh. All of that gave the Texas men the national title!

Abdalla was having a phenomenal season, but I wasn't expecting him to split 3:55! His control and poise throughout this race, despite his relative youth, was impressive. Shoutout to Coach Watson who basically won a national title without his first options.

Also...48:29 + click the L3 column

Kentucky's Jenna Gearing is going to the lead which is a bit of a surprise, but I like it. She can't be passive and there are a few vulnerable legs in this field. If you're the last seed like Kentucky, go out and attack.

Barnett continues to run near the lead. I feel great about that.

Ok, I guess I don't feel THAT great about it...but can you blame her? She just led 90% of a mile prelim en route to a new personal best. She is going to be understandably tired on this 1200 meter leg.

Arkansas' Isabel Van Camp and Stanford's Christina Aragon looked really strong once they assumed the lead...

...but before I can even finish this thought, I'm seeing Oregon State's Kaylee Mitchell hand off the baton in the lead. She ran with Aragon and Oregon's Izzy Thornton-Bott as those relays controlled this race through the 1200 meter leg.

I'll admit, I wanted to offer more analysis on that first leg, but it was very dynamic and it seemed like we had five different leaders at one point. Plus, there was tons of change in the chase packs. However, what I will say is that Oregon, Oregon State and Stanford were not at all my first picks to be leading through the 1200 meter leg. On paper, I just didn't have the same confidence in them that I did in a few other teams.

Now that we're through the 400 meter leg, we-...did someone fall? Did Virginia Tech trip? Tough news (if true) for a solid lineup that needed a lot to go right without Butler on their anchor (according to the live results).

Krissy Gear may not have been at 100% this winter, but she is so good and so reliable, especially in relays. Choosing to put her on the 800 meter leg was a great choice as she is probably one of the best in the nation when it comes to dropping down in distance. Her 2:03 split was incredibly clutch and it was exactly what Arkansas needed.

I've been a fan of Jenna Schwinghamer this season after seeing some of her underappreciated work in the middle distances. I don't think I necessarily expected her to split 2:03, making a monster move and putting this team in the lead, but I'm not surprised that she had such a notable impact, either.

On the anchor leg, Kentucky's Tori Herman was doing a good job of creating some initial distance and forcing only a few select teams to chase her. However, it seemed like a matter of time until Oregon (Aneta Konieczek) and Arkansas (Logan Jolly) caught her. Those two teams were slowly making up ground.

I admittedly thought that Konieczek was the better miler and the one more prepared to run away from the other anchors in this field. And for a moment, it looked like that was going to be reflected in the outcome. However, Jolly made such a decisive move and eventually surged to the front, showing off tremendous turnover in the process. In the end, Arkansas got the win.

I knew Jolly was good, but splitting 4:32 on the anchor was a pleasant surprise. She's traditionally been a 3k runner before this season, but her progression in the mile and her recent ability to peak in that event over the last month made her a natural fit for this relay.

Also, shoutout to Julia Heymach who was closing VERY hard. If she had one extra lap, then the Stanford women would absolutely be the national champions in this event. That's what you get with a superstar anchor.

The Oregon Ducks still salvaged a great 3rd place finish, although a lot of credit needs to be given to the 4th place Oregon State Beavers, a team that I admittedly didn't have much faith in. I didn't think the Beavers had the pieces who were conducive to a top finish. However, Mitchell and Fetherstonhaugh were so darn good and they showed me that they could effectively drop down to the middle distances.

Also, great showing by Kentucky. A 5th place result is pretty huge when you consider that they were the last seed. I mentioned that they had one of the more reliable lineups in this field and from the looks of it, that seems to be true.

After the top-five finishers in this field, the rest of these results were...ugly. NC State was disqualified, Washington's Taylor Chiotti fell during her 1200 meter leg, Virginia Tech may have had a relay member fall (likely on the 400 meter leg), BYU was without their two best legs and Virginia could only do so much with a freshman being on the double.