One Sentence Previews: 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships Men's 800 Meters (D3)

Additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin

NOTE: Athletes are listed in order of their seed position. Final predictions are at the bottom.

After an impressive second-half of the season, Jasa is back to being a slight title favorite, although the idea that he's an absolute lock to win would be a big stretch.

Everybody in the final on Saturday will have (obviously) raced a prelim the day before which, in theory, could benefit someone with outstanding 1500 meter strength like Cargile.

After a breakout season, Hotung-Davidsen is in a good spot to improve upon his 7th place finish from the indoor national meet, especially when you consider how consistent he's been this spring.

The two time 3rd place finisher is looking to take a shot at the national title, but even if he doesn't win, he's still a safe bet to run well this weekend.

Houser is peaking at the perfect time, running a two-second PR just over a week ago to earn a top-five seed and suddenly shift our conversation about what role he can play in the finals (assuming he qualifies).

The runner-up from the indoor national meet has impressive credentials and enough national meet experience to contend for his first national title, but he is doubling back from the 1500 meters which could complicate his pursuit for gold.

The second part of the best 1-2 half-mile punch in D3, Oberfoell is one of the nation’s best talents in his own right who doesn't always get enough credit for his success given the elite firepower of teammate Mike Jasa.

Lenners has beaten everybody he has faced in the 800 meters this season, which includes some high-level competition, arguably making him the most underrated name in this entire field.

Qualifying on the last possible day, Dalton Martin is back among the nation’s elite after some tough races earlier this season, but it seems like momentum is very clear on his side right now and that's encouraging to see.

Steeves’ impressive consistency this year can help him reach another national final, but he may need to have the best race of his career if he's going to become a top-half All-American.

He may be seeded outside the top-10, but you can never count out the indoor national champion who is an all-around stud and is 3-0 in 800 meter races since the indoor national meet final.

Dettman’s best performance this spring came in early April and while it would be nice if that happened later in the season, he has still been very impressive and very consistent since then.

After a three-second PR in his last regular season meet, Magnuson is in a great spot to compete against the nation’s best, especially if he's only scratching the surface of his newfound upside.

He’s been knocking on the door of a breakthrough race for a long time, having run a 1:52 mark 10 different times (!) without going under until he finally saw 1:50 on the clock at Augustana last week, effectively giving him a massive surge of confidence for this weekend.

After missing the final by less than a hundredth of a second at the indoor national meet, the freshman will have a chip on his shoulder in his second national meet appearance now that he knows what to expect from certain men in this field.

Killian is one of many men in the field who is peaking at just the right moment, having run a 1:50 mark less than 10 days ago to complement his outstanding consistency throughout this spring season.

After a breakthrough season, the sophomore looks ready for his first national meet appearance, but trying to properly analyze someone who has only ever run under 1:55 twice throughout his career is a challenge.

He just snuck into this national field, but his surprise 2nd place finish last spring goes to show that you never know what Iddriss Iddriss is capable of as he always seems to run his best marks during championship season.

He seemed like more of a miler prior to this season, but he has showcased some excellent speed and has proven that he can compete with some of the best at this 800 meter runners at this distance.

Shumaker has limited big meet experience, but has put together some excellent performances late in the season, signaling a very legitimate postseason peak.