One Sentence Previews: 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships Women's 1500 Meters (D2)

Additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin

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

Hernandez is an experienced runner who will benefit from her turnover, aggressive racing tendencies and overall firepower, especially if this race is tactical.

Flanagan is a reliable veteran whose experience, raw talent and overall versatility -- when it comes to speed and endurance -- gives her a very realistic shot at winning the national title, especially if the final becomes a test of one's aerobic capacity.

Ritter’s greatest strengths are her versatility, her closing speed and her extensive championship experience, and while the 1500 meters is a little short for her level of endurance, she still has what it takes to contend for the title.

O’Connor, who finished 3rd in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships this past March, has strung together a series of impressive race this spring and while she does not yet have the experience or the turnover to be a title contender, another top-five finish is a very realistic expectation for someone who races above her age.

We knew that McGrath was a talented runner after she surprised us at the NCAA Indoor Championships with her 5th place finish in the mile, but she has only validated her success since then and will surely thrive when executing in tactical settings this weekend.

Novak is a highly experience and versatile runner who barely missed the finals in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships, but she has strong momentum heading into this race after setting several PRs in the past few weeks, a frequent habit of hers.

The dynamic Laker veteran is having one of the better track seasons of her career, and while the 5k is arguably her better event heading into the championship meets, seeing her qualify for the finals and earning All-American honors seems not just realistic, but expected.

Almasri is another UC-Colorado Springs athlete who has strong momentum heading into this race as her new personal bests in the 800 meters and the 1500 meters leave us with much more to like than dislike heading into this weekend.

Streff is a dark horse in this race and while she tends to be overshadowed by her CSU-Pueblo teammate at the top of the performance list, she still has some of the best speed and turnover in this field, theoretically making her a scary-good name in a tactical affair.

Despite her incredible championship accolades, O’Malley hasn’t had quite the same edge this spring, although we certainly wouldn't count her out given her talent and Grand Valley State’s reputation of executing on championship stages.

Burgos placed 6th in this event last spring before falling off of our radar during the cross country and the indoor track seasons, although she appears to be pretty close to top form this season and could be a major sleeper name in this race.

Lawrence has only had one solid performance in this event so far this season, but she has been racing in a plethora of 800 meter races, working on her turnover and closing speed, leading us to believe that her chances of making it out of the prelims seem pretty good.

Roxby is a somewhat unknown name, but we know Simon Fraser is a middle distance powerhouse and that she has run consistent and impressive times in the 800 meters as well as the 1500 meters this season, making her a true wild card heading into this race.

McCune was the first one out of the finals in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships, but based on her promising consistency and her ability to place very highly in multiple competitive races, McCune is someone who is better than her seed may indicate.

Beyer has improved her middle distance times by an impressive amount, and while her turnover and competitive firepower are major strengths, she lacks the valuable experience that others in this field boast.

The RMAC champion in the 1500 meters has also run an 800 meter PR of 2:10 which shows us that she has some of the better speed in this field, although her performances have not been super consistent and she lacks championship experience, making her a head-scratching wild card going into this race.

Schmidt is an established veteran who has past All-American honors and while she hasn't looked quite as sharp in every race that she has contested this season, she is still someone who can certainly outperform her seed time and position.

Much like Schmidt, English is highly experienced and has been an All-American multiple times throughout her career, leading us to believe that she can realistically make the top-eight once again despite her fairly low seed position.

The former Northwest Missouri runner has been metronomic in terms of her consistency this year, although she'll need a minor breakout race, either tactically or time-wise, to advance out of the prelims.

Riley peaked in the postseason during the winter months and has already run a new PR at Lee's Last Chance meet last week, meaning that she might have some unrealized upside going into this weekend.

Hedlund hasn't necessarily looked super sharp this spring, but she has a 4:49 mile PR and she shocked us after earning All-American honors in the winter, making it impossible to not at least consider this UCCS runner as a legitimate threat to make it to the finals.

Gaining national meet experience is going to be the main goal for this freshman, but Hawkins has had some really promising moments this year and talented youngsters can sometimes be major wild cards in these preliminary rounds.