One Sentence Previews: 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships Women's 5k (D3)

Additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin

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

With the second-fastest 5k of all-time at the Division Three level, Baran could be argued as the favorite considering that she comes into this race fresh, but will Parker push Baran past the D3 record 15:37?

With a 10k race already in her legs, will Kassie Parker have the energy to replicate her NCAA #4 D3 All-Time performance of 16:09 from the Drake Relays and take down a fresh Ella Baran in the process?

In any year that’s not 2022, Fiona Smith's 16:16 mark would be the fastest national qualifying mark, but this year it’s only at NCAA #3, although she is debatably closer to the best tier of this field than the second-best.

We saw Ari Marks challenge Parker and Baran twice at the indoor national meet, so you can never count her out, especially with her ability to thrive in aggressively paced settings against elite competition.

Evie Miller’s PR of 16:26 from the Raleigh Relays can be improved upon given the potential of this loaded field, but this is only if she is feeling fresh enough after contesting the steeplechase.

Mayfield ran the 25th-fastest 5k time in deep race at the Drake Relays with a mark of 16:33 and she has also battled Fiona Smith countless times this year, giving the Carleton ace plenty of experience and comfort with elite fields such as this.

Tucker recorded a DNF the 5k at the indoor national meet, so hopefully she can put that behind her and replicate her 4th place finish from last year’s outdoor national meet, a result that is far more indicative of her actual talent.

Alex Ross attempted the 10k/5k double at last year’s outdoor national meet which ended with 12th and 9th place finishes, although given her under-the-radar improvements and growing experience, she should be able to snag All-American honors in this field.

One of three women with a 16:41 seed time, Heeringa has the lethal speed of a 1500 meter national meet qualifier which opens up the possibilities in terms of how she responds to certain race scenarios.

Spjut recorded a DNF in the only race that she was entered in at the Centennial Conference meet which is a little concerning (unless it was for pacing), but outside of that result, Spjut has a realistic chance of being an All-American if this race plays out in her favor.

This is Clarke's first outdoor national meet and is one of the few women who will be coming into this event fresh, something that she could use to her advantage as she tries to improve upon her 16:45 PR and effectively earns an All-American honor in the process.

Fisher was able to pull off the steeple/5k double last spring and her 16:48 PR at Plateville this spring means that she is coming in fitter than ever before, giving her a realistic chance to bounce back from the steeplechase en route to a potential second All-American honor if her first race goes well.

After only finishing 19th place in the 5k during the indoor national meet, Wolmer will be looking to break into the top-10, and although she is certainly capable of doing so, she will have raced the 10k the night before.

After missing the indoor track season, Annika Urban may be a high-momentum sleeper pick who you want on your radar given that she has two new personal bests in two different events in her last two meets.

Erin Magill would have been the last national qualifier in the 1500 meters, but she scratched to focus on the 5k which, at first glance, was a minor surprise, but she has been exceptional in the 5000 meters, almost never having a poor race in that event.

Riley Harmon opted for the 5k over the steeplechase which was an interesting choice as she was ranked at NCAA #16 in the steeplechase and NCAA #18 in the 5k, although this plan does allow her to be fresh against the maximum number of women who will be doubling.

After narrowly missing All-American honors during at the NCAA Indoor Championships, (9th in the 5k) Riley Mayer is looking for redemption, but she will most likely need to improve her 5k PR of 16:55 to do that.

Burnett used the Lee University Last Chance meet to qualify for the national meet, but her hopes of outperforming her seed/position will largely depend on how much faster she can improve upon her already-recent 5k personal best.

The 1500 meters is almost certainly her better event (she is seeded sixth in that race), but Emily Konkus will be looking to scrape together a few more points if this race somehow gets tactical which, on paper, heavily favors Konkus.

This graduate student came back for a chance to get her first All-American award on the track and if the 10k doesn’t go her way the night before, then she has a good chance of succeeding in the 5k, mainly because Keene has never finished outside of the top-three in any race that she has contested this year.

Like her teammate Emily Konkus, Emma Walter has a better event (the 10k) and is in the 5k to just use whatever is left in her legs in her first individual appearance at a national meet on the track.

Sara Stephenson is just happy to be here after scratches and will be doubling back from the steeplechase, but maybe she can sneak under 17 minutes for the first time if she can follow this presumably fast pace.