Maura Beattie
Mar 46 min
Written by Maura Beattie, edits and additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin
Editor's Note: Our TSR writers were asked to produce three sentences or less of analysis on every entrant in every distance event for every division.
In a race where Katelyn Tuohy was viewed as the overwhelming favorite, Maia Ramsden pulled off an upset when she won the 1500-meter national title at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Nowadays, the Harvard junior is on the cusp of winning yet another title, especially after posting a monster 4:24 mile PR at the Millrose Games. On paper, Ramsden is one of the most complete runners in this field, flexing aerobic prowess and excellent turnover which are the major reasons why she is favored for gold this upcoming weekend.
Following Coach Will Palmer from Alabama to Florida was a smart move for Flomena Asekol as she’s now a top contender for this season's indoor mile national title. Despite some up and down performances over the last year, the experience that Asekol has secured, along with her underrated range from the 800 meters up to the 6k on the grass, makes this NCAA veteran incredibly dangerous. However, will her 4:26 mile PR translate to a fast finish in a race that could end up being fairly tactical?
Providence’s own Kimberley May was the first woman this winter to run sub-4:30 in the mile thanks to her jaw-dropping 4:27 PR at Boston. On paper, the Friar ace has everything required to vie for the mile national title at the NCAA Indoor Championships, boasting the right mix of speed and strength. However, arguably more importantly, she’s had some of the best momentum in the NCAA ever since the cross country season ended.
It might concern some that Washington sophomore Chloe Foerster doesn’t have any national level experience, but there's a small contingent at TSR that is willing to look past that (myself included). Coach Maurica Powell has done a great job of developing Foerster, capitalizing on her unique mix of speed and underrated cross country strength. But in a field of veterans, can the young Husky kick her way onto the podium?
It’s going to be a busy weekend for Oklahoma State’s Billah Jepkirui between the mile, the 3000 meters and possibly a leg on her DMR (which feels unlikely, but still reasonable). Regarding the mile, you could argue that this Cowgirl star is in the mix for the national title given her excellent 4:29 PR from earlier this season and surprisingly strong understanding of positioning. While she is fairly dynamic, I feel like an honest race where the Oklahoma State miler gets to showcase her strength would be the most beneficial for Jepkirui.
It’s quite interesting to see what Northern Arizona’s Maggi Congdon is going to do this upcoming weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships, going after both the 800 meters and the mile. By the time that Congdon toes the line for the mile finals (assuming she qualifies), the senior will have plenty of lactic acid in her legs, essentially making her a wild card in this field despite her all-around excellent skillset. Congdon has the potential to finish as an All-American in the mile, but can she pull a Geordie Beamish, a former Northern Arizona miler (2019), and utilize her turnover en route to an upset victory?
It's admittedly been hard to gauge West Virginia’s Ceili McCabe this season, largely due to her lack of racing. She may have set a 4:30 PR in the mile this winter and boast an elite pedigree, but a recent 3rd place finish in the mile at the BIG 12 Championships leaves us wondering what the ceiling for this Mountaineer veteran is come Friday and Saturday.
Klaudia Kazimierska has raced sparingly this winter, but each time that she has toed the line, she’s made it count. Oregon’s standout miler punched her ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships for the second year in a row after running 4:30 for the mile in mid-February, although we haven’t seen her race since then. At her best, she's a heavy All-American favorite, but will the lack of top-heavy racing help or hinder Kazimerska in this deep field?
It’s only been a few months since Silan Ayyildiz moved from the east coast to the west coast, but she’s already thriving under the guidance of Coach Shalane Flanagan. The newest Duck star has championship experience under her belt, but has yet to qualify for the finals on the national stage. However, Ayyildiz has been on a mission this indoor track season to prove why she’s one of the best milers in the NCAA right now, flexing outstanding momentum, earning late-season personal bests and simply looking more poised in many of her races.
Earlier this season, we were trying to gauge which event Georgetown’s Melissa Riggins would have a better shot to podium in: the mile or the 3k. And as it turns out, the Hoya star is trying her luck at both. Riggins will be a major threat (possibly for the title) to the competition in this field due to her unmatched 2:03 (800) closing speed and surprisingly strong aerobic strength.
Providence’s Shannon Flockhart has been running in the shadow of teammate Kimberley May this season, but we also need to acknowledge that this mile veteran may be one of the best backend distance seeds of anyone in the NCAA this weekend. The Friar ace has been an All-American on the outdoor oval for 1500 meters and it’s only a matter of time until she earns that honor on the indoor track. Flockhart’s shiny 4:30 (mile) PR might be far off the field-leading seed time of 4:24, but tactically speaking, she is one of the better women entered in this race.
We’ve been here before: Margot Appleton making a run for the mile podium at the NCAA Indoor Championships. In 2023, the Virginia star finished a pleasantly surprising 4th place in the mile finals at the indoor national meet thanks to a come-from-behind kick. We aren’t fully convinced that Appleton will replicate her 2023 performance, but her seasonal consistency this winter has been really encouraging to see.
After a shrug-inducing mile season debut of 4:37, Laura Pellicoro started to find her groove, recording back-to-back 4:31 marks in the mile. We aren’t saying that the Portland Pilot is going to have it easy now that she’s back at the top of her game, but we are saying that she’s given us hope that her recent consistency will pay off.
For the season that Virginia’s Anna Workman has had, it’s only fair the Cavalier runner concludes it at the indoor national meet. The junior, who had never run a collegiate mile prior to this winter, popped off big time with a 4:31 run earlier this season. Making the finals would be huge for Workman and whatever she does from there is icing on the cake for a breakout season.
Kileigh Kane has been flying under the radar this season, running a strong 4:32 (mile) PR and a respectable 9:15 (3k) mark. The Penn State Nittany Lion wasn’t expected to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, but here she is, making a name for herself amongst the country’s best milers. Does Kane have what it takes to outdo her seed and bring home an All-American finish?
BYU’s Carmen Alder snuck into the NCAA Indoor Championships thanks in part to a number of scratches. The Cougar junior hasn’t run anything too flashy this winter and she's very clearly an underdog to qualify for the mile finals. Even so, the 2023 season showed us that backend mile seeds can find a significant amount of success on this stage and Alder could be that next runner during this go-around.