Ian Dickenson
Mar 65 min
Written by Ian Dickenson, edits and additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve
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.
What more can we say about Wes Ferguson that we haven’t already said? He is the clearest national title favorite in any distance event in Division Two (potentially even the entire NCAA on the men's side) and hasn’t shown anything to suggest otherwise this season. Ferguson is no doubt looking to add to his ludicrous tally of three national titles over 800 meters.
2. David Cardenas (Adams State)
With how formidable of a national title contender Wes Ferguson is, David Cardenas headlines the fight for silver, but that’s no slight to this Adams State star. Cardenas has had a fantastic season, not just over 800 meters, but also in the mile, an event that he just won at the RMAC Indoor Championships. He’s coming into the indoor national meet with outstanding strength and should breeze through the preliminary round before contending for a podium finish.
3. Harry Ross-Hughes (Lake Erie)
There’s no better predictor for national meet success than one's tactical pedigree -- and Harry Ross-Hughes has exactly that. The Lake Erie star has won multiple conference titles over 800 meters already, including a victory two weekends ago in a hotly contested G-MAC Indoor Championship. Although it’s only his second year in the NCAA, this Lake Erie sophomore has displayed the competitive ability to make his mark at the half-mile distance.
4. Daylen Madison (Ashland)
Another sophomore out of the G-MAC, Daylen Madison posted an impressive 1:49.01 (800) mark at his conference championship meet. The 800 meters at the national meet is a uniquely tense and physical race, so Madison’s ability to handle that pressure will determine his success. While he has the talent to be close to the podium, it will still be a challenge to get through the heats for this young middle distance ace.
5. Braxton Bruer (MSU-Moorhead)
Braxton Bruer had a couple of rough 800-meter races on the national stage in 2023. Luckily, he has since earned a number of victories this season and is threatening to change that precedent. However, it should not be dismissed that Bruer's heat is arguably the hardest of the three and the MSU-Moorhead senior has to get through that round first.
6. Noah Bernarding (California (PA))
Momentum is very important entering the postseason, so it's encouraging that Noah Bernarding just ran his personal best (1:49) for 800 meters two weekends ago. He has never competed at a national meet before, but Bernarding could leverage his confidence to outperform what his lack of experience might suggest his finish in this field should be.
7. Ethan Lang (Fort Hays State)
Returning to a national meet to compete in an individual event for the first time since 2022, Ethan Lang must be eager to make it to the final. The last time he competed at the indoor national meet, he made it through the prelims, but was disqualified in the final. Lang has raced often this season and competed well each time, so his growing experience gives him a good chance to advance to the finals.
8. Angel Luera (Dallas Baptist)
While Angel Luera hasn’t had his best season ever, he still posted a respectable mile personal best (4:08) in December and a sub-1:50 mark for 800 meters in early February. Behind Wes Ferguson, Luera is the second-highest returning finisher in this event from the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships. He is one of the best and most refined middle distance runners in Division Two, meaning that a podium placement is well within reach.
9. Nicolas Melendres (Azusa Pacific)
It’s easy to look at the national leaderboard and count out the guys just on the fringes of that sub-1:50 zone, but that doesn’t always depict the full story. Nicolas Melendres has only had the chance to compete over 800 meters once this season, and in that race, he ran over two seconds faster than he ever had before. California-based programs like APU don’t get the chance to race on the indoor oval as often as other teams do, so Melendres comes in underrated, but with tons of potential to compete with the best.
10. Lewis Cotterill (Tiffin)
To return to the topic of momentum, Lewis Cotterill is rounding into great form for this national meet. After posting a personal best to place 3rd behind Harry Ross-Hughes and Daylen Madison at the G-MAC meet, Cotterill appears to be in the best shape of his career. He will find it hard to qualify for the final with those same conference rivals in his preliminary heat, but it would be a success if he does.
11. Dominic Suliman (Saginaw Valley State)
Dominic Suliman has one of the best mile PRs in this field. Although as a possible damper to his success over 800 meters, that versatility means that he will be doubling back from the mile. There’s only about an hour between the two events, and given that Suliman is the only athlete competing in both, he might struggle in his 800-meter prelim race.
12. Aziz Mohamed (West Texas A&M)
Out of all the competitors in this field, Aziz Mohamed placed the highest at the recent NCAA XC Championships (30th) by a staggering 51 places. While that doesn’t quite mean that he’s a favorite for a top finish in this event, Mohamed is perhaps the most unique runner competing in this field and maybe the strongest, aerobically speaking.
13. Maxime Touron (NW Missouri)
Maxime Touron has posted personal bests in not only the 800 meters, but also the 1000 meters and the mile this season. Because of the gulf between his modest personal best and experience, contrasted with the range and consistency that he provides. The dynamic Bearcat talent has one of the wider ranges of outcomes in this field and that unpredictability could sneak him through to the final in all the commotion of this event.
14. Drew Dailey (Shippensburg)
After failing to qualify for the final the previous two times that he has raced on the national stage, Drew Dailey may be primed to break through in Pittsburg, Kansas this weekend. He started this season slowly, but has improved considerably since then and appears within range of the 1:48 (800) PR that he set in 2022. If that version of Dailey shows up for the indoor national meet, then he'll be a very tough out.
15. Prince Mcabelo (West Texas A&M)
A JUCO product now in his first season of Division Two competition, Prince Mcabelo has some of the best speed in this field as well as some underrated experience competing against top talents during his time in the NJCAA. Though he comes in as an underdog, Mcabelo will not be out of his depth in this race.
16. Scott Spaanstra (Grand Valley State)
Scott Spaanstra is a veteran of the middle distance scene, having raced at four different national meets already. The Laker man doesn’t quite have the firepower of the favorites atop this list, but he has the savvy to rally to an All-American finish towards the twilight of his NCAA career.
17. Zach Van Brocklin (Nebraska-Kearney)
Sometimes in track and field, circumstances can come together to exclude some really bright talents and other times, they work out just enough to give someone the chance that they need to break out. That’s seemingly what’s happened to Zach Van Brocklin, who just barely pushed himself into the indoor national meet by matching Scott Spaanstra’s mark with a flat-track conversion of 1:50.46 (800). And of course, it feels fitting that two Nebraska-Kearney Lopers bookend this list.