Conor Daly
Mar 87 min
Written by Conor Daly, 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.
There are few men (if any) who have followed as exciting of a trajectory this winter as Isaac vanWestrienen. However, as positive as his emergence has been, it also means that he has no national meet experience on the track at the Division Three level. Add in some uncertainty about how he will rebound from the 5k the previous day, and ultimately, the field that follows vanWestrienen is just too good to declare him as the title favorite despite his seeding (although that's not to say that he can't win gold).
2. Ethan Gregg (UW-La Crosse)
Ethan Gregg has seemingly been in a rough patch of sorts lately. His February 5k effort at Boston U. wasn’t up to his standards and then he was recently beaten over the same distance by a teammate. Nonetheless, Gregg is the defending 3k national champion and a pair of good, but not great, performances in a different event are no cause to think that he can't defend his 3000-meter crown.
3. Cory Kennedy (RPI)
Although he’s long been impressive on the cross country course, Cory Kennedy had not yet figured out how to be just as strong on the track...until this season. The RPI man has looked rock solid in recent months, including a mile win over an eventual national qualifier in that event. That’s some turnover that we have never seen from Kennedy which makes him nothing short of a dark horse national title contender in the 3k.
4. Spencer Moon (Simpson (IA))
It’s no secret that national meets (especially on the track) have tended to not be friendly to Spencer Moon no matter how fit he appears to be leading into the race. If Moon can stay relaxed within the pack and not make any overly aggressive moves to the front of this race early on, then he could be on track to change that trajectory. He certainly has the personal bests and the resume to do so.
5. Grant Matthai (UW-La Crosse)
The first of the Matthai twins on this list gave Ethan Gregg a run for his money earlier this season in a paced 3k that ultimately advanced him to the indoor national meet. Recent mile and 5k efforts have resulted in some encouragingly fast times, but what hasn’t been as encouraging is that Grant Matthai has often been finding himself just on the backend of the lead pack. That's understandable when you have teammates of the caliber that he does, although Matthai's ability to close could play a role in the All-American conversation.
6. Adam Loenser (UW-La Crosse)
Like many of his teammates, Adam Loenser has all of his the bases covered. Just as nationally competitive in the mile and the 5k as he is in the 3k, Loenser is theoretically set up beautifully for this exact distance. He also appears to have better late-race turnover than most, making him that much more dangerous.
7. Nate Lentz (Williams)
Every man who has been listed ahead of Nate Lentz will also be running the 5k the previous day. That gives him the perfect opportunity to beat many of them when they are fatigued. If Lentz is able to handle the presumably hot pace, then his mile/3k skillset could give him the edge over the 3k/5k build of most of his competitors.
8. Frank Csorba (Lynchburg)
After knocking out his national qualifying mark right after cross country season, Frank Csorba has spent his winter dropping down to the mile, running on his team’s elite DMR and tripling at his conference meet. What we’re trying to say is that he hasn’t given the 3k a proper go in over three months, making him a bit of an unknown in this field. His middle-of-the-season mile results were a bit underwhelming, but we need to give the four-time All-American the benefit of the doubt that he will round into shape just fine.
9. Aidan Matthai (UW-La Crosse)
Like his aforementioned teammates, Aidan Matthai carries the complete package of having both mile and 5k credentials to set him up to be one of the best in the nation over 3000 meters. He’s also coming off of a WIAC 5k title over many of his teammates who are in this race alongside him. That race was relatively slow, meaning that Matthai was able to close over his competition which is only a positive in our perception of his tactical awareness.
10. Chasen Hunt (Lynchburg)
This sophomore has been a huge part of the ongoing rise of the Lynchburg distance program this academic year and the Hornets are aiming to capture a DMR national title before Frank Csorba and Chasen Hunt venture to the 3k. Hunt has some serious momentum coming into the weekend after capturing a pair of conference titles over star teammates Frank Csorba (twice) and Sam Llaneza (once). With tons of upside, it's hard to dislike this Hornet standout.
11. Colin Kirkpatrick (Pomona-Pitzer)
Better known as a steeplechaser, Colin Kirkpatrick may feel a bit out of his element at his first indoor national meet. With arguably some of the best speed in the field, his greatest challenge will lie in dealing with a hot pace which is likely to be present in any race that Ethan Gregg is headlining. Coming off of a 26th place finish at the cross country national meet, it’s certainly possible Kirkpatrick will be able to keep pace, but we'd like to see it first.
12. Christopher Collet (Wartburg)
Most years, Christopher Collet overbooks himself at the indoor national meet, leaving him out of gas by the time that he gets to the 3k. Yet, this year Collet will only have the DMR before this race, making him a serious All-American contender in what should be the steeplechase star's optimal distance. With plentiful championship experience and 4:05 mile speed, there’s no reason to think that anyone in this field has an edge over a rested Collet.
13. Gunner Schlender (UW-Whitewater)
The 3k is going to feel like a sprint to this 10k specialist. Naturally, Gunner Schlender will need a fast-paced race to be at his best which, as we’ve previously mentioned, is a fairly likely scenario. Taking down national champion teammate Christian Patzka three times this season is a sneaky good résumé boost which could mean that Schlender is due for a huge breakthrough in this event.
14. Christian Patzka (UW-Whitewater)
Don’t be fooled by his modest seeding, Christian Patzka is considered one of the national title favorites in this race and for good reason. In addition to his own impressive credentials, he’s one of the few men who have beaten Ethan Gregg throughout this academic year, doing so multiple times (partially on the grass). The multi-time national champion seemingly holds the perfect mix of speed, strength and tactical awareness to put himself atop the podium...or be pretty dang close to it.
15. Enrique Salazar (Manchester)
This Manchester veteran is an anomaly in that he enters the weekend having yet to lose any of his nine individual races this winter! Yes, it’s true that Enrique Salazar hasn’t faced the greatest competition, but it’s highly commendable that he has run times of 8:08 (3k) and 14:01 (5k), mostly solo, without the advantage of a well-paced Boston U. field like much of his competition. Adding in top-tier challengers this weekend should, in theory, boost what Salazar can do, but that’s not a guarantee.
16. Colin McLaughlin (Carnegie Mellon)
While Colin McLaughlin’s seed time in-and-of-itself may not be overly impressive, the fact that he ran that time the day after splitting 4:08 on his team's DMR certainly is. With a 1500-meter national meet appearance to his name, McLaughlin is also well-rounded with some impressive cross country marks. This time around, the junior will be completely fresh for this event, potentially giving him an edge over many of his competitors.
17. Michael Madoch (UW-La Crosse)
Since running a national qualifying mark with his teammates at the end of January, Michael Madoch has stayed away from the 3k, focusing his efforts on the 800 meters and the mile. In fact, he’s arguably better at both of those middle distance events with converted marks of 4:05 (mile) and 1:51 (800) to his name this season. He seemingly has the best speed in the field, but the biggest question that remains is whether he’ll have the strength to remain close enough to the front of the race to use it.
18. Sam Acquaviva (MIT)
While this academic year has not likely been what Sam Acquaviva imagined, he has done enough to give himself a chance at his first All-American finish on the track and his fourth overall. Despite some recent ups and downs, he has increasingly looked like the best version of himself as of late, including a 3k win at the New England D3 Indoor Championships. The momentum and experience that Acquaviva carries should prove enough to outperform his seed by a good margin.
19. Jack Kinzer (Wartburg)
Afraid that his mark from earlier in the season wasn’t going to hold up, Jack Kinzer gave the 3k one last go at the Wartburg Qualifier at the start of this month in an attempt to improve upon that previous mark. And while he didn’t accomplish that, he was within a second of doing so, proving that he wasn’t a one-hit wonder. A member of Wartburg’s DMR that won the national title last year before later being disqualified, it’s no secret that Kinzer will be racing with something to prove.
20. Jason Gibbons (RPI)
Thanks to a win at the Tufts Qualifier and an unexpected scratch, Jason Gibbons earned himself a spot in this strong field. After beating several solid names in that qualifying race, he’s someone who will be relying on momentum to elevate himself once again this weekend. As one of the few men racing on fresh legs, Gibbons is more than capable of turning heads.