Kevin Fischer
Mar 66 min
Written by Kevin Fischer, 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.
Last year’s indoor national champion in this event, Christian Patzka, appears to be the favorite to defend his 5000-meter crown. His nation-leading mark of 13:51 is head and shoulders above anything that the rest of this field has run this season. That’s not to say that he won’t face a challenge though given how much talent will be in this race.
2. Spencer Moon (Simpson (IA))
No, Spencer Moon has not earned a single All-American honor on the oval despite his wealth of national meet experience, but to say that he can’t perform well in a championship setting would be an inaccurate assessment. Since the start of the 2022-23 academic year, he has run six races at ARC Championship meets on the track -- against some serious fields -- and won all six of them. With the sensational form he has shown this winter, this feels like the year he changes his postseason luck.
3. Cory Kennedy (RPI)
This four-time All-American has been impressive every time that he has stepped on the line this winter, coming away with personal bests over 5000 meters, 3000 meters, and the mile before emerging with double gold at the Liberty League Indoor Championships. Cory Kennedy’s composure on postseason stages has been impressive throughout his career and now, he appears to be in his best shape yet.
4. Isaac vanWestrienen (Cornell College)
An NAIA transfer took Division Three by storm this indoor track season, dropping his personal best for 5000 meters from 14:55 to 14:09 in January. Isaac vanWestrienen has shown real consistency following that breakthrough with strong 3000-meter and mile results. The question now isn’t whether he’s fast enough to hang with the leaders, but whether his lack of national meet experience will hurt him.
5. Derek Fearon (Pomona-Pitzer)
It’s often hard to tell where athletes from schools like Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps are at fitness-wise during this time of the year due to the usually limited racing schedule that they observe during the winter months. Derek Fearon hasn’t run a 5000-meter race since his head-turning 14:00 season opener back in December and his recent results in shorter events haven’t been at quite the same level. Still, it would be foolish to rule out an athlete of his caliber.
6. Enrique Salazar (Manchester)
An All-American over 10,000 meters last spring, Enrique Salazar has previously struggled to reach the same level on the indoor oval. This season was different, however, as he had a considerable 5000-meter breakthrough with a time of 14:01 to get himself comfortably into the top-10 on the national leaderboard. Despite this being his first indoor national meet, there’s no reason to believe that he can’t be competitive.
7. Gunner Schlender (UW-Whitewater)
Nothing that Gunner Schlender has done this season has completely shattered our expectations, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, he beat superstar teammate Christian Patzka in a couple of (admittedly low stakes) settings. Schlender established who he is a while ago and that's someone who perennially contends for All-American spots.
8. Vince Simonetti (RPI)
After a breakthrough cross country season, it took Vince Simonetti a bit of time to recreate that success on the track -- but it was well worth the wait. A converted 14:05 (5k) mark at the Tufts National Qualifying Meet puts him in an excellent spot to hang with the best in the country this weekend. If that's a sign that he's peaking for the postseason, then it would be best to take his presence near the top of the lead 5k pack seriously.
9. Adam Loenser (UW-La Crosse)
Having qualified for the indoor national meet in three different events, Adam Loenser has opted to contest the 5k/3k double. He has been consistently sharp this season, putting forth impressive efforts every time he has raced. With top-notch mile speed, count on him to be in the mix for top-eight positioning late in this race.
10. Aidan Matthai (UW-La Crosse)
Just like his above-listed teammate, Aidan Matthai has been not only fast, but consistent, this winter, recording personal bests in every non-championship race that he has started and also winning the WIAC title over 5000 meters. He's a very reliable distance talent and there's nothing to indicate that he can't keep that momentum rolling this weekend.
11. Charles Namiot (Williams)
Charles Namiot was in danger of not qualifying for the indoor national meet until he put up a converted 14:06 (5k) mark at the Tufts National Qualifying meet this past weekend. That came a week after he earned a New England Division Three title over 5000 meters, so it feels fair to say that momentum is on Namiot's side in this event entering the most important meet of the season.
12. Grant Matthai (UW-La Crosse)
You could essentially copy what was written about Grant Matthai's twin brother, Aidan, and paste it here. The two have followed the same racing schedule this season and finished within two seconds of each other in every race. It will be interesting to see whether that remains the case against an elite field capable of breaking up a strong UW-La Crosse pack.
13. Emmanuel Leblond (Johns Hopkins)
A personal best at the Tufts National Qualifying Meet was enough to advance Emmanuel Leblond to his second consecutive indoor national meet. It's not the national meet first rodeo for this two-time cross country All-American, and he is peaking at exactly the right time, but Friday will be a key opportunity for him to reach a new tier that he is still aiming to crack.
14. Ethan Gregg (UW-La Crosse)
Don’t let the seeding fool you, Ethan Gregg is every bit of the national title contender that we thought he was in the preseason. You can count on him to make people hurt as a pace-setter which might be a perfect strategy given that he has raced somewhat sparingly this winter and may have fresher legs than most others in the field.
15. John Lucey (Williams)
After running a solid 14:17 (5k) season opener, John Lucey went two months without racing the 5000 meters again. When he did, he made it count, running a personal best mark of 14:09. Having finished 6th at the 2023 cross country national meet, we know that he has some of the best aerobic strength in the field, something that could benefit him if Ethan Gregg is as aggressive with the pace as we think he will be.
16. Ivan Appleton (Tufts)
After a huge cross country season, Ivan Appleton proved that his success would translate to the oval. He has only competed at three meets since the new year, but has also made the most of each opportunity with some really solid results. His relative freshness compared to the rest of this field could turn out to be an advantage.
17. Will Kelly (St. Olaf)
After narrowly missing out on 3000-meter national qualification, all of Will Kelly’s eggs are in one basket. That, however, certainly isn’t the end of the world for the St. Olaf ace. His consecutive cross country All-American finishes indicate that the 5k was always going to give him the best shot at a top-eight finish and his consistency this season could allow him to stave off a true "off" day.
18. Lowell Hensgen (MIT)
After appearing to find a lot of joy this fall in a campaign that culminated in a 30th place cross country national meet performance, all signs indicated that Lowell Hensgen would find his way to his first national meet on the track. Sure enough, he has done just that after coming through with a 14:13 (5k) PR at the Boston U. Valentine Invite. His lack of postseason experience could be of concern, but there’s no denying the immense talent that he possesses.
19. Braden Nicholson (North Central)
You could argue that Braden Nicholson’s season has been a bit underwhelming compared to his 2023 spring and fall campaigns. But most of what matters in the regular season is getting to this stage -- and he did just enough to do that. Throw seed times away -- someone with as much talent as Nicholson can never be ruled out of the All-American conversation.
20. Tyler Schermerhorn (Wartburg)
A win at the Wartburg Qualifier pushed Tyler Schermerhorn's seasonal 5k best to NCAA #21, and a scratch from teammate Christopher Collet was enough to get him into the, "Big Dance." Even though this will be his first national meet appearance, Schermerhorn should draw some confidence from his great consistency. After coming into the season with a 5000-meter personal best of 14:49, he ran between 14:23 and 14:28 in all three of his winter 5k efforts.