Conor Daly
Mar 76 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.
The scarce winter racing schedule of this Sagehen star leaves us with far more uncertainty about Bennett Booth-Genthe than we would like. He did flex a 4:07 mile effort in a low-stakes outdoor track intra-squad time trial a few weeks back, complementing his 4:00 indoor mile PR from early December, and we feel that it’s about time that Booth-Genthe stands atop the podium. He was, after all, the runner-up finisher in this event at last year's national meet to none other than Ryan Wilson and he has some lethal closing speed with the fastest 800-meter personal best in this field.
2. Noah Jorgenson (Central College)
Noah Jorgenson has been the definition of consistency this winter, not running any slower than a converted 4:06 mile time or a 1:51 mark over 800 meters in any given race. It’s guaranteed that he’s going to set the bar very high for the rest of the field to follow. It’s also not unlikely that he competes on his team’s second-seeded DMR between the mile prelims and finals which could affect his individual title chances if he chooses to double back.
3. Adam Sylvia (Central College)
Despite being the third seed in this field, it feels like Adam Sylvia holds a bit more uncertainty than his above-listed teammate. That’s because, while his jaw-dropping seed time was run on December 2nd, he hasn’t run faster than a converted 4:10 (mile) since then even though he has had a few chances to do so. Simply put, Sylvia hasn’t looked overly sharp recently, but we would be silly to count out a 4:03 man from the title conversation.
4. Will Salony (Trinity (Tex.))
While Will Salony had been a sneaky good miler throughout this indoor track season, he broke into another tier this past weekend when he popped a 4:04 (converted) mark over this distance. He’s the only top-five seed who ran his qualifying time in recent weeks or in 2024 for that matter. Although he hasn’t been tested in any field remotely resembling the one he is going to face this weekend, momentum is a potent thing to have entering a national meet.
5. Ryan Harvey (Loras)
This Loras veteran is as familiar of a name as any to running the mile at the indoor national meet. Similarly to the aforementioned Adam Sylvia, Ryan Harvey has not looked as sharp since his 4:05 mile conversion from December. And yet, despite that, the man with the backwards hat seems to find himself at home on the national stage and is far from someone who we should count out given his tactical acumen.
6. Jayden Zywicki (UW-La Crosse)
Usually at his best over barriers, Jayden Zywicki may have found a new home in the mile. Although he was having an otherwise modest season, a huge personal best last weekend punched his ticket to the "Big Dance." It’s that recent effort alone which suggests that he could be an All-American, although it’s no guarantee that Zywicki will be able to replicate that result in this kind of setting.
7. Henry Hardart (MIT)
Henry Hardart did not race this season until the end of February, but since then, he has been the definition of someone on an upwards trajectory. He has raced the mile each of the past three weeks, running 4:13, then 4:11 and then 4:05 en route to a big win at the Tufts National Qualifying Meet. It’s this seemingly unstoppable trend that could make Hardart a dark horse contender for the national title.
8. Parker Heintz (UW-La Crosse)
Purely a track guy, Parker Heintz is as true of a speed-based miler as you’re going to find. He’s been very consistent throughout his indoor track campaign, seemingly stamping himself as an All-American favorite. That is, as long as duty doesn’t call in the form of the DMR.
9. Pablo Arroyo (MIT)
Oftentimes overshadowed by his teammates, this three-time national qualifier on the track deserves a ton of credit. Pablo Arroyo is on a similar trajectory as he was last winter when he narrowly missed out on finals in this event. With some lessons learned and facing what's arguably a thinner field this time around, he appears primed to change his fortune this season.
10. Tobias L'Esperance-Kerckhof (Trinity (CT))
It took this middle distance standout a number of meets to warm up, but now Tobias L'Esperance-Kerckhof looks ready to go. In recent weeks, he’s been right with (but still slightly behind) some of the MIT men who we’ve just mentioned. With signs that he may be peaking, L'Esperance-Kerckhof is someone who we simply can't ignore.
11. Ryan Hagan (SUNY Geneseo)
In just his first season of collegiate competition, Ryan Hagan has been quick to fill the big shoes of recently graduated teammate, Nick Andrews. Although he has the high school pedigree to suggest that he was capable of competing at a high level early on, the path from high school stardom to collegiate success is usually far from direct. Running without many outside expectations, we’ll surely learn a lot about Hagan this weekend.
12. Ethan Domitrovich (John Carroll)
With both strength and speed, this two-time All-American steeplechaser doesn’t have anything that you can’t find in the rest of this field. Rather, the combination of those two aspects could be the perfect recipe for success this weekend. If Ethan Domitrovich's pair of appearances at the outdoor national meet indicate anything, it’s that he will have little problem advancing out of the prelims and still having enough gas left for the final.
13. Reza Eshghi (Haverford)
Reza Eshghi has seemingly seen it all coming into this weekend's event. He’s held his own in fast time-trial style races, but has also taken home a trio of wins this winter, most notably nabbing gold in the mile at the moderately competitive Centennial Conference Championships. Someone with such vast racing experience and great consistency such as Eshghi should be set up to thrive in any situation that is thrown at him on the national stage.
14. Mason Shea (UW-Eau Claire)
Although he may not be a household Division Three name, Mason Shea finds himself at his third national meet on the track. To be frank, last year’s attempt at the mile didn’t go too hot for him. But what is encouraging is that he is battle-tested against Wisconsin’s best distance runners, many of whom are in this race alongside him.
15. Will Goddard (Bowdoin)
This Bowdoin senior is making his first national meet appearance on the rack thanks to a huge five-second personal best last weekend at the Tufts National Qualifying Meet. He did, however, finish 4th in that race and will thus have to top that performance to find himself in the final. His best chance is in a faster race since the mile is on the shorter end of his range.
16. Jonathan Zavala (Brockport St.)
This New York native is coming off of a big win against Ryan Hagan at the SUNYAC Conference Championships. Jonathan Zavala's résumé suggests that he has some of the better closing speed in this field which could make him a threat if he optimally positions himself early on. Zavala will look to improve upon his 13th-place campaign in this event from last winter which ended in the prelims.
17. Joey Sullivan (UW-La Crosse)
Joey Sullivan has been one of the more convincing closers throughout the season. He holds a mile win over a loaded field that included Ryan Harvey as well as a fantastic runner-up finish at the WIAC Indoor Championships. Although he could have been pacing, it is mildly concerning that his most recent race result was a "DNF" in the mile when he was hardly a "shoe-in" to qualify before scratches.
18. Eric Anderson (UC Santa Cruz)
There were signs last spring that Eric Anderson could be a big-time name, but he didn’t really prove it until last weekend when he took home a big mile win at the Wartburg Qualifier. He's another athlete with a lethal kick as can be attested to by the fact that he closed that win in 27.60 (200) on a flat track. If the prelims and finals wind up being slow, Anderson could destroy his modest seed position.
19. Aidan Manning (UW-La Crosse)
The fourth (and final) man from UW-La Crosse in this field could be just as much of a threat as the first three. We could definitely see some team tactics play out, especially if a few Eagles find themselves in the finals. However, in order to make the finals, freshman Aidan Manning is going to have to improve upon his tactics as he’s been finishing toward the back of the front pack in his mile races this winter.
20. Davis Piercy (RPI)
The final man in this field should be far from content just to be here. Davis Piercy is someone who thrives on a hot pace, so it could be in his best interest to lead from the gun (or at least be part of the lead group). While he has dealt with the pressure of leading-off a DMR at the indoor national meet in the past, running an individual event is a whole different beast and Piercy will likely need to take some risks or employ an unconventional strategy to advance.