Conor Daly
Mar 77 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.
Even though she has never contested the mile or the 1500 meters at a national meet, Grace Hadley comes into this race as the clear title favorite. She’s been on fire throughout the season, throwing down significant personal bests week-in and week-out, most recently producing a 2:10 (converted) 800-meter mark last week. Couple that lethal speed with the fact that she holds the two fastest mile times in the nation this season (by a good margin) and there’s little flaw to be found with Hadley.
2. Allison Sibold (St. Lawrence)
Although Allison Sibold hasn’t quite matched her 4:49 (mile) seed time since she ran it on the second weekend of January, she hasn’t been far off, either. She recently logged a pair of lifetime bests over 800 meters and the 3k which suggest that she is ready to go. Believe it or not, this is Sibold's first national meet appearance on the track, theoretically leaving her with a wider range of outcomes than most at her spot.
3. Caroline McMartin (Central College)
Scratching out of three other events to go all-in on the mile can only mean that Caroline McMartin means business this weekend. She’s someone who will be dangerous in the latter stages of a race given that she is a proven and experienced winner. Over an exceedingly busy indoor track schedule, McMartin has taken home eight wins already, many of which came over women who are national qualifiers in the mile or other distance events.
4. Dale Leonard (Ramapo)
After a regionally competitive cross country season, this Ramapo freshman took well over 20 seconds off of her high school mile PR to make a surprise appearance in her first national meet on the track. She’s run just about as fast as the women listed ahead of her -- with her fastest clocking to date coming just last week -- so we figure that she has to be considered a contender to some extent. Even so, we're hesitant to call her an All-American lock since she lacks experience racing in fields of this caliber.
5. Lexi Fernandez (MIT)
This cross country star has looked really strong over the mile and the 3k every time out this winter. While Lexi Fernandez is yet to post a jaw-dropping performance, she could be due for one at just the right time given the way that she is trending. We’re going in totally blind on what her speed looks like, but if she has turnover that can come close to rivaling her top competitors, then Fernandez should be a comfortable All-American by the end of the weekend.
6. Lucy Gagnon (Williams)
Racing a distance at the upper echelon of her optimal range, Lucy Gagnon has lit up the track in the month of February. A 4:54 mile mark earlier in the month was validated by a 2:15 (800) and 4:57 (mile) double which was separated by just a few hours. As someone who uses the cross country season to prepare herself for the track, look for this Ephs star to be dangerous in the closing stages of the finals.
7. Aubrie Fisher (Wartburg)
With numerous women scratching out of the mile in favor of the 5k/3k double, Aubrie Fisher is one of the few longer distance oriented runners in the field. That means that she would, theoretically, prefer a faster race, which is a more than plausible outcome given the historically quick times that some of the women in this field have run. Fisher has both the experience and the aerobic base to recover between rounds which could set her up perfectly to thrive this weekend.
8. Amelia Lehman (UW-Oshkosh)
Despite being seeded in the middle of the pack, Amelia Lehman is capable of much more. In 2024, she has three mile victories which came against many of the women entered in this field and her only loss came to Maddie Hannan. After a pair of 8th place national meet finishes last year in the mile and the 1500 meters, it feels like Lehman is destined to improve upon that.
9. Pria Parker (Smith College)
Coming from a lesser-known distance program hasn’t stopped Pria Parker from mixing it up with the Northeast’s best. At the New England Division Three Championships, she earned a new mile personal best as well as a finish ahead of a pair of women in this field. In her final year of collegiate competition, Parker must have earning her first All-American honor at the front of her mind, potentially acting as an incentive to be more ambitious.
10. Claire Anderson (Washington & Jefferson)
It took racing for eight weeks straight for Claire Anderson to break through and qualify for the indoor national meet, but she has made it! After qualifying for the outdoor national meet as a freshman last year, this underclassman will look to be competitive in the finals for the first time. That's a goal that looks very attainable given her recent win at the Tufts Qualifier.
11. Rujuta Sane (MIT)
While many women in this race enter with a relatively wide range of outcomes, Rujuta Sane is someone who has consistently proven to be a reliable top-level talent. She has three sub-5:00 mile performances to her name this winter, two of which came at Boston U. That means that she can hold her own in a competitive time-trial style of race, but it will be interesting to see if she has to adjust to something more tactical this weekend.
12. Adriana Crabtree (Illinois Wesleyan)
This sophomore is one of a handful of women who claimed her national qualifying time after conference championship weekend. Adriana Crabtree produced her converted 4:56 mile mark a week after earning triple gold at the (moderately competitive) CCIW Indoor Championships between the mile, the 3k and the DMR. This week, Crabtree will come into the prelims without having that same level of fatigue in her legs which could greatly increase her chances of earning a spot in the final.
13. Haley Schoenegge (Vassar)
A strength-based miler, Haley Schoenegge finds herself at the "Big Dance" in what is probably her second-best event. Her strength over 3000 meters could potentially lend to greater success racing a second day in a row if she finds herself advancing to the mile final. Falling to Allison Sibold by only four seconds a few weeks ago indicates a solid level of fitness that should at least make her a legitimate candidate to advance to the finals.
14. Jillian Heth (Washington U.)
Upon first glance at her résumé, one may be led to believe that Jillian Heth will be out of her element in this race given that this is her first time competing at a national meet on the track. But when you consider that she has twice raced at the NCAA XC Championships between her first two years in the NCAA, you realize that this underclassman is someone who is still accumulating experience and momentum (as evidenced by PRs in her past two races).
15. Ella Whinney (Wellesley)
Simply put, Ella Whinney is a competitor at everything that she does on the track (and field). In addition to being a national qualifying miler, Whinney is a high jumper and an All-American steeplechaser. While her indoor track season as a whole has not been overly convincing, focusing on the mile as of late has given us a glimpse into what she can do when she specializes in one event.
16. Ari De La Cerda (UW-Whitewater)
After barely missing out on the opportunity to compete at this meet last year, Ari De La Cerda is more than deserving to be here in 2024. There are few women outside of De La Cerda who can say that each mile that they have run this winter has been faster than the last. However, a 7th-place finish at the WIAC Indoor Championships and a 4th-place finish at the Wartburg Qualifier leave some room for improvement if she is going to advance to the finals.
17. Abby Fernald (Connecticut College)
After chasing a DMR national qualifying time last weekend, seemingly giving up on her individual chances, Abby Fernald finds herself racing both the mile and the DMR at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Connecticut College talent was part of the aforementioned loaded mile race at the New England Division Three Championships where she finished right with many of the women who will be competing alongside her this weekend. Fernald will need to have a near-perfect day in order to have a shot at the final, but it's at least possible and she could very well begin to put Connecticut College back on the map.
18. Gabriella Nye (Widener)
Usually most at home in the 5k and 10k, Gabriella Nye finds her main event to be the mile for the time being. We suspect that many of Nye’s wins from this season have come in races where she was simply more fit than the rest of the field. She did run her outright mile PR of 5:00 at the Penn State Tune-Up against Division One competition, but it's hard to gauge how that result will translate to this weekend.
19. Abby Schroff (John Carroll)
Abby Schroff didn’t give the mile an honest go until last weekend, a decision that she must be thrilled with. She took matters into her own hands to solo her way to a national qualifying mark, well clear of the rest of the field. With some untapped potential, it could be exciting to see what she’s capable of when she has competition of equal or better talent around her.
20. Helena Teixeira-DaSilva (Washington U.)
Despite sitting at NCAA #39 with a (converted) mile mark that she only ran last weekend (which just barely stands under 5:00), Helena Teixeira-DaSilva finds herself competing at the indoor national meet. That, of course, is not to say that she's unqualified to be here. The fourth-year athlete is part of an elite program, just raced on the national stage this past fall and has 2:16 (800) credentials that give her a chance to surprise some people.