TSR Collaboration

Jun 19, 202219 min

TSR's 2022 D3 Outdoor Track End of Season Awards

Updated: Jun 20, 2022

D1 End of Season Awards? Done.

D2 End of Season Awards? Done.

D3 End of Season Awards? Finalized and completed below!

In the second-half of this article, you'll find votes from TSR contributors which ultimately decided who our winners are.

Click here to read our D1 End of Season Awards

Click here to read our D2 End of Season Awards

Let's begin...


Best Freshman Award (Men)

*Athletes who have freshman eligibility stemming from the pandemic extension are not included in this award. International freshmen are included amongst these candidates unless we have a reason to believe that they do not meet our above criteria.

Nominees: Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos (Williams), Aleksei Seletskiy (Carnegie Mellon), TK Berhe (La Verne), Cameron Hatler (Pomona-Pitzer), Adam Loenser (UW-La Crosse), Timothy Boyce (Saint Lawrence)

Graham Tuohy-Gaydos (Williams): We have harped on how great his rookie campaign was several times this year, but it bears repeating. Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos is already a four-time All-American after just three seasons of competing, including a runner-up finish in the 5k at the outdoor national meet. There is nobody on this list of nominees who has accomplished anywhere near as much as him.

Alexi Seletskiy (Carnegie Mellon): After qualifying for the indoor national meet in the mile, Seletskiy followed up that effort by qualifying for the outdoor national meet in the 1500 meters with a personal best of 3:47.65. He also made his first national meet final, and although he ended up falling well off of the pack in the finals, he gained valuable experience that most first-year runners can only dream of.

TK Berhe (La Verne): Berhe was one of two true freshmen in the 10k field at the NCAA Championships with the other being Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos. He just snuck into the meet with a season best of 29:56, but for an event that heavily favors veterans, Berhe deserves plenty of respect for what he accomplished.

Cameron Halter (Pomona-Pitzer): Hatler had an amazing first outdoor track season, already cementing himself as one of the top distance runners on an extraordinarily talented Pomona-Pitzer team. He capped off his regular season with a national qualifying mark of 9:03 in the steeple at the Redlands Final Qualifier and made massive improvements in that event throughout the entirety of the spring.

Adam Loenser (UW-La Crosse): Loenser had been solid during the indoor season, but he really found his niche in the steeplechase this spring. He consistently improved in every steeple effort throughout the regular season, dropping from 9:33 to 9:22 to 9:12 to 9:05, eventually qualifying for the national meet in the process. A 14:50 mark for 5000 meters wasn't half-bad, either.

Timothy Boyce (Saint Lawrence): Timothy Boyce recorded the best 800 meter race of his season just before the national meet with a sneaky-good 1:50.76 mark to win the AARTFC Championships. He finished 14th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and definitely has some All-American honors in his future. He also showed a little bit of range this season with a solid 1500 seasonal best of 3:53.

Best Freshman Award (Women)

*Athletes who have freshman eligibility stemming from the pandemic extension are not included in this award. International freshmen are included amongst these candidates unless we have a reason to believe that they do not meet our above criteria.

Nominees: Gillian Roeder (MIT), Rachel Krouse (UW-Stevens Point), Ellie Meyer (Wartburg), Emma Palumbo (Saint Lawrence), Bayleigh Redd (Southern Virginia), Claudia Harnett (U. of Chicago)

Gillian Roeder (MIT): Roeder didn’t make her collegiate 1500 meter debut until a week before the national meet, but she made it count with a strong time of 4:35 which was good enough to extend her season. On the national stage, as just a rookie, she dropped that prior PR by a second to run 4:34. She also recorded a promising 800 meter PR of 2:15 this season.

Rachel Krouse (UW-Stevens Point): Krouse recorded personal bests of 17:04 in the 5k and 35:21 in the 10k this season. She would ultimately fall just shy of All-American accolades with an 11th place finish in the 10k at the national meet. Even so, her ability to run fast and then translate that talent to the national stage is never guaranteed, especially for athletes as young as Krouse.

Ellie Meyer (Wartburg): When you think of steeplechasers at Wartburg, you likely think of Aubrie Fisher. However, Ellie Meyer is a national-caliber steeple talent in her own right, especially when you consider her youth. She showcased her abilities at the highest stage of D3, finishing 6th in the national meet final in the steeplechase with a lifetime best of 10:38, offering tremendous promise to the Knights in the future.

Emma Palumbo (Saint Lawrence): Another member of the D3 women’s steeplechase youth movement, Palumbo was the Liberty League champion in the event before finishing runner-up behind SUNY Geneseo’s Rachel Hirschkind at the AARTFC Championships with a time of 10:53. She ultimately recorded a 15th place finish at the national meet, but her season as a whole can only be viewed as a major success.

Bayleigh Redd (Southern Virginia): Redd finished her freshman campaign with a mark of 11:00 in the steeplechase despite only running it once in the regular season. She would end up having a tough day at the NCAA Championships, but accomplishing what she did was no small feat, especially in only one attempt.

Claudia Harnett (U. of Chicago): Despite not making an appearance at the outdoor national meet, Harnett was one of the best middle distance rookies in the country. She ran 2:11 in the 800 meters and 4:30 in the 1500 meters, marks that at NCAA #14 and NCAA #12, respectively. Harnett only raced a handful of times, but she delivered high-level competitiveness in multiple events.

Most Improved Award (Men)

*Evaluates nationally competitive distance talents who were not expected to make the leaps in fitness that they did this spring. Prior seasons are used as a very loose comparison tool when attempting to list nominees. Does not include freshmen or athletes who were in their first season of NCAA competition.

Nominees: Ezra Ruggles (SUNY Geneseo), Sam Verkerke (UW- Eau Claire), Colin Monaghan (Puget Sound), Kevin Riley (Wheaton (Ill.)), Tor Hotung-Davidsen (Lynchburg)

Ezra Ruggles (SUNY Geneseo): Prior to this academic year, Ruggles was a solid runner who had notched some decent times, but he is now 10 steps above from where he was then. He has taken his 1500 meter PR from last spring down to 3:44 from 3:55, and he has also made a solid improvement in the 800 meters. Ruggles may have missed the final at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, but he still ran the fastest 1500 meter time of anybody in D3 this year.

Sam Verkerke (UW-Eau Claire): In a matter of a couple months, Sam Verkerke went from an unknown name to anyone outside of the WIAC to becoming a national champion. After the indoor track season, he held a 4:24 mile best and a 1:57 personal best for 800 meters. He now holds PRs of 1:50.01 in the 800 meters and 3:45 in the 1500 meters. And of course, a he has a national title to his name.

Colin Monaghan (Puget Sound): Monaghan took his 5k personal best from 14:43 to 14:12 in the past year. He was already a national qualifier in the 10k last spring, but he has managed to take another big step forward this year, qualifying for two events and looking much more poised for competition this year than he did last year.

Kevin Riley (Wheaton (Ill.)): Throughout the season, Riley was consistently running right around his PR of 9:17 in the steeplechase. And then, at the Saint Francis Fighting Chance Invite, he had his biggest breakthrough with a 15-second PR of 9:02. At his first-ever national meet, he proved that his last performance was no fluke by running 9:02 again and finishing 6th overall.

Tor Hotung-Davidsen (Lynchburg): Last spring, Tor Hotung-Davidsen was a 1:54 runner for 800 meters. He made some good progress during the indoor track season, running 1:51 at BU and earning All-American honors. Then, this outdoor season, he not only had his breakthrough day with a time of 1:49.04, but he found consistency at that level with five marks of 1:50 or faster.

Most Improved Award (Women)

*Evaluates nationally competitive distance talents who were not expected to make the leaps in fitness that they did this spring. Prior seasons are used as a very loose comparison tool when attempting to list nominees. Does not include freshmen or athletes who were in their first season of NCAA competition.

Nominees: Hope Murphy (Baldwin Wallace), Annika Urban (Emory), Abby Scott (Williams), Emily Clarke (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps), Cassie Kearney (Middlebury)

Hope Murphy (Baldwin Wallace): Murphy was already a national-caliber talent before this season, having run in two national meet finals. However, she really cracked the code this spring though, going from 2:13/4:36 in the 800 and 1500 to 2:11/4:26. She finished 3rd at the national meet behind only Esther Seeland and Cassie Kearney in the 1500 meters, a substantial improvement from her previous highest national meet finish of 10th. And the best part is that her overall season was just as good.

Annika Urban (Emory): Annika Urban is another example of an athlete who has been nationally competitive, but she simply reached another level this spring. Since last year, she dropped her times from 4:36 to 4:30 in the 1500 meters and 17:03 to 16:50 in the 5000 meters. She also earned All-American honors on the oval for the first time with her 6th place national meet finish in the 1500 meters.

Abby Scott (Williams): Scott didn’t compete last spring, but managed to pick up right where she left off without any rust and make a huge jump. In the 1500 meters, she took her collegiate PR all the way down from 4:48 to 4:30 and later finished 7th at the national meet in the event. Despite the gap in her resume of results, Williams suddenly jumped into the national scene this year in a big way.

Emily Clarke (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps): Before this spring season had even begun, Clarke technically held a collegiate best 5k mark of 18:52, although she had run 17:23 (unattached) in 2021. This year, she ran 16:53 at Bryan Clay before running 16:45 at a last chance meet. She later came in clutch with a 16:40 PR performance at the outdoor national meet to earn an incredibly strong7th place finish.

Cassie Kearney (Middlebury): In the past, Kearney had been one step away from being truly elite. Before this outdoor track season, she had three All-American honors in her career -- two in the DMR during the winter months and one in cross country. However, despite coming close several times, she had never been an All-American in an individual event on the oval. Well, Kearney changed that emphatically this year, finishing 3rd in the 800 meters and 2nd in the 1500 meters, dropping her personal bests in those events from 2:10 to 2:07 and 4:34 to 4:26. And while her time drops in those PRs weren't as dramatic as a few other nominees, her overall racing execution was far better than it ever has been.

Shaelyn Hostager (Wartburg): Last spring, Hostager ran 39:08 in her one lone 10k appearance during the 2021 outdoor track season. But nowadays, she's running 35:53 at the Drake Relays, improving her 5k PR down to 17:16 and earning 7th place All-American honors in the 10k. Hostager was fantastic this year and just looked like an entirely different runner.

Best Performance Award (Men)

*Must have run attached. We are looking at singular races for this award. Two or three races over the span of one day or a weekend do not count as one singular performance. However, a singular performance within a double is context that we do take into consideration.

Nominees: Colin Kirkpatrick runs NCAA #6 all-time steeple mark of 8:46, Jamie Dailey doubles back from 10k to win the 5k national title, Christopher Collet kicks down Christian Patzka to run 8:50 and win steeple title, Sam Verkerke runs 3:45 to win 1500 meter national title, Alex Philip runs NCAA #3 all-time mark of 28:48 (10k) at Mt. SAC Relays

Colin Kirkpatrick runs NCAA #6 all-time steeple mark of 8:46: We were spoiled by Matthew Wilkinson’s steeplechase exploits in 2021, so we didn’t expect anyone to crack the sub-8:50 barrier in the steeplechase this year. Well, Kirkpatrick proved us wrong, running a near-Division Three record at the Oxy Invitational in 8:46. That race was a big indication of his fitness, with the Division Three record of 8:43 being right in sight for Kirkpatrick.

Jamie Dailey wins 5k national title following 10k runner-up finish: Earning runner-up honors in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Championships (behind teammate Alex Phillip) was already a huge accomplishment for Dailey who had always been in contention for high-end All-American honors. Then, in the 5000 meters, he stormed past the field to earn his first national title in the closing stretches, earning some huge points for John Carroll’s team exploits.

Collet kicks down Patzka to run 8:50 and win steeple title: When Christian Patzka made his move with 450 meters to go in the steeplechase at the outdoor national meet, he gapped Collet by a considerable margin. Yet, Collet charged through the final water barrier and in the finishing stretch, he caught Patzka with just a few seconds to spare, winning his first national title and finally breaking the 9:00 barrier…by a lot.

Verkerke wins the 1500 meter title at NCAA Championships: The unsung hero of the outdoor national meet, Sam Verkerke broke out in a big way this outdoor season, but his performance in the 1500 meter national meet final was the icing on the cake. He ran 3:45 and gapped the entire field in the final 400 meters by nearly two seconds, not even making it close for seasoned veterans like Jacob Ridderhoff.

Phillip runs NCAA #3 all-time 10k mark of 28:48 at Mt. SAC Relays: When you divide Phillip’s 10,000 meter time into what he averaged per 5000 meters, it comes out to 14:24. That average split would nearly qualify you for the 5000 meters ALONE. And yet, Phillip ran that twice in a row. This race was a great example of just how good Phillip’s fitness really is, which sets him up well as he transitions into Division One competition next year.

Best Performance Award (Women)

*Must have run attached. We are looking at singular races for this award. Two or three races over the span of one day or a weekend do not count as one singular performance. However, a singular performance within a double is context that we do take into consideration.

Nominees: Ari Marks defeats Kassie Parker to win the 5k national title after defeating Parker earlier in the meet to win the 10k national title, Kassie Parker runs D3 10k record of 33:03, Evie Miller runs NCAA #2 all-time steeplechase mark of 10:06, Ella Baran runs NCAA #2 all-time 5k mark of 15:49, Esther Seeland runs 2:03.66 for NCAA lead, Esther Seeland wins 800 meter national title after winning 1500 meter national title earlier in the day

Marks wins 5k title following 10k title: After finishing runner-up at both the cross country national meet and the indoor national meet, Ari Marks came to the outdoor national meet ready to roll. She was going up against Kassie Parker who holds the D3 10k record, but that did not intimidate her. Marks made her move decisively and was able to pull away from the entire field. Everyone kept waiting for Parker to close the gap and catch Marks, but she never did. Marks won her first national title in 34:50. She returned the next day to run the second-fastest mark all-time at an NCAA Outdoor Championship, winning in 16:08.

Parker runs D3 10k record of 33:03: After a fantastic indoor track season, Kassie Parker took three weeks off of racing. She came back with a bang, flying out to the Stanford Invitational and racing in the invitational 10k race against some of the best women in Division One. It paid off as she ran 33:03 which is the new Division Three record, beating the old record of 33:21 from 2003.

Miller runs NCAA #2 all-time steeplechase mark of 10:06: A monster 10:06 mark for the steeplechase was nearly replicated at the national meet, but Miller's best mark instead came in late April. Her NCAA #2 all-time D3 mark came in a strong field at the Indiana Invitational and it also resulted in Miller taking down a handful of respectable D1 women.

Miller runs steeplechase mark of 10:07 en route to national title: Running 10:07 is impressive, but it’s even more impressive when you consider that it was at a national meet...and it’s her first year ever running the steeplechase! Previously a 1500/5k runner, Miller decided to add some barriers to her races this year and wow, has she taken another step forward. Her 10:07 mark from the steeplechase finals was 13 seconds faster than 2nd place and was a new national meet record. That specific mark ranks at NCAA #3 all-time, only behind her own PR and Annie Rodenfels.

Baran runs NCAA #2 all-time 5k mark of 15:49: The John Hopkins star moved up from her traditional 1500 meter discipline to attack the 5k. And when it came to the regular season, that was a brilliant move. The Blue Jay star ran a monster 15:49 mark for 5000 meters which is the second-fastest time in D3 history. This performance established Baran as one of the best all-around distance stars of this era -- and maybe ever.

Seeland runs 2:03.66 for NCAA lead in 800 meters: This 2:03 result was hardly surprising given that Seeland ran 2:02 last year. Even so, it's still an outstanding time that puts her near the top of the all-time results list once again.

Seeland wins 800 meter national title after winning 1500 meter national title earlier in the day: Seeland proved to be the most versatile, and maybe the most dominant, middle distance runner in D3 history at the outdoor national meet. Not only did she win the 1500 meter national title with a 4:27 mark, but she came back an hour and a half later to run 2:04 and win the 800 meter national title.

Best Team / Distance Coach Award (Men's Teams)

*Considers performances throughout the entirety of the season. Evaluates events 800 meters up to the 10,000 meters (which includes the steeplechase).


 
Nominees: Kyle Basista (John Carroll), Matt Jones & Bob Schultz (Loras), Dusty Lopez (Williams), Jeff Miller (UW-Whitewater), Kirk Reynolds (Pomona-Pitzer)

Matt Jones & Bob Schultz (Loras): It’s hard to argue against Loras as the best men’s middle distance program in Division Three right now. Mike Jasa and Carter Oberfoell both broke 1:50 in the 800 meters while Ryan Harvey and Wyatt Kelly weren't far behind in 1:52 and 1:53. Harvey’s 3:46, Jasa’s 3:47, Kelly’s 3:48 and even Carlo Dannenfelser’s 3:52 are all so darn solid. For a small school of 1,600 kids in Dubuque, Iowa, Loras College has sure made plenty of noise.

Kyle Basista (John Carroll): The turnaround that Basista has helped facilitate at John Carroll, transforming them into a D3 distance powerhouse, has been simply remarkable. Phillip and Dailey have been huge players in that change with their success being apparent for a good while now. However, the successes of Cormac Peppard-Kramer and Ethan Domitrovich in the steeplechase, placing 3rd and 4th at the national meet while both men broke 9:00, was another incredible example of where this program has risen to. The Blue Streaks’ 40 distance points at the outdoor national meet was far and away the most by any program on the men’s side…and it wasn’t even close.

Dusty Lopez (Williams): Even with Aidan Ryan not having the season he wanted, the Williams crew had fantastic weekends from Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos and Elias Lindgren at the outdoor national meet to put them on this list. Those three guys made one of the best distance running trios in Division Three, continuing their storied success from the cross country course.

Jeff Miller (UW-Whitewater): We’ve said it before, but Miller has developed David Fassbender, Christian Patzka and Gunner Schlender into one of, if not the, best distance running trios in Division Three. However, after Justin Krause’s fantastic 4th place finish in the 1500 meters at the national meet, it would be outright blasphemous to not call UW-Whitewater one of the best distance teams in Division Three. Patzka’s exploits in the steeplechase were fantastic and while Fassbender and Schlender taking 9th and 10th in the 10,000 meters was a little disappointing, they hung in that race while others faltered terribly.

Kyle Flores (Pomona-Pitzer): When the news came out that Pomona-Pitzer had 16 guys break 15:00 in the 5000 meters -- IN THE MONTH OF MARCH -- we think that may be the best example of Flores’ impact on this team. On paper, Pomona-Pitzer was the best all-around men’s distance team. However, what came back to bite them was only scoring four points at the national meet, a fairly disappointing result for being such a distance powerhouse.

Best Team / Distance Coach Award (Women's Teams)

*Considers performances throughout the entirety of the season. Evaluates events 800 meters up to the 10,000 meters (which includes the steeplechase).

Nominees: Bobby Van Allen (Johns Hopkins), Jeff Stiles (Washington University), Ryan Chapman + Staff (Wartburg), Chris Hall (U. of Chicago)

Bobby Van Allen (Johns Hopkins): Johns Hopkins is used to getting a host of women to national meets and this season was no different. They had seven entries between the steeplechase, the 5k and the 10k. In fact, they had Ella Baran, Alex Ross, Lina Spjut and Sara Stephenson in the 5k. While many of those women probably didn’t have the race that they wanted they still finished 3rd, 9th, 16th and 18th (in that order). For Stephenson to finish 18th isn’t too disappointing as she already had two steeples in her legs after finishing 9th earlier that day. The best race for Coach Van Allen and his team was Alex Ross’ 3rd place in the 10k as she did a large amount of work to try and track down Ari Marks. They also had Bridgid Selfors finish 16th in that same event, which was her first national meet appearance.

Jeff Stiles (Washington) U.): Washington U. has been an established D3 powerhouse and this year was no different as the distance team helped lead the team to tie for 3rd place. In the 800 meters, they had Emma Kelley finish 2nd, Alessia Sarussi finish 11th and Aoife Dunne unfortunately get disqualified in the prelims. In the 1500 meters, Emily Konkus finished 9th to just miss All-American honors. Emma Walter had a great double, finishing 13th in the 5k and 6th in the 10k. She also had a few teammates in the 10k with Sophie Young and Kiera Olson working together to finish 13th and 14th.

Ryan Chapman + Staff (Wartburg): Wartburg really shined in the longer distance races this year. We all know that Aubrie Fisher was a big contributor to this team as she finished 2nd in the steeple and 12th in the 5k at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. However, she also had teammates in both of those races. In the 5k, she had Riley Mayer who finished 17th and in the steeplechase, she had Ellie Meyer who finished 6th. To us at TSR, one of the most impressive races for Wartburg was Shaelyn Hostager finishing 7th in the 10k. She has dropped three minutes over the last year and to walk away with an All-American honor in her first national meet appearance is super impressive.
 

Chris Hall (U. of Chicago): The U. of Chicago women were admittedly a bit quiet at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, but what Coach Hall produced in terms of depth throughout this season was wildly impressive. He had two women in the top-16 of the national leaderboard for the 800 meters. He also had three women in the top-17 for the 1500 meters (four women in the top-26) and a national qualifier in the 10k. On paper, the Maroons were still one of the deepest distance squads in the country.

Most Valuable Runner Award (Men)

*Must have run attached this season. Voters can choose to vote for the best distance runner this season or the most valuable distance runner this season.

Nominees: Alex Phillip (John Carroll), Jamie Dailey (John Carroll), Christopher Collet (Wartburg), Ryan Wilson (MIT), Sam Verkerke (UW-Eau Claire)

Alex Phillip (John Carroll): Having been the most dominant force of Division Three distance events for the entirety of the 2021-2022 year, Phillip continued his reign on top, running the fastest 5k (13:58) and 10k (28:48) performances of the spring season. He won a 10k national title even while falling hard, but had his first "sub-par" race of the year, taking 8th in the 5000 meters. That 10k fall certainly may have impacted his 5k, but that one race alone doesn’t detract from Phillip’s incredible season.

Jamie Dailey (John Carroll): Dailey has more or less been the consistent, reliable second man for John Carroll over the last year or so behind teammate Phillip. This outdoor track season, however, Dailey suddenly became a title-worthy adversary. He earned a national title in the 5000 meters along with a runner-up performance in the 10,000 meters. He scored 18 points at the outdoor national meet, the most by any male distance runner this year.

Christopher Collet (Wartburg): If there was anytime for us to see Collet win his first national title in Division Three, 2022 was certainly the year for it. This was the most consistent year of his career and he threw down some terrific times as well, running 3:46 in the 1500 meters, 14:12 in the 5000 meters and 8:50 in the steeplechase to win the national title. This guy is a very versatile talent who will be scary to face over the next couple of years.

Ryan Wilson (MIT): Completing the indoor/outdoor national meet sweep in the 800 meters, Wilson’s season didn’t start until much later than most runners’ seasons, but it ended up with him winning another national title. His tactics in the NCAA Championship 800 meter final were extremely sound, cruising in the final 100 meters to bring home the win in comfortable fashion.

Sam Verkerke (UW-Eau Claire): The only guy on this list who hadn’t been an All-American previously, Verkerke walked home with a national title in the 1500 meters in his first national meet appearance. His breakout season has been well known and recognized, but only losing one race in the 2022 outdoor track season (his first race), winning his title in dominance and scoring 10 points for the national champions at UW-Eau Claire makes him very valuable in his own right.

Most Valuable Runner Award (Women)

*Must have run attached this season. Voters can choose to vote for the best distance runner this season or the most valuable distance runner this season.

Nominees: Esther Seeland (Messiah), Ari Marks (Wellesley), Kassie Parker (Loras), Evie Miller (Trine), Ella Baran (Johns Hopkins)

Esther Seeland (Messiah): The only time Esther Seeland lost an 800 meter race this season was to a professional runner and in two prelim efforts. She showcased complete domination in the 800 meters and the 1500 meters this season, especially at the national meet. She went 2:04.68 and 4:27.71 in those two event, respectively, to earn double gold. The last time she wasn’t the 800 meter national champion was during the indoor track season back in 2019.

Ari Marks (Wellesley): Ari Marks pulled off the longest double of the national meet, winning the 5k and the 10k national title over some stiff competition. In the 10k, she was going against powerhouse Kassie Parker. Marks made her move decisively and was able to pull away from the entire field to get the win in 34:50. She returned the next day to run the second-fastest time all-time at a D3 outdoor national meet, winning in 16:08. That time also makes her the fourth-fastest woman in collegiate outdoor history in that event.

Kassie Parker (Loras): Kassie Parker came into the national meet with the D3 record in the 10k and as the fifth-fastest woman in D3 5k history. Parker got that national record when she ran 33:03 at the Stanford Invitational in April. Her 5k time came from Drake Relays when she ran 16:09. Unfortunately for her, she was unable to defend her nationals titles and finished 2nd in both events.

Evie Miller (Trine): In her first season of running the steeplechase, Miller took the national meet by storm. She had one of the most commanding wins of the NCAA Championships, taking the steeple title in 10:07 which was 13 seconds faster than the runner-up. It was also less than a second off of her personal best, the third-fastest mark ever in D3 history and a championship record. She also ran 4:27 in the 1500 meters, 15:26 in the 5k and 36:04 in the 10k this season, making her one of the most complete runners in the country.

Ella Baran (Johns Hopkins): Despite a somewhat quiet 3rd place finish in the 5k at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Baran still flexed incredible firepower in multiple events. She ran 2:10 (800), 4:19 (1500) and 15:49 (5k). She was competitive in some of the biggest east coast meets and was an all-around star.


FINAL VOTES

Best Freshman Award

Men

Kevin: Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos (Williams)

Brett: Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos (Williams)

Hannah: Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos (Williams)
 
Garrett: Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos (Williams)

Overall Winner: Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos (Williams)

Women

Kevin: Ellie Meyer (Wartburg)

Brett: Ellie Meyer (Wartburg)

Hannah: Ellie Meyer (Wartburg)

Garrett: Ellie Meyer (Wartburg)

Overall Winner: Ellie Meyer (Wartburg)

Most Improved Award

Men

Kevin: Sam Verkerke (UW- Eau Claire)

Brett: Sam Verkerke (UW-Eau Claire)

Hannah: Sam Verkerke (UW- Eau Claire)

Garrett: Sam Verkerke (UW- Eau Claire)

Overall Winner: Sam Verkerke (UW- Eau Claire)

Women

Kevin: Abby Scott (Williams)

Brett: Cassie Kearney (Middlebury)

Hannah: Emily Clarke (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)

Garrett: Emily Clarke (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)

Overall Winner: Emily Clarke (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)

Best Performance Award

Men

Kevin: Collet kicks down Patzka to run 8:50 and win steeple title

Brett: Dailey wins the 5k national title

Hannah: Collet kicks down Patzka to run 8:50 and win steeple title

Garrett: Collet kicks down Patzka to run 8:50 and win steeple title

Overall Winner: Collet kicks down Patzka to run 8:50 and win steeple title

Women

Kevin: Marks wins 5k title following 10k title

Brett: Marks wins 5k title following 10k title

Hannah: Marks wins 5k title following 10k title

Garrett: Seeland wins 800 meter title after winning 1500 meter title earlier in the day

Overall Winner: Marks wins 5k title following 10k title

Best Distance Coach / Team Award

Men

Kevin: Kyle Basista (John Carroll)

Brett: Kyle Basista (John Carroll)

Hannah: Kyle Basista (John Carroll)

Garrett: Kyle Basista (John Carroll)

Overall Winner: Kyle Basista (John Carroll)

Women

Kevin: Bobby Van Allen (Johns Hopkins)

Brett: Bobby Van Allen (Johns Hopkins)

Hannah: Jeff Stiles (Washington University)

Garrett: Bobby Van Allen (Johns Hopkins)

Overall Winner: Bobby Van Allen (Johns Hopkins)

Most Valuable Runner Award

Men

Kevin: Alex Phillip (John Carroll)

Brett: Alex Phillip (John Carroll)

Hannah: Ryan Wilson (MIT)

Garrett: Alex Phillip (John Carroll)

Overall Winner: Alex Phillip (John Carroll)

Women

Kevin: Esther Seeland (Messiah)

Brett: Esther Seeland (Messiah)

Hannah: Esther Seeland (Messiah)

Garrett: Esther Seeland (Messiah)

Overall Winner: Esther Seeland (Messiah)

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