Woo Pig Classic Preview

Ole Miss has announced that they will no longer be attending the Woo Pig Classic due to positive COVID-19 testing and contract tracing.

By just looking at the list of women competing in the 800 meters at the Woo Pig Classic, one can see that this has the potential to be a close race as eight women own personal bests of 2:08 or faster. USC’s Alyssa Brewer is the leader of the field with her 2:04 personal best, but the women behind her also have the potential to contend for the win.

Brewer has been a strong competitor for USC and will be racing for the first time since the 2020 MPSF Indoor Track and Field Championships where she finished 6th in the 800 meters. The current junior has consistently run under 2:10 since entering the college scene and is likely primed for a big season now that she is a more experienced upperclassman. Despite her clear level of talent, she has yet to qualify for a national meet.

Someone who could challenge Brewer for the win is LSU freshman Lorena Rangel who is entering the meet with a 2:06 personal best and originally hails from Mexico. The LSU rookie is already an accomplished young talent and has had the luxury of training with middle distance ace Katy-Ann McDonald (albeit, only for a short while).

Rangel was an 800 meter champion at the 2019 U18 Mexican Championships prior to arriving at LSU and will likely be chasing a qualifying time to Nationals is she in top form. The youngster has plenty of talent, but she is largely an unknown in the collegiate scene...at least for now.

Behind Brewer and Rangel come a slew of 2:08 runners, many of whom are Oklahoma State underclassmen. Lilly Lavier, Mackenzie Michael and Stephanie Moss are all freshmen and are looking to add to the OSU middle distance legacy. Trying to find out which ones will have an immediate impact is anyone's guess, but don't be surprised if one of them earns a higher finish than you were expecting.

However, two key names who could truly mix it up at the front is Kennedy Thomson and Shafiqua Maloney, both of Arkansas. These two Razorbacks have the home-track advantage and are both coming off dominating victories in the 1000 meters and 800 meters, respectively, at the Arkansas Invitational.

Thomson just ran 2:46 (1k) last weekend, leading us to believe that she can comfortably dip under her current 2:08 personal best if she's in top form.

Given the depth of this field and the fact that many of these women hold similar personal bests, expect a tight race upfront which could lead to a plethora of fast times.

Could we see our first sub-four mile time of the indoor season this weekend?

When you look at the men who are racing at the Woo Pig Classic, it is very possible.

Amon Kemboi, a transfer from Campbell, is the star of this field as he owns a 3:59 personal best in the mile and a 3:39 personal best in the 1500 meters. After running 2:23 for 1000 meters last weekend, he could once again dip under the elusive barrier.

The newest Razorback star has a unique mix leg speed and endurance-based strength, as seen by his 7:44 (3k) and 13:33 (5k) personal bests. His range makes him a strong runner no matter the race and we think he should be the no-brainer favorite to take home this victory.

Let's talk about Brendan Hebert (Texas) and Davis Bove (LSU), two key names to watch in this quietly strong field. Herbert, the Longhorn runner, owns a personal best 4:03 for the mile and was 4th last year in a tough BIG 12 Indoor Track Championship mile race. He has made quietly encouraging progression throughout his career and we liked the momentum that we saw out of him last winter.

As for Bove, he was 7th at the SEC Indoor Championships last year in the mile last year and also owns a mile PR of 4:03. He is coming off of a strong 1:53 personal best in the 800 meters last weekend, so it's fair to suggest that she may be near top form. He did, after all, have a quietly great cross country season this past fall.

After that, we have a small group of men who will look to contend for a top-five finish. Arkansas has long distance studs Gilbert Boit and Matt Young are entered in this race. Both men have run sub-4:10 and will look to stay as close as possible to teammate Kemboi and potentially use team tactics to their advantage.

And then there’s the group from Oklahoma State. Alec Haines and Kevin Mulcaire enter the mile with times 4:07 and 4:08, respectively. They're both respectable and consistent talents, but we don't really have a great gauge of what we should expect from them on Friday.

Finally, keep an eye out for Oklahoma State freshmen Alex Stitt, Jonas Price and Will Muirhead. With the possible exception of Schoppe, Stitt may be the top recruit for the Cowboys this year as he owns a personal best of 3:47 for 1500 meters. We'll see how he handles the indoor oval in his collegiate debut.

The mile looks to be a race between experienced Arkansas women and up-and-coming Oklahoma State women. Arkansas' Logan Morris is the clear favorite heading into this race after she recently secured a new personal best of 4:39.

Morris moved to Arkansas from Clemson (as a graduate transfer) at the beginning of the 2020 fall semester and has performed very well under a new training philosophy. She has a lot of momentum right now which she is carrying over from the grass, so don't be surprised if she axes another second or two off of her mile PR.

Morris and teammates Corie Smith and Kennedy Thomson will look to fend off Gabby Hentemann and Taylor Roe, two women who are rapidly on the rise for the Cowgirls following their breakout cross country seasons.

Smith, a freshman, owns a 1600 PR of 4:56 from high school, but has a chance to better that mark in the mile this weekend. She had a very respectable cross country season where she was consistently running alongside her Razorback teammates.

Thomson, who is apparently doubling in the 800 meters, could be pacing the mile to help lead Morris and Smith to quick times, but could also be going after a quick time herself as she does own a 4:49 personal best.

As for Hentemann and Roe, these are two runners to keep an eye on. Although they have only run 4:53 for the mile, both Cowgirls enjoyed stellar cross country seasons. Roe was on a roll and ended up finishing 2nd at the BIG 12 Championships while Hentemann was not far behind in 3rd place.

Both women have the potential to improve upon their personal bests, but by how much? We think Roe and Hentemann are probably better suited for an event like the 3000 meters, but a strong enough mile time and enough momentum could give us a scenario where we see these cross country specialists stay down in distance for most of the indoor season.

Much like the women’s 800, the men's 800 field has the potential to be a very close battle as we'll get to see three middle distance talents -- who have all gone sub-1:50 during their careers -- duke it out on the indoor oval.

Juan Diego Castro (Oklahoma State), Kieran Taylor (Arkansas) and Sam Van Dorpe (USC) are the three main contenders for the victory on Friday. Taylor enters this race with the advantage of competing on his home track, but Diego Castro had a stellar 2020 indoor track season, finishing 3rd in a deep 800 field at the BIG 12 Championships. He was a name that we strongly considered for a spot in our men's preseason Indoor Top 25 rankings.

Diego Castro, Taylor and Van Dorpe each have personal bests of 1:48, but they may have additional company as they may have to hold off Andrew Kibet (Arkansas). The newest Razorback owns a personal best of 1:51 in the half-mile event. He was an NJCAA champion in cross country and in the mile while competing for Hutchinson CC and has experience when competing against some of the best.

Do we think there is going to be at least one sub-1:50 performance out of this group? Yes, absolutely. Who will that be? How many men will do it? How far under the 1:50 barrier will they go? Well, those are questions that we'll have to wait to find out.

The Arkansas Razorbacks look to be going after fast times in the 3k this weekend on their home track. After strong miles last weekend from a few of the women in this field, it seems fair to say that sub-9:10 is not out of the question.

Katie Izzo is the obvious favorite given her success on the track last year. When you own an 8:55 personal best, not much else needs to be said about your talent. Even so, Izzo will likely be joined upfront by numerous teammates who can at least help her keep an honest pace.

One of those teammates is Lauren Gregory who owns the same 8:55 personal best as Izzo and has put together a respectable 2020-2021 year (so far) after being plagued by the injury bug previously. When Gregory is at her best, she is a force to be reckoned with as she has some killer speed. She just ran 4:39 for the mile last weekend and while we're not necessarily expecting her to match her original 3k PR, we do think she'll be competitive this weekend.

Another top talent to pay attention to is freshman Taylor Ewert. The Razorback rookie could make a big splash in her season debut. She was an extremely successful prep athlete in Ohio, running 9:40 for 3000 meters. That PR, however, could easily go down this weekend when Ewert races alongside Izzo, Gregory and company. She had a solid cross country season, although this weekend will give us a better perspective of how much she has improved so far.

Krissy Gear and Abby Gray are two more Razorbacks who could see success this weekend. Gear owns a 9:14 personal best and is coming off of a promising mile win last weekend. As for Gray, she is right there with Gear with her 9:16 best.

And how about Gracie Hyde? The former Central Arkansas runner turned Razorback is also in this field and just ran 4:43 for the mile last weekend in what was a huge personal best. How will her newfound fitness materialize in this race?

Gosh, it's easy to forget just how incredibly deep this roster is...

Who emerges with the win and in what order these women finish in largely doesn't make much of a difference, especially if these Arkansas women finish as close to each other as they did in the mile last weekend. Still, if we had to guess, Izzo will be the top name to watch and will likely lead a few of her teammates to some modest personal bests.

Now, there are clearly more women in this race than just Razorbacks. One non-Arkansas name worth noting is Kentucky’s Jenna Gearing. She was an absolute star last fall, finishing 2nd at the SEC Championships in what was easily the best season of her collegiate career.

Her current 3000 meter personal best is 9:54, but that should surely go down considering half of Arkansas' distance group is her main competition. Gearing doubled last weekend, but will now have a chance to put all of her attention on the 15-lap event.

The Kentucky ace was outstanding on the grass, but will Gearing's XC fitness translate to the oval? Will her fitness that we saw last fall come out when she faces a top-tier Arkansas contingent? I suppose we'll have to wait and see...

The men’s 3k isn’t as loaded as the women’s, but it is not short of talent between the SEC and BIG 12 entries. Many of the men in this race are on the same level when it comes to their personal bests, but there is one guy does stand out.

And that guy happens to be Arkansas runner Jacob McLeod.

The recent transfer from Belmont owns the best time in this field with his 8:05 personal best, a time that could surely fall at some point this indoor season. The Razorback saw success since joining this team in the fall as he was a key member of their top-seven on the cross country course. He will be joined in this race by teammate Ryan Murphy who has run 8:10 for 3000 meters. Together, McLeod and Murphy could turn this into a time trial and go after a fast mark on their home track.

As for the Texas men, they are bringing a strong contingent of runners to the Woo Pig Classic in the 3k, all of whom are underclassmen. Freshman Graydon Morris will look to lead his Longhorn teammates against strong Arkansas competitors. Morris was a stud in high school, running 8:50 for two miles and often competing against some of the nation’s best prep runners. Although Morris might not be able to compete for the number one spot in this race, he is surely capable of a top-three finish and a shiny new personal best.

Haftu Knight, the 4th place finisher at the 2020 BIG 12 XC Championships, is also entered in this race and owns a PR of 8:19. He has a ton of potential to improve upon that time following his successful cross country season this past fall. We're very high on Knight and it wouldn't be a surprise if he took down McLeod and Murphy this weekend, further solidifying his spot as Texas' next true low-stick.

We also have to keep an eye on Kentucky freshman Matt Duvall who put together a spectacular cross country season in his first year in the NCAA, eventually being named TSR's "Best Freshman" for the 2020 cross country season.

We were expecting Duvall to toe the line in the 3000 meters last weekend, but that did not happen. Instead, he ran a modest mile time of 4:18.