2022 Bison Outdoor Classic Preview: Evaluating the 1500 Meter Fields

The Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic is one of the larger invitationals and meets on the east coast. Each and every year, the Lewisburg-based university is home to some very respectable distance battles, although some races are more intense and deeper than others.

While this preview won't necessarily be as detail-laden or as in-depth as a few of our past previews, we did feel like it was only appropriate to highlight one race in particular: The 1500 meters.

This year's 1500 meter fields on both the men's and women's sides features a handful of nationally competitive talents as well as a few underrated names. Together, these men and women could put together some incredibly entertaining races.

So with that in mind, let's see what Bucknell University has in store for us this weekend...

Men's 1500 Meters

Penn State's Evan Dorenkamp is almost certainly the biggest and best favorite in this field. The Nittany Lion superstar and recent indoor national qualifier was one of the biggest breakout stars of the winter season.

Over the last few months, Dorenkamp has run under four minutes in the mile multiple times, producing a personal best of 3:55 and showing off fitness that simply made him one of the best talents the NCAA has to offer.

Despite a few postseason tactical hiccups, Dorenkamp has been fairly reliable. Not only that, but he is a proven 800 meter specialist with 1:49 speed. He qualified for the outdoor national meet last year in that half-mile event.

Everything on paper suggests that this Nittany Lion ace is going to win this race...maybe.

Binghamton's Dan Schaffer is probably the biggest threat to Dorenkamp in this race. This guy has been an underrated name over the last few seasons. He has thrived in pretty much every event from the mile up to the 5k and he's been solid in cross country as well.

With a 3:57 mile personal best, Schaffer has strong enough credentials to realistically win this race. No one other than Dorenkamp can match his PR and his three other sub-four mile races show off his reliability and consistency, something that is especially valuable in a semi-big race like this.

In other words, it feels unlikely that Schaffer is going to have a bad effort, meaning that Dorenkamp needs to be at his absolute best if he's going to win this race. That's why I could see at least one (likely two) of these men going under 3:40 this weekend.

Outside of Dorenkamp, Penn State has two other lethal talents who could absolutely mix it up in this field. Between Domenic Perretta and Brandon Hontz, it's possible that a good portion of this race won't simply be a Schaffer vs Dorenkamp showdown.

Perretta is a long-time middle distance veteran and one of the more respectable half-milers in the country, at least over the last few years. With a personal best of 1:47, it's clear that this elder Nittany Lion standout is of the same caliber as Dorenkamp and Schaffer when he's at his best.

However, Perretta is very clearly an 800 meter runner rather than a 1500 meter runner / miler. His 1500 meter PR currently sits at a respectable (but modest) 3:46 mark.

Not only that, but Perretta's last few seasons have been a bit quieter than usual. He has produced numerous 1:49 marks, but he hasn't been able to reach the same tier that he was at during pre-pandemic times.

That being said, Perretta recently ran 1:49 at the Florida Relays and then posted a very strong 1:48 mark at the Duke Invitational, placing 3rd in a quietly deep field of strong half-mile talents.

Perretta is absolutely moving up in distance for this race. The 1500 meters, on paper, isn't his ideal event. However, it's not like Perretta is a poor performer in the metric mile. A 3:46 personal best is still respectable. He seems to be regaining fitness fairly fast and he's due for a new PR in this event.

In a field that will be fast, but not overwhelming so, all of the pre-race signs are pointing to a new personal best for this Penn State veteran this weekend.

We then come to Brandon Hontz, the 4:02 miler who finally had the breakout race that we knew he was capable of producing two weeks ago. The Penn State recently ace toed the line against South Carolina star Anass Essayi at the Florida Relays and threw down a tremendous 3:41 mark for 1500 meters.

While some may not be familiar with Hontz, and therefore surprised by his result, anyone who is familiar with his background knows that a 3:41 mark was a long-time coming. Now, the real test will be how far under 3:41 he can go.

Much like we mentioned with Perretta, this field will be perfect for Hontz. It's still very strong and it features a handful of great names, two of whom he can chase. Yet, at the same time, it's not an overwhelming field, either.

When you consider that the Florida Relays 1500 meter field, where Hontz ran his PR, was structured in a very similar way to this Bucknell field, it's hard not to feel optimistic about this Nittany Lion veteran.

As for the rest of the names in this field, there are a few key names to keep an eye on.

Army's Caden Foster is a VERY underrated name. He ran a 4:01 mile back February and has since run 3:46 for 1500 meters as part of a weekend double at the beginning of this month.

This field matches his caliber of talent and he hasn't really had a poor performance since his 4:01 mile. Momentum is on his side and right now, it's hard to find any flaws on his resume.

Siena's Brandon Olden has run 13:45 for 5000 meters and could potentially translate that fitness to the 1500 meters...although he is historically better in the longer distances.

Shippensburg's Drew Dailey has rapidly risen to national-level recognition in the D2 world with his impressive 800 meter prowess. Dailey has run 1:49, but he has yet to truly translate his newfound fitness to the 1500 meter distance. This will be a big weekend for him.

The same can be also said for the Northwood duo of Josh Jones and Stephen Barker.

Others names, specifically from the D3 realm, such as Ezra Ruggles (SUNY Geneseo), Matthew Kleiman (Johns Hopkins), Aleksei Seletskiy (Carnegie Mellon), could be key names to watch for their respective division.

One last name to keep an eye on is Lehigh's Kyle Burke. He's run 4:04 in the mile and has also run 3:47 for 1500 meters. He's a sneaky-good name who may be due for a personal best, especially if this race unfolds in his favor.

Final Predictions (collegiates only, includes all heats)

1. Evan Dorenkamp (Penn State) -- 3:39

2. Dan Schaffer (Binghamton) -- 3:40

3. Brandon Hontz (Penn State) -- 3:41

4. Caden Foster (Army) -- 3:43

5. Domenic Perretta (Penn State) -- 3:44

Women's 1500 Meters

Admittedly, the women's 1500 meter field isn't quite as top-heavy as the men's field. However, there are still a handful of key names who we should be monitoring going into this meet.

Let's start with West Virginia's Hayley Jackson who, in my opinion, is one of the more underrated and underappreciated distance runners in the east region.

Jackson can do a little bit of everything, boasting personal bests of 2:08 for 800 meters, 2:48 for 1000 meters, 4:39 in the mile, 9:29 for 3000 meters and 16:20 for 5000 meters. She's not necessarily "elite" in one singular area, but that 4:39 mile PR is impressive and it's clearly the best mark on her resume.

In this field, Jackson is the favorite, and although she isn't a lock to win this race, she does have all of necessary tools, both speed-based and endurance-based, to thrive in almost any race situation that she is in.

Not only that, but this field, much like's the men's race, isn't flooded with an overwhelming amount of talent. While Jackson will certainly be challenged, she should still be able to handle most of this field somewhat well.

We should, however, mention that Jackson has very rarely contested the 1500 meters or the mile, at least when you look at her more recent results. She hasn't raced a mile since February of 2021 and she has only raced the 1500 meters once this season.

Her mile PR comes from February 2020.

Jackson is clearly talented, and a few of her recent 800 meter efforts suggest that she is near (or at) the top of her middle distance fitness. After all, she just ran her 1000 meter personal best of 2:48 earlier this winter.

Jackson is capable of winning this race, but that potential outcome largely depends on what version of her we see this weekend.

As for other possible contenders, I think Penn State's Makenna Krebs is a pretty key name to watch. She is on fire right now, ripping off new personal best after new personal best.

The Nittany Lion runner recently posted a modest steeplechase PR of 10:26, but the real value in her resume lies in her recent indoor track times. That's because this past winter, Krebs ran a 4:42 mile PR and then ran a 4:43 mark in the prelims of the BIG 10 Championships to advance to the finals.

So far this spring, she has run 4:29 for 1500 meters.

Krebs is clearly gaining momentum and she can hold her own in a variety of fields. This race, however, almost fits perfectly. It's a solid field that will absolutely push her, but she has also faced tougher challenges before.

In theory, one could make the argument that Krebs is actually for the favorite in this race, especially if she maintains her recent progression and carries it with her into this weekend.

Speaking of Penn State standouts, we would be doing our readers a disservice if we didn't mention Madaline Ullom, another Nittany Lion standout in the middle distance events.

One could argue that Ullom is just as much of a favorite to win this race as Krebs is, maybe even more so. That's because Ullom ran 2:06 for 800 meters and 4:44 in the mile this past indoor track season. She has a ton of momentum right now and probably comes into this race as the most dangerous name in terms of women who are on hot streaks.

If you don't believe me, just look at her most recent 1500 meter effort, a personal best of 4:20 which she ran at the Raleigh Relays.

Ullom doesn't move up in distance like Krebs does, but she has just as much speed and, currently, better momentum. If neither Jackson nor Krebs feel like good picks to win this race, then you may want to select Ullom.

The rest of the field is fairly open. There are plenty of women who have built their reputations in other events who are either moving up or dropping down in distance to contest this race.

West Virginia's Jo-Lauren Keane ran 2:04 for 800 meters this past winter and was a sneaky-good name throughout the entire indoor track season. However, she has never raced longer than the half-mile, so what should we expect when she moves up in distance?

Central Connecticut's Ashley Dana is a fine and respectable talent, although on paper, her 1500 meter and mile personal bests do falter behind some of these women. That, however, is counter-balanced by her recent 2:48 personal best for 1000 meters this past winter.

Penn State's Faith DeMars, a second-year talent, showed tons of promise this past winter, running 4:45 in the mile and 16:12 in the 5000 meters. She also recently ran 10:11 in the 3000 meter steeplechase. She has a lot of momentum and could thrive in this field despite this being her 1500 meter debut.

Binghamton's Aziza Chigatayeva is a solid all-around talent who has had most of her success in the steeplechase, owning a 10:15 personal best. She's better than her resume suggests, but...how much better? We should get an answer to that question this weekend.

I also think that one of the more underrated names in this field is Olivia Lomascolo. The Siena distance talent is much better than some people realize. While she does specialize in the longer distances, boasting respectable times of 9:27 (3k) and 16:27 (5k), her 1500 meter PR of 4:26 makes her a fairly competitive name in this field.

And remember how we said that Ullom may be the woman on the best hot streak in this field? Well, that may not be true, especially when you consider that Lomascolo's last three races produced the three personal bests that I mentioned above.

Watch out for her this weekend...

There are a handful of other women in this field who we could mention, but it's hard to differentiate them in terms of how they could impact this field.

Some women boast tremendous 1000 meter times while others are moving up from the 800 meters or moving down from the 3000 meters. Other women have built their reputation in the steeplechase and are looking to diversify their resume of personal bests.

The top-three or top-four spots in this field seem somewhat predictable, although I'm sure I'll regret saying that later this weekend. After that first group, this race really opens up quite a bit. Don't surprised if you see a few breakout performances in this field.

Final Predictions (collegiates only, includes all heats)

1. Madaline Ullom (Penn State) -- 4:19

2. Hayley Jackson (West Virginia) -- 4:19

3. Makenna Krebs (Penn State) -- 4:20

4. Olivia Lomascolo (Siena) -- 4:22

5. Faith DeMars (Penn State) -- 4:24