2024 Boston U. John Thomas Terrier Classic Preview (Part Two): Whittaker vs Willis vs Gorriaran, Providence Women Return to Mile & Bunnage's First NCAA Indoor 5k

Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Jan 26, 2024
10 min read

Updated: Jan 27, 2024

No need for a lengthy intro today, we already did that on Thursday. By now, you know how crazy-fast the John Thomas Terrier Classic could/will be. Yesterday, we highlighted the men who will be racing on Friday (today). The women, however, are racing tomorrow (Saturday).

Again, we are basing this meet preview off of the latest entries/performance lists which are not split by heat. As such, it's possible that someone may end up contesting a different event (or not race at all) when it comes time to toe the line.

Alright, here we go...

Click here to see Day Two entries

Click here to see Final Schedule

Women's 800 Meters: Juliette Whittaker & Roisin Willis Go Head-to-Head, Sophia Gorriaran Makes NCAA 800m Debut

When it comes to NCAA entrants, the race of the day this Saturday will almost certainly be the women's 800 meters. That's because Stanford's superstar duo of Roisin Willis and Juliette Whittaker are the top-two athletes in the field.

That, of course, makes sense. Both women boast 1:59 (800) personal bests, have flexed great strength over 1500 meters and the mile and went 1-2 at last year's indoor national meet in this exact event.

Roisin Willis (left) & Juliette Whittaker (right) at the 2023 Windy City Invite (800m) // Photo via David Hicks

Whittaker has already run 2:02 this season (with ease) while Willis has run 53 seconds over 400 meters. Those performances, however, were clear rust-busters.

On Saturday, the Cardinal sophomores will likely be taking aim at the two-minute barrier. And while I would usually be hesitant to suggest that they could run that fast in the month of January, these two women are hardly your ordinary middle distance runners. Plus, this field is fairly deep and multiple Canadian pros have the potential to keep things somewhat close over the final 200 meters.

All things considered, I don't think a sub-2:00 effort is totally out of the question for either of those women.

But while Whittaker and Willis are known quantities at the NCAA level, we're still waiting to see what kind of early damage freshman star, Sophia Gorriaran, can do in her primary distance.

The Harvard rookie captured plenty of attention during her time in high school, running 2:00 for 800 meters and qualifying for the Olympic Trials. Gorriaran has thrived in pretty much every middle distance event possible and she has already run a 4:36 mile PR this season!

It may seem ambitious to suggest that Gorriaran could replicate her 800-meter personal best this weekend. But if you go back and watch the women's mile at the Boston U. Season Opener, you'll find that this Harvard talent was one of the more wise and patient distance runners in that field.

If her fitness is up to par, then her refined intangibles could result in a massive performance for this freshman phenom. Don't forget, she ran 2:00.58 (800) on this exact same track in 2022 against none other than Roisin Willis...

Other names to monitor include Meghan Hunter (BYU), Olivia Howell (Texas), Mackenzie Brown (Texas), Amina Maatoug (Duke) and Maia Ramsden (Harvard). Those first four women own 800-meter personal bests of 2:01, 2:02, 2:03 and 2:03, respectively. Ramsden has only run 2:09, but with a 2:43 (1k) PR, she is clearly capable of more.

Meghan Hunter is likely the safest option when making your predictions. She is a true veteran who contested this event on the national stage last spring. She ran 2:03 last month (which was an encouraging start to her season) and is arguably the most pure half-miler of all the veterans in this field.

Howell could very much be a factor in this race, but it still feels like this is her secondary event -- and it's a similar story for Ramsden. Brown is exceptionally talented, but she's also a true freshman.

Maatoug, however, has some exciting potential. This Duke standout is one of the versatile distance athletes in the entire NCAA. She has run 2:03 for 800 meters, but she was also a top-10 All-American on the grass this past fall!

And, of course, she has run some absurdly fast times in the events between those two.

Don't forget: Maatoug's 2:03 (800) PR came at the 2023 ACC Indoor Championships as part of an incredible four-race, three-event campaign. If she was able to run that well on tired legs, then what can she do when she's fresh?

Women's Mile: Providence Duo of Kimberley May & Shannon Flockhart to Battle Rising Northern Arizona Star, Maggi Congdon

The women's mile is a little unique. It doesn't feature any national-caliber superstars, but it does hold numerous women who could realistically be All-Americans come March.

Among those All-American candidates is the Providence duo of Kimberley May and Shannon Flockhart, two women who have the potential to run something very fast on Saturday.

May just had a phenomenal cross country season, breaking out far beyond expectations despite a poor national meet showing. She also posted a massive 8:54 (3k) PR back in December on this same track and recently ran 2:04 for 800 meters!

And when you consider that May that already run 4:13 for 1500 meters last spring, the idea that she could be significantly faster than that is an exciting prospect.

Shannon Flockhart, meanwhile, has often been brilliant on the outdoor oval when it comes to the metric mile. That couldn't have been more true this past summer when the British distance ace ran a tremendous time of 4:08 for 1500 meters!

Together, the Friars' 1-2 punch could be (maybe should be?) incredibly lethal this weekend. Both of these women are due for big mile PRs and I wouldn't be surprised if they both cracked 4:33 this weekend.

However, the one collegiate who could join them near the top of the results is Northern Arizona's Maggi Congdon, a Lumberjack runner who just ran 4:40 in the mile at 7000 feet. That converts to an astounding time of 4:30. And if Nico Young hadn't posted a historically elite result, then we would be talking way more about Congdon than we already are.

Yes, Congdon's conversion certainly feels like a bit of an outlier on her resume. Even so, this is someone who was already an accomplished 4:38 miler last winter. And after making a very clear step up in her fitness during the fall months, it only makes sense that this Lumberjack standout would be able to post a nationally competitive time in her primary event.

Of course, plenty of altitude critics will want to see what Congdon can do at sea level before fully processing her absurdly impressive converted effort. But if you ask me, I think there's enough history on her resume to suggest that she can remain in contention with some of the top women in this field.

Rutgers' standout Alex Carlson is also listed in this field, entered with a 4:28 seed time.

Carlson is a tough name to figure out going into this weekend. She was fantastic last winter, underwhelming in the spring, slightly improved on the grass and, as of recently, seems to be getting back on the right track.

Running 9:02 (3k) in December and recently setting a 2:05 (800) PR are both encouraging signs. However, I'll need to see a bit more from Carlson before I can place her at the top of my predictions. But do I think that she can ultimately return to the indoor national meet in 2024? Yes, I think that's very much possible.

Boston College's Molly Hudson, who just ran 4:32 in the mile last weekend, is also entered in this field! However, she is seeded with a 4:36 mark (possibly due to entry submission deadlines). Although oddly enough, her teammate, Natalie Millerova, is seeded with a 4:32 mark despite running 4:37 last weekend.

Regardless, both women should be factors if they are able to get into a fast-enough heat.

Be sure to also keep an eye on Juliette Whittaker (Stanford), Riley Chamberlain (BYU), Carmen Alder (BYU) and Kenzie Doyle (UMass Lowell). If I had to guess, Whittaker will (probably?) run the 800 meters. Doyle, however, is someone who could run something sneaky-fast. She did, after all, run a big 5k PR of 15:27 back in December.

Women's 3k: BYU Veteran Sadie Sargent Headlines Field of Breakout-Ready Distance Talents

I gotta admit, the women's 3k doesn't have quite the same collegiate firepower that the other distance races do. Even so, there are a large handful of strong athletes in this field. And if enough things break in their favor, then maybe one (dare I say two?) of these women could earn a backend national qualifying spot.

BYU's Sadie Sargent is the top collegiate in the field given her 8:57 (3k) PR from last winter. She is a fan-favorite here at TSR after her fantastic breakout indoor track campaign in 2023 which also included a 4:35 mile PR.

After an improved outdoor track season, a mostly-solid cross country season and a recent 15:55 (5k) PR from December, there are way more positive signs on Sargent's resume than not. And in a field with a ton of strong pro runners, there's a good chance that this often-underrated Cougar standout snags a PR.

But after Sargent, the rest of the collegiates near the top of these entries leave me with more questions than analysis (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).

Daphnee Lavassas is a Miami (FL) runner who finally had the breakthrough season that she's been gunning for, capping a solid 2023 cross country season with a 46th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships. And Olivia Morganti? The current Penn runner and soon-to-be Colorado graduate student is finally healthy and we're seeing that in her recent results.

Even so, I just need to see a little bit more from those women, specifically on the indoor oval, before I predict them to scare the nine-minute barrier.

Instead, I think Lucy Jenks (Stanford) may be the safest bet. The long-time Cardinal veteran had a strong cross country season and is generally pretty consistent. She had a breakout season in the 5k last spring (running 15:33), ran 15:38 for that same distance earlier this year and is coming off of a 9:07 (3k) effort from a couple of weekends ago.

Jenks' success in the 5k and her overall skillset suggests that she could get pretty close to going under 9:00 over 3000 meters this weekend. The race will need to break in her favor in a few aspects, but I think she has the talent to do it.

Lucy Jenks (center) at the 2023 NCAA Outdoor Championships (5k) // Photo via David Hicks

Women's 5k: Amy Bunnage to Make NCAA Indoor 5k Debut, Northern Arizona & BYU Field Top Women

The main headliner in this field (as far as NCAA athletes are concerned) is likely Amy Bunnage, the Stanford rookie who was a prep-level superstar in Australia before joining the Cardinal.

Bunnage had a very strong cross country season despite a somewhat modest national meet performance in November. And as we venture deeper into the winter months, it's plenty reasonable to think that this Aussie rookie could be even better on the oval.

I say that because Bunnage boasts outstanding personal bests of 8:51 (5k) and 15:21 (5k)! Those times, however, came on an outdoor track. And based strictly on her World Athletics profile, her experience on the indoor oval seems almost non-existent.

The only indoor track race that I could find on her resume is a 3k mark of 9:03 which she ran the other weekend at the University of Washington. And while that time is competitive, Bunnage will almost certainly need to be faster in that event if she wants to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships at that distance.

But as we go into tomorrow's 5k affair, Bunnage seems primed to run something fairly quick. She now has an indoor track race under her legs (albeit, on a 300-meter track) and may be better suited for the longer distance race after coming off of a mostly-successful cross country season. Not only that, but Bunnage has typically done very well at highly competitive meets and has thrived in time trial environments.

Her general youth and inexperience is something to consider, but she's one of the few women whose talent could simply override that.

However, I would argue that Northern Arizona's Gracelyn Larkin could be just as dangerous as Bunnage come Saturday. The Northern Arizona star was excellent throughout the fall months after transferring from New Mexico as a graduate student. We should also be reminded that Larkin ran 15:23 for 5000 meters during the summer months.

On paper, Larkin is a true aerobic-centric talent who should have plenty of fitness to follow a fast pace tomorrow. She already ran 15:38 (5k) this season, but it feels like she could do significantly more damage than that.

The bigger race, the better Larkin (usually) is. And as we all know, there is nothing small or insignificant about the talent that often floods Boston University each and every winter. That's why I could see a sub-15:30 (5k) effort coming for this NAU standout on Saturday.

Gracelyn Larkin (center) with her NAU teammates at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships // Photo via Andrew LeMay

Behind those two women are a slew of top-tier long distance runners from Northern Arizona and BYU. And if everyone runs up to their potential, then there should be numerous women cracking the 15:40 (5k) barrier.

In addition to Larkin, the Lumberjacks' entries also feature Alyson Churchill, Ali Upshaw, Ruby Smee and Meagan Van Pelt. The Cougars of BYU, meanwhile, have entered Aubrey Frentheway, Jenna Hutchins, Lexy Halladay-Lowry and Destiny Everett.

Aubrey Frentheway at the 2023 Bryan Clay Invite (10k) // Photo via Josh Kutcher

Of that group, I would argue that Churchill, Frentheway and Halladay-Lowry are the most proven 5k talents. Each of those women boast All-American honors (in different long distance events which includes cross country) and have been very consistent over the last year or so.

From a predictions standpoint, those women seem like fairly safe picks to run something quick and emerge as top collegiate finishers. However, other women like Hutchins and Upshaw have recently showcased multiple moments of aerobic excellence. It wouldn't totally shock me if one of those women had the race of their life on Saturday and possibly scared the 15:30 (5k) barrier.

I don't necessarily think that's likely to happen, but I certainly wouldn't bet against them.

The last name who we need to highlight is Sam Bush, the dynamic NC State veteran who is slowly working her way back from an injury that she dealt with in the fall.

Bush has been on a steady rise to her former peak fitness since the cross country national meet, most notably putting together a 4:35/2:44 (mile/1k) double at Virginia Tech the other weekend...in less than two hours.

In fact, that mile time was a new PR for her!

Sam Bush at the 2023 Raleigh Relays (5k) // Photo via David Nguyen

It's hard to ignore the positive signs on Bush's resume right now. She is seemingly beginning to build tons of momentum. It will, however, be interesting to see how her long distance aerobic fitness will handle the 5k, especially one that is going to be as fast as this.

Bush ran 9:01 (3k) on this same track in early December, roughly seven seconds off of her 8:54 PR. However, nearly two months have passed since then, making it tricky to know exactly what we should expect from Bush this weekend.

I think it's very reasonable to say that Bush can probably come within striking distance of 15:35 (5k) PR which she set at the East regional meet in 2022. But given her current momentum, she could also be someone flirting with the 15:30 barrier.

FINAL PREDICTIONS (collegiates only)

*Denotes that a collegiate is also entered in another individual event. In these predictions, TSR is assuming that each runner is contesting an event fresh (i.e. not doubling back).