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2026 Bryan Clay Invite Preview & Predictions (1500m): How Close Can Colin Sahlman Get to the NCAA 1500m Record? Plus, Numerous All-American Stars Battle in Women's 1500m
Welcome back, friends...again!
Yesterday, we previewed the men's and women's 5000-meter and 800-meter fields for the Bryan Clay Invitational. The day before that, we previewed the men's and women's 10,000-meter and 3000-meter steeplechase fields (which we'll have analysis for tomorrow).
Now, it's time to evaluate the final distance event of the Bryan Clay Invite! I am, of course, talking about the 1500 meters, a race often viewed as the marquee event of the entire meet.
Let's break down all of the metric mile madness that we will see on Saturday...
NOTE: Predictions are only for attached collegians listed in the entries. TSR is aware that an athlete could/will scratch out of certain events to pursue a more manageable weekend of racing. Even so, The Stride Report will offer predictions for each event as if every athlete in the distance fields will be completely fresh.
Women’s 1500 Meters
Rosemary Longisa (Washington State) -- 4:06
Hayley Burns (Northern Arizona) -- 4:07
Carmen Alder (BYU) -- 4:07
Chloe Foerster (Washington) -- 4:09
Berlyn Schutz (Nebraska) -- 4:09
Analysis: This is primed to be an exciting 1500-meter race, especially among collegians. The "Elite" section of this event features multiple accomplished pro runners as well as a large handful of All-American-caliber collegians who are, broadly speaking, fairly similar in terms of talent.
Even so, the top NCAA entrant in this field is almost certainly Rosemary Longisa. The Washington State product is coming off of a monster indoor track season where she thrived in all-out affairs (much like the setting that she'll see tomorrow).
On the indoor oval, Longisa clocked elite marks of 1:59 (800), 2:38 (1k) and 4:24 (mile). More times than not, the Cougar standout took down a number of veteran stars and, on the national stage, she translated her fitness to a more tactical setting, earning a silver medal in the mile finals.
On paper, Longisa has everything going for her. She clearly favors all-out tests of fitness, has previously taken down nearly all of the collegians who she'll see on Saturday, has been incredibly consistent over the last few months and is tactically savvy enough to find success in most race scenarios.
That said, the rest of this field features multiple collegiate women who could be real threats to the Washington State star.
I maintain that Northern Arizona's Hayley Burns is a true long distance runner rather than a miler. Her aerobic-centric skillset, the fact that she trains at 7000-feet of altitude, a recent 15:18 (5k) PR at the Stanford Invite -- all of that suggests that the metric mile is more of an "off" distance for the Lumberjack star.
Even so, you do have to respect her 4:25 mile effort from this past winter, even if it was heavily converted. Plus, Burns ended up earning 7th place All-American honors in that event last month! Despite my view of her skillset, she is still talented enough to thrive in an all-out affair that should play into her strength-based talent...right?
Then there is Carmen Alder, the BYU runner who earned a stunning 4:08 (1500) PR to earn an upset win at the Stanford Invite roughly two weeks ago. That was a big-time victory over the Stanford duo of Mena Scatchard and Juliette Whittaker, both of whom were racing on their home track.
We've seen Alder run fast before, but that Stanford Invite performance was arguably the most impressive race of her career.
The challenge now, however, is whether or not Alder can replicate (and therefore validate) that performance on Saturday evening in California. There's more reason than not to think that she will, but this field is more top-heavy and definitely deeper than what she faced in Palo Alto two weeks ago.
Even so, a top finish would likely do wonders for Alder's momentum as she nears the postseason. If she can hold her own in this field, then one would have to wonder how much of an All-American threat the Cougar veteran can/will be in Eugene, Oregon come June.
We then come to Chloe Foerster, the Washington veteran who has left us scratching our heads as of late.
Make no mistake, Foerster was fantastic during the regular season this past winter, clocking outstanding marks of 1:59 (800), 2:37 (1k) and 4:25 (mile). In all-out, time trial affairs that are meant to test raw fitness, this Husky star is primed to be a major name who could produce fireworks.
However, recent races have not broken in Foerster's favor. The Washington veteran failed to make it out of the mile prelims at the NCAA Indoor Championships and she later faltered to a solid, but relatively modest, 4:11 mark for 1500 meters at the Stanford Invite. She did, however, double back to run 2:01 (800) the next day.
The best version of Foerster can absolutely emerge as the top collegian in this field -- I don't think anyone would argue that. Even so, this race will be key in order for her to rebuild momentum and reignite a spark for the remainder of the season.
Personally, I am a big fan of Berlyn Schutz. The Nebraska ace has been a talented and underrated name for the last few seasons, but she has truly broken out in a major way this year after running 4:27 (mile) this past winter and placing 9th in the finals of the NCAA Indoor Championships.
With subtly strong racing IQ, clearly improved fitness and a recent 5000-meter PR of 15:39, it's hard to find a flaw with Schutz right now. Yes, we do have her placing 5th among collegians in this 1500-meter field, but there's a world she places as high as 3rd on Saturday evening.
It admittedly feels weird to mention Liberty's Allie Zealand so late in our preview. That, however, just goes to show how strong the collegians in this field are.
Zealand built her reputation as a superstar in high school, specifically in the mile and two-mile. And while she did run 4:28 (mile) this past winter after qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships over 1500 meters last spring, it feels like we have yet to see Zealand's full potential at this distance.
That, however, could change on Saturday after a highly success winter campaign where she earned All-American honors over 3000 meters.
Of course, we can't forget the fact that Zealand was dealing with an injury at the tail-end of the indoor track season. How will that affect her going into this weekend, if at all? Did it affect her training over the last month?
BYU's Carlee Hansen is a name who also demands respect in this field. She ran a blazing fast 1500-meter time of 4:07 at the West Regional Championships last spring in what was a clear breakout race for the Cougar veteran. Since then, she's run well and held her own, but we're still waiting to see another result like that from her.
Also in the top section is Kansas' Emmaculate Jemutai, the surprise BIG 12 champion over 1500 meters from last spring. The Jayhawk star is clearly at her best on the outdoor oval, and when she's firing on all cylinders, she's a massive problem for her competitors.
Even so, it's been a bit hard to gauge Jemutai as of late after a quiet-ish indoor track season and an unsurprising season opener.
Men’s 1500 Meters
Colin Sahlman (Northern Arizona) -- 3:34
Reuben Reina (Washington) -- 3:36
Rheinhardt Harrison (Northern Arizona) -- 3:36
Tyler Bilyard (Washington) -- 3:37 (H2)
Thomas Diamond (Washington) -- 3:38
Analysis: Let's get this out of the way: The obvious favorite among collegians in this field, and maybe even overall, is Northern Arizona's Colin Sahlman.
This Lumberjack star has been beyond fantastic over the last two months of racing. In addition to his NCAA record of 1:44.70 over 800 meters, he also ran 3:52 in the mile and earned two national titles at the NCAA Indoor Championships (DMR and 3000 meters). Since then, he has run 13:23 for 5000 meters this season.
Remember that Sahlman ran a beyond-elite 1500-meter time of 3:33 at this same exact meet in 2024 when he was just a sophomore. And while he has had a few up-and-down moments in his career, no one can deny that the NAU star is at a different level in his fitness right now.
That said, Sahlman is competing over 800 meters on Friday evening (today) -- or at least, that's what he is entered in. If the recent NCAA record holder in that event actually races on Friday, then how will he double back on Saturday? That feels like a fair question to ask, especially if we believe that the NCAA record of 3:33.02 (1500) is legitimately under threat this weekend.
The rest of this field, specifically the top heat, features a large handful of hyper-talented men who either have great experience or tons of recent momentum underneath their legs.
Reuben Reina, the former Arkansas runner who have been with Washington this year, is absurdly talented. He ran 3:36 for 1500 meters in early May of last year and has shown signs of holding immense potential. He also ran 3:52 in the mile this past winter, an encouraging result as far as recent momentum and raw talent is concerned.
Admittedly, Reina hasn't always fared well in tactical championship settings, but an 8th place All-American finish in both the mile and the 3000 meters this past winter was a good step in the right direction. Thankfully for the Husky ace, Saturday's race will be all about raw talent and running as fast as one can.
In my eyes, that should benefit the Seattle-based star.
Meanwhile, the Northern Arizona duo of Tor Hotung-Davidsen and Reinhardt Harrison looks extremely dangerous right now. The former ran an altitude conversion of 3:53 in the mile this past winter while the latter ran 1:46.93 for 800 meters on the indoor oval and was brilliant on the 1200-meter leg of his team's DMR.
Both men have tons of momentum underneath their legs right now. And while Hotung-Davidsen is contesting the 800 meters on Friday (today), he should still have enough in the tank to post a competitive time on Saturday. Harrison, however, is due for a major individual performance and that moment could take place on Saturday.
The 4th and 5th place finishers in my predictions, Tyler Bilyard and Thomas Diamond, also hail from Washington, much like their teammate, Reuben Reina. And yes, I do recognize that my predictions consist of athletes from only two teams (Northern Arizona and Washington).
But when I look at the 1500-meter fields, I can't help but think that Bilyard and Diamond are just safer picks compared to a few other names.
Bilyard owns a 3:52 mile PR from the winter of 2025, ran as fast as 3:53 in the mile this past winter and also clocked a monster 1000-meter time of 2:17 back in January. Surprisingly, he's in the first heat (the "slower" section of the two), but that may actually suit him. The English mile star won't be overwhelmed by this field, but he will absolutely be pushed to a fast time -- his competition is no joke.
Diamond, meanwhile, built up momentum throughout the winter months. He improved nearly every time he toed the line and eventually clocked a fantastic personal best of 3:52 in the mile. Tack on a 5th place All-American honor in that event and you get someone who seems like a safe bet to run well on Saturday evening.
Other names in this field such as Cal Poly's Aidan McCarthy, Stanford's Leo Young, New Mexico's Collins Kiprotich and New Mexico's Matthew Endrody have all had moments of greatness throughout their careers...well, some more than others.
McCarthy, in particular, is a very dangerous name in this field, even if he is coming off of racing the 800 meters the night before. He has been strong so far this season, running times of 1:47 (800) and 3:39 (1500), but he's clearly not near the peak form that led him to personal bests of 1:45 (800) and 3:36 (1500).
Even so, knowing what his ceiling is makes him a scary-good name in this kind of race.
