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April Anarchy Sweet 16: Yellow Region (Men & Women)
#1 Jenny Simpson (née Barringer) (Colorado ‘09)
vs
#5 Dom Scott (Arkansas '16)
Jenny Simpson’s performance in this tournament has been similar to those on the track - dominant. She won the first round over #16 seed Erin Finn with 80% of the votes and came back in the second round to take 90% of the votes against #8 seed Leah O’Connor.
Dom Scott on the other hand, has had much slimmer margins of victory. The former Razorback barely made it past Elle Purrier in the first round, earning 53% of the overall vote. The second round was a slightly more convincing victory, with just over 60% of the vote going to Scott in her matchup against Shannon Rowbury.
It’s easy to think of Scott as somewhat under-seeded given how strong her senior campaign was at Arkansas. Scott finished 3rd at the NCAA XC Championships and then went on to win 5k and 10k national title at the Outdoor National Championships that spring. While Scott was certainly a great runner during the first four years with Arkansas, her senior year was what really brought her into the spotlight.
Simpson was a star from the start. The Colorado alum won the steeple in her first year of outdoor track and went on to win the USATF Championships that same season. Simpson would collect two more steeplechase national titles during her time at Colorado, setting collegiate records in every event from the 1500 meters to the 5k.
So who has the upper-hand? Scott was arguably more consistent in cross country as she finished 28th, 6th and 3rd versus Simpson’s 42nd, 2nd, 2nd and 163rd. Simpson was certainly the better runner on the track, but Scott’s double-gold performance still holds weight. This one will come down to the classic cross country vs track showdown.
#2 Karissa Schweizer (Missouri '18)
vs
#14 Sinclaire Johnson (Oklahoma State '19)
Both Karissa Schweizer and Sinclaire Johnson were relatively “late” bloomers in college. Schweizer really broke onto the scene during outdoor track her sophomore season when she finished 3rd in the 5k at Nationals. After that, she went on to dominant the collegiate scene, winning a cross country title, three indoor titles and two outdoor titles.
Johnson waited even longer. The Oklahoma State alum was a strong runner throughout her collegiate career, but didn't exactly standout in an era of crowded with elite distance talents. However, that all changed during outdoors. Johnson won a surprise 1500 meter title over Jessica Hull and ran the second-fastest mark in collegiate history.
This matchup pits titles against times. Scweizer has substantially more All-American honors and national titles than Johnson, but Johnson has one of the best runs in NCAA history. Schweizer set the 3k collegiate record whereas Johnson fell short to only NCAA legend Jenny Simpson.
In the battle of current and future Bowerman Track Club runners, who comes out on top?
#1 Edward Cheserek (Oregon ‘17)
vs
#4 Donavan Brazier (Texas A&M ‘16)
As we wrap up the Sweet 16, the matchups are getting much more difficult. Arguably the best collegiate cross country runner ever goes up against one of the best 800 meter runners ever.
After breezing through the first two rounds, Edward Cheserek will face a significant challenge. Donavan Brazier comes in as the underdog even though he put together one of the most iconic races in NCAA history when he won the 2016 800 meter national title in a then-record time of 1:43.
It is impossible to underrate how profound that one race was. As a freshman at Texas A&M, he put together a dominant performance as well as a spectacular time. Unfortunately, for us as fans, we only got to see Brazier run in the NCAA for one year. He has gone on to have a prolific professional career, but had he stayed in College Station, he could have picked up many more titles.
As for Cheserek, the accomplishments themselves are stunning. 15 NCAA individual titles are a staggering achievement, but it was his aura of dominance that will never be forgotten. The former Duck does not have one race that we can consider the "King Ches race" like Brazier has simply because he has put together so many all-time incredible performances.
Whether it was upsetting Kennedy Kithuka in the fall of 2013 for the NCAA title, the 2014 NCAA 10k where he beat Shadrack Kipchirchir and Mo Ahmed, or beating Cristian Soratos in the 2015 NCAA indoor mile, Cheserek has a host of dominant performances where he upended stars and took down one challenger after another.
Both were dominant athletes during their collegiate career, Cheserek has an enormous resume while Brazier won one of the most iconic races ever. Each athlete has a huge following and are both very popular.
This is one matchup that could go down to the wire.
#2 Josh Kerr (New Mexico ‘18)
vs
#6 Leonard Korir (Iona ‘12)
Josh Kerr making it through to the Sweet 16 was expected based on his domination in the mile and 1500 meters, but Leonard Korir taking down #3 seed Alistair Cragg was a surprise. Korir’s two titles were far from Cragg’s seven, but sometimes the underdog comes out on top.
This matchup will be interesting because Kerr and Korir specialized in different events, Kerr in the mile/1500 and Korir in the 5k/10k.
The 1500 meter collegiate record holder, Kerr was an athlete who stole the show whenever he toed the line. After winning his first NCAA title at the 2017 indoor national meet in the mile over the great Edward Cheserk, Kerr would eventually go on a tear and never finish outside of the top-three at a national meet on the track. He was a three-time NCAA champion who threw down a 3:35 1500 meter collegiate best and a 3:54 mile (NCAA #5 all-time).
As for Korir, he contributed to the distance running legacy at Iona. A two-time NCAA champion, Korir picked up titles in the indoor 5k and outdoor 10k. For both titles, he out-kicked Liberty’s Sam Chelanga. Korir’s five second victory in the 10k at the NCAA Championship was a large win margin for a championship race. He left Iona with a 13:19 5k (NCAA #5 indoor all-time) and a 27:29 10k (NCAA #4 all-time).
These men were two very different runners, but two strong collegiate resumes highlighted by multiple NCAA titles, all-time best marks and victories over NCAA legends.
