Bringing Back Recaps (Part Two)

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Schoppe Cruises to 3:58 Mile

One of the bigger performances of the weekend was seeing second-year Oklahoma State runner Ryan Schoppe cruise to a 3:58 mile PR at the Arkansas Invitational. The young Cowboy star followed a respectable pace before pulling away from the field en route to a convincing win and a statement time of 3:58.

The craziest part of Schoppe's performance is that he won without anyone all that close to him. Not only that, but he crossed the line almost as if he had run a workout rather than an all-out sub-four mile effort.

Schoppe has been great for Oklahoma State in the short time that he has been with the program, but this was probably the biggest and best race of his career so far. He had posted strong 3k and 5k times previously, but his 3:58 mark puts him in national qualifying territory and truly puts him in a special category where we can convincingly say that he has entered a new tier.

I already liked Schoppe a lot, but now I like him even more given that he has some proven speed to pair with his underrated stamina.

If this Cowboy ace can take this race and use it as momentum for the rest of the season, then we might be talking about Schoppe as an All-American candidate later this year.

The sky is the ceiling for Schoppe. He'll go as far as his experience allows him to this winter.

Hamilton Earns Big 3:56 Converted Mile

Every single year we see a distance runner earn a massive altitude (and flat-track) conversion which leads to numerous critiques about the weight of the conversions and whether or not they are valid.

Sure enough, that conversation will almost surely start again after Duncan Hamilton just ran an altitude converted and flat-track converted 3:56 mile effort this past weekend on his home track. His original time was 4:05.

The Montana State star isn't new to heavy conversions. Hamilton earned a 3:57 conversion last year on the same track, so it shouldn't be a surprise that he has earned a 3:56 conversion this time around.

Not only that, but we have seen countless examples of Montana State runners earning heavy conversions prior to Hamilton. Whether it was Cristian Soratos, Pat Casey or Diego Leon, all of those Bobcat runners went on to have success on the national stage or run fast times at sea level.

Hamilton has proven that he doesn't need conversions to validate himself as a national-caliber talent. He's run 8:31 in the 3000 meter steeplechase (en route to All-American honors) and has been a two-time individual national qualifier for the NCAA XC Championships.

Now, admittedly, there have been instances where Hamilton could have better capitalized on the national stage. He'll need to be better prepared for the crazy tactics and the odd pacing that often come with the preliminary rounds of the indoor national meet. He struggled with that a bit last year.

Even so, Hamilton is too accomplished, too experienced and too fast to not be considered a factor on the national stage. Last year, many of our writers chose Hamilton as a sleeper All-American pick in the men's mile.

That prediction didn't come to fruition, but maybe that's because we were one year too early...

Magness Holds Off Stoffel, Takes Down Deep Mile Field

Gosh, you really have to give major kudos to Michigan State's Jenna Magness. The long distance veteran is typically at her best in cross country and in the 5000 meters. That's why it was so impressive for her to drop down in distance, run 4:41 in the mile and take down a quietly deep field of women who are, on paper, better suited for this event than she is.

In Ann Arbor, Magness was able to defeat Indiana's Hannah Stoffel (4:42) as well as a large contingent of accomplished Michigan and Indiana runners.

That 4:41 effort was a personal best for Magness who had never run faster than 4:51 in the mile prior to this past weekend. To see this Spartan ace show off some middle distance speed and take down a rising talent in Hannah Stoffel, who was in one of her marquee events, is super impressive.

Magness never struck me as someone who was going to be a tactical threat or a fast finisher (which is not to say that she hasn't been all of that before). However, running a promising 4:41 mile personal best to earn a win over a large group of talented women who could have teamed up against her is something that needs to be comnmended.

This kind of performance makes me feel a little more confident about Magness' chances for continued success in the postseason given the various race scenarios that we often see on the national stage.

As for Stoffel, she didn't get the win, but it's still a nice performance and another step in the right direction. The Indiana veteran will need to continue her momentum and maintain her rate of improvement throughout this season in order to be in a national qualifying position. Expect Stoffel to drop down in distance to the 800 meters later this season.

If I had to guess, I'd say that she can run around 2:04 or 2:05 this winter.

As for the rest of this field, this was another nice race for VanderLende who improved upon her mile PR once again to win her heat and earn a time of 4:45. Meanwhile, Indiana veteran Bailey Hertenstein contested the mile distance, but faltered a bit running 4:57.

For an early-season race such as this, I don't have a problem with someone like Hertenstein attempting to shake off any rust by dropping down in distance.

However, I have said this countless times before and I will continue to say it this season: Hertenstein should not focus on the mile. Instead, she should focus on the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters.

Yes, Hertenstein has run 4:14 for 1500 meters which is a very solid time. However, in my opinion, she is far better suited for the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters compared to the 1500 meters and the mile.

Hertenstein has been a star on the grass and on the oval, she has run 9:19 for 3000 meters and 15:38 for 5000 meters. The catch? She has only run the 5000 meter three times in her collegiate career. In fact, her last (and only) 5000 meter effort on the indoor oval came in 2020.

I feel strongly that Hertenstein is better suited for the longer distances rather than the mile or the 1500 meters. At the very least, I'd like to see her contest the 5000 meters more than once this season. In the right setting, I think she can do something pretty special.

Carlson Upsets Gearing & Herman in Mile

Rutgers freshman Alexandra Carlson just had a massive statement race this past weekend, running 4:43 in the mile en route to a victory over Kentucky standouts Jenna Gearing and Tori Herman.

Carlson, a New Jersey native, is in her first year with the Scarlet Knights, but her inexperience didn't stop her from securing a win over two women who, on paper, should have defeated the Rutgers youngster.

Gearing, as we've seen before, is a star in the longer distances, specifically on the grass, and has run 4:42 in the mile. As for Herman, she ran an excellent time of 4:14 for 1500 meters last spring and has also run 4:39 in the mile.

On paper, Carlson was a major underdog, making her win that much more impactful.

The exciting thing about young up-and-coming runners like Carlson is that they have an incredibly high ceiling and tons of potential. It often feels like momentum impacts these runners in a much more positive way than anyone else.

If Carlson can continue to find success this season and build upon her fitness each and every week, then this Rutgers runner could find herself under the 4:40 barrier sooner rather than later and maybe, just maybe, she can put herself in a national qualifying position come March.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Bakker Upsets Schadler En Route to Big 3k Personal Best

Coming into this women's 3000 meter race, Washington star Allie Schadler was the clear favorite to emerge as the top collegiate. With a personal best of 8:58 for the distance, as well as numerous upper-echelon times in other events, it felt fairly obvious that Schadler was the one to beat.

However, Portland's Veerle Bakker had other plans. The Pilot standout just had one of the best races of her career, posting a very strong time of 9:14 for 3000 meters, finishing 2nd overall, beating Allie Schadler and emerging as the best collegiate in this loaded field.

This was a massive run for Bakker. She was a solid talent coming into this race, running 10:15 in the 3000 meter steeplechase, but Bakker didn't really have anything on her resume which suggested that she could run 9:14 or defeat a national-caliber star like Schadler.

And yet, if Bakker was going to have a breakout performance, it was going to come in this kind of field. The women entered in this 3000 meter race were all very talented, but there also weren't a ton of elite-level stars who could have made the pace too fast for Bakker.

Instead, the Portland talent was able to thrive off of the honest pace and the respectable talents around her en route to a new personal best.

As for Schadler, her 9:14 effort was solid, but we admittedly thought that she could challenge for the win...or at least run faster than she did.

At the same time, it's still too early in the season for us to analyze these performances as anything other than rust-busters for those who aren't matching their personal bests. Still, after running 15:50 for 5000 meters back in December, I've been wondering when we will see Schadler return to the peak of her powers.

When looking at the rest of this field, it's admittedly hard to be surprised. I mentioned in our preview that many of theses women were positioned for sub-9:20 efforts and sure enough, that was what happened.

Stanford's Lucy Jenks (9:15), Portland State's Katie Camarena (9:16) and Washington's Haley Herberg (9:19) all met our expectations. Jenks was the main name who gave us a lot to be excited about. She's a young up-and-coming talent who has quietly done very well with the Cardinal during the little time that she has been with the team.

As for everyone else in this field, there weren't too many surprises. For the most part, the women who ran under 9:20 were the women who we were expecting to do so.

Dolan & Lindhorst Run Strong 1:48 Marks in Season Debuts

It was a quietly good weekend for the men's 800 meters as both Sean Dolan (Villanova) and Cole Lindhorst (Texas) each ran 1:48 marks to put themselves near the top of the national leaderboard.

Dolan, who is considered a freshman by eligibility despite this being his third year in the NCAA, ran 1:48.11 in the 800 meters to put himself in a national qualifying position. He took down Wagner's William Cuthbertson (1:49) and teammate Charlie O'Donovan (1:49) in the process.

If you read our preseason rankings, then it's no secret that we like Dolan quite a bit. He was wildly impressive last year, specifically in the mile, and has proven time and time again that he can be an elite star in the NCAA.

Seeing Dolan capitalize on his fitness and start the season off strong with an impressive 1:48 effort is very exciting. He ran 1:46 for 800 meters last summer (unattached), but this race validates the idea that his 1:46 personal best wasn't a fluke.

However, for as fast as this time is, it's also fair to say that Dolan won't pursue the 800 meters this season. He is too much of a stud in the mile to not seriously pursue that event. The real question, however, is how fast he will actually run in the mile this year.

As for Lindhorst, he seems to be thriving with the Texas men after transferring from Air Force this past summer. The second-year collegiate talent had a few promising performances with the Falcons, but is truly prospering with the Longhorns.

His 1:48 effort this past weekend was huge and a very nice display of speed/range for a guy who was contributing to this team in cross country and who has often been considered as a miler.

Coach Pete Watson continues to prove that he is one of the best developers of middle distance talent in the NCAA. He could turn Lindhorst into a national qualifier in both the 800 meters and the mile this season. Of course, our only question with this young talent is which event will he most seriously pursue?

Either way, Lindhorst reminds me a lot of the aforementioned Sean Dolan. A former high school star and an up-and-coming second-year collegiate talent who can gain momentum while learning from veterans in a top middle distance program.

What's not to like?

Osterstock Runs Converted 4:00 Mile

Nate Osterstock is a Southern Utah standout who has gone from being a solid middle lineup scorer in cross country to one of the nation's top distance talents. The Thunderbird ace had a breakout year in 2021 and is continuing to capitalize on his fitness.

Osterstock ran 4:04 at altitude this past weekend, earning a conversion that put him at 4:00.05, barely missing the four minute barrier in the process.

Much like Hamilton, it's important to realize that Osterstock has proven that he is more than deserving of the altitude conversion that he just received. Last spring, he earned a 3:39 conversion for 1500 meters after running a 4:02 mile at altitude. We also can't forget the fact that he ran 13:42 for 5000 meters.

With two meets at Washington later this season, expect Osterstock to enter some quicker races, specifically in the mile, where he'll be able to prove himself as one of the nation's elite distance talents.

Beadlescomb & Veatch Battle to 4:01 Mile Marks

Another season, another outstanding battle between Michigan State's Morgan Beadlescomb and Indiana's Ben Veatch. The two BIG 10 rivals fought to the line in the mile this past weekend with Beadlescomb getting a few strides on Veatch in the final moments of the race, each running 4:01 in the process.

For the most part, there isn't a whole lot to takeaway from this race. Both of these men are far better suited for the longer distances, specifically the 5000 meters. It's also not a surprise to see them run a pair of 4:01 marks, either.

We've seen Beadlescomb run some very quick middle distance times before while Veatch has proven that he's talented to enough to run this fast.

In fact, Veatch earned two personal bests in the 800 meters and the mile this past weekend, so the extra speed is certainly there for him this season. The biggest uncertainty, however, will be how he translates that speed to the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters.

Abdalla Earns Comfortable 4:01 Mile Victory

Texas standout Yaseen Abdalla was outstanding this past fall, having a true breakout season, specifically in championship meets, which eventually resulted in him earning All-American honors.

The Longhorn ace continued to build off of his momentum this past weekend, running 4:01 in the mile to defeat the runner-up finisher by four seconds.

In the right setting, Abdalla can dip under four minutes and after that race, it feels pretty realistic that he can do it this season. We saw this past fall that he can hold his own in competitive fields, giving us reason to believe that a 3:59 personal best (or faster) could be coming later this season if he gets into a competitive-enough race.

Barrett Fends Off Tobias In 800 Meters, Stauber Returns

In one of my more aggressive predictions for the indoor national meet, I said that Florida's Imogen Barrett was a lock to make the finals in the mile last year and that I couldn't see a scenario where she didn't advance.

Of course, I wasn't anticipating Lotte Black being in her way for most of the prelims.

Despite my prediction blunder, I am still feeling incredibly optimistic about this Gator veteran. She is extremely experienced, owns tons of fast times, has consistently improved and has flexed some respectable range.

Sure enough, a win this past weekend in the 800 meters over an underrated talent in Valery Tobias (Texas) validated my optimistic feelings about this Florida star.

At the Clemson Invitational, Barrett ran 2:05 for 800 meters, taking down Tobias who ran 2:06 in the process. Could Barrett's 2:05 mark potentially put her in the national qualifying conversation? Yes, it could, but she's more likely going to focus on the mile this season.

However, Tobias could look at this mark, see how close she is to being in the national qualifying conversation, and continue to attack this distance. The Longhorn talent is fairly experienced and quietly consistent. If she is able to build off of her current fitness, then maybe she finds a way into the national meet later this winter.

As for Stauber, the newest Florida State transfer and former 800 meter superstar finished 3rd in this race with a time of 2:07. For most people, that result doesn't really move the needle or spark tons of excitement.

However, this is Ruby Stauber we're talking about.

The FSU ace was a star at LSU a few years ago, running 2:03 for 800 meters and earning All-American honors at the national meet. This may be an early-season rust-buster in the eyes of some, but for us, we see this as a potential step forward for Stauber in what could be a season of building momentum.

Olivere & Smith Shake Off Rust With Promising Double

Nothing too crazy to say here. The Villanova duo of Lydia Olivere and Maggie Smith each ran the mile and the 800 meters this past weekend, going 1-2 in both events.

Olivere ran 4:43 (mile) and 2:15 (800) while Smith ran 4:44 (mile) and 2:16 (800). These weren't crazy fast times, but it was a nice double for both ladies who could use this past weekend as momentum for the rest of their season.

Now our only question is...what event(s) should they focus on this winter?

Weems Takes Down Strong Field In Fast 1000 Meter Race

After a huge breakout spring season in 2021, Weems has proven that she can translate her talent to the indoor oval. The Auburn star just a VERY quick time of 2:46 for 1000 meters, taking down a field which featured three other women at 2:50 or faster.

Weems was a stud in the 800 meters and the 1500 meters last spring, so we're extremely excited to see what she can do in the mile later this season. That 1000 meter opener was a massive statement that her middle distance speed can translate to the indoor oval incredibly well.

However, the difference between this season and the spring season is that Weems now has championship experience and an understanding of how to race at the highest levels of the NCAA.

Assuming she makes it to the indoor national meet, don't be surprised if you see her make it out of the prelims and put herself in an All-American position.

As for the rest of this field, we have to give major kudos to Vanderbilt's Grace Jensen who just ran 2:47 in the same race as Weems. That's wildly impressive, even for a middle distance veteran who has run 2:07 in past seasons.

Jensen is a solid talent, but running that fast tells us that she has more in her legs for the 800 meters than what her 2:07 mark suggests. Her experience as an experienced senior veteran is also a promising aspect of her resume.

Finally, we have the Georgia Tech duo of Nicole Fegans (2:49) and Riley Perlakowski (2:50). For Fegans, this is a nice display of middle distance speed and strength, something that she could certainly utilize in the mile or the 3000 meters later this season.

As for Perlakowski, she just ran 2:50 for 1000 meters as a freshman in her third meet of the season. That's super impressive, leaving us excited about her future with the Yellow Jackets, especially with Fegans on her way out of the program.

Devin Hart Stuns With Huge 7:51 Effort, Ahl & Shields Earn Statement 3k Marks

This past cross country season was not indicative of Devin Hart's true talent and I felt pretty confident about that coming into this weekend. Even so, I wasn't at all expecting this Stanford runner to drop a time of 7:51 for 3000 meters.

The Cardinal ace followed a super fast pace established by some top-tier pro runners en route to a time that will almost certainly qualify him for the indoor national meet.

That kind of mark is absolutely stunning, especially for someone who hadn't given us much of an indication that he was capable of running that fast. Yes, he had run 13:45 for 5000 meters last spring, but that performance didn't exactly suggest that he was going to run 7:51 in January of this season.

I've always liked Hart and I've always thought that he had the potential to be a really strong standout name. However, I admittedly didn't see him running this fast anytime soon or this early in the season.

With that kind of mark under his belt, the biggest question we now have for Hart is...what else do you have?

Breakout performances like these happen all the time. However, the next step is figuring out what Hart can do after such a monumental leap in perceived fitness.

Either way, this was a massive performance, one that stole headlines away from numerous sub-four mile performances. That's hard to do this early in the season.

As for the rest of this field, how about Simon Fraser's Aaron Ahl?! We had talked about him as a major threat in the mile and the 800 meters, but seeing him move up to the 3000 meters and thrive with a time of 7:53 is incredible.

At this point, I think we have to seriously question if Ahl is in the same category as guys like Noble and Harding. Truthfully, Ahl hasn't given us any reason to doubt his fitness or his ability to be nationally competitive with some of the fastest men in D2. He has tremendous range and is super experienced.

On paper, this guy has it all.

Moving on to the rest of the field, we have to recognize the strong result that we saw from Boise State's Jonathan Shields. He just ran 7:54 in the 3000 meters this past weekend en route to a huge breakout performance.

However, as I mentioned in our preview, this Bronco veteran was primed for a breakout race. He had run very solid times in the 5000 meters and owned a variety of solid marks in other distances. Shields had been fairly consistent coming into this weekend and truthfully didn't give us a ton to dislike.

Will he qualify for the national meet with that time? Maybe, but it's hard to say for sure. The 3000 meters is such a variable event in terms of the times required to qualify for the national meet. If I had to guess, I would say no, but I don't feel confident about that answer at all.

Finally, how about Aidan Ryan? The Williams veteran just ran 7:55 this past weekend, making a massive statement that -- maybe, just maybe -- Alex Phillip isn't the best distance talent in D3 this season.

We'll be curious to see what Ryan can now do in other events, mainly the 5000 meters as he tries to build off of what was just a huge 3k performance.

Quick shoutout to Zach Stallings (Washington State) and Matt Strangio (Portland). These two men are underrated talents and were able to produce solid times of 8:00 in the 3000 meters this past weekend.

Garnica Earns 7:58 (3k) Conversion

BYU's Brandon Garnica was back in action this past weekend, running a converted 7:58 for 3000 meters on his home track (from an original time of 8:09).

While I'd like to go into some fancy analysis on this race, I'm not sure there is really a ton to say here. We knew that Garnica was capable of running this time. In fact, I think he's capable of running substantially faster.

Georgetown Men Flex Depth in 1000 Meters

Over the last few years, the Georgetown men have been working to rebuild the middle distance portion of their roster after numerous departures via graduation and expired eligibility.

Luckily, it seems like that middle distance firepower is all the way back. The Hoyas just had four men run 2:23 or faster for 1000 meters at Penn State this past weekend. Matthew Payamps took home the win in a blistering time of 2:21 with Youngstown State's Sean Peterson putting together an excellent race to finish runner-up in a time of 2:22.

The rest of Georgetown's sub-2:24 contingent, which featured Camden Gilmore (2:22), Parker Stokes (2:22) and Abel Teffra (2:23), were highly impressive in their own right, flexing speed that, truthfully, I didn't know they had.

For Payamps, this race is about what we expected, but this was a fairly big development for the rest of his team. Stokes showed off much more speed than we realized he had, leading us to believe that he could be a sub-four miler on the indoor oval this year after running 3:59 on the outdoor oval last spring.

As for Gilmore and Teffra, don't be surprised if we see a few sub-1:50 marks in the 800 meters from them over the next two months. Their results suggest that they are more than capable of doing exactly that.