Bruce Lehane Scarlet & White Preview (Men)
Boston University is hosting another high-level meet this weekend on their indoor track. The Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational will showcase some of the best talent from around the northeast and beyond. The BU track will be fast as always and should yield some impressive performances.
Last weekend’s Terrier Invitational brought some first-time sub-four miles as well as strong performances in the 3k and 5k. We could see the same this weekend with a handful of guys approaching 4:00 as well as some deep fields in the 3k and a strong group in the 5k.
800
Georgetown will be hoping to solidify themselves as one of the top middle-distance programs in the country (again) this season with a solid squad entered in the 800. Junior Joshua Bell has a PR of 1:53 and has run 2:25 in the 1000 meters this season. Freshmen Ethan Delgado and Ian Delgado are entered as well in what will be their first collegiate 800's. Ethan ran 1:21 in the 600 in January and ran 1:54 in high school. Ian has run 1:19 for meters 600 and 2:28 in the 1000 this season. He ran 1:49 in high school which could set him up to be in a very good spot as a true freshman. 1:49 might not be good enough to get into NCAA's, but with some college training under his belt you never know…
The rest of the field is pretty stacked as well. George Mason senior Blaine Lacey comes in with a 1:48 PR. Last weekend’s meet was won in 1:48 so he could be in the mix to win. Joseph Novak, a senior from Penn, is entered with a 1:52 PR. Following along with an impressive Ivy League crew, Harvard’s Myles Marshall and Ryan Thrush will be coming in with PRs of 1:47 and 1:51. Jackson Gallagher of UMass Lowell has a PR of 1:53 and could be a factor too.
1000
The 1000 meter at BU this weekend does not look like it will be as competitive as the 800, but we could still see some fast times. BU’s own Johnny Kemps is entered, and while he only has a 1000 meter PR of 2:29, he has run 4:05 in the mile so I’m sure he can better his 1k time this weekend.
Lehigh’s Sean Brown is entered with PR's of 1:53 for 800 meters and 3:50 for 1500 meters, but he is not listed as ever having run a 1k before. His 800 time should put him in the mix this weekend. Louis Dilaurenzo is a freshman at Monmouth University and has run 1:54 for 800 meters this season. Greg Pelose from BU is also entered with a 2:27 PR.
Mile
The 4:00 barrier will be under watch again this weekend as a few guys should be able to go under the mark for the first time in their careers. Syracuse’s Aidan Tooker ran 3:59.39 to break 4:00 for the first time last weekend, and a fellow Orangeman could do the same this weekend.
Noah Affolder is entered and holds a personal best of 4:02. Tooker’s PR going into last weekend before he ran a three second improvement? Also 4:02. Can the training partners both break the barrier two weeks in a row?
Georgetown’s Jack Salisbury holds a mile PR of 4:04 and a 1500 PR of 3:44. Salisbury just ran 2:24 for 1000 meters, so he seems to be in great shape heading into the bulk of indoor season. Penn’s Colin Daly has run 4:05 and his teammate Noah Carey just ran 4:08. Carey may be a little far from 3:59, but he could still go for a big PR and hang up front in this race.
One of the highlights of the entire meet could come from a Boston University athlete. Paul Luevano has a PR of 4:02 and could break the barrier in front of a home crowd. If Luevano is on pace through 1000 meters, that field house may get pretty loud as Luevano races the clock and his fellow athletes.
3000
Penn will be bringing a strong crew of William Daly, Sam Webb, and Mitchell Poynter for the 3k at BU. Daly has run 8:19, Webb has run 8:24 (and recently a 4:06 in the mile), and Poynter has run 8:21. This trio should all be able to lower their personal bests and have a strong presence at the front of this race.
Boston University will be entering a solid duo of Brett Davidson and Alexander Seal. Davidson has run 8:25, and while this appears to be Seal’s 3k debut as a senior, he has run 4:01 for the mile before and has also gone under 24:00 for 8k in cross country. Seal could be a bit of a wildcard here, but don’t be surprised if he is able to blast a quick time.
Drew Dorflinger of Bucknell has run 8:20 and also 14:18 for 5k. Lehigh’s Victor Yegon has a listed 3k PR of 8:41, but has run 9:00 in the steeplechase so he should be capable of much faster than that this weekend.
5000
Penn has also entered a pretty big group in the 5k that could be capable of doing some damage. Daniel Cohen has a PR of 14:49, but just ran 8:26 so we may see a much faster 5k out of him. Colin Daly is entered in the 5k along with the mile, so it is unclear if he will be running both (same day) or just picking one. He has a PR of 14:41 which could also be significantly lowered should he choose to run the 5k.
William Hare is entered as well and does not have a collegiate 5k time on record, but has run 8:21 in the 3k so he is right in the mix with his teammates. Alex Roth has a PR of 14:34 and Anthony Russo just ran 8:29 in the 3k so he may be a possible contender depending what his fitness is looking like right now.
The 5k field is pretty small this weekend and Penn is the only team bringing serious firepower, but a lot of other entries have personal bests right around 15:00. We could see some guys dip into the 14:40 range if the race goes out fast.