Bullet Points: Regional Rounds (Day One)

The first day of regional competition is now over. While this won't necessarily be as in-depth or as lengthy as a typical weekend recap, we did want to highlight a few key results from the first day of racing, even if most of these performances were prelims...

1500 Meters

• Let's start with the men's 1500. While I'd like to tell you that there were a bunch of fancy tactics and a ton of fast times, most of these races ended up being sit-and-kick affairs as they usually are. A lead pack was established and then a barrage of kicks were implemented for the last few qualifying spots in the finals during each heat. That's largely how things went in both the East region and West region, with the exception of Eliud Kipsang going all-out and running 3:37 solo in his section.

• There admittedly weren't many surprises. The main favorites advanced to the prelims and it was abundantly clear that their fitness created was better than the fringe contenders.

• However, someone like Florida State's Kasey Knevelbaard faltered and didn't advance out of the prelims despite owning a 3:38 time from earlier in the year. For someone who looked like he was running his best races of his career, this was a bit of a surprise. He faded in the prelim and just didn't look strong in the final portions of the race.

• Davis Bove was another interesting development. Despite running 3:57 during indoors in the mile, he never seemed to have the same spark this spring and faltered in the prelims. He's incredibly strong when he's at his best, but this season left us wanting a little bit more. The LSU standout is still incredibly young, so that inexperience likely got the best of him. He'll be back next year as a major force when he learns how to tame his talent and build consistency.

• And how about Jonathan Davis in the West region? It was a total stunner to not see him advance to the finals. He has been so consistent all year long and seemed to be at the peak of his powers. Admittedly, it's been a while since he last went through weird, tactical prelim rounds, but I would've thought that the 3:39 1500 meter runner, who boasts sub-1:50 speed, would play a larger role in these speed-based races.

• I'd like to say that there was a trend of guys missing the finals, but there wasn't. We saw both older and younger guys miss the finals. Between the Torpy twins, Knevelbaard, Davis, Bove, Renfree, Lindhorst, Troutner, Schadler and Cavan, there wasn't a clear trend as to which kinds of athletes were getting singled out in the prelims.

• However, seeing 11 men with freshman or sophomore eligibility make it through to the East region finals (compared to nine in the West region) was a pleasant surprise. Yes, most of those names like Dolan, Kipsang and Garcia Romo are established stars, but almost half of the finals qualifying field are considered underclassmen. Of course, you can thank the extended eligibility from COVID for that, but there was still some level of inexperience for these guys and I thought that would play a bigger role...but it didn't.

800 Meters

• This race, on paper, held a few surprises when it comes to athletes missing the finals, specifically in the West region. Guys like Daniel Nixon (Iowa State), Carlton Orange (Texas A&M), Sven Cepus (Texas Tech) and Kieran Taylor (Arkansas) all missed the finals.

• However, when you take a look at what they've done this season, it's hard to be totally surprised. Some of these guys didn't run as fast as they previously have, some weren't as consistent and some just weren't great in tactical settings. In fact, when you start going through the list of names in the West region who did advance, you have to shrug your shoulders and admit that most of the top names got through.

• On the other side of the surprises, we saw Texas' Crayton Carrozza throw down a very encouraging mark of 1:47 for 800 meters. That was a huge time and a great personal best by a second after running 1:48 twice at the BIG 12 Championships. He seems to be peaking perfectly in the postseason and I now love his chances of advancing to Nationals if he's going to replicate that kind of performance later this week.

• The same can be said for Wisconsin rookie Abdullahi Hassan. The Badger ace has been a top talent from Canada who hasn't always replicated the success that we've seen from him as a prep runner...until now. Running 1:47 is encouraging and a major step in the right direction. He'll go into the finals as a main contender, but I'll be curious to see how his inexperience plays a role (or doesn't play a role) against these established veteran stars.

• The East region 800 meters was fairly straightforward depending on who you ask, although some of the top names entering this race faltered a bit, largely due to their lack of experience at this level. Guys like Thomas Doyle (North Florida), Conor Murphy (Virginia) and Dolan Owens (North Carolina) all failed to advance out of the prelims.

• Admittedly, all three of those men were new to the collegiate spotlight, but had been running so well this year. Doyle dropped a massive 1:47 mark earlier this season while Murphy and Owens both ran sub-1:50 numerous times and were some of the most consistent middle distance talents that the country had to offer. In fact, Murphy even ran 1:48 at the ACC Championships.

• However, Doyle had never raced at such an elite level before this season while both Murphy and Owens were inexperienced youngsters. On paper, that lack of championship-style racing was going to be a factor for a few names, but these three will be back next year now that they know what to expect.

• Also, briefly going back to the West region, we saw Takieddine Hedeilli earn a DNS mark in the 800 meters. That's a big deal! This is a 1:45 guy who is one of the most lethal middle distance runners in the country. For him to simply be out of the picture leaves not only a national qualifying spot open, but an All-American spot open as well. In fact, depending on who you ask, I think some people would've said that Hedeilli was a low-key title contender.

10,000 Meters

• Let's all try to look at the men's 10k results from both regions and act surprised...even though there really isn't nothing to be surprised about. In fact, the West region was so predictable that it was almost surprising. If you went through the 12 national qualifying names in the West region 10k and told me that they would all advance to Nationals, I wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest.

• Guys like Tibebu Proctor and Alek Parsons were fringe qualifying contenders and that's exactly the tier where they finished, placing 13th and 14th, respectively, with another fringe name in Alex Maier placing 15th as well. Overall, this was roughly what we expected, although I did think that this regional 10k was going to be faster seeing as how Wesley Kiptoo and Conner Mantz were both entered.

• The East region 10k was fairly predictable, but we did see a few smaller surprises such as Providence's Marcelo Rocha qualifying for the national meet. You could argue that Charlotte's Nickolas Scudder, Villanova's Haftus Strintzos and UMass Lowell's Christopher Alfond were surprise qualifiers as well, but it's not like they were incapable of making it Eugene, Oregon or that they weren't proven in other races. I don't think they were the first choices for everyone, but having predicted those men to get in wouldn't have been a crime.

• This East region 10k race was fast, something that was naturally going to happen when you have guys like Alex Masai, Adriaan Wildschutt and Vincent Kiprop at the front. Masai pulled away for the win and although it was a regional round, I did like his approach. I liked the fact that he's staying so consistent and I think that consistency will translate to the national stage where he can earn an All-American honor. This year's field does benefit him quite a bit in terms of race aggression and I don't think we talk about that enough when chatting about this Hofstra ace.

• It was a bit surprising to see Iona's Ehab El-Sandali and Butler's Simon Bedard falter in this race. They have been so good all year long and seemed to do fairly well in faster settings. In a race that was fairly quicker, where 10 men ran under 29 minutes, I was a bit surprised to see them further down the results. Of course, in these kind of races, there are always going to be top names who are left out.

• Speaking of names that were left out, Blaise Ferro was a DNS in the West region 10k. Blaise Ferro! A 27:56 runner for 10,000 meters! This is a massive development similar to the 800 meters where Takieddine Hedeilli was also a DNS.

• Not only did a national qualifying spot open up, but Ferro was an All-American favorite and a (very) deep sleeper pick for the national title. We're not sure why he was a DNS, but I imagine that a potential injury bug may have forced him to sit this race out (that's only speculation). With the Olympic Trials coming up, it's also understandable if Ferro wanted to put all of his emphasis on that race.