Cusick's Column (4/27/18)

By: John Cusick

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’m late. Oh well. This past weekend is worth talking about even if it’s almost a week later. Read below.

We warned you. We told you the times we’re going to be nothing short of spectacular after this weekend and wow they definitely did not disappoint. We got a collegiate record, the fastest overall 5000-meter time and an increased competition level as you roll through the national list. Let’s begin, shall we?

800

Six athletes now sit under the 1:49 barrier at the Division II level. The newest of those would be CSU-Pueblo’s Devundrick Walker. We’ve talked about Walker before as a dark-horse candidate in the past, but after a 2nd place finish in the heat just before the fastest section, it’s clear that Walker is looking for his own national title. His time is nearly two seconds better than his previous PR that was set in 2015 at the National Championships.

Robert Downs from TAMU-Kingsville opted for the LSU Alumni Classic where he placed 2nd behind Clemson’s John Lewis in a time of 1:49.69. Downs has recently started running the 800 just this year and his PR is from the indoor season where he ran 1:49.62 where he finished 3rd at the Indoor National Championships. Downs looks poised to break that PR when we get to the conference and national championships.

Joining this list is another Laker from Grand Valley State as freshman Dennis Mbuta ran 1:49.85 from the same heat as Walker. Mbuta competed at the Indoor National Championships, but unfortunately missed the final. His 1:49 from this weekend is a lifetime PR and has him sitting 9th on the national list. He’s just another weapon for the Lakers as we close in on May.

Brandon Rivera of West Texas A&M also joined the list as he improved upon his PR by more than a second with a time of 1:50.26. He’s sitting 13th on the list and is currently situated to appear at his first National Championship.

Ackeen Colley (American International) improved upon his time as he dipped under 1:50 this past weekend with a time of 1:49.66. That's 7th on the NCAA leaderboard. He still hasn’t reached his 1:48 level that he ran during indoor season, but it looks as if he is tracking well heading into May.

Also improving upon their previous times on the national list were Chico State’s Derek Morton (1:50.00), Brett Meyer of Fort Hays State (1:50.15), and Elijah Inuwa of Queens N.C (1:50.31).

1500

You all know by now that the DI collegiate record was broken. You also probably all know by now that the DII collegiate record was broken. So, let’s talk about it. HOLY S*%$. WHAT A RACE.

Western Oregon’s David Ribich finished 6th in a heat that had 11 athletes dip underneath the 3:40 mark including the collegiate record in Division I that was set by Josh Kerr. Overall, the race was what we expected, but I don’t think we anticipated collegiate records being set. Ribich ran 3:37.35 and now has a four second lead over the next closest competitor in Austin Anaya of Adams State who has a converted time of 3:41. Ribich has clearly labeled himself as the favorite with his time and we’re sure he will be looking to defend his crown when Nationals roll around.

While we could talk about Ribich for most of this article, we must move on to other races. Brett Meyer of Fort Hays State set a 13 second PR at Bryan Clay and now sits third on the list. He also came back the next day and ran a PR in the 800 at the Beach Invitational showing us that he is progressing quite well this outdoor season. He and his teammate Decano Cronin will look to make some noise for Fort Hays in May.

Josh Young of MSU Moorhead was in the same heat as Meyer and ran just over a second PR clocking 3:45.00. He currently sits 6th on the list and is looking to return to the big dance for the second year in a row for outdoor. Young is very experienced and will be looking to become a two-time All-American.

Dustin Nading, the reigning indoor mile champion, marked his second PR of the season at Bryan Clay. After running 3:45.91, he improved upon that time and ran 3:45.23 at Bryan Clay. He is now 7th on the national list. Just a sophomore, it’s clear that training with Ribich has certainly paid off and they’ll be looking to go 1-2 in May.

Rickey Harvie of West Texas A&M is the last athlete to put his name on the national list. His 3:47.67 is a PR that betters his mark from earlier in the year and now has him sitting 12th in the country. The freshman has already been to one national championship (mile) and will be looking to add on to that this May. TFRRS says he is a sophomore, but his history only has him competing in 2018. Regardless of his classification, it looks like Harvie will be around in the immediate future.

3000 Steeple

Were on to the 3000 meter steeplechase and it looks like we will have a more than just one contender for that top spot after this weekend.

Kale Adams of Adams State (no surprise, yet another Grizzly making a name for himself) ran 8:45.23 to finish 2nd in the Mt. Sac Relays to Portland’s Simon Grannetia. His mark is a four second PR that betters his mark from a year ago when he ran 8:49. After a performance like this, Adams has solidified himself as a contender against Chico State's Kyle Medina. Also, check out the dude’s hair. He’s clearly not scared of anyone.

Evan Verbal improved upon his converted time from the CU Invite and placed 2nd at the Bryan Clay Invite with a time of 8:51.06 which is also a 19 second PR. 19 SECONDS! Verbal tried to do the 1500/3000 steeple double at last year’s outdoor championships and may have suffered from doing so. While he may attempt the same thing this year, it looks like he may be in better shape to take a crack at the podium in both events.

Joining Adams at the Mt. Sac Relays were Mount Olive’s Johnathan Dahlke and Lewis’s Michael Leet. Dahlke ran 8:53.36 while Leet ran 8:54.14 from separate heats. Their times are good enough for 5th and 6th respectively and it’s a half-second PR for Leet. Both seniors are looking to return to the Big Dance in May.

Joining the group from Mt. Sac was Western State’s Taylor Stack. The freshman’s first attempt at the barrier race was a sub-9:00 performance that was sure to have coach Jen Michel jumping for joy. Stack now sits 12th on the list and has given himself a bright future going forward. We’ll most likely see him help reignite the ongoing rivalry between the Mountaineers and the Grizzlies.

Dustyn Salomon of Humboldt State ran 9:01.54 at the Mt. Sac Relays and was the last athlete to sneak inside the top 18 on the qualifying list. The junior has never broken the 9:00 barrier, but is inching ever so close with his last attempt. If Salomon finds a way into the biggest meet of his career, we’d expect him to go sub-9:00.

5000

We’ll move on to the 5000 meters and let’s just begin with this. Out of the 18 spots usually taken to the national meet, 15 of them are currently occupied by athletes who set their mark this past weekend. We’ll roll through them as the 10,000 meters is more of the same.

While this isn’t quite as big as the 1500 meter race, Sydney Gidabuday ran the 2nd fastest time in DII collegiate history this past weekend as he took on some of the world’s best and took down the entire NCAA while at it. His time of 13:29.31 is currently the fastest in the nation among all divisions. The matchup between him and James Ngandu is going to be something else this May. If indoor was any indication, we may see a meet record broken on the biggest stage.

The aforementioned Ngandu chose to race at the Mt. Sac Relays and now has the 2nd fastest time in DII this year, but is still 18 seconds behind Gidabuday with a time of 13:47.92. He was a second off of his PR that he set a year ago at the same meet. Ngandu set a 10K PR at the end of March and it may be looking like he’s in better shape for that discipline.

George Kelly (Adams State), Zach Panning (Grand Valley State) and Enael Woldemichael (Grand Valley State) round out the top five of the national list. They all raced each other in the second heat of Bryan Clay and finished 1-2-4 within the heat. Kelly finished in 13:52.03, Panning in 13:52.66, and Woldemichael in 13:54.16 which are all automatic qualifying marks, although they pale in comparison to the current leader.

Derrick Williams of CSU-Pueblo added his name to another national list this past weekend as he also eclipsed the automatic mark with a 13:55.57 and improved upon his PR by six seconds to place himself 6th in the country.

Adam Craig of Mount Olive is the next athlete on the list sitting 7th with a time of 13:58.52 that he ran at Mt. Sac. His time is a nine second PR and marks his second time on the national list this year (1500 meters). He’ll be looking to compete at his 5th national championship meet.

Chico State teammates Connor Fisher and Jack Johnson currently sit 9th and 10th on the national list after running 14:06.68 and 14:07.28 at the Mt. Sac Relays which are both PR’s for these two. It’s clear the Wildcats are progressing rather well. They made an attempt at earning their first national team title last year, and it looks like it’s going to be the same goal this year with more and more athletes putting their names on the list.

Rounding out the top 18 are Matthew Kade (Colorado Mines, 14:11.40), Wuoi Mach (14:11.68, Grand Valley State), Grant Colligan (Colorado Mines, 14:12.27), Eddie King (Chico State, 14:13.94), Owen Hind (West Texas A&M, 14:14.48), and Chandler Reid (Adams State, 14:14.61).

The backend of this list has a huge chance to change before the final lists comes out and there are sure to be athletes dropping from this event for other events as well. We’ll check back here soon.

10,000

Finally, the 10,000 meters. Nine athletes put their name on the qualifying list this weekend at the Mt. Sac Relays.

It begins with Karim Achengli of NW Missouri as he debuted in the race and ran 29:09.68 to place 10th in the meet and move himself to 3rd on the national list. Achengli ran for Iowa Central Community College and his previous best was 30:47.96, so the transfer to NW Missouri has obviously been successful. He’ll compete with Ngandu and Gidabuday for his first title in DII.

Andrew Curry of Dallas Baptist ran 29:30.48 and improved upon his PR by almost 50 seconds. Seriously, these are huge PR numbers. Curry now sits 5th on the list.

Lucio Ramirez (how is he still running by the way?) is currently ranked 6th with his 29:32.36, a 26 second PR. He’s another Grizzly that will be looking to score points for an attempt at the team title.

Ahmed Jama of Western State has only run two 10K’s in his short career, one last year at Mt. Sac and another this year. The difference? 40 seconds. Seriously. I can’t make this stuff up. Jama ran 29:33.58 to continue his breakout year on the track.

Jacob Klemz (Washburn, 29:36.60), Derek Myers (U-Mary, 29:48.26), Stetson Rayas (Dallas Baptist, 29:50.06) and Steven Brown (Sioux Falls, 29:54.61) are the other athletes within the top 18.

This list is probably the closest to being solidified. Athletes will start to get ready for their conference championships and we’ll most likely see certain individuals drop their names from this list as it’s the earliest in the championship weekend and the most stressful on the body.

In conclusion, this weekend was fast. Stay tuned for a contenders and pretenders list sometime this week. The end.