D2 Review (2/18) (Men + Women)
Men
Lone Star Conference
800
We had two new times enter the sub-1:50 group of Division 2. Ayman Zahafi of Texas A&M Kingsville ran 1:49.96 to edge out Jaylen Tryon of Lubbock Christian who ran 1:50.27. Zahafi saw his time move to 1:49.64 after the track conversion while Tryon saw his time dip under the 1:50 plateau to 1:49.95.
It’s nice to see more and more athletes get into a group that will be competitive at Nationals. However, the big question at hand is if anyone can actually give Thomas Staines a challenge. These two have thrown their names in the hat for now and we’ll see how they handle that task come early March.
NCC F. Lee Slick Track and Field Invitational
800
John Partee of Lewis ran the #6 time in the country after his 1:51.64 performance this weekend. His time converts down to 1:50.07. Before last weekend, Partee had not run any faster than 1:53 in his career and then had a breakthrough as he ran 1:51.75 only to improve by another tenth of a second. He’ll be making his first appearance at the National Championships in March.
Northeast-10 Indoor Track and Field Championships
800
Hugo Arlabosse led the trio of athletes that competed this weekend. The Franklin Pierce sophomore ran 1:52.08 which dropped to 1:50.50 after conversions and now has him sitting at #9 on the NCAA list.
In 2nd place was Stonehill’s Stephen Vercollone who ran 1:52.99 and with the conversion has a qualifying time of 1:51.40. Nick Fenton from American International was the 3rd place finisher and had a time of 1:53.22. His time sits at #16 after his conversion brings it to 1:51.63.
Mile
Lucas Taxter improved upon his NCAA standing after his convincing four-second victory at his conference meet. His 4:06.69 converts down to 4:03.39 and places him at #3 in the country. He’s a lock for the national meet and could be a major player for the title as well.
Benoit Campion was the 2nd place finisher at NE-10’s, but his time wasn’t faster than his mark currently on the list (4:07.32). He sits at #10 on the NCAA list.
3rd place was sophomore Terrell Patterson from Southern Connecticut State. He ran 4:11.30 and is now #16 on the list with a converted time of 4:08.14.
For Taxter, he ran a two second PR and for Patterson, it is a five second PR. Both look to be peaking at the correct time. Patterson, however, may need another race this upcoming weekend to solidify his spot to Nationals.
GNAC Indoor Track and Field Championships
800
There’s only one time from the meet that should be in consideration for the national meet and that comes from Western Washington’s Kyler Sager. He was the conference champion and ran 1:53.29 to win by almost two seconds. His time converts down to 1:51.70 and is good enough for #17 on the performance list.
Western Colorado Alumni Open
3000
Taylor Stack of Western Colorado ran 8:40.50 to win the meet handily. It’s an improvement from his converted time from the Colorado Invitational a few weeks ago. He now currently sits at #7 on the national list with a converted time of 8:08.80. Stack has had a phenomenal season and looks to be a major player in the 3000 and 5000 this year.
Mines vs CSU-Pueblo vs MSU-Denver
Mile
Josh Evans found his way inside the top 10 of the performance list after his effort of 4:17.72 at this meet. He earned an 11-second conversion which brought his time down to the #6 fastest mark in the NCAA (4:06.20). His teammate Luke Julian was behind him in 4:18.94. He saw his time drop to 4:07.36 and is now tied for #11 on the performance list.
3000
We had three converted times from this meet that are all inside the top 20 on the provisional list. All three are also Colorado School of Mines athletes.
Luke Julian heads the list with his 8:35.39 raw time which converts down to 8:11.58. His time is now the #9 fastest result in the country. He recorded a very strong double which indicates that he is in great shape and could be a threat in both races.
After him was teammate Luc Hagen who ran 8:36.50 and saw his time convert down to 8:12.63. He is currently sitting at #14 and looks to be safe going into conference weekend. The last Oredigger is Jake Mitchem who is currently sitting at #19 on the list after his 8:40.44 converts down to 8:16.39. Mitchem will be on the bubble going into conference weekend and could be on the outside looking in come March.
JDL DMR Invitational
3000
Queens (N.C.) Daniel Wallis stepped up in distance this weekend to run the 3000 and he ran a very solid race. He won the event in 8:17.58. After the track conversion, his time is the #11 fastest mark in the NCAA (8:11.86).
With Wallis racing the 3000 this close to his conference meet, it might be fair to assume that he is going to at least attempt a double between the DMR, Mile, and 3000. If he really feels up to it, he could go ahead and try the triple. The question is whether or not his legs could handle a total of four races.
Women
GNAC Indoor Track and field Championships
800
Addy Townsend of Simon Fraser and Olivia Woods of Western Oregon battled out a close race for the GNAC title this weekend. Townsend ran 2:10.12 to edge Woods who ran 2:10.13. Both of those times convert down to 2:08.64 and 2:08.65, placing them at #4 and #5 in the country.
There are only three women with automatic qualifying times leaving the 800 really wide open. Both Townsend and Woods have run sub-2:07 for their personal bests and are likely to be in the final if they both choose to run this race at Nationals.
Mile
Caroline Kurgat continues her legendary 2019 season and as she capped off her regular season in style with a 10-second victory in the mile running 4:47.86, a six second best for the Seawolf. Due to the track size, her time converts to 4:45.04. She likely won’t run this race at Nationals given her strength is at 3000 and 5000 meters, but her time still sits at #4 in the country.
Also in the race was Seattle Pacific’s Kate Lilly. She was runner-up behind Kurgat in 4:57.85. Her time converts down to 4:54.94 and is now currently #16 on the national list and will likely find herself sneaking into the national meet, especially if Kurgat decides to drop the event.
Titan Challenge
800
Northern Michigan’s Shayla Huebner is now ranked at #15 in the country for 800 meters after this weekend. She ran 2:12.57 to win the meet by five seconds and with the track conversion, her time went to 2:11.06. Huebner is looking to get back to the National Championships where she ran her personal best last year.
USC Open Indoor
800
This race was won by Kristen Metcalfe from Embry-Riddle in 2:06.22. That in itself is an automatic qualifying mark, but Metcalfe already has a faster time in 2019 from the Camel City Invite two weeks ago.
In 2nd place behind her was Dawnel Collymore from Benedict who ran 2:11.57. That time is good enough for the #18 spot. It’s also a three second personal best for Collymore who ran 2:14 earlier this year.
The cutoff time last year for Nationals was 2:11.53 and it looks like we are trending that way once again this year. Depending on who drops out in the coming weeks, it’ll be interesting to see where we stand and if this race from Collymore was good enough.
Mile
We mentioned Metcalfe earlier, and she was also a winner in the mile at this meet. She ran 4:45.00 and now holds the #3 fastest time in the country. It’s a 17-second improvement from earlier this year for Metcalfe.
It’s an interesting move for the Embry-Riddle athlete as she’ll likely be racing multiple at events during her conference weekend. As well as the 800 at this meet, she ran the 4x400 so it’ll be interesting to see how she handles the workload moving forward.
JDL DMR Invitational
800
Flagler’s Heloise Duffie De Tassigny ran 4:53.57. Her time converts down to 4:50.60 and is inside the top 10 at #9. She should be a lock to get back to the national meet where she ran a real time of 4:50 last year and made the final.
Charlee Boxall from Lee (Tenn.) was three seconds back of Tassigny at the meet in 4:56.81. Her time converts down to 4:53.91 and is the #14 ranked time in the country. Boxall should be safe where she currently sits barring a strong effort in the mile at conference championship meets.
Mines vs CSU-Pueblo vs MSU-Denver
3000
Chloe Cook of Colorado Mines did the inexplicable as she ran 10:10.05 as the only athlete to finish the race. She had a teammate pace her and Cook was left to finish the race on her own. Her time converts down to 9:45.23 and places her at #18 on the provisional list. It was a personal best for Cook and she looks to be ready to compete in two events at Nationals for the first time. She’ll be choosing between the DMR, mile, and 3000 most likely.