D2 Review (2/27/19) (Men + Women)

Elliott Portillo (Men)

Quenten Lasseter (Women)

MEN

RMAC Championships

800

Western Colorado’s Juman Randall took full advantage of a Staines-less field to win the men’s 800 meters by nearly two seconds. His altitude and track converted mark of 1:48.95 currently ranks him #2 in the nation behind his opponent from CSU-Pueblo, who is slated to run the same events as Randall: the 800 and the DMR, at next weekend’s National Championships. Watch out for what could potentially be a monster match-up in either event between the two.

Behind Randall, MSU Denver freshman Nick Nowlen also punched his ticket to Pittsburg State. His 2nd place time of 1:50.89 is good enough to seed him at #12 in the 800 prelims for NCAA’s. He is one of three freshmen in the field.

While Randall and Nowlen were the only two to qualify to Nationals out of this meet, there were plenty of other efforts good enough to make the national leaderboard. Gage Mayo of Western Colorado finished 3rd in 1:51.73. He is slated to run the DMR for the Mountaineers next weekend. Andrew Ferris of South Dakota Mines (1:51.75), Michael Fera of Colorado Mesa (1:52.2), Miller Kettle of Colorado Mines (1:52.42/current DMR leg for next weekend), and Levi Fried of Black Hills State (1:52.58) all hit altitude converted provisional marks, which bodes well going forward into the outdoor season.

Mile

The top three men in this race all ran fast enough to qualify for the national meet. Luke Julian of Colorado Mines took down the Western Colorado pair of Ross Husch and Woodrow Murray-Wood by five seconds to take a convincing victory. Julian’s time converts to a 4:01.97, good enough for the #3 fastest time in Division II this season. However, he has decided to opt out of the mile.

Instead, Julian is slated to run the 3000 meters, as well as anchor Colorado Mines’ DMR squad. Husch and Murray-Wood’s times of 4:06.76 and 4:07.1 currently seed them at #8 and #10, respectively. While Husch is entered only in the mile, Murray-Wood appears to be entered in as the opening leg for a high-powered Mountaineers distance medley team. If this remains the same, he will have a busy weekend ahead of him.

Behind the podium finishers, six other racers in the mile also hit provisional qualifying standards. Jordan Theisen of Black Hills State finished 4th in 4:08.32 and is currently entered as part of their DMR. Jackson Roberts and Austin Speer of Adams State (4:09.32, 4:10.18), Vincent Workman of Colorado Mines (4:10.38), and Isaac Russo and Nicholas Skinner of Colorado Christian (4:10.6, 4:10.92) all saw their indoor campaigns come to an end with impressive showings.

3000

Adams State’s Elias Gedyon edged out an individual conference title over Western Colorado’s Charlie Sweeney. Taylor Stack of Western Colorado held on for bronze. All three are currently entered in the 3000. Gedyon is also slated to run the mile while Sweeney and Stack are also entered in the 5000. On top of all that, Gedyon and Sweeney are both entered as legs for their respective DMR teams.

While not quite fast enough to qualify for next weekend, Dalton Graham of Adams (8:16.07) and Dylan Ko of Mines (8:20.25) both ran fast conversions to hit provisional standings.

5000

Taylor Stack took top honors in the 5k. Behind him, Adams State’s Jackson Sayler (14:25.32) and Colorado Mines Ben Schneiderman (14:26.24) rounded out the podium and posted provisional times on a very deep national leaderboard.

DMR

CSU-Pueblo made a big statement in leaving Thomas Staines out of the 800 to pursue a DMR title. The move paid off, as they took the win over Adams State by nearly seven seconds with a converted time of 9:47.94, good enough to be ranked #6 going into next weekend. Granted, Adams’ DMR squad here is slightly different from the one they currently have entered for NCAA’s, but the Grizzlies’ conference squad still ran an altitude/track converted time of 9:53.87.

Western Colorado, who also has a slightly different team entered at the National Championships, took 3rd with a time of 9:54.72. MSU-Denver (9:55.1), UC-Colorado Springs (10:02.34), and Colorado Mines (10:03.52) also hit provisional times, once again showcasing the distance depth throughout the RMAC.

BU Last Chance

800

Overall, three men earned trips to Nationals with their performances this past weekend. Shaquille Dill of St. Augustine’s headlined the qualifiers, finishing 2nd behind District TC professional Edose Ibadin with a time of 1:49.69. Hugo Arlabosse of Franklin Pierce also snuck under 1:50, finishing 3rd with his time of 1:49.76. American International’s Nick Fenton was the last one to hit a qualifying mark. The sophomore posted a time of 1:51.1 to finish 9th overall. He is currently seeded #13 going into prelim heats.

Max Michaud of Assumption (1:51.95) and Nicolai Hartling of West Texas A&M (1:52.2), while not quite making the cut for Nationals, ran fast enough times to make the provisional leaderboard.

Mile

Calahan Warren of Embry-Riddle posted a 4:05.74 this weekend, which currently seeds the junior #4 going into Nationals. Look for him to make some noise in Pittsburg next weekend.

DMR

Stonehill ran away from a small field to take a convincing victory and clinch a National Championship berth with their time of 9:47.24. This currently seeds them #4 behind the Colorado powerhouses.

Academy of Art came away with a solid 2nd place time of 10:02.55, setting them up for a quality outdoor season, especially as one of the few California schools that participates indoors.

Northern Sun

800

Mason Phillips took the victory over Josh Barrows of Augustana by .2 seconds, with a track converted time of 1:51.65. Although he missed qualifying for the 800 field by about a quarter of a second, he will still travel to Pittsburg as the anchor leg for Sioux Falls’ DMR squad.

3000

Zach Lundberg of Sioux Falls and Austin Pasch of Minnesota State both punched individual tickets to Pittsburg in the men’s 3k. Lundberg took the victory with a converted time of 8:13.71, edging out Pasch’s time of 8:13.99, which was the last time in for the event. Both qualifiers will have busy schedules, as each is slated to run the DMR as well.

Beyond these two, Minnesota-Duluth’s Luke Lahr (8:21.29) and Augustana’s Aaron Runge (8:21.36) ran provisional marks.

5000

Derek Myers of U-Mary took the individual victory in the 5k while Steven Brown of Sioux Falls, coming off a solid effort in the 3k, took 2nd place. Brown’s effort of 14:34.78 converted moves him up the provisional list.

DMR

Sioux Falls’ alternate squad took a two second victory with a converted mark of 9:58.38. Behind them, U-Mary and Minnesota State rounded out the podium with times of 10:00.02 and 10:00.4, respectively.

MIAA

800

Lindenwood’s Samuel Yaro qualified for the national meet with his 1:51.34, converted for track size. He was followed by Will O’Keefe of Southwest Baptist (1:51.92) and Noah Larsen of Central Missouri (1:52.97) who both barely missed the 17-man field.

Mile

Brett Meyer of Fort Hays State edged out Washburn’s Jacob Klemz to win the MIAA indoor mile title. Meyer is entered as the third seed for the mile while Klems is entered in both the 3k and 5k races next weekend.

DMR

Fort Hays State (9:52.8) and Lindenwood (9:58.38) both ran converted times that dipped under the 10 minute barrier to finish 1st and 2nd. For Fort Hays, their time just barely misses the final cut for Nationals.

GLIAC

800

Grand Valley State used their conference meet as another excuse to flex their mid-distance might, as the Laker duo of Dennis Mbuta (1:51.85) and Jonathon Groendyk (1:52.98) took the first two spots in the 800. Both are entered in this event for next weekend. Although not quite making the final cut, Northwood (Mich.) freshman Netunji Paige finished 3rd in 1:52.99, only .01 behind Groendyk. This bodes well for the outdoor season, and the future looks bright for the young freshman.

Mile

Zach Panning took the individual victory over Mbuta with a 4:08.37. While this time does qualify him in the mile, Panning has opted to drop the event in favor of the 3k, 5k, and DMR. The senior has a busy weekend ahead of him, with a legitimate shot to win in everything that he is entered in.

3000

Panning came back from the mile to take a comfortable three second victory in the 3k. Saginaw Valley’s Tom Goforth finished 2nd with an 8:22.15.

5000

Ryan Talbott of Saginaw Valley won the 5k with a provisional time of 14:40.84.

DMR

Grand Valley State employed an altered DMR squad this past weekend. Despite this, the Lakers had no problem dispatching the rest of the conference, taking a quality victory with a time of 9:57.45. Behind them, Ashland and Northwood (Mich.) filled the remaining podium spots with times of 10:02.6 and 10:03.45, respectively.

Seattle Pacific Final Qualifier

DMR

The highlight of this meet definitely lied with the relay event. Simon Fraser, Alaska Anchorage and Western Oregon, all coming off their conference meet the weekend prior, took advantage of a conference rematch and ran with it. All three punched their tickets to the national meet with impressive times of 9:49.47, 9:50.19, and 9:50.69, respectively. Watch the Great Northwest to muck things up as best they can in Kansas.

Western Washington finished 4th, and while they didn’t qualify, they still dipped under 10 with a solid 9:57.56. Overall, the top four teams all came from the GNAC.

G-MAC

DMR

Cedarville and Malone hit provisional marks with track converted times of 10:03.16 and 10:04.56.

GLVC

800

John Partee of Lewis and Logan Shearer of Missouri S&T duked it out over 800 meters, with Partee coming out on top in 1:53.53. Shearer’s track converted time of 1:52.42 places him on the provisional list for the first and last time this season.

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WOMEN

Boston University Last Chance Qualifier

800

Kristen Metcalfe of Embry-Riddle was the star performer of the meet, running the nation’s fastest time of 2:03.59. She overthrows Skylyn Webb (UC-Colorado Springs) for the top spot by just .28 of a second. Expect NCAA’s to be showdown between those two women.

Behind Metcalfe was Yasmine Graziani of American Int’l and Yajara Salinas of Stanisluas State. The two women respectfully ran NCAA provisional times of 2:11.92 and 2:12.24.

Mile

Metcalfe comfortably doubled back from the 800 to win the mile with a time of 4:47.82. Metcalfe currently sits at #3 on the national qualifying list with a time of 4:45.00. Her 800 speed and mile strength will make her a serious problem for her opponents at Nationals.

RMAC Indoor Track & Field Championships

800

Skylyn Webb from UC-Colorado Springs won the women’s 800 with a time of 2:11.46. Webb is sitting at the #2 spot in the NCAA with a time of 2:03.87. Behind Webb in 2nd place was Bailey Sharon from Western Colorado University, she ran a time of 2:13.82. In 3rd place was Western Colorado University teammate Jessica Cusick with a time of 2:14.04, which converts to 2:10.74 giving her the #16 fastest time in the NCAA and a berth at the DII Indoor National Championships.

Rounding out the top finishers and NCAA provisional times was Elinor Enderle of Adams State, her time of 2:16.29 set her up with a 4th place finish at the conference meet.

Mile

With the nation’s leading time of 4:39.34 on the NCAA qualifying list, Roisin Flanagan of Adams State won the women’s mile in 5:01.16. Adams State teammate Stefanie Cotter was behind Flanagan in second place running a time of 5:03.67. Kara Burton from Colorado Mines was the 3rd place finisher crossing the line in 5:08.90. Cotter (Adams State) and Burton (Colorado Mines) are #5 & #17 on the NCAA qualifying list, respectfully.

3000

Eilish Flanagan and Roisin Flanagan from Adams State went 1-2 in the women’s 3000 running times of 10:01.23 & 10:13.08. The Adams State sisters currently sit at #2 (Roisin) and #4 (Eilish) on the national qualifying list with times of 9:18.24 & 9:26.08.

Grabbing the bronze medal from Colorado Mines was Chole Cook. Cook ran the nation's #10 fastest time with a converted 9:40.72. Also running a converted provisional time of 9:44.36 (#18 in NCAA) was Kennedy Rufener from Western Colorado University who finished 4th.

5000

Malena Grover, Kianna Darioosh-Bonnet, and Kaylee Bogina of Adams State swept the podium running times of 18:06.86, 18:12.89, and 18:17.11. Malena Grover currently owns a PR of 16:38.88 in the event and is sitting at #6 on the national qualifying list. On a team that is stacked with distance talent, she may be the most underrated of all of them.

Darioosh-Bonnet has run the #22 fastest time in the nation (17:08.50) while Bogina already has the #8 fastest time in the nation (16:40.74).

GLIAC Indoor Track & Field Championship

800

Rachael Walters of Grand Valley State ran the NCAA’s #3 fastest time of 2:05.93 for the win. In 2nd place was Shayla Huebner from Northern Michigan running a time of 2:10.17 (#12 in NCAA). The 3rd place finisher was Allie Ludge of Grand Valley St. with a time of 2:10.45. Ludge has the NCAA’s #5 fastest time of 2:08.91 in the event.

Mile

The bronze medalist in the 800 (Allie Ludge) doubled back and won the mile crossing the finish line in a time of 4:51.11. Ludge currently has a PR of 4:48.31 which puts her at #6 in the NCAA. Like Metcalf, she has a great combination of speed and strength from the 800 and mile.

Finishing close behind was Jenna Keiser of Saginaw Valley (4:58.00) and Jacqueline Feist of Wayne St. (4:58.71). Both times were NCAA provisional marks.

3000

Grand Valley St. scored major points in this event coming in 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th place. The winner from GVSU was Gina Patterson in 9:38.64. Patterson has run the #6 fastest time in the nation this season with a time of 9:29.44 and appears to be a very legitimate All-American threat at Nationals.

Breaking up the Grand Valley St. sweep was Allision Dorr from Saginaw Valley, she ran a PR of 9:47.38 which put her at #24 on the national qualifying list. Grand Valley St. teammates Madison Geon, Stacey Metzger, and Hanna Groeber ran NCAA provisional times of 9:48.22, 9:49.81, and 9:52.36, respectively to take the next three spots.

5000

Teammates of Grand Valley St. Jessica Gockley, Malea Teerman, and Hanna Groeber completed the podium sweep in the women’s 5000. Gockley paced the event with the NCAA’s #11 fastest time of 16:43.63. Teerman impressively ran a time of 16:45.17 (#13 in NCAA) right behind her teammate.

Finishing off the GVSU sweep was Groeber with a time of 17:23.98. Don’t count Groeber out at the national meet as she has previously run a time of 16:25.99, the #4 fastest time in the country this year.

2019 NSIC Track & Field Indoor Championship

800

Monique McPherson from U-Mary ran a converted time of 2:09.62 (#10 in NCAA) for the win. Right behind McPherson in 2nd place was Haleigh Reind of Minnesota-Duluth with the nation's #22 fastest time of 2:11.60 (converted). Breaking into the NCAA’s top 25 fastest times was Bobbi Patrick who claimed the bronze medal running a converted time of 2:12.11.

Mile

Three women broke the five minute barrier in this race. The leader from U-Mary was Bree Erickson who earned a converted time of 4:54.89 (NCAA #20). Claiming the silver medal was Anna Rogahn of Winona State, she crossed the line in a converted 4:54.91 (#21 in NCAA). Rounding out the top three spots and placing her name in the top 25 of the NCAA was Jaryn Ceglowski of Sioux Falls who ran a converted time of 4:56.54.

3000

The U-Mary duo of Jaiden Schuette and Ida Narbuvoll took the top two spots in the event running the #16 & #20 times of 9:43.23 and 9:44.90, both were converted. Also breaking 10 minutes and running provisional times were 3rd and 4th place finishers Mackenzie Kelly (Augustana (S.D.)) in 9:51.65 and Emily Roberts (U-Mary) in 9:55.70. These two times were not converted.

5000

Bouncing back from the 3000, Emily Roberts of U-Mary took home the win crossing the tape in 16:58.65. Roberts currently has the NCAA’s #5 fastest time this year of 16:37.74 and is consistently a top challenger every race she toes the line for. Expect her to have a good day at Nationals.

Following Roberts was teammate Ida Narbuvoll with a finishing time of 17:08.51 to give her the silver medal.

MIAA Indoor Track & Field Championships

800

Elysia Burgos from Southwest Baptist was the story of the meet running the NCAA’s #13 fastest time in prelims (yes, prelims). Burgos ran a time of 2:10.50 in the preliminaries and finished off the final with a time of 2:12.38 to win the conference championship. Running a PR and an NCAA provisional time of 2:14.04 was Danielle James from Lincoln (MO.).

Mile

Doubling from the 800 was champion Elysia Burgos (Southwest Baptist), she claimed her second gold medal of the meet winning the mile in 4:58.15. Burgos also has the #12 time on the national qualifying list with a 4:50.74 previously set this year.

3000 + 5000

Cynthia Togom from Central Missouri took home both gold medals in the two events. Togom ran a provisional time of 9:53.29 in the 3000, while later running 17:28.53 in the 5000.

Seattle Pacific Final Qualifier 2019

800

Running the #15 fastest time in the NCAA was Danielle McCormick from Alaska Anchorage, she had the winning time of 2:10.63. Just .36 of a second behind McCormick and grabbing 2nd place was Sophie Dodd of Simon Fraser with a mark of 2:10.99 (#18 in NCAA). Getting her name on the national qualifying list (#29) was Ruth Cvancara of Alaska Anchorage, she crossed the line was in 2:12.92.

Mile

Running a pair of impressive times (4:51.09 and 4:52.21) was Nancy Jeptoo of Alaska Anchorage and Kate Lilly of Seattle Pacific. These two women battled to the top spots in this race and also ran the #13 and #15 fastest times in the country. Breaking five minutes for 3rd place was Kaylee Mitchell from Seattle Pacific in a time of 4:57.78.

3000

Alexa Shindruk from Central Washington got the win running a time of 9:52.57. Shindruk owns the nation's #15 time with a PR of 9:42.19.

2019 G-MAC Indoor Track & Field Championships

Mile

Andra Lehotay of Walsh broke into the top 10 on the national qualifying list with the #9 time of 4:49.67 for the win. In 2nd was Allysen Eads of Hillsdale who dipped under five minutes with a time of 4:57.77. Eads is also #14 in the NCAA with a mile PR of 4:52.10 this season.

Hannah Thompson of Malone rounded out the top finishers in the 3rd place running 4:58.31, which is #23 in the NCAA and a provisional time.

3000

Returning from a bronze place finish in the mile was Hannah Thompson. Thompson would not be denied in the 3000, winning the event with a time of 9:58.85. It was no surprise to see the Malone veteran come out on top, especially when you consider that she ran the NCAA #9 time of 9:40.06 earlier this season.