First Thoughts: 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championship Reactions (Day Two)

Th second day of the outdoor national meet is complete and there is plenty to talk about! Let's dive into the prelims and the 10k finals from the first day of results on the women's side...

Women's 1500 Meters

Generally speaking, there weren't a ton of major surprises in this race as most of the top favorites did advance to the finals. However, some personal favorites of mine did miss out on a spot to the finals.

When looking at the first heat, we saw that it was super tactical and very slow. DeGenero and Aragon did a lot of the work up front, but that wasn't saying much considering that no one was willing to hit the gas and make this race honest.

Eventually, the pace did pick up in the latter moments of this heat, but by that point, DeGenero's finishing speed gave her an obvious edge over the field, even if she did finish in 3rd place.

As for everyone else, they just simply went out there and did their job. Mackay and Aragon quietly responded to the moves made within this pack and looked in control, specifically in the latter portion of the race when it really mattered.

Flockhart and Chepkemei quietly snuck into the latter portion of the automatic qualifying group, proving that they can hold their own in tactical scenarios which was encouraging to see.

But that's admittedly where the heat one conversation ends. Given the conservative pacing of this heat, no time qualifiers advanced out of this section.

Seeing Anna Gibson not advance to the finals was a little bit of a surprise. She's been so consistent all year long and has put herself in a lot of competitive races. Unfortunately, she began her kick too late and didn't put herself in an ideal position earlier in the race.

Princeton's Caroline Timm actually emerged ahead of Gibson and she's been a solid runner in her own right this spring. Her finishing speed is very underrated, but she just needed to time it a bit better.

And then there was Izzy Thornton-Bott. The Oregon ace was outstanding in the first of the season. She looked so sharp, super versatile and seemed to be building a lot of momentum. Unfortunately, her postseason was not good at all and in this scenario, she just didn't respond well to the moves being made in the last 600 meters or so.

We now arrive at heat two, a race that had plenty of movement, but ultimately very limited change. Vissa and Heymach controlled a lot of this race near the front, as did Furman's Megan Marvin in the first-half of this race.

Despite some shifting of runners within the main pack, this race was fairly stagnant. However, this allowed Gear to work her magic, sitting near the back for a good portion of the race before slowly moving up and flexing her speed.

Gear was brilliant, never letting the leaders get too much separation. She inched her way up and then cruised down the final straightaway alongside Heymach and Vissa in what was probably one of the better tactical races I've seen this season.

But in that last lap, Illinois' Olivia Howell very quietly came out nowhere, specifically over the last 200 meters. The metric mile veteran arose from a crowd of fading runners and put together a really underappreciated kick.

For 95% of that race, Howell was a non-factor.

But that's what happens when you're a veteran as experienced as her.

Another name who suddenly jumped into frame was Harvard's Maia Ramsden who truly came out of nowhere. She has proven to be a very talented tactician and my podcast co-host Ben Weisel has been very high on her for a bit.

And now, after that in-race execution, I think she deserves more of my respect.

Leather and Tanaka also kicked their way to the final two time qualifiers for the finals, but that's not a surprise given how slow the opening heat was.

I'll admit, I'm a little surprised that Leather had to settle for a time qualifier, but these things happen. Tanaka, meanwhile, continues to be one of the more underappreciated speed-based milers in the country.

As for the non-qualifiers in this heat, it was a bit of a bummer to see Alabama's Flomena Asekol not advance. She did so much work in this heat, but was then caught by some of the better finishers in this race.

Based on her cross country success, Asekol is likely better in the longer distances, but her priority has been the 1500 meters this spring and it's not like that was a bad decision. I'm just saying that I could see her trying an event change in the future.

Women's 3000 Meter Steeplechase

The results of the women's 3000 meter steeplechase were SUPER predictable.

Here's a fun fact: All eight of the women who I picked to be All-Americans in this event advanced to the finals. That's somewhat rare. But what if I told you that the same thing happened for the other four writers who made predictions?

In other words, every TSR writer was eight-for-eight in terms of their All-American picks making the finals.

When looking at heat one, it was pretty straightforward. Wayment, Jolly, Markezich, McCabe and Fetherstonhaugh dominated the front of this race for pretty much the entirety of it. Sure, there was some shuffling, and sure, some women looked better than others, but it's hard to really look at these results and be surprised.

Jolly looked SUPER strong in the prelims, running a new PR of 9:38 to win her heat and establish herself as a true dark horse going into Saturday. Although, if I get to have a selfish moment of bragging, I did say that Jolly was going to be a major x-factor in this race during our latest episode of the Blue Oval Podcast...

Jolly has been improving all year long and she keeps getting sharper every time she toes the line. Admittedly, I'm sure that she needed to push herself that hard in a prelim race, but she looked strong enough to the point where it may not have mattered.

Wayment finished with the rest of the pack, but I gotta say, I thought she looked a little gassed at the end despite owning a PR that is much faster than 9:41. I'm probably looking too far into this, especially when the goal was to simply be top-five, but I just thought it was an interesting observation...

I also have to give major kudos to Adva Cohen. The New Mexico star was very much out of this race, even as we neared crunch time. For someone who is so established and so experienced in this event, it was surprising to see her sit in the back and simply stay there.

But then, out of nowhere, she charges HARD to the line and barely misses the fifth automatic qualifying spot by 0.01 second. Luckily, her time of 9:45 did advance her to the finals, saving her season which I thought was going to be over after the prelims.

As for the second heat, it was pretty much the same exact thing with a few extra theatrics thrown in there.

Kimeli controlled this race while Boreman and Niggemann were very smart to shadow. Meanwhile, Thorner and DeLay made efforts to put themselves at the front before Kaylee Mitchell eventually found herself in the lead after a huge second-to-last lap.

There's not a ton to talk about here. Kimeli did what she had to do in order to advance, but Mitchell and Boreman were the ones who monitored and then attacked late in the race. They looked very strong doing so, but I'm not sure we necessarily learned anything new.

Niggemann deserves a lot of credit. The Wisconsin ace fell on a barrier in the first-half of the race, but quickly rallied, got back to the main group, and then held on for an automatic qualifier.

That's crazy impressive resiliency for the steeplechase veteran.

The final time qualifier came from DeLay who looked like she was struggling to respond to the leaders over the last two laps or so. On paper, she is probably one of the better overall distance talents in this field, so it was admittedly a bit surprising to see the Yale star fade a bit.

At the same time, we have to remember that prior to this spring season, DeLay hadn't contested the steeplechase since 2019. She may not be new to the event, but she's not necessarily experienced in it, either.

Overall, the rest of the non-qualifiers in both heats were fairly expected. Miami (OH)'s Carmen Riano (9:48), Michigan's Kayla Windemuller (9:47) and Duke's Emily Cole (9:57) had respectable prelim races and outstanding seasons as a whole.

Still, on paper, none of those women were surprise misses to the finals. Rarely does a race as variable as the steeplechase not produce results surprising results.

Women's 800 Meters

Alright, hand up. I was the only one who predicted Claire Seymour to win the national title.

But when I saw her in her preliminary heat, I quickly began to realize that Seymour probably wasn't going to advance. The lead group ahead of her was just a little too far out from her reach with 200 meters to go and when she did make her move, it just wasn't enough to put herself in contention.

Seymour is an incredibly talented runner who doesn't always get the recognition that she deserves when it comes to the national picture of the women's half-mile.

And truthfully, for someone who has peaked in the postseason so much to the point that it has become her reputation, it was only a matter of time before she had a national meet showing that wasn't her best.

Moving to Wilkinson, she looked incredibly strong in this heat and controlled the race from the front. Her poise was wildly impressive.

However, arguably even more impressive was seeing Texas' Valery Tobias beautifully executing her race plan, making her moves when she needed to and putting herself in an excellent position. Her finish was very strong and at the end of day, I'm left looking a bit silly for not picking her an All-American honor this spring.

Tobias is a proven talent, but she has been super inconsistent since the latter portion of the indoor track season. This isn't to say that she only has poor races, but we never really knew what we were going to get from Tobias.

But after seeing her peak for her second-straight 800 meter showing on the national stage, Tobias may be the next postseason version of Claire Seymour.

Also, shoutout to Aurora Rynda. She finished 3rd in this heat in 2:03. She was far from amazing this spring, but she really rallied in the postseason and stayed competitive when it mattered the most. She may not be advancing, but I've developed a lot of respect for what she has accomplished.

As we move to the second heat, we got to watch one of the most talented and most entertaining runners, Aaliyah Miller, toe the line.

The Baylor star went out hard from the gun and tried to gap the field. She did well for the first lap and was able to at least sustain a very small gap for most of this race, but it's clear that compared to her 2021 version, she's probably at 90% to 95% right now.

Miller did fade in the final moments as Gabija Galvydyte and Katy-Ann McDonald showed incredible poise on the final straightaway to take the two automatic qualifying spots.

For McDonald, a result and performance like that isn't a total shock, but that was one of the sharper performances I have ever seen from Galvydyte. She looked locked-in and she executed her race plan to near-perfection.

Ultimately, those two women would advance as automatic qualifiers while Miller would get through on time (but barely).

So now the question becomes, does Aaliyah Miller try the same front-running style on Saturday? Or will she take a more conservative approach? All things considered, what is her optimal race plan in a field like this?

And then we have the final heat.

And my goodness, what a heat this was.

Heat three started out with Kristie Schoffield and Sarah Hendrick going two-wide into the lead. Meanwhile, McKenna Keegan put herself on the inside rail while Carley Thomas found herself in the middle of the pack. Both women sunk in the lower-half of this pack through 400 meters while Florida's Imogen Barrett flanked the lead group.

Fast forward to the final straightaway and it was still Hendrick and Schoffield, although Hendrick was fading hard.

And then, out of nowhere, Keegan charges down the home straightaway, showing off brilliant tactical acumen and earning a 2:01 PR. Schoffield also crossed the line in 2:01.

At the line, Barrett edged out Hendrick, although both women would ultimately settle for a time qualifier.

Keegan's prelim performance was outstanding. In a field that was loaded with high-octane talent and numerous superstars, this Villanova veteran continues to show us that tactics and experience will almost always rule the day.

Now, as long as she just doesn't finish last, Keegan is looking like she'll earn her fourth All-American honor in her seventh national meet appearance.

As for Carley Thomas, the Washington ace faded to 6th place in this race after a season of building major momentum. She looked like her old self again and although she won't be advancing to the finals, Thomas feels like an icon when it comes resiliency in this sport.

And finally, Sarah Hendrick.

I have the same exact questions for Hendrick that I did for Miller. Will she continue to be an aggressive front-runner? Would it benefit her to be slightly more tactical? Will it even matter if Miller decides to go hard from the gun?

Hendrick is arguably the most talented woman in this field, but it will be interesting to see if she can get past the mix of speed, experience and strength that women like McDonald and Barrett boast.

Women's 10,000 Meters

If you enjoyed the men's 10,000 meters, then you probably also enjoyed this race.

If you did not enjoy the men's 10,000 meters, then you probably hated this race.

On Wednesday night, Campbell's Athanas Kioko went out hard from the gun in the men's 10k. He opened up a massive lead, nearly 80 meters long, and held that gap for a little over half the race.

Then, the pack eventually caught him and he faltered to 5th place.

On Thursday night, Washington's Haley Herberg did the exact. same. thing.

The Husky star went all-out from the gun, attempting to open up a lead and simply runaway from the field. At one point, she opened up a gap that was roughly 110 meters long.

But by halfway into this race, you could see the chase pack beginning to string out and you could see the early pace coming back to hurt Herberg. The chase pack was led by Forbes and Chelangat, two women who eventually broke away late in this race to catch their Washington counterpart.

Other women who moved up with the leaders included Jenna Magness, Lauren Gregory, Jessa Hanson and Emily Covert.

But the difference between this race and the men's race is that when Chelangat and Forbes caught Herberg, Chelangat was the one who was continuing to his the gas to open up a lead.

Forbes put together a valiant effort to go after the Alabama star, but Chelangat executed her game plan to perfection.

In my opinion, this was probably the smartest race I've ever seen Chelangat run.

The overall end of this race was admittedly unexciting, but Chelangat did run an excellent sub-33 mark to earn a 10k national title that she very much deserved. Forbes also put together a valiant effort...one day, she'll eventually win gold in this event.

Jenna Magness settled for bronze which, all things considered, was probably an absolute best case scenario if she gone all-in on the 5k instead. The reliability that this Michigan State star has shown throughout her career is so impressive. Magness is someone who I always wanted to win a national title, but she just never had the same edge that a few other women did.

Even so, she has to be commended for having an incredible career.

Emily Covert, Alexandra Hays and Gabby Hentemann were awesome in this field. They held their own, followed the pack, showed conviction when making their in-race decisions and they simply looked comfortable.

Covert is someone who could realistically win this race two or three years from now while Hentemann has to be one of the most underappreciated distance runners in the country. I am a huge fan of these women and I think they'll be major problems on the national stage over the next few years.

Herberg ultimately settled for 7th place which, all things considered, is pretty darn impressive.

I think a lot of people may end up being critical of Herberg for her "go all-in and see what happens" race plan.

However, I think I kinda like it...kinda.

This Washington star is known for being an aggressive pace pusher. While I didn't necessarily expect her to try something as aggressive as this, seeing her go to the front and have the race play out on her own terms is far from unusual for her.

And when you think about it, this was probably the best time to employ that strategy!

This 10k field didn't have Nichols. It didn't have Zarbo. It didn't have Ryan. It didn't have Tuohy. It didn't have Roe. If there was ever a time for Herberg to go all-out and see if she can outrun a field, then this was that time.

Georgetown's Charlotte Dannatt closed out a great season with an 8th place All-American finish, but that wasn't totally unrealistic, especially when you consider how well she has been running in the postseason.

Seeing Mazza-Downie falter outside of the top-eight was a little surprising. I thought this race played into her strengths and skillset as a runner, but a 9th place finish is far from bad. The same could be said for Jessa Hanson who placed 11th.

Notably absent from the results was Arkansas' Lauren Gregory, one of the title favorites amongst TSR's writing staff. The Razorback veteran was with the main chase pack for most of the race, but then recorded a DNF after 8000 meters.

She was in 5th place going into that last 2000 meters.

I have no idea what to think about Gregory's DNF result, but the good news is that she still has the 5000 meters on Saturday (assuming she's healthy and able to race).