First Thoughts: 2023 Arkansas Invitational

The Arkansas Invitational is always one of the first early-season indoor track meets that provides TSR with a handful of promising results that we can overanalyze and overreact to.

Because what would this site be if it wasn't for looking way too deep into results from the second weekend of January?

While there weren't a ton of jaw-dropping marks on Friday night, there were still a handful of performances that deserve some attention. And as the rest of the country makes their season debuts, we thought some First Thoughts from this meet would be a good place holder before posting tomorrow's analysis.

Also, shoutout to Arkansas' media team. It's really nice having clips to watch on Twitter which gives us a better idea of how these races unfolded. And yes, we eventually found the replay of the entire meet, but the clips are still appreciated.

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Lexington Hilton Runs 3:58 Mile in Arkansas Debut to Edge Tulsa Star Michael Power

There's a good chance that some people reading this article are asking themselves, "Who the heck is Lexington Hilton? And where did he come from?" Let us get you caught up to speed.

Hilton originally attended Arkansas State where he instantly showed promise. He won the "Open" race at the 2021 Pre-Nationals meet (easily, I should add) and also qualified for the 2021 NCAA Fall XC Championships as an individual. He finished 105th on that stage.

On the oval, Hilton had also secured personal bests of 3:50 (1500), 8:07 (3k), 14:10 (5k) and 29:20 (10k). The last time he raced on the track prior to this past weekend was mid-January of last year.

Hilton transferred to Arkansas last year, but was forced to ultimately sit on the sidelines for the next 365 days. And while that was likely a less-than-ideal scenario for this Arkansas native, that year of development allowed Hilton to build an incredible base and deliver a fantastic result on Friday night.

Tulsa's Michael Power, a 5000 meter All-American and long distance standout, was likely viewed as the favorite to win the mile at the Arkansas Invitational last night. And going into the final lap, it looked like Power was going to pull away from Hilton.

But in a stunning development, Hilton swung off the final curve and just barely had enough momentum to edge Power at the line. Both men ran promising 3:58 mile personal bests, but it was Hilton who had earned the upset victory.

Based on only a handful of (very limited) conversations, we had heard that Hilton was in shape and that he could be a talented name to watch moving forward. But I'm not sure that we would have expected him to run a 3:58 mile in mid-January and upset a top talent like Power.

Not only that, but Hilton always struck me as more of a long distance runner. To see him effectively drop down to the mile and find instant success is very encouraging to see. And if he's able to run like this two months before the national meet, then what could he do in February in the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters?

In theory, he could do some serious damage...

As for Power, I'm sure it was a little frustrating to get edged out for the win. But if I'm this Tulsa standout, I'm still super happy about my performance. Tactically, Power was great. He showed fantastic patience and slowly moved up as the race unfolded.

Power is a true long distance runner. He's at his best in events like the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters, as well as cross country. And while he has run 3:40 for 1500 meters, his recent 3:58 mile effort feels a bit more validating as far as his speed and his turnover are concerned.

For someone who is likely going to focus on the longer distances over the next few months, having this kind of foot speed and mile strength should prove to be useful. Power is fit enough to stick with aggressive paces, but a 3:58 mile PR suggests that he could be competitive in long distance races that are more tactical and nuanced.

I could also be way overanalyzing this, but just work with me here.

Isaac Akers (Tulsa), Scott Beattie (Tulsa) and Eric Casarez (Texas A&M) ran marks of 4:00, 4:02 and 4:02, respectively. We should note that Casarez won heat four, showing great poise throughout the entire race.

Those are all solid results and encouraging rust-busters, but they weren't necessarily surprising performances, either. Those times were all on par with our expectations.

Also, shoutout to the rest of the Razorback men. A lot of those guys ran personal bests which should give them some momentum heading into the rest of these winter months.

Gabija Galvydyte Runs 2:47 (1k), Eight Other Collegiate Women Go Under 2:50

Update: Gabija Galvydyte is still really good at this whole "running" thing.

After opening up her indoor track season with a 4:32 mile victory at Boston University (which was actually a tie for the win), the Oklahoma State star dropped down closer to her ideal event this past Friday. The Cowgirl ace ran 2:47 over 1000 meters, easily operating near/at the front of the field the entire time.

And by the end of the race, Galvydyte was unchallenged, comfortably earning the win while a large handful of women scrambled to the line.

There's admittedly not much to say here about Galvydyte. This result was super unsurprising for someone of her caliber. Her personal best is 2:46 for 1000 meters and she was probably capable of going faster if she needed to. She's simply at another level right now.

But what I didn't expect was seeing EIGHT other collegiate women running under 2:50 for 1000 meters in the same meet. Six of those eight women came from the top heat while the other two women, Oklahoma's Yazmine Wright and Edita Sklenska, both ran a pair of 2:49 marks to lead the next-fastest heat.

My general rule of thumb when it comes to the women's 1000 meters is that you can be a somewhat nationally competitive name in the middle distances if you run under 2:50. That was never a perfect rule to follow, but it generally pointed me in the right direction.

However, after seeing the depth in this race and understanding that the NCAA has become dramatically faster, I may have to revisit that rule.

But it's not just the depth that blew me away. It's the fact that so many Oklahoma State women, specifically their true freshmen, posted performances that shattered my expectations.

I absolutely loved how competitive Anna Gine Lovnes (2:48) and Kaylie Politza (2:48) were throughout this race. They were unafraid to attack the front of the field and they never really let up on the pace. That was TREMENDOUS poise for women who are still so young.

And maybe more importantly, they took down Arkansas star Isabel Van Camp (2:48). Admittedly, Van Camp was ambushed by a handful of Cowgirls and was never able to get into a good position. She's also better in the mile and races longer than that.

But to take down a veteran star like her is a big deal for a pair of rookies who have left me extremely encouraged about what they could do in the future.

And it wasn't just them who ran well! Oklahoma State's Stephanie Moss, who is a sophomore by eligibility, ran 2:49 in that same heat as did fellow sophomore Carmie Prinsloo of Arkansas.

We also have to give a shoutout to freshman Billah Jepkirui. The Oklahoma State star from this past fall ran 2:49 on Friday night. That's some nice speed for someone who is coming off of a high aerobic base. Of course, she is also rumored to have run 4:11 (1500) before, so this result wasn't super surprising, either.

Also, seeing the aforementioned Oklahoma duo of Yazmine Wright and Edita Sklenska each run 2:49 to lead the second-fastest heat was a nice development. The Sooners haven't necessarily been a pillar of excellence in the middle and long distances as of late, but Coach Hannah Fields is quietly changing that.

It's still going to take some time for the Sooners to be more competitive in the BIG 12, but there are subtle signs of progress in Norman, Oklahoma.

Juan Diego Castro & Alex Stitt Post Pair of 2:22 Marks Over 1000 Meters to Go 1-2

Alright, I'll be honest, I totally thought Juan Diego Castro was out of eligibility. He didn't race last spring and he was too far back in the cross country result for me to notice him (that's not a dig at him, that's just the truth).

So you can imagine my surprise when I saw that this Cowboy middle distance ace ended up taking home the win in the 1000 meters on Friday night over teammate Alex Stitt. Each man posted a time of 2:22.

With 400 meters to go, Castro and Stitt took over the pace from Arkansas' Elias Schreml, a sub-four miler who simply had an "off" day. At his best, Schreml likely could have contended for the win with this Oklahoma State duo.

From there, Castro led Stitt for the rest of the race despite both men turning on the jets over the final lap. Had Stitt been able to sit closer to Castro's shoulder, then he could have potentially swung off the turn and snagged the win. But his veteran teammate was simply too strong in the final moments of the race and secured the victory by a couple of strides.

When he's at his best, Castro is a VERY dangerous middle distance runner. He holds personal bests of 1:48 (800) and 3:57 (mile), although he has also run a half-mile conversion of 1:47.98.

Admittedly, Castro's 2022 indoor track season was fairly quiet. And when he didn't run during the spring months, it was easy to see why the Oklahoma State star had fallen off of our radar. But we just saw this Cowboy ace run a new personal best and take down a talented teammate.

It's still too early to tell how this middle distance talent will perform throughout the rest of the season, but this was a very encouraging result for mid-January.

As for Alex Stitt, he looked fantastic even if he had to settle for a runner-up finish. But at the same time, this result wasn't too much of a surprise. The Australian middle distance runner has already run a personal best of 2:21 as well as a mile PR of 4:02.

Stitt has been with the Cowboys since the winter of 2021 and he has been a very solid talent over the last two years. The Aussie has shown flashes of brilliance in certain races, was quietly great on the grass this past fall and still holds sophomore eligibility.

But the 2023 indoor and outdoor track seasons feel like the time for Stitt to become the middle distance ace that we know he can be. This is a guy who should be under 4:00 in the mile this year and under 1:49 in the 800 meters.

And with Castro soon leaving the NCAA, the Oklahoma State men will likely turn to this still-young Australian to lead their team in the middle distances.

Arkansas Women Showcase Depth Behind Mary Ellen Eudaly's 4:43 Mile Victory

Last week, we ranked the Arkansas women at TSR #5 in our freshman class rankings. But even as we were writing their section, I felt like they could have been as high as TSR #2.

And on Friday, the Razorbacks only validated that thought even further.

The Arkansas women controlled the front of this mile race. At one point, they controlled the entire top-eight spots. And while this was maybe not the most loaded field ever, that's still really hard to do.

Mary Ellen Eudaly, a true freshman and former high school star, looks like she's firing on all cylinders right now. She just posted a time of 4:43 in the mile on Friday night, taking home the overall win somewhat comfortably.

I love the patience that we saw from this rookie. She let the race unfold in front of her, didn't make a move until she had to and when she did put in a surge, it was strong and convincing.

That's the text book way to run a mile.

And after seeing how that race played out, I think she could absolutely run under 4:40 later this winter in the right setting.

Second-year freshman Heidi Nielson had a nice race to finish runner-up in a time of 4:44. That wasn't necessarily surprising given her high school success, but it's a personal best and a great step in the right direction.

Recent Ole Miss graduate transfer, Laura Taborda, showed off some solid turnover by running 4:45 in the mile which was a personal best. However, she'll likely be a 3000 meter runner this winter and a steeplechaser in the spring. Based on her past performances, this result wasn't too shocking.

The same can be said for veteran and fellow Gracie Hyde who ran 4:46 to finish. She holds a 4:37 mile PR and is certainly capable of more.

The final Razorbacks under 4:50 were underclassmen Mia Cochran (4:48) and Sydney Thorvaldson (4:49). I'll admit, I thought Cochran would be a bit faster and even be in contention to win this race. She was, after all, so good on the grass this past fall...and she has a 4:39 mile PR from high school.

But truthfully, both Cochran and Thorvaldson are better suited for the longer distances. Cochran could be crazy-good in the 3000 meters and Thorvaldson is probably at her best in the 5000 meters and the 10,000 meters.

The Razorback women are going through a bit of rebuild as they begin to rally behind a handful of top-tier youngsters. And while the overall firepower of this group will need to improve, the depth of this roster is quietly impressive.

With so much eligibility remaining, this Arkansas group is likely going to be very challenging to deal with in the next two to three years.