First Thoughts: Ahl's 3:57 Mile, Cleyet-Merle's 2:03 Effort + Adams State's Impressive Conversions

Let's not waste any time with an introduction and instead jump straight into the D2 analysis from this past weekend...

Aaron Ahl Runs Jaw-Dropping Mark of 3:57 En Route to NCAA #2 All-Time Mile Performance

After running 1:48 for 800 meters and 3:38 for 1500 meters last summer, everything about Ahl's resume suggested that he would run under four minutes in the mile this winter. He had too much speed in the middle distances and he had run way too fast of a 1500 meter time to not dip under the four-minute barrier.

After running 7:53 for 3000 meters earlier this season, all of the signs were there for Ahl to not just run under four minutes, but to also do something well beyond that.

At the same time, it was likely going to be hard for anyone who was familiar with the D2 ranks to make a mile prediction faster than 3:58. The D2 record for the mile sits at 3:56 and prior to this weekend, only two men had ever run a D2 record-legal sub-four mark in the mile, one of them being Kip Cheruiyot, who owns that aforementioned 3:56 record.

In other words, history suggested that even a 3:58 mile would be an aggressive goal.

And that's why we need to appreciate what Ahl is doing this season. He ran 7:53 for 3000 meters, just ran 3:57 in the mile, helped his DMR run under the old D2 record and is now rivaling elite stars like Harding and Noble.

This is a special season for Ahl and the craziest part is that we literally just began the month of February. This Simon Fraser star could create some interesting entry scenarios for the indoor national meet come March.

Berenice Cleyet-Merle Validates Elite Status w/ 2:03 Mark En Route to NCAA #2 All-Time 800 Meter Time

Should we even be surprised? I mean, seriously, we had to see that this was coming, right?

After running 2:03.20 for 800 meters on the outdoor oval last summer, as well as a 4:08 mark for 1500 meters a couple months later, it seemed almost like a guarantee that Cleyet-Merle was going to run something absurdly fast in the 800 meters this winter. After all, this was the event that the U. Indy star won at the indoor national meet last winter.

Sure enough, this French middle distance runner just recorded a time of 2:03.89 for 800 meters on the indoor oval.

For as good as Celine Ritter has been this year and in the past, is there any argument for Cleyet-Merle to not be listed at TSR #1? I suppose our D2 specialists will be the ones to answer that, but with a 4:40 mile time on her resume this season, it's hard to dislike anything about Cleyet-Merle.

I want to offer additional analysis, but I'm not sure there's a whole lot more to say other than that. This Greyhound veteran is simply a star and right now, we only have two questions about her.

Can she break the D2 record of 2:03.59? And can she win both the mile and the 800 meter indoor national titles this year?

That last question isn't impossible, and if anyone can do it, then it would be Cleyet-Merle. Still, that's also a big ask. That double gives anyone attempting an 800/mile double at the indoor national meet very little rest.

Paillon (1:48) & Rugenerwa (1:49) Run Under 1:50 in 800 Meters + Simonson, Groendyk & Dailey Go Sub-1:51

There's a new NCAA leader in the men's D2 800 meters and his name is Clement Paillon.

Now, for those of you who may be new to the D2 scene or new to our content, it's important to know that Paillon isn't someone who is new to the nationally competitive tier of D2. In fact, he was an All-American in this event last spring when he ran 1:49 at the outdoor national meet.

However, what I don't think anyone was expecting was for this American International veteran to rise even higher in his fitness and emerges as one of the best half-milers in D2.

Paillon ran 1:48.47 at Boston University this past weekend, validating an 800 meter split on his relay from the night before where he supposedly clocked a time of 1:47.99 (or 1:48.00 depending on where you look).

Either way, this was a massive statement weekend for Paillon. He has gone from being a fringe All-American contender on the outdoor oval to someone who can not only translate his success to the indoor oval, but improve upon that fitness -- so much so that he may be in the national title conversation right now.

That's really hard to do!

For perspective, Paillon now sits at NCAA #5 All-Time in the D2 ranks for the men's indoor 800 meters. Given his newfound level of fitness, he could be a major problem for his half-mile competitors in the postseason, especially given the fact that he is super consistent and rarely has a bad race.

In the past 15 races that Paillon has finished (which includes relays), he has finished outside of the top-three only three times.

Those three instances featured Paillon placing 7th in the prelims of the outdoor national meet and later earning an 8th place finish in the finals. His other instance was when he placed 18th overall in a super deep 800 meter field at Boston University where he ran 1:51.

Like I said, he rarely has bad races.

As for Rugenerwa, the West Texas A&M star just ran an altitude 1:49.38 mark at Texas Tech this past weekend...and honestly, that may be the least surprising result of the weekend.

Prior to this past weekend, the middle distance star had run under the 1:50 barrier twice on the indoor oval, one of them being at the same Texas Tech track that he competed on this past weekend. Rugenerwa has also run under the 1:50 barrier during outdoors four separate times throughout his career.

In other words, no one should be surprised that a guy who has a reputation for running under 1:50 for 800 meters ran under 1:50 for 800 meters. I don't think it tells us anything new, but at the very least, we can at least take solace in knowing that one of the nation's best middle distance talents is at the top of his game and is in a position to contend for a national title yet again.

As for a few other 800 meter performers, Seth Simonson (Nebraska-Kearney), Jonathan Groendyk (Grand Valley State) and Drew Dailey (Shippensburg) each ran 800 meter marks in the 1:50 range, with Simonson getting a flat-track conversion.

The Nebraska-Kearney Lopers are looking very dangerous right now. Wes Ferguson is proving to be an elite middle distance talent at the D2 level and Simonson just ran a mark that will probably qualify him for the indoor national meet.

And yet, when you look at his performance and at Groendyk's performance, it's hard to be surprised by either result. Simonson qualified for the indoor national meet last winter with a flat-track converted 1:50 mark while Groendyk did the same with a regular, unconverted 1:50 mark of his own.

In fact, both men are within 0.20 seconds of their qualifying marks from last winter, except they ran their national qualifying marks later in the season that year.

To put it simply, the performances that we saw from these two were not at all surprising.

However, seeing Drew Dailey throw down an NCAA #9 mark of 1:50.88 for 800 meters certainly caught our attention. He took advantage of a very fast 800 meter field at Penn State which featured quietly strong D1 middle distance talents to earn a big personal best.

That was the first time that Dailey had ever run under the 1:51 barrier in his career, running just a few milliseconds above the barrier last spring.

The question now for Dailey is...what should we expect to see from him throughout the rest of this season? Can he run under 1:51 again? How much faster can he become over the next month? Assuming he qualifies for the NCAA Indoor Championships (which he will) how much will his inexperience play a role?

Dailey is a proven winner who has dominated the PSAC for the last few seasons. In fact, he has six conference titles in his last two PSAC Championship meets on the track. However, this Shippensburg stud has now reached a new tier where the expectations have been reset for him.

We've seen what he can do at the conference level, but now what can he do at the national level?

Women's 800 Meter Field Gets Even More Crowded

Not including Cleyet-Merle, there were four women at the D2 level who ran 2:12.00 or faster for 800 meters. Those women were Grand Valley State's Taryn Chapko (2:12.00), Embry-Riddle's Ukeyvia Beckwith (2:11.81), Academy of Art's Natalia Novak (2:11.10 flat-track converted) and Adams State's Ava O'Connor (2:10.77 altitude converted).

Let's start with Chapko. I am a huge of this GVSU middle distance ace. I think she's eventually going to win a national title and establish herself as one of the nation's top talents in the next year or two.

Her 800 meter debut for this season was fine and respectable, and she finished as the top attached collegiate. Still, it would have been nice to see Chapko take down unattached runner Emily Pedzinski who was only 0.23 seconds ahead of the Laker standout.

Now, in her defense, Chapko opened up her 2021 indoor season with a slower time of 2:13, but that was when he was an inexperienced rookie. The bar is set a bit higher now for this GVSU star, but with an entire month of regular non-national meet competition to go, we should still expect Chapko to dip under 2:10 somewhat comfortably by the end of February.

We then come to Ukeyvia Beckwith, the Embry-Riddle ace who came out of nowhere to win the women's 800 meters at South Carolina this past weekend. However, saying that Beckwith came out of "nowhere" this past weekend may be a bit misleading.

Beckwith may not have been on our radar for this winter, but that doesn't mean that she wasn't capable of running this time. After being nationally ranked in the 800 meters during the 2020 indoor track season, Beckwith competed in only one meet during the 2021 indoor track season.

Including this past weekend, the Embry-Riddle veteran has run 2:11 six different times between indoor track and outdoor track throughout her college career. That is incredible consistency which also tells us that she's due for a breakout performance.

And based on her result from this past weekend, that may be the case.

Beckwith took down a very solid and underrated half-mile field this past weekend en route to her mark of 2:11 for 800 meters. No other woman in that field broke 2:13.

If Beckwith was able to run a near-personal best in a field that she defeated soundly (by 800 meters standards), then what could she run in a field where she is being pushed by top-tier D2 talents? If I had to guess, a 2:09 mark seems not just possible, but probable in that scenario.

Let's quickly touch on Natalia Novak's flat-track converted mark of 2:11 for 800 meters. It was a solid result, but it was also a performance that showed off range that we already knew she had.

Novak owns a personal best of 2:09 for 800 meters, but is more of a miler, so seeing her post a time like this, in conjunction with a 300 meter effort, tells us that Novak was simply refining her versatility.

As for Ava O'Connor, she's a newcomer to the top ranks of D2 with her altitude converted 2:10.77 mark for 800 meters.

Honestly, I'm not sure what we should think of this result. O'Connor wasn't really a factor in her race this past weekend as the competition she faced was mainly D1 runners, professional athletes and a D2 superstar in Yasmine Hernandez.

O'Connor already has a converted 4:51 mile time on her resume this winter which, based on last year's standings, would have qualified her for the indoor national meet. However, the Adams State youngster currently sits at NCAA #14 in that event, forcing us to reevaluate her options for the postseason.

Given Adams State's history of success in the longer distances, the mile would seemingly be the best distance for O'Connor. However, the mile may require O'Connor to produce a faster time than she has and qualification for the 800 meters seems like a lock with a mark of 2:10.

Based on her respectable success during the cross country season, I'd be interested to see what O'Connor could do in a 3000 meter race at altitude.

D2 Men's Mile Is Deeper Than Ever Before

The D2 men's mile field isn't just more top-heavy than it has been in year's past, it's also getting deeper as well. For perspective, the D2 NCAA #16 mile time during the winter of 2020 was 4:06.86 (altitude converted) and during the winter of 2021, that D2 NCAA #16 mile time was 4:05.80 (flat-track and altitude converted).

This season, with a month to go, the D2 NCAA #16 mile time currently sits at 4:06.40 (flat-track converted).

Sure, D1 may get all of the attention for how many sub-four miles we've seen this year, but almost every aspect of distance racing at all levels is seeing a major boost in depth.

There were so many top mile marks this past weekend that I am going to quickly list a few of the top performances, offer some brief analysis, and then move on. Otherwise, we'd be here all day...

Davonte Jett-Reynolds (Adams State) Runs Altitude Converted 4:00.30

James Dunne (Adams State) Runs Altitude Converted 4:01.11

David Cardenas (Adams State) Runs Altitude Converted 4:01.78

When one era ends, another begins. That's how Adams State has been able to dominate the D2 ranks for so long. The Grizzlies sent their top talents to New Mexico this past weekend where they thrived in a fast mile field and were rewarded for their efforts with strong altitude conversions.

The debates surrounding these altitude conversions are always plentiful, but has anyone ever doubted the talent of the Adams State men and been right? Plus, it's not like these times were at a D2 university like Western Colorado, Colorado Mines or even Adams State itself.

Instead, these marks were run on New Mexico's track, a venue that has hosted the NCAA D1 Indoor Championships before. If we're ok with the altitude conversions that the D1 athletes get on the Lobos home track, then I don't see any reason why we would doubt what this Adams State trio did.

Not only that, but all of these guys boast times that suggest that they could have run this fast. Cardenas and Dunne have each run 3:46 for 1500 meters at sea level while Jett-Reyolds has an unconverted 1:53 mark for 800 meters that he ran at altitude, along with a 3:49 personal best for 1500 meters.

While many people may be distracted by their converted times from this past weekend, just know that each of these men boast extensive resumes that are filled with successful performances. That gives me some confidence for these three men in the postseason.

Ryan Riddle (Missouri Southern) Runs 4:01.59

Mason Strader (Pittsburg State) Runs 4:04.72

Is it crazy that I feel underwhelmed by Riddle's 4:01.59 mile mark? I know, it seems absurd, but in the right race, I really think he can go sub-four minutes. He just ran a monster 3k time the other weekend en route to a mark of 7:58.

Riddle is known as a miler and he just took down an established D2 standout in Mason Strader this past weekend. However, Riddle beat Strader rather soundly (by three seconds), leading us to believe that Riddle likely wasn't pushed enough to truly scare that four minute barrier.

Even so, nothing about either Riddle's result nor Strader's result surprised me this past weekend. Both performances seemed on par with expectations given all that they did last year.

Tony Torres (Colorado Mesa) Runs Altitude & Flat-Track Converted 4:03.79

Simon Kelati (Western Colorado) Runs Altitude & Flat-Track Converted Runs 4:04.81

Altitude critics aren't exactly going to love these results as both Tony Torres and Simon Kelati ran 4:18 and 4:19, respectively, on a flat-track at 7000 feet of altitude. As a result, they each earned conversions that cut off roughly 15 seconds and 16 seconds, respectively.

For Torres, I can't say that I'm surprised. He has held his own at altitude throughout his career and was flat-out incredible in the middle distances last winter and spring, mainly in the mile and the 1500 meters.

As for Kelati, this was a HUGE breakout race. There wasn't anything on his resume which suggested that he would earn a time, converted or not, as fast as this. Not only that, but from the looks of the results, he kept things competitive with a superstar talent in Torres.

There is a lot to like about Kelati's performance. Now, we have to see what else can do in other events like the 800 meters and the 3000 meters later this season.

Evan Graff (Colorado Springs) Runs Altitude & Flat-Track Converted 4:04.11

One heck of a performance for Evan Graff! At nearly 6300 feet of altitude, the UC-Colorado Springs distance talent threw down a time of 4:15 which converted to 4:04. He took down freshman teammate Gavin Harden who ran a 4:17 in the process.

Graff, admittedly, was already a national qualifying talent last year, earning a spot in the mile at the 2021 indoor national meet. He had also run 1:53 for 800 meters at altitude as well, so the speed and middle distance prowess was clearly already there.

Even so, trying to build upon that fitness isn't easy. Luckily for Graff, he just had a major performance which could have him feeling confident going into the latter portion of this season.

Conversions Headline Sub-4:50 Marks in Women's Mile

There were four women who ran under 4:50 in the mile this past weekend, either by conversions or by simply running fast enough at sea level.

To no one's surprise, the Adams State women headlined this event, at least as far as the D2 results are concerned. Nicole Lawrence and Morgan Hykes each ran 4:51 and 4:52, respectively, at New Mexico. As a result, they received conversions of 4:45 and 4:46 which now rank at NCAA #2 and NCAA #3.

These are wildly impressive results. The fact that Lawrence and Hykes even ran as fast as they did at altitude without the conversions is super impressive.

Lawrence has reached an entirely new level this year. She's gone from being a respectable miler to a distance running juggernaut who can effectively move up in distance during cross country, but become a home-run hitter on the track.

She has clearly acclimated to the altitude incredibly well and seems to be thriving in numerous scenarios when she is racing high-level competition. This past weekend, that high-level competition was the New Mexico Lobos, one of the biggest and best distance powerhouses in the country.

As for Hykes, her progression is incredibly similar.

She was a respectable sub-five minute miler last year, slightly improved upon her 1500 meter mark in the spring and has since broken out as a major D2 star, closing the fitness gap between her Lawrence along the way.

The past results of certain individuals are always good indicators of future success. However, when it comes to Adams State, it feels safe to assume that standout performers like Hykes and Lawrence will be able to carry this fitness and momentum with them into the rest of the season.

Because that's just what we've come to expect from any and all competitive Adams State runners.

We also saw Grand Valley State's Klaudia O'Malley post a mile time of 4:48 this past weekend, a performance that now sits at NCAA #7. She took down teammate Hannah Becker in the process who ran 4:52.

Honestly, I'm not sure anyone is all that surprised by O'Malley's performance. A 4:48 mile seems on par with the high-octane scoring we expected her to bring to this GVSU roster this winter.

Yes, that is a personal best for O'Malley, but if she wants to contend for an individual national title in the mile, which seems realistic depending on what Ritter and Cleyet-Merle do, then O'Malley may want to chop off a few seconds from that PR.

And honestly, she probably could.

After all, she just beat a cross country national champion by four seconds.

The last sub-4:50 performer of the weekend UC-Colorado Springs veteran Layla Almasri. The Mountain Lion veteran is quietly one of the more versatile distance runners in all of D2 and was having an incredible season last winter as she ripped off numerous wins.

This time, Almasri didn't get the win, but she did go to the home of the Colorado Buffaloes to race home their home track and at 5300 feet of elevation. The field played out perfectly. It wasn't too slow and it wasn't too overwhelmingly fast, allowing Almasri to (sorta) stay in the mix, record a time of 4:54 and earn a conversion of 4:47.

I'm not sure there's a whole lot to say here. Her unconverted mile PR is 4:53, so I like to think that this UCCS star is truly reaching a new echelon of fitness and will be able to better translate fitness to the postseason. Almasri is a fairly dynamic distance talent, but she is still waiting for her first individual All-American honor on the track.

However, after placing 12th at the NCAA XC Championships this past fall, we have good reason to believe that her recent display of fitness in the mile is the real deal.

Mutai & Elson Lead Weekend 3k Performances

American International made headlines in the DMR after breaking the D2 national record on Friday. However, in addition to Paillon running 1:48 for 800 meters, the AIC men also dominated the D2 ranks in the 3000 meters.

Ezra Mutai threw down a 7:58 mark for 3000 meters while teammate Callum Elson, who has been terrific this season, ran a mark of 8:02 for the same distance. Those marks now sit at NCAA #3 and NCAA #4 in D2.

I'll admit, even for Mutai, this was a super quick time, but if the field is fast enough and if he can be pushed enough, then I suppose a mark like this wasn't totally out of the question. This guy thrives in competitive, aggressively-paced races, even if he is the one setting the pace.

With Siena's Brandon Olden keeping things tight at the end, Mutai was able to run a quick enough final few laps to secure a sub-eight performance.

However, the real surprise was seeing Elson running as fast as he did with a time of 8:02! I'll admit, I always viewed this guy as more of a miler, especially after he split 4:00 on the anchor leg of his record-breaking DMR.

Elson's best longer distance performances are still very respectable. He finished 33rd at the NCAA XC Championships this past fall and ran 14:11 for 5000 meters back in December. However, those results, in my opinion, didn't suggest that he would run 8:02 for 3000 meters the day after splitting 4:00 on a relay.

Shows what I know...

There were TONS of other 3000 meter performances that need to be highlighted, so I'll quickly offer some names, give some analysis and move on...

Awet Beraki (Adams State) Runs Altitude Converted 8:04.85

Adams State continues to pull out top distance talents from thin air. This time, Coach Martin has added a JUCO talent in Awet Beraki to his roster.

In what appears to be his Adams State debut, Beraki ran a converted time of 8:04 for 3000 meters, giving the Grizzlies even more depth in the distance events to compliment their incredible mile firepower.

Assuming that this is also the same Beraki who previously went to Stephen F. Austin, this is someone who seems to specialize more in the longer distances rather than the middle distances.

In other words, expect Beraki to attack the 5000 meters next.

CarLee Stimpfel (Saginaw Valley State) Runs 8:07.05

I want to be surprised but...what can I say? This is fairly on par for Stimpfel who won his 3k by seven seconds. In the right field, he can certainly run faster, maybe in the 8:03 range, but I'm not sure anyone is too shocked by this result.

Cole Benoit (Mississippi College) Runs 8:07.67

This was one of the more pleasant surprises of the weekend! The Mississippi College distance talent has had a respectable NCAA career, but this was a huge breakout race and it complements his earlier efforts this season.

We've seen never seen Benoit run anywhere close to this fast, so this is fairly exciting. Not only that, but it feels like a legitimate result and not a fluke. He also ran 8:28 for 3000 meters back in January. At the time, that was a personal best.

So...what does this mean he can do in the 5k now?

Afewerki Zeru (UC-Colorado Springs) Runs Altitude & Flat-Track Converted 8:08.24

I'm putting this up there with Stimpfel as one of the least surprising results of the weekend. Zeru is clearly an established veteran distant talent in the RMAC and he has done well at altitude before.

His personal best sits at 8:05, so the UCCS veteran is on track in terms of his in-season production in the longer distances.

Michael Cade (Western Colorado) Runs Altitude & Flat-Track Converted 8:10.64

With the Western Colorado men losing so many top talents as of late, mainly by way of Charlie Sweeny, Taylor Stack and Ross Husch, it was important for this team to reload. Or, at the very least, begin rebuilding their distance roster.

Well, between the success that we saw out of Simon Kelati and the 3000 meter performance that we saw out of Cade, the future looks bright for the Mountaineers.

Now, admittedly, this is only one race, but make no mistake, it's not a fluke. Cade was a top-30 All-American at the cross country national meet this past fall and boasted a solid steeplechase mark of 9:05 for the event.

I'll be interested to see how he handles a more competitive field, but for now, this is a very encouraging performance.

Scott Arndt (Simon Fraser) Runs 8:12.90

When it comes to Simon Fraser, we have understandably been talking about Aaron Ahl and Charlie Dannatt most of the time. However, Arndt just ran a sneaky-good mark of 8:12.90 for 3000 meters.

The Simon Fraser runner took advantage of the fast fields at Boston University and came away with a 10-second personal best. He ran 8:22 back in mid-January at the University of Washington.

Running 8:22 and then 8:12 just two weeks later is some very promising development at this point in the season. Is it possible that he's trending towards a postseason peak where he drops another chunk of time off of his PR? That feels more likely than not.

Katie Doucette Earns Huge 3k Conversion to Sit at NCAA #3

Over the last few years, this Western Colorado runner has shown signs of exciting potential. She was a backend cross country All-American, ran a few respectable personal bests and has been fairly consistent throughout her career.

However, the 3000 meters is where Doucette has really shined. She owns a personal best of 9:45 in the event, but just ran a flat-track and altitude conversion of 9:28! That's incredible! Doucette has been good, but running a 9:28 equivalent was not at all expected.

Just like I mentioned with Cade on the men's side, it would beneficial to see Doucette in a high-level 3000 meter field to get a better understanding of how she can translate that fitness to other, more competitive races.

Because as incredible as this performance was and as good as her fitness may be right now, this is one of those rare conversions that I have trouble wrapping my head around.

Esvelt & Cunningham Stun Via 16:31 & 16:43 Marks in 5k

Earlier this year, I spoke about Annika Esvelt, the Seattle Pacific youngster who ran a promising 3000 meter time of 9:51 at the beginning of the season. In that analysis, I pondered what she could do in the 5000 meters, especially after a cross country season that didn't help us learn anything new.

Well, Esvelt blew away our expectations, dropping a 16:31 mark for 5000 meters en route to a D2 NCAA #2 performance.

This was a huge race for the Seattle Pacific talent. It completely redefines how we think about her. As I mentioned previously, she never contested this event last spring and her cross country results didn't really give us a great indication of her talent.

Well, we now seemingly have that proper indication.

With a mark like that under her belt, I now have so many new questions.

Can Esvelt be an All-American in this event? Could Esvelt fully translate that fitness to the 3000 meters? Does that kind of raw fitness suggest that she could run a faster mile?

I don't know the answers to those questions, but I'm excited to find out.

As for Lindsay Cunningham, this race was a long-time coming. She was so, so good during cross country and is clearly at her best in the longer distances. Her early-season 3k was just a precursor to what we figured would be a huge 5k result and sure enough, that was the case.

The Winona State rookie, who ran a flat-track 16:43 for 5000 meters this past weekend, has proven to us on the grass that she can contend with experienced veterans. That gives me reason to believe that Cunningham should be in a good position to do exactly that in the postseason.