First Thoughts: Dailey's Statement 1:48, Beckford's Ongoing Excellence & Impressive Weekend Doubles

No time to waste! We've got a handful of D2 headlines to recap and analyze. Here are a few high-impact performances from the past week...

Click here to read our First Thoughts (Part One) D1 analysis

Click here to read our First Thoughts (Part Two) D1 analysis

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Drew Dailey Runs 1:48 For 800 Meters

I was lucky enough to be in attendance at the Bucknell Team Challenge where I got see live and in person Shippensburg's Drew Dailey dominate a respectable field and earn a commanding victory.

The rising D2 middle distance star powered through the final straightaway, crossing the line with a mark of 1:48 in what felt like a massive statement race.

This PSAC standout has been an exceptional middle distance ace for a few seasons now. However, the indoor track season this past winter was when he seemingly took it up a notch. And while I was impressed with the encouraging signs that we had seen from Dailey during the winter, I still wanted to see more progress from him this spring to further validate his ascent.

Well, it looks like we can definitively say that we got that with Dailey.

Not only is he super experienced and not only is he super consistent, but Dailey now has a top-tier PR that can very easily put him in contention for an All-American honor.

Is he guaranteed to be an All-American?

No, most certainly not. Still, I do like his chances of earning that honor. In a season where the top-tier names in Division Two are running 1:48 or faster, Dailey has found a way to put his name in that upper tier of half-mile athletes.

Titus Lagat Runs 1:48 For 800 Meters

The Georgia Tech Invitational saw Titus Lagat throw down a winning time of 1:48 for 800 meters, putting the Lee ace near the top of the D2 national leaderboard in the event.

Lagat has admittedly struggled as of late. He was one of the last place finishers at the indoor national meet this past winter and coming into this weekend, had run 1:53 and 1:54 in his first two half-mile efforts this season.

For someone who already held a 1:48 personal best, this was a bit perplexing and a little concerning.

Luckily, Lagat rebound in a big way at Georgia Tech. A 1:48 mark is huge and like Dailey, it also allows him to reenter the All-American conversation which he seemingly needed 1:48 PR (or faster) as a prerequisite to join.

Not only that, but Lagat's win was over a very strong field, with 2nd and 3rd place each running 1:49 marks. To see that he ran fast and won adds a bit more legitimacy to his result.

As exciting and as encouraging as this performance was, I think we need to see how the next month of competition goes for Lagat. His recent inconsistency has been a bit worrisome for someone who, at the beginning of the winter, we believed was a possible title contender this year.

The good news is that Lagat has one month left of competition. That's a perfect amount of time for him to build consistency and momentum while further refining his talent.

Conor Wells Runs 1:49 For 800 Meters

If you've never heard of Conor Wells before, then we would encourage you to put him on your radar. Right now, this Chico State veteran is on fire right now, boasting some of the better momentum that the top of Division Two has right now.

Wells recently posted a strong mark of 1:49 for 800 meters. Collegiately, that's a personal best by three seconds! That's a massive leap to take for anyone in an event as short as this, especially when you're making a leap into the national qualifying conversation.

Usually, we would look at this and say, "Nice! But can we see a little more consistency? Or another performance that validates this result?"

But Wells has already given us that validation.

The middle distance ace ran 3:46 for 1500 meters last weekend at Bryan Clay, and while that may not be an ultra competitive mark at the top of Division Two, it is still a strong time and a personal best by nearly four seconds!

In fact, that was the first time Wells had ever broken 3:50 for 1500 meters!

On paper, there are a lot of encouraging about Wells right now. He's a veteran who is making massive improvements, showing range and recently, posting nationally competitive marks.

It's probably best to hop on the Conor Wells bandwagon before it's too late.

Kelly-Ann Beckford Runs 2:06 For 800 Meters

Gosh, it's hard to dislike anything that Beckford is doing right now. She has always been a key national-caliber name in the middle distances, but her momentum right now is at another level.

The Lincoln half-mile specialist ran a monster time of 2:04 at the NCAA Indoor Championships this past winter to earn runner-up honors in what was easily the best race of her career. However, the only question was...could she maintain her postseason peak and extend it into the outdoor season?

Well, so far, Beckford as done exactly that. This spring, she has gone from 2:12 to 2:09 to 2:06. That kind of progression is scary for anyone who is going to toe the line next to Beckford over the next month.

We saw how dangerous she was in the postseason this past winter when she's peaking right on time. And based on her most recent results, it looks like Beckford is trending towards the same postseason peak that we saw in March.

The only issue is that even if Beckford does reach all-time highs from a fitness standpoint, it may not change much. Yasmine Hernandez has also run 2:03 for 800 meters and Alison Andrews-Paul now holds the D2 collegiate record in the event with a recent 2:01 mark.

If one or both of those women slip up on the national stage, then Beckford could pounce at that opportunity and earn a national title.

Is that likely? No, I don't personally think so, but at the very least, we're learning that Beckford's indoor success was far from a fluke. We should feel comfortable about her chances of postseason success come May.

Elizabeth Acheson Runs 2:09 For 800 Meters

I don't think Elizabeth Acheson gets enough credit. She's been a very reliable and strong middle distance runner for U-Mary over the last few seasons and has consistently found herself at or under the 2:10 mark for 800 meters.

This past weekend, Acheson ran 2:09 for 800 meters at the Oregon Relays, one of the faster times on her resume which holds a 2:08 personal best. However, when you take a dive deep into her TFRRS profile, you'll notice a few trends.

Prior to this past weekend, Acheson had run sub-2:10 twice in her career -- both marks being times of 2:08. It should also be noted that these results were posted at conference and national meets last spring.

If Acheson's postseason peak last spring led her to a pair of sub-2:10 results, then what does her recent 2:09 performance mean? I she ahead of schedule in terms of her postseason peak? Should we expect something faster in the future? If so, how much faster?

Acheson has been a great name for a while, but it she also feels like she's due a major breakout performance and this recent 2:09 mark may be signaling exactly that.

Aryelle Wright Runs Converted 2:09 For 800 Meters

Much like Acheson, the recent success that we've seen from Colorado Mines' Aryelle Wright has been encouraging. The Oredigger ran an altitude converted 2:09 mark from an original time of 2:10, matching her 2:09 personal best from Bryan Clay earlier this month.

The month of April has treated Wright incredibly well. She has run a new personal best and has now validated that mark with a performance that essentially acted as the equivalent of her new PR.

Wright is also someone who rarely dips under the 2:10 barrier, so the consistency she is building is nice to see, especially as we begin to enter the month of May.

And much like Acheson, history suggests that Wright's best performance(s) will come in the postseason. So if Wright is posting 2:09 marks now, does that mean that she could run 2:08 in the postseason? What about 2:07?

I absolutely think Wright could run that fast, especially given her underrated experience and the fact that the rest of the NCAA is generally getting faster.

Plus, her back-to-back 2:09 marks suggest that she may be due for an even greater performance in the next few weeks as long as she's in the right setting...

Celine Ritter Flexes Range, Puts Together 2:09/4:19 Weekend Double

Gosh, Celine Ritter is just so darn good. Putting together a 2:09/4:19 weekend double in the 800 meters and the 1500 meters is a perfect way to refine her speed with a month left until the national meet. I really like that decision by Coach Morgan.

Few women in D2 have the versatility that Ritter does and while I'm admittedly not surprised that she was able to run that fast in both of those events, that doesn't mean that I'm not impressed.

Heck, I'm not even sure how many of the women in Division One are able to run 2:09 for 800 meters and 33:42 for 10,000 meters in the same season.

At the end of the day, I'm not really sure we learned anything new about Ritter. We knew she had great range and solid speed, but it's unlikely that she'll contest either of these events on the national stage (although the 1500 meters isn't totally out of the question).

Even so, if I'm racing Ritter in a longer distance in the postseason, the last thing I want is for that race to be tactical. Although, to be honest, there aren't a ton of ways to beat Ritter...

Jakob Rettschlag Posts 1:51/3:45 During Weekend Double

Right now, Jakob Rettschlag's resume mimics many of the same aspects that we mentioned with Chico State's Conor Wells. He's an 800 meter and 1500 meter specialist who is beginning to hit his stride and run significant personal bests.

The Wingate ace just ran 1:51 for 800 meters and 3:45 for 1500 meters at the Virginia Challenge this past weekend, both of which were personal bests...collectively by a lot.

Admittedly, Rettschlag had already run 1:52 for 800 meters (twice) before this past weekend, so it wasn't unrealistic to think that he could run 1:51. However, those 1:52 marks came all the way back in winter of 2021.

Since then, he ran 1:53 shortly after and then didn't go back under 1:55 until the Raleigh Relays this past spring when he ran 1:54.

So while his PR may only be by a second, his improvement was actually far more greater.

And his 1500 meter prowess? Well, Rettschlag had never run faster than 3:51 for 1500 meters before this weekend, meaning that this was roughly a six-second personal best in addition to an 800 meter time that was significantly faster than anything he had recently run.

Momentum is very clearly on Rettschlag's side, although admittedly, his personal bests will still need to get faster if he wants to qualify for the outdoor national meet. Luckily, he's beginning to reach his athletic prime. If he can build on this result, then he'll be a tricky name to deal with in the postseason, even if he's a bottom-end seed.

Luke Julian Runs Converted 3:45 For 1500 Meters

Colorado Mines' Luke Julian ran an altitude converted 3:45 mark for 1500 meters last weekend at a home track meet...and I don't have much to say here! This is a solid mark, but it doesn't really tell us anything new.

Julian has been a respectable talent this spring, but through three races, it feels like he still has a lot untapped potential that we're not yet seeing out of the 4:00 miler. When he's at his best, he can contend with almost anyone, but I don't think we really have a good gauge of where he's at right now.

Alexa Leppelmeier Runs 4:26 For 1500 Meters

Nice run for Walsh veteran Alex Leppelmeier. She's predominantly a steeplechaser, but she has shown us in the past that she can be competitive in the mile/1500 meter distance.

Seeing Leppelmeier run 4:26 is encouraging, although I'm not sure it really changes anything. She will likely pursue the steeplechase at the national meet and the 5k could, in theory, also be in the mix of her after running 16:24 earlier this season.

Still, it's nice to see Leppelmeier working on her leg speed and middle distance prowess. A 4:26 was well within her ballpark, but in a year where many of these top steeple women are flexing their range, it's nice to see Leppelmeier show off some of her own versatility.

Jan-Lukas Becker Runs 14:00 For 5000 Meters

Becker didn't have his best race at the Virginia Challenge this past weekend, although that seems crazy to say despite him posting a mark of 14:00 for 5000 meters which is only nine seconds off of his personal best.

The Queens star ultimately placed 13th in his heat and 35th overall.

While this result may not be his best, especially after running 28:27 for 10,000 meters earlier this season, we ultimately can't be too concerned about this result. If this is going to be considered a "bad" race for Becker, then we should feel incredibly optimistic about what his "good" races look like.

Like we already said, his 28:27 PR for 10,000 meters is super encouraging.

On paper, Becker is likely someone who can run in the 13:40s for 5000 meters. And honestly, if there was any time for him to have an "off" race, now is probably the time for that to happen. Better now than in the postseason.

Heck, I feel bad even said that this was an "off" race for him! It wasn't even that bad!

That, however, is just the new standard that Becker has set for himself. We know he's capable of being a crazy special talent, even in this era of all-time superstars.

Moran (28:59) & Fuehne (29:00) Run Fast Converted 10k's

The Colorado Mines men went to work in the 10,000 meters last Wednesday and unsurprisingly, the top two men of that Oredigger contingent put together some outstanding converted times.

Veteran Kyle Moran and up-and-comer Duncan Fuehne posted altitude converted times of 28:59 and 29:00, respectively.

And honestly, are you really that surprised? Colorado Mines is known for posting ridiculously fast times at altitude and then earning big conversions. The longer the distance, the better the Orediggers typically are.

I could try to pull some analysis from these two results, but frankly, I would be forcing it if I did.

Gemma Rebollo Runs 34:48 For 10,000 Meters

Slowly but surely, this Wingate youngster has begun to inch her way near the upper-echelon of distance talents in the Division Two world. At the Virginia Challenge this past weekend, she ran 34:48 for 10,000 meters -- a solid time that should allow her to qualify for the outdoor national meet.

Rebollo showed signs of promise this past fall with a handful of respectable cross country finishes, but she truly broke out on the indoor oval. The Wingate ace ran 9:43 (3k) and 16:42 (5k) this past winter, the latter mark qualifying her for the national meet.

With the introduction of the 10k, Rebollo is now showing us that when she moves up in distance, she improves. And frankly, that seems to be the case with a lot of these younger D2 women. Brianna Robles, Lindsey Cunningham and Annika Esvelt are all good examples.

Rebollo has tons of promise and for the most part, has been fairly consistent this year. Her youth and ongoing progression gives her a lot more upside compared to a few other women in this year's 10k field.

And if that analysis sounds familiar, it's probably because I said something extremely similar in the winter. I don't know that for a fact, but it certainly sounds like I did.