First Thoughts: Flomena Asekol Runs 4:26 Mile, Doris Lemngole & Taylor Roe Drop All-Time 5k Efforts, Michaela Rose Cracks 2:00 (800) & Ky Robinson Leads Historically Deep 3k

Friday night was quite hectic, both in Boston and at my desk as I attempted to coordinate our on-site coverage. All of that, however, was well worth the madness.

Yes, we are aware that were plenty of high-flying results that were (arguably) just as good as a few of the headlines that we highlighted below. But for the sake of time, we'll be discussing those performances in a separate article.

With numerous all-time marks and significant national qualifying implications unfolding, we can't be wasting any more time on the intro. Let's get right into it...

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LSU's Michaela Rose Drops NCAA #2 All-Time 800-Meter Mark of 1:59 to Secure Win at Boston U.

On Friday morning, just before noon, LSU superstar Michaela Rose toed the line for the top heat of the women's 800 meters. And less than two minutes later, she had run the NCAA #2 all-time indoor mark at that distance.

After comfortably working with the rest of the pack through the first-half of the race, Rose eventually took over and never looked back. And while her final time of 1:59.49 was incredibly impressive, it was how comfortable she looked that really impressed us. Truthfully, she wasn't really pushed in this race, leaving us to wonder if she could actually go faster over the next few months.

Now, admittedly, we didn't necessarily learn anything new about Rose on Friday. Yes, she did seemingly hold back a bit in the early portions of the race (which hasn't always been her approach), but I don't think anyone is shocked by how fast she ran. The LSU star ran under 2:00 for 800 meters three separate times last spring and everything that we've seen from Rose this season suggested that she was capable of replicating that yet again.

As for the rest of the field, we can only shrug our shoulders and say, "Yeah, that seems about right." Penn State's Hayley Kitching was the next collegiate to cross the line, matching her 2:01 (800) PR from earlier this season.

When it comes to tactics and her ceiling this winter, Kitching's latest result didn't tell us anything that we didn't already know about her. However, what's more important to consider is that she validated the idea that she could be an All-American favorite this winter.

I say that because Kitching's 2:01 PR from a few weeks ago was a significant jump, ultimately skipping the 2:02 mark entirely. Naturally, we wanted to see if she could do it again, this time in a much more different field -- and she did exactly that.

Other women such as Kelly-Ann Beckford (Houston) and Sydney Steely (Kentucky) were largely on par expectations, each running 2:03 for the 800-meter distance. Expect both of those women to take advantage of fast conference half-mile fields to go after a national qualifying mark.

Florida's Flomena Asekol Runs Jaw-Dropping Mile PR of 4:26 to Sit at NCAA #3 All-Time, Duke's Amina Maatoug Goes 4:29 in First Race Back Since December

So, uh...did you have that on your bingo card?

Florida's Flomena Asekol dropped an astounding 4:26 mile time on Friday, producing one of the most stunning performances of the entire weekend. And that's saying something considering how wild Friday evening was.

Asekol has always been a strong distance talent. She was the bronze medalist in this event at last year's indoor national meet, had previously run 4:32 in the mile, was 6th at the NCAA XC Championships and ran 8:52 for 3000 meters at the Boston U. Season Opener.

And yet, despite all of her success, nothing that we saw on Asekol's resume suggested that she would run 4:26 in the mile, a performance that now sits at NCAA #3 all-time. If she had run 4:29, then that would have been a bit easier to process. But 4:26? Well, now we have to reset our expectations for the national meet.

Does this performance put Flomena Asekol in the mile national title conversation? Yes, of course it does. Anyone who says otherwise would just be trying to start a fight. But trying to figure out where in that conversation Asekol now sits is a challenge.

The Crimson Tide-turned-Gator runner has often been at her best in fast-paced settings, something that I said in our meet preview and something that Asekol further validated on Friday. However, she has also had a few brief moments of inconsistency, recently running 4:37 in the mile a few weeks back and being unable to make it out of the 1500-meter prelims at the 2023 outdoor national meet.

And yet, at the same time, it would be unfair to label Asekol as a time trial specialist and nothing more. Unlike a few absurdly talented men and women who are unable to translate their fitness to tactical scenarios, Asekol has proven on a small handful of occasions over the last year that she can do exactly that.

I'm typically someone who is very cautious about saying a runner can or cannot produce a certain time, win a title, etc. But Asekol's unreal 4:26 mile mark, paired with her prior success and experience, gives her some legitimate staying power when talking about contenders for NCAA gold this winter

As for Amina Maatoug, this was her first race back since December when she ran 8:46 over 3000 meters. The Duke distance star dropped an excellent 4:29 mark in her return to competition, a fantastic time that would be a major headline of the season during any other year of racing.

Maatoug actually spent a good portion of the race near the very back of the field, slowly moving up every few laps. And outside of the top-three, she pretty much caught everyone. That was one of the smarter and more patient performances that I've seen from this Dutch distance ace -- and it paid off for her in a big way.

I would argue that Maatoug is just as big of a national title threat in the mile as anyone else. Her recent mile PR is at least fast enough to put her in that conversation and she likely learned quite a bit from her aggressive front-running at last year's indoor national meet.

With tremendous range and better turnover than most milers, Maatoug has all of the tools necessary to win gold. And while Flomena Asekol deservingly has the spotlight, I wouldn't discount how impactful Maatoug's effort was on Friday night.

Kileigh Kane (Penn State) and Lauren Freeland (Michigan State) were other collegiates who had strong outings, running 4:32 and 4:33, respectively. On paper, those are multi-second personal bests for the BIG 10 duo. But in reality, both Kane and Freeland have had plenty of success in the past -- their times just hadn't caught up to their actual level of talent (until Friday, that is).

Those two women will likely need to run faster to put themselves in the national qualifying hunt, but they can at least take solace knowing that they are in the hunt to do so.

Olemomoi, Scrimgeour & Riggins Deliver on Expectations By Dipping Under 8:52 For 3000 Meters, Gracie Hyde Breaks D2 3k Record in Historic Fashion

Fantastic efforts from the 3000-meter collegiate trio of Hilda Olemomoi (Alabama), Chloe Scrimgeour (Georgetown) and Melissa Riggins (Georgetown). Those three women ran 8:50, 8:50 and 8:52, respectively, on Friday night.

To be clear, those are fantastic results, but I don't think anyone is necessarily shocked their performances. Olemomoi ran faster at this same meet last year, Scrimgeour had run 15:24 for 5000 meters earlier this winter and Riggins, as we've mentioned, has been on absolute fire over the past year.

All three of these women will likely have more success in different events, but this is an important development for Riggins. Her 8:52 (3k) mark will likely qualify her for the indoor national meet in that event. That, in turn, could allow her to scratch out of the mile, be completely fresh for the DMR (assuming the Hoyas qualify) and go after a top 3k finish.

The only issue is that the mile is Riggins' best race, making her national meet schedule very up in the air if her DMR does advance.

However, arguably the bigger development from this race actually came on the Division Two side. I am, of course, referencing Adams State's Gracie Hyde running a fantastic 3k time of 8:58 on Friday. That mark not only broke the D2 3k collegiate record, but Hyde also became the first D2 woman in the NCAA history to ever break the nine-minute barrier.

In a year where Lindsay Cunningham is still in Division Two, it's Gracie Hyde who has easily been the biggest and best highlight in the country. And if Hyde's name sounds familiar, then that's because she was an accomplished miler with the Arkansas women prior to joining the Grizzlies.

Hyde looks incredibly dangerous. She looks like a national title favorite in the mile and the 3k. You could also throw the DMR in there given that, as I'm typing this, the Adams State women easily surpassed the old D2 DMR record. If she does try an ambitious triple at the national meet -- which sounds like it's a possibility based on the interview she gave -- then I don't know if I would rule out the possibility of her having three gold medals in March.

Doris Lemngole & Taylor Roe Produce All-Time 5k Marks

While this "First Thoughts" article was predominately going to be centered around the results from Boston University, it would be unfair to talk about Doris Lemngole's 5k effort and not highlight Taylor Roe's performance.

At the Boston College Eagle Elite Invite, Oklahoma State veteran Taylor Roe left many us in awe when she dropped a phenomenal time of 15:12 for 5000 meters.

Yes, we knew that Roe was exceptionally talented and we knew that she was approaching her prior peak form based on a previous 3k effort. However, a 15:12 mark is a fairly significant 5k personal best, one that (briefly) placed her at NCAA #3 all-time. And in turn, we now have a fairly difficult racing dilemma on our hands.

As of right now, Taylor Roe's best event, time-wise, is the 5000 meters. However, that same distance is also stacked with all-time superstars including Parker Valby, and more recently, Doris Lemngole. The women's 3000 meters, meanwhile, is historically deep, but not quite as top-heavy as the 5k. If Roe wanted to go all-in for the 3k national title, then it would theoretically make sense for her to scratch the 5k to remain fresh.

Sure, she could absolutely do the 5k/3k national meet double -- that happens all the time. But when it comes to preserving her legs, could she actually opt for the DMR over the 5k? Considering that the Cowgirls just ran the NCAA #2 all-time mark in that event (at the time publishing) that seems plenty realistic.

But let's side aside all of the national meet questions and speculation for a moment. The fact that Taylor Roe is now one of the fastest 5k runners in NCAA history after a few up and down efforts over the last year is encouraging to see. And if she was able to run that time largely unopposed (outside of a potential pacer), then how fast could she run when she's actually pushed?

Now what if I told you that Roe's NCAA #3 all-time spot over 5000 meters didn't even last 12 hours? Well, that's because Doris Lemngole toed the starting line for the women's 5000 meters at Boston U. The final result? A 15:04 (5k) mark which now sits at NCAA #2 all-time.

LetsRun's Jon Gault may have put it best:

"OK State’s Taylor Roe ran 15:12 this afternoon at the TRACK. She went from being #4 in NCAA history indoors to not even being the fastest NCAA woman to run a 5k in Boston on February 9, 2024."

But when it comes to the actual analysis of Lemngole, there isn't much to say. This is a true long distance star whose best event was the 5000 meters and seemingly thrived in fast-paced races. She ran 14:40 for 5000 meters on the roads prior to coming to the NCAA, meaning that it was more than reasonable to suggest that she could dip under 15:10 (5k).

In fact, I even predicted her to run 15:03.

In terms of natural talent, there aren't many women in the NCAA who can surpass Lemngole. Heck, she looked like she was struggling for a large portion of that race and she STILL came through with an elite time.

This is usually the part where I say, "But what about her tactical skills?" However, the 5k at the indoor national meet will likely feature Parker Valby. And as we all know, the Florida megastar strongly prefers to be a front-runner.

That, in theory, is a very good thing for Doris Lemngole.

Ky Robinson Drops Unreal 7:36 (3k) Mark at Husky Classic, Aaron Las Heras, Matt Strangio & Theo Quax Also Run Under 7:40 in Same Race

I'll admit, I'm a little burnt out from all of these overwhelmingly elite marks. It's hard to properly describe the magnitude of certain performances without sounding redundant. I feel like I have exhausted the Thesaurus.

And that's why I'm struggling with the men's 3k battle at the Husky Classic. It was a race which was won by Stanford's Ky Robinson in an unbelievable time of 7:36. He was followed by NAU's Aaron Las Heras (7:37), Portland's Matt Strangio (7:39) and NAU's Theo Quax (7:39).

A race like that two years ago would have had the NCAA in a frenzy. People would be calling it the single-greatest 3k race in NCAA history. Nowadays, it's not even the first time this season that one 3k race had three or more collegians run under 7:40.

Sure, I could go into the historical significance of these results, but I don't know if that's necessary for this article. I'll reserve that for the Blue Oval Podcast. Instead, let's actually talk about the race itself.

I absolutely loved how Ky Robinson handled himself in this race. The Stanford star was coming off of a tough 5k showing in Boston a few weeks ago whereas the NAU duo of Aaron Las Heras and Theo Quax seemed to have all of the momentum in the world.

They did, after all, run 13:16 for 5000 meters a few weeks back.

And sure enough, Las Heras showcased some of that momentum when he took over with 200-ish meters to go on Washington's 300-meter track. But despite being passed, Robinson didn't fret. Instead, he calmly followed Las Heras along the final curve and shot off to overtake the NAU graduate student for the win.

Even in a high-pressure, ultra-fast race scenario where he had been passed, Robinson showed incredible poise. But frankly, that's not surprising. We've seen him execute in similar fashion in prior races. That's what makes him such an incredibly dangerous distance talent.

As for Las Heras, that performance was monumental. The former Wake Forest runner always struck me as a 5k/10k guy. And while I certainly believed that he could post a top 3k mark, I didn't think he would run THAT fast. Plus, despite being caught by Robinson, I was pleasantly surprised by his turnover in the latter stages of that race -- that gives me confidence in Las Heras when he's in a tactical championship battle.

We then come to Matt Strangio, the Portland veteran who has been knocking on the door of a breakout race (and season) over the last few years. Many of us at The Stride Report thought that "breakout" happened when he ran 3:55 in the mile on this same track. But that was just the start of something much more grand for the Pilot ace who ran 7:39 (3k) on Friday.

If you're not worried about Strangio's limited national meet experience on the track, then he may be someone who you could tab as an All-American in your national meet predictions. He doesn't just have momentum right now, he's building momentum -- and at the perfect time of the season, too.

And finally, there's Theo Quax of Northern Arizona.

In retrospect, we probably should've seen a result like this coming from Quax. In early January, he ran a converted 3:54 mile time and a few weeks ago at Boston, he dropped a huge 13:16 (5k) PR. To see him run 7:39 for 3000 meters, as quick as that is, actually makes a lot of sense. On paper, that distance should be his sweet spot.