First Thoughts: Parker Wolfe, Joe Waskom, Parker Stokes & Shane Cohen Headline as Upset National Champions

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The theme throughout the distance races during the third day of competition, and first day of finals, at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships was redemption. It was an upset-filled Friday in which the old brigade reminded the next generation of stars that they'd have to wait just a bit longer for their moment.

The one distance event winner who didn't entirely fit that trend was a junior superstar who's long been waiting in the wings for his title-winning ascension and had to buck the biggest distance favorite to do so.

There's no time to waste in analyzing this NCAA Outdoor Championships Friday. Let's dive in.

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Parker Wolfe Outlasts Two-Time National Champions Nico Young and Ky Robinson Over 5000 Meters to Earn His First NCAA Gold

Nico Young was undoubtedly the biggest favorite in Friday's distance events. So even though the 5k was contested last, it feels as if we should discuss it and all of its exposition first. After all, this was a race stocked with several NCAA champions, and it was fittingly the most tactical affair of the day.

Two days after winning the 10k national title, New Mexico rookie Habtom Samuel took on the initial leading duties in the 5000-meter final.

David Mullarkey of Florida State led much of the race's middle portion, as some of the expected contenders -- Jackson Sharp, Ky Robinson and Young -- positioned themselves among the leaders with about a mile to go.

The race really began with 1000 meters left, as NAU's Brodey Hasty pushed to the front, and athletes ran up to six wide across the track entering the penultimate lap. Reigning cross country national champion Graham Blanks then made a significant move to untuck himself from the pack and take the lead with a half-mile to go.

The race's top contenders seemingly reached a shared understanding and separated themselves from there, with Young, Robinson, Parker Wolfe (North Carolina) and Oklahoma State freshman Brian Musau matching Blanks' move. Young surged ahead with 300 meters remaining as Blanks began to fade.

From there, Wolfe, who followed Young alongside Robinson, swung by him to grasp the lead with 100 meters left and held off his superstar peers.

The Stride Report has documented Wolfe's status as one of the best NCAA distance runners who had yet to win a national title, so this Tar Heel's triumph feels especially well deserved. A runner-up result for Young, despite being heavily favored, feels far less disappointing than it may have been had he not earned his first (and second) individual national titles between the 3k and the 5k at the 2024 indoor national meet.

Aside from the fact that he finally broke through this past winter, Young felt like more of a favorite than ever before because he had developed and displayed elite speed this spring. PRs of 1:47 (800) and 3:34 (1500) suggested that he was as well-prepared as anyone in the field for a fast finish, and we knew that this NCAA 5k record-holder and sub-13:00 man had the best raw fitness of any distance runner in the country.

Nonetheless, Wolfe seemed more willing to bide his time throughout the race than Young, who was rightfully eager to display his fitness and confidence by responding to multiple moves. In Formula 1 racing, there's often an advantage gained by whoever brakes last. Compared to the cross country champion and the indoor 5k champion, it was Wolfe who surged last. And it appears to have made all the difference.

Photo via Andrew LeMay

Robinson, the champion over both 5000 meters and 10,000 meters at the 2023 outdoor national meet, somewhat curiously opted to focus solely on defending his title in the former.

As such, one could argue that he didn't optimize his point-scoring value, but it's hard to argue with a 12th All-American honor and a bronze medal (the same placement he earned over 5k at the 2024 indoor national meet and at the 2023 NCAA XC Championships) that came with a finish a half-second behind the winner.

How about OSU's Musau mixing it up with the aforementioned heavy hitters as a rookie? He joined the pack that separated itself late in the race and managed to finish ahead of

Blanks for his third All-American finish in as many seasons. We got an idea of his potential after a victory over Habtom Samuel in which he ran the NCAA #1 mark this season (13:13). Now, Musau's ceiling has only risen.

It was refreshing to see Blanks re-establish himself among the NCAA's best. He gave himself a fighting chance at winning this race, but a four-month injury absence to begin 2024 left the 13:03 (5k) man short of his peak fitness and without an adequate ramp-up period.

Samuel doubled back from his 10k gold for a commendable 6th-place effort, while Toby Gillen (Ole Miss) and Jesse Hamlin (Butler) won the kicker's battle for 7th and 8th place, respectively. Both have been mainstays toward the top of the distance scene but weren't favored to finish as highly as they did.

He may have come up just shy of a top-eight finish, but Cael Grotenhuis of Northern Arizona improved his stock as much as almost anyone this week by placing 9th in the 5k and 14th in the 10k. Behind him, it was surprising to see Wisconsin veteran Jackson Sharp finishing anywhere shy of a top-half All-American finish. Even so, if a 10th-place effort is an "off" day for him, that only illustrates his rock-solid floor.

Elsewhere, Tennessee's Yaseen Abdalla (11th) neared his first track All-American finish as he predictably finished toward the middle of the field, and you could argue that the two men who finished immediately behind him -- Wil Smith (Gonzaga) and Said Mechaal (Iowa State) exceeded expectations as well.

Joe Waskom Wins His Second National Title in 1500-Meter Shocker, Further Stamps Washington as Mile U, as Elliott Cook Earns Silver, Adam Spencer Nabs Bronze

This may be recency bias seeping in, but it's hard to remember a more compelling 1500-meter final in recent years. This race had everything from a reasonable pace (a winning time of 3:39) to numerous lead changes, an exceedingly close finish and an upset champion earning further validation.

Photo via Andrew LeMay

While Washington has now won every national title between the mile and the 1500 meters since the spring of 2022 (that's five in a row!), three of our five writers who made predictions chose Wisconsin's Adams Spencer to win gold. After all, he held the fastest metric mile PR in the field (3:31).

And Spencer certainly factored into this race, going out into lane three to put himself up front alongside Northern Arizona sophomore Colin Sahlman after the first 300 meters. That made sense, given those two men were the two biggest favorites outside of the Huskies (and arguably the two biggest favorites overall).

That early maneuver to step into lane three foreshadowed what was to come in a way, as athletes were at times running four wide both heading into the penultimate lap and entering the final lap.

Back-to-back NCAA mile champion Luke Houser took over with roughly 800 meters to go, and some of the fastest men in the field, Sahlman and Anass Essayi, challenged him for the lead entering the straightaway heading into the bell lap.

At the same time, Joe Waskom surged forth alongside Essayi while Houser, his Washington teammate, dropped back into the pack. As the men settled into more of a single-file line entering the backstretch, it was Sahlman who led the way. And for several moments, it appeared that the Lumberjack underclassman who fell just shy of the NCAA 1500-meter record earlier this season was set to earn his first individual national title.

Ultimately, we didn't see a new champion crowned. Instead, what unfolded was even more surprising. Sahlman looked primed to hold off both Spencer and Oregon's Elliott Cook, both of whom surged past Essayi coming off the final curve and had joined Sahlman as mainstays toward the front of the field throughout the race.

Meanwhile, Waskom bided his time, kept himself in position toward the front of the race and found another gear with 100 meters to go as he closed the final 400 meters in 52.6 seconds and edged out Cook, his Pacific Northwest contemporary who was competing in his home stadium.

Truthfully, it's difficult to be upset with how any of the top finishers in this field raced. It also feels like this title was even more surprising than Waskom's NCAA gold medal over this distance in 2022. After all, none of our writers predicted him to finish as an All-American this season, let alone a national champion!

Despite holding a PR of 3:34 (1500) from last summer, Waskom hadn't run within three seconds of that mark this season and placed 4th over the same distance at the PAC-12 Championships less than a month ago. He was a backend mile All-American at the 2024 NCAA Indoor Championships. None of that suggested he was a favorite to win this race.

Waskom's triumph in what was the final race of his NCAA career, and the fact that his two 1500-meter gold medals are sandwiched around a silver medal in 2023, means it's probably time to start talking about him as one of the best collegiate milers of this generation. His postseason track record (specifically on the outdoor oval) is inarguable, and he simply knows when to make moves and position himself in championship settings.

As for national runner-up (by just under a tenth of a second) Elliott Cook, his performance was almost as much of a pleasant surprise as Waskom's. That's hardly to say it felt like a fluke; Cook won his prelim heat in a (3:37) PR and topped Washington's elite contingent for the PAC-12 1500-meter and 800-meter titles a few weeks ago. He actually closed faster than Waskom on Friday after entering the bell lap in 8th place.

After sitting out last spring and this past winter, Cook has reintroduced himself as one of the nation's top middle distance talents.

Spencer, the bronze medalist, may feel a bit disappointed after earning the same placement in this distance last spring and taking silver in the mile at the 2024 indoor national meet. He shouldn't.

The Aussie Badger was in position to win the race and didn't have the same kick that Waskom did or the rail position Cook held. Spencer is likely now on to the Olympics this summer and feels due for NCAA gold should he choose to return to Madison for his senior year in 2024-25.

As for Sahlman, finishing 4th was probably on the lower end of his realistic outcomes, but

he may well have had more bite to his final kick had he been less eager to stay up front and fight others' moves throughout the race. Hindsight is 20-20, though, and I liked this Lumberjack's decision to be an aggressor given that he was one of the favorites in the field.

Major props to Damien Dilcher (Iona) and Wes Porter (Virginia) for finishing 5th and 6th, respectively. Both NCAA veterans have been nationally competitive names in recent years but just earned their first All-American finishes in their first individual appearances at a national meet.

Iowa State's Ezekiel Rop was in top-eight position throughout the race and replicated his 7th place finish from the 2023 outdoor national meet. His transformation into one of the NCAA's better milers has been equally enjoyable and surprising to watch.

Not many would have expected that 5-6-7 trio to finish ahead of Ethan Strand, Nathan Green (whose kicks didn't look as potent as usual), Liam Murphy (who was never in a great position after the early stages of the race) or Houser (who appeared to expend too much energy early on).

Meanwhile, Essayi held on for the final All-American spot. While he has finished in the top-eight of NCAA finals more often than not, it's hard not to feel like the 3:32 (1500) man has a higher ceiling than this and could stand to benefit from waiting until later in a championship race to utilize his kick.

Parker Stokes Overtakes Nathan Mountain for 3000-Meter Steeplechase Win and His First National Title

With the top three finishers from this race at last year's outdoor national meet all absent (including the reigning bronze medalist, Victor Kibiego, who stepped off the track in the prelims on Wednesday) this race and the title that came with it was ripe for the taking.

Eastern Kentucky's Abdelhakim Abouzouhir, among the favorites in this race, led early and often. Virginia's Nathan Mountain, the other primary favorite in the field in Kibiego's absence, moved into 2nd place shortly before the midway point. His teammate, Yasin Sado, momentarily sat beside him on the outside of lane 1 but fell in a water pit as Mountain took the lead.

As he was in his preliminary heat, Notre Dame sophomore CJ Singleton was aggressive in the middle portions of the race. The same can be said for Georgetown senior Parker Stokes, who moved into second place, flanking Mountain, by the bell lap.

It turned out Stokes was advancing through the race perfectly, as he challenged his East Coast adversary over the final lap, overtaking him with exactly 100 meters to go and pulling away after the final hurdle.

Stokes had the look of a future national champion early in his NCAA career, earning bronze and legitimately challenging for the title in a historically fast NCAA Championships steeplechase final in 2022. Since then, however, he failed to make the steeplechase finals at the 2023 outdoor national meet and struggled relative to expectations at the past two NCAA XC Championship meets.

Photo via Andrew LeMay

Stokes looked like his best self on Friday, as he was always near the front of the race, managed to stay out of trouble in an unpredictable event and posted an impressive 8:24 finishing time that was a seasonal best and topped last year's winning time from BYU ace Kenneth Rooks.

Mountain was the NCAA leader in the 3000-meter steeplechase this spring and the most complete individual in the event. He let others lead the race early on and seemed poised throughout. However, a stumble after the final water pit may have inhibited his finish as Stokes ultimately ran around and by him.

The UVA ace was the top returner from last year's final to this year's and, after another top-half All-American finish, should again hold that status as a senior next year.

Gable Sieparda, who displayed a penchant for aggressive frontrunning this season, followed the same strategy he employed in the prelims on Wednesday, sticking in the middle of the field and kicking down stars late for an optimal finish. The senior Cyclone positioned himself well and moved from 5th to 3rd immediately after the final barrier.

After a couple of close calls on the grass, Sieperda just earned his first All-American honor, and he did so comfortably with an 8:25 personal best.

Abouzouhir may not be thrilled with his 4th-place finish, but it's an improvement upon his 6th-place All-American run in this event last year and capped a largely successful season. It's hard to argue with the frontrunning strategy he employed early, either, as he hasn't displayed the leg speed that some of his peers have.

Singleton's confident racing was rewarded with a 5th-place finish and a PR. He has multiple years of eligibility remaining to work on the finishing speed that his 4:04 high school mile PR suggests he has. In a similar vein to Stokes, 6th-place finisher Estanis Ruiz was channeling his 2022 form. Before transferring to Portland, the current junior ran his steeplechase PR at the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships and finished top-10 in the final.

Two years later and with no national meet appearances in between, Ruiz is a first-time All-American with a new 8:28 PR. His emphasis on speedwork, as evidenced by a recent 1:47 (800) PR, has clearly paid off.

How about Yasin Sado rebounding from a fall to earn his first All-American finish? That late-race recovery took some real gumption for the Cavalier ace. He ran a PR en route to a win at the East Regional Championships and ran steadily (despite his fall) in both the prelim and the final.

It was a similar story for 8th-place finisher Alexander Korczynski of Northeastern, who fell during the prelim and narrowly earned the final qualifying spot. The NCAA mainstay in this event was undeterred, sticking firmly in this field and running to a PR and his first All-American finish.

James Corrigan, a backend All-American pick for all five of our D1 writers, fell back from the pack after being in the mix early but nearly rebounded for an All-American finish as he placed 9th. Fellow sophomore Jackson Shorten followed closely behind him with an 8:29 PR and appears to also be following a star trajectory.

Shane Cohen Emerges as 800-Meter Champion, Outsprints Sam Whitmarsh After Mad Last-Lap Dash

After the metric mile and the steeplechase produced surprise winners, the half-mile continued that trend with perhaps an even more unlikely winner.

Shane Cohen, who entered the race as just a one-time All-American at the Division Two level, emerged from the wreckage of a chaotic final and dipped under 1:45 (800) for the first time to win NCAA gold in what may be the fifth-year senior's final collegiate race (during what was his first NCAA Championships final as a D1 athlete).

Photo via Andrew LeMay

It's difficult to overstate how unlikely Cohen winning a national title felt two years ago, two days ago and even as he entered the late portions of Friday's race.

After recently ditching his frontrunning style for a more conservative approach during his ACC half-mile title run and the NCAA prelim, Tarees Rhoden eschewed that trend and led the race through 200 meters after the field had emerged from the staggered start

Yusuf Bizimana, a Texas title hopeful and winner of the third preliminary heat, settled in just behind him with Texas A&M pace-pusher Kimar Farquharson and Hokie underclassman Nicholas Plant jostling for 3rd place entering the bell lap.

Title favorite and 1:44 man Sam Whitmarsh, Farquharson's Aggie teammate, sat a stride behind them with several notorious kickers on his heels. The field reached the final 200 meters still in a tightly bunched amoeba.

Whitmarsh momentarily looked poised to surge forward on the curve, but Iowa State tactician Finley McLear effectively blocked him in during a chaotic race to the straightaway in which Shane Cohen flexed out to lane 3 and Camden Marshall fell.

Meanwhile, Rhoden appeared poised to hold onto his lead before Whitmarsh squeezed through a pair of bodies in lane 1 and overtook him. At the same time, Cohen pushed past the entirety of the field from lane 3 and held off a man standing over half a foot taller than him. The former University of Tampa harrier found/created space for himself during the race's critical moments and accelerated faster than anyone else down the final straightaway.

Whitmarsh, who was the lone NCAA athlete to run 1:44 (800) this season before Friday's race, rightfully appeared quite pleased with a silver medal in what was his first NCAA Championships final.

The long-strider had to contend with inopportune late-race positioning. But if you're familiar with the adversity that Whitmarsh had to overcome to reach this point after early flashes of stardom, then you know that a few obstacles weren't going to keep him from the front of the race.

Rhoden somewhat predictably lost ground late but still posted a PR by one-hundredth of a second en route to his third All-American finish over this distance between the past two academic years.

McLear, who fits into the trend of well-tenured distance (or middle distance) runners who experienced a late-career renaissance at this meet, matched the bronze medal that he grabbed in this event at the 2024 indoor national meet and ran a new 1:45 PR.

Albeit now three years removed from the first two, McLear now owns four top-half All-American performances over 800 meters and has further cemented his status as one of the most reliable championship finals performers among men who've yet to win an NCAA title. As we saw when he made up four places over the final 200 meters and edged out Rhoden for 3rd place, McLear is adept at responding to any move thrown at him while doling out his own.  

As for 5th-place finisher Sean Dolan, there's not much to analyze. The 2024 indoor 800-meter national runner-up is a known commodity and produced an even and measured effort after almost surprisingly missing the final.

Bizimana's performance was a bit more curious, as he occupied 2nd place for much of the race but faded toward the very end. The Longhorn senior has been chasing another NCAA gold medal (often as a favorite) since emerging as somewhat of a surprise national champion in the winter of 2023. If we had to guess, the six-time All-American over-exerted himself in trying to stay toward the front of the field.

Farquharson was aggressive, and even if he lost places over the final lap, it's hard to be upset with a 7th-place finish in his first individual NCAA Championships appearance. Plant raced with similar urgency and now has two top-eight half-mile efforts between the NCAA Indoor Championships and the NCAA Outdoor Championships this year.

Garrett has brought up Marshall's postseason misfortunes multiple times, and the three-time Big Ten half-mile champion appeared primed to earn his first All-American finish until he hit the track's urethane surface after seemingly getting his legs tangled up with either Cohen's or Plant's with just over 100 meters to go.

Fortunately for Marshall, he has another year of eligibility remaining, so a return to an NCAA Championships half-mile final feels likely.