.png)
First Thoughts (Part One): Diljeet Taylor's Coaching Masterclass, Bunnage & May Go Sub-8:45 (3k), Kosgei Runs 8:44 (3k) in Seattle & Arkansas Men Produce Two 1:46 (800) Performances
To the surprise of no one, Friday was an absolute thriller for NCAA distance running fans around the country. With Boston University hosting their annual John Thomas Terrier Classic, the all-time collegiate record books were rewritten. And as a result, our understanding of the All-American and national title pictures have shifted.
Below, we offered in-depth analysis on all of the best collegiate distance running action that happened throughout Friday. And yes, that even includes performances from meets that weren't at the Boston University!
Alright, here we go...
BYU Coach Diljeet Taylor Guides Three Cougars to Top Collegiate Honors at John Thomas Terrier Classic
When I sit down and put together headlines for our "First Thoughts" articles, I typically focus on one race and nothing more. Almost never have I made a headline that focuses on how one team fared across a variety of different events.
But after seeing the BYU women thrive in Boston on Friday, it feels necessary to begin our analysis with their wholistic success.
Over 800 meters, veteran Meghan Hunter secured the overall win against an incredibly deep field with a time of 2:00.27. That mark puts her at NCAA #5 all-time for the indoor half-mile distance.
When it came to the mile, Cougar star Riley Chamberlain dropped a monster time of 4:26! That effort gave her top collegiate honors and an NCAA #5 all-time result.
And Lexy Halladay-Lowry? Well, in her season debut, the BYU ace posted a jaw-dropping time of 14:57 (5k). She now holds the NCAA #4 all-time spot for the women's indoor version of that event.
Let's start with Hunter, a highly experienced half-miler who has become increasingly more dangerous over the last few seasons. Her 2:00.27 (800) effort is a significant PR. However, what's maybe more important is that her in-race execution, as of right now, may be the best in the NCAA.
Hunter has found the perfect balance of being aggressive and patient when facing top-tier competition. Her closing strength is way better than I ever remember it being and her ability to get around her competition on the final turn is way harder to do than some people may realize.
In our eyes, Hunter has established a baseline level of fitness which suggests that she's talented enough to contend for NCAA gold in March. However, it's her intangibles that have made her a very important part of that conversation.
We then come to Riley Chamberlain, someone who has, at times, been challenging to analyze. Even so, it seems that the BYU ace is at her best when she is racing on the indoor oval. After all, Chamberlain was brilliant last winter and is seemingly even better nowadays!
A 4:26 mile PR is huge. It's a result that delivers on the upside that Chamberlain's performances have hinted at for last couple of years. Admittedly, Chamberlain's recent personal best was the result of an elite, pro-laden field dragging her to that time. But the fact that she even ran that fast to begin with suggests that she could potentially threaten for NCAA gold a month-and-a-half from now.
Don't forget, this is someone who out-ran Notre Dame's Olivia Markezich on the anchor leg of last year's indoor national meet DMR race (via a 4:27 split). With sneaky-good range, Chamberlain should, in theory, fare well in most race scenarios.
And finally, Lexy Halladay-Lowry.
Have you ever done something in life, paused, and then thought to yourself, "Well that was stupid,"? I have, and it happened last night when Halladay-Lowry dropped an eyebrow-raising 5k time of 14:57!
My pre-race prediction for her? 15:16.
Make no mistake, I was familiar with Halladay-Lowry's credentials before this season even began. She ran an outstanding 5k time of 15:02 during the summer months and also ran 9:22 in the steeplechase finals at the USA Olympic Trials.
However, the BYU veteran reportedly suffered an injury towards the latter-half of the cross country season. Thankfully, she was able to grit through it and deliver a 14th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships. And with that background knowledge, it felt more than fair to suggest that Halladay-Lowry may not be in top form, but could still produce a nationally competitive time.
But nope! Instead, Halladay-Lowry unleashed an all-time performance, improving upon her prior 5k PR instead of falling 10+ seconds short of it. That is extremely impressive after metaphorically (and maybe at times, literally) limping through the 2024 cross country season.
There are only so many ways we can talk about how great of a coach Diljeet Taylor is before we become repetitive. Her women didn't just thrive on Friday night, they flat-out dominated. And remember, we're not even talking about the elite group of pro standouts that she also coaches -- they were also brilliant last night.
One race, one meet and/or one athlete do not define coaching legacies. But Friday did feel like yet another milestone day for Taylor who has time and time again developed some of the nation's biggest and best superstars.
Before we get to all of the other performances, I do want to highlight a few other women who competed in the 800 meters, mile and 5000 meters...
800 Meters While Meghan Hunter did get the win, it wasn't by much. In fact, if the race had required another stride or two, then North Carolina's Makayla Paige would have had a shot at the win.
The Tar Heel star, who had a breakout year in 2024, narrowly missed gold on Friday after throwing down a huge kick. Her mark of 2:00.57 (800) now puts her at NCAA #6 all-time.
On the track, Paige has begun to string together great result after great result. Her in-race execution was great on Friday and a kick as lethal as hers was a nice surprise. Keep an eye on the UNC standout moving forward. With prior national meet experience under her belt, Paige could be a much bigger problem for her competitors than some people may expect.
Harvard's Victoria Bossong also deserves major credit for running 2:00.97 (800) in the same race as Hunter and Paige. She was surprisingly aggressive, but it was maybe even more surprising that a sprints-based athlete was able to maintain her lead up until the final turn.
The Stanford duo of Roisin Willis (2:01) and Juliette Whittaker (2:02), as well as Harvard's Sophia Gorriaran (2:02) had fine outings in the first 800-meter heat. Even so, it felt like all three of those women struggled to put themselves near the front of the race. And when they did, they were often battling to hold their position.
It's best not to look too deep in those results, but the Cardinal's 1-2 punch did look human for a change.
Mile
Aside from Chamberlain, no other collegian in the women's mile field ran faster than 4:31. The pre-race collegiate favorite, Shannon Flockhart (Providence), had a bit of an "off" day after following an ambitious early pace.
But what if I told you that a different collegiate ran under the 4:30 (mile) barrier in Boston? Believe it or not, BYU's Carmen Alder actually ran 4:29 in the mile at the Harvard Invitational earlier today!
And yes, I can already hear your flood of questions.
"Wait, didn't Alder and her teammates run at Boston University? Are you telling me that Alder and a few other BYU runners contested two mile races in less than 24 hours?"
Yep! That's exactly what I'm saying. And despite racing on tired legs, Alder was still able to salvage a huge result. That mark puts her at NCAA #23 all-time once Silan Ayyildiz's recent 4:27 effort is entered.
That is a very impressive double. And more importantly, it signals that Alder should be well prepared to handle multiple rounds of racing once she reaches the postseason.
5000 Meters
Lexy Halladay-Lowry was not the only one who exceeded our expectations in the 5k on Friday night!
Northern Arizona's Elise Stearns -- who's been good, but not necessarily great as of late -- dropped a fantastic 5k PR of 15:21! She was followed by Providence's Alex Millard who ran 15:22 for the 5k distance.
Those are both highly encouraging results for a pair of women who are ridiculously talented, but we're also look to reset their momentum. Those marks should allow both women to comfortably qualify for the indoor national meet...right?
Stanford's Amy Bunnage (8:43) & Providence's Kimberly May (8:44) Post All-Time 3k Marks With Differing Race Styles
The women's 3000 meters was incredibly entertaining.
A small handful of elite NCAA stars, a crowd of accomplished pros and an aggressive pace at the front of the field led to fireworks over 15 laps.
Stanford's Amy Bunnage, who is a true long distance talent, surprisingly opted to be more conservative with her race plan. She slowly moved up the field rather than go with the top pack from the gun. Providence's Kimberly May, however, who is probably at her best in the mile (although she has incredible range), chose to be one of the aggressors on Friday night, following the leaders from the gun.
And truthfully, those race plans were the exact opposite of what I thought those two women would do.
Bunnage is more of a strength-based runner and, in theory, maybe could have handled a more aggressive pace early-on. May, meanwhile, is probably best known for her turnover in the mile, something that she could have utilized with a more conservative approach.
Even so, both women emerged with monster 3k times of 8:43 (Bunnage) and 8:44 (May). Those performances now sit at NCAA #6 and NCAA #7 all-time, respectively.
Bunnage, in particular, has looked unbelievably sharp as of late. In her last three races, the Stanford sophomore placed 4th at the NCAA XC Championships, ran 15:00 (5k) at the Boston U. Season Opener and has now produced an 8:43 (3k) mark at the John Thomas Terrier Classic.
But what I saw from the Aussie ace on Friday was more than just a fast time. Bunnage looked confident. She looked like she was in complete control. Her surges were made with conviction and she beautifully gauged how the front of that 3k field was unfolding.
Forget raw fitness -- Bunnage seemingly has the "it" factor right now.
New Mexico's Pamela Kosgei Drops 8:44 (3k) Mark at UW Invite, Sits at NCAA #7 All-Time Regardless of Track Size
It feels almost wrong to shrug my shoulders and think, "Yeah, seems about right," when talking about a collegiate woman running 8:44 for 3000 meters.
And yet, that's just the era of NCAA distance running that we're living in.
Given how elite Kosgei was throughout the fall months, and given that she ran 15:00 for 5000 meters in December, it makes plenty of sense how she was able to will herself to an 8:44 (3k) PR. Her altitude converted 4:30 mile from last week did signal that the New Mexico star had the right mix of strength and turnover to do some damage in this event.
Tactics and late-race execution are still major question marks for Kosgei who has only ever been in time trial environments since coming to the NCAA. Of course, if there is anyone who's raw fitness can overcome their lack of NCAA postseason racing, it's the Kenyan rookie in Albuquerque.
Arkansas Duo of Rivaldo Marshall & Tyrice Taylor Each Run 1:46 (800) to Topple Deep Field of Half-Milers
On a Friday night that was almost entirely dominated by the women's races, it was the Arkansas men who made some noise of their own over the 800-meter distance.
Both Rivaldo Marshall and Tyrice Taylor are first-year Razorbacks who recently transferred from Iowa and Indian Hills CC, respectively. Both men own 1:45 (800) PRs, the former is an NCAA champion and the latter is a multi-time NJCAA champion.
That's why, in a fast enough race, it comes as no surprise that those two men were able to flex their middle distance prowess on their home track. Marshall walked away as the overall winner in a time of 1:46.80 while Taylor finished 3rd (behind pro runner Luciano Fiore) with a 1:46.93 result.
In a year where it feels like the men's 800-meter national title is fairly wide-open, being able to go under 1:47 in January (even if it was the last day of the month) bodes well for the postseason as long as Marshall and Taylor still have further room for growth.
Dartmouth's Bella Pietrasiewicz Stuns With Out-of-Nowhere 2:39 (1k) Performance, Now Sits at NCAA #3 All-Time
Going into Friday, I knew that Dartmouth's Bella Pietrasiewicz was a solid runner. The Big Green ace had posted an 800-meter PR of 2:08 last week, already held a 4:44 mile PR and was seemingly at her best over 1000 meters where she previously held a 2:44 personal best.
Even so, nothing on Pietrasiewicz's resume suggested that she was going to unleash a jaw-dropping 1000-meter time of 2:39.85 on Friday night! That's a new PR -- in a middle distance event, mind you -- by FOUR seconds! With that mark, Pietrasiewicz now sits at NCAA #3 all-time over 1000 meters among record-eligible performances.
So...how do we interpret this result?
Pietrasiewicz did have the luxury of chasing two New Balance pros throughout Friday's race. That undoubtedly helped her run as fast as she did. Even so, actually having the fitness to run under 2:40 (1k) can't be faked, either.
We still need to see much more from Pietrasiewicz before we can make any major declarations about her postseason potential. Regardless, it's hard to remember someone having as big of a breakout performance as she just did.
Oregon Women Run 10:48 in DMR Without Wilma Nielsen, Juliet Cherubet, Mia Barnett or Maddy Elmore
In case you haven't heard, the Oregon women are really, really good.
On Friday night, the Ducks toed the line for the DMR. On their relay was Ali Ince, Ella Clayton, Ella Nelson and Silan Ayyildiz. With the former splitting an impressive 3:18 (1200) on the opening leg and the latter splitting 4:33 (1600) on the anchor leg, Oregon was able to come away with the win and a time of 10:48.
That is an NCAA top-10 all-time performance regardless of lineup order.
Ince is becoming more and more impressive with each passing race. After running 4:32-high (mile) in her collegiate track debut, the Oregon rookie has seemingly caught fire. Not only did she split 3:18 last night -- which is an excellent split for any distance runner, regardless of age -- but she also improved upon her mile PR with a 4:30 result earlier today!
But maybe more impressively, the Ducks did not have Wilma Nielsen, Juliet Cherubet, Mia Barnett or Maddy Elmore in that lineup. The addition of at least one of those women almost certainly puts Oregon in a position to chase the NCAA record in the DMR later this winter.
It should also be noted that the LSU women ran 10:51 in that same DMR race while Florida was close behind in 10:52. Those are excellent results for two programs that haven't traditionally been known for their mile prowess.
The Tigers' last two legs split 1:59 (Michaela Rose) and 4:31 (Lorena Rangel Batres). Meanwhile, the Gators' anchor leg split 4:30 (Hilda Olemomoi). And given those results, it's easy to see how those two SEC DMR lineups have put themselves in the national qualifying conversation.
