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First Thoughts (Part One): Laura Pellicoro Stuns With Fastest-Ever NCAA 1k, Ford Washburn & Alex Carlson Thrive at Altitude, Thomas Boyden Earns Statement 3k Win in 7:41
The first major weekend of the 2025 indoor track season (if you exclude the Boston U. Season Opener) is now underway! While there are plenty of other results from earlier today, we wanted to get ahead and offer analysis on some of the top performances that caught our attention throughout Friday.
And don't worry! If you don't see a certain performance in this article, then just know that we'll be releasing "Part Two" of our weekend analysis tomorrow (or Monday, if necessary).
There is tons to talk about and there's no time to waste. Let's jump into it, shall we?
Portland's Laura Pellicoro Runs 2:37 Over 1000 Meters For NCAA #1 All-Time Mark
In our latest episode of the Blue Oval Podcast, I ended the show by highlighting three men and three women who I thought were under-the-radar names to monitor going into the winter months.
One of the women who I highlighted? Portland's Laura Pellicoro.
The Pilot distance star is a long-time veteran with fantastic range. She's been a two-time All-American on the grass and has made three appearances between the indoor and outdoor national meets. With personal bests of 2:03 (800), 4:11 (1500), 4:31 (mile) and 8:53 (3k), her overall value on the oval is better than some may realize.
Even so, we could not have possibly predicted what Pellicoro would do this past Friday as she toed the line for the women's 1000 meters at the UW Preview. In a field which featured Nike pros Sinclaire Johnson and Gabija Galvydyte (both of whom ran 2:35), it was Pellicoro who refused to let off the pace.
When it looked like the Portland star would get dropped on the final lap, she continued to dig, relentlessly chasing her competition. And while she was still two seconds back, she did run a jaw-dropping 1k time of 2:37.04! That is the fastest 1k time ever run by a collegian.
However, that will not count as the "official" NCAA record as the time was run on an "oversized" 300-meter track.
Regardless, this is a monster performance for Pellicoro. She was already a talented name prior to Friday, but a 2:37 (1k) mark puts her in a different echelon of NCAA women. Not only that, but now we have more questions than ever before!
How will this latest effort translate to the mile? What about the 3000 meters? Is Pellicoro someone who we should consider as an All-American favorite right now? If so, in what event? What does this mean for Pellicoro when she toes the line for the 800 meters? Am I asking too many questions? Are you done with this bit?
Despite the new questions that have arisen, this Italian distance star suddenly has a much higher ceiling for success than we initially suspected. And while nothing is guaranteed, Pellicoro will now be part of conversations that she wasn't being mentioned in before.
Northern Arizona's Alex Carlson & Ford Washburn Thrive in Mile Race at Altitude, Both Earn Big Conversions
Each and every year, the Northern Arizona men and women toe the line for an all-out mile time trial of sorts on their home track. And although the indoor oval is 300 meters in circumference, the near-7000 feet of elevation isn't favorable to running fast times.
Of course, you wouldn't know that if you looked at last night's results.
On the women's side, Northern Arizona's Alex Carlson posted an unreal mile time of 4:37! And while that may not seem like a big deal on the surface, her altitude conversion gives her an NCAA-leading mark of 4:27! And on top of that, Carlson also ran 2:09 for 800 meters that same night. That performance earned an altitude conversion of 2:08 for the half-mile distance.
Carlson is relatively new to Flagstaff, having transferred to Northern Arizona after a mostly-successful stint at Rutgers where she ran times of 2:05 (800), 2:42 (1k), 4:31 (mile) and 8:56 (3k). However, we didn't see the former Scarlet Knight reach that level again while she was still in New Jersey (partially due to a calf-strain).
Thankfully, NAU's newest distance star has reached an entirely new tier of fitness. We knew that she was incredibly talented and explosive, but a 4:37 mile effort at nearly 7000 feet of altitude is stunning. Very few women ever come to elevation and find success as fast as she has.
Admittedly, a 4:27 mile conversion and a 4:27 mile time run at sea level are a bit different. It's still too early to say that Carlson is or is not an All-American favorite at that distance. However, it does show us that she's at the peak of her fitness and could be a major threat that we weren't expecting her to be at the start of the winter months.
It's also hard not to wonder what Carlson could do over 3000 meters, especially after coming off of the best cross country season of her career.
We then come to Ford Washburn, a guy who was viewed as one of the top long distance recruits from the Class of 2023. And despite showing subtle hints of promise last year, nothing could have prepared us for what he did on Friday night.
The Iowa native was brilliant on his home track, running 4:04 (mile) for the win. That mark was not only an outright personal best for Washburn, but it also gave him a phenomenal conversion of 3:55! Behind him, teammates David Mullarkey and Drew Bosley earned conversions of 3:57 and 3:58, respectively.
Based on last year's indoor national leaderboard, Washburn now sits right on the fringes of qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the mile after scratches. That lingering uncertainty likely means that he'll attack another fast mile race in the next month or so.
But for as important as the month of March is, it's important to look at the bigger picture.
The NAU men are in a slight rebuild of sorts after losing a number of veteran stars. And while they are still plenty competitive, the need for greater long distance firepower is evident. Thankfully, a breakout race from Ford Washburn means that he could be a long-term ace who the Lumberjacks can lean on throughout the future.
Not only that, but a 3:55 mile time that was converted from altitude showcases a ton of aerobic strength. In theory, Washburn may actually be better suited for the 3000-meter and 5000-meter distances over the long-term. He was, after all, more of a strength-based talent during his high school days.
Simply put, the rise of Washburn likely gives Coach Jared Cornfield another name who he can build around in the coming years. Sure, we still need to see what more Washburn can do this winter, but all signs are pointing to him being a legitimate national-caliber name.
Stanford's Thomas Boyden Drops 7:41 (3k) Mark at UW Preview, Defeats Teammate Cole Sprout (7:45)
Back in the fall of 2022 and in the early portions of 2023, you weren't going to find many people who were as high on Thomas Boyden as I was.
The Stanford ace had finished 7th at the PAC-12 XC Championships after placing 16th at the Cowboy Jamboree. He later began his 2023 indoor track season with a promising 3:57 mile PR.
However, Boyden didn't race after the month of January that year. And after a full year off from racing, his performances on the oval in 2024 left us wanting more.
Thankfully, Boyden has seemingly rebounded. His 22nd place finish at Pre-Nationals and 9th place effort at the ACC XC Championships suggested that he was back in top form. His 13:33 (5k) at the Boston U. Season Opener validated that suspicion.
And yet, seeing Boyden run a head-turning time of 7:41 for 3000 meters on Friday night is fantastic. That is the kind of result that we have been waiting to see from this ultra-talented Stanford runner for the last few years.
Boyden is quietly one of the more dynamic distance runners on the west coast as he can be nationally competitive in anything from the mile to the 10k (to varying extents). He's highly experienced and be incredibly dangerous when he has some momentum under his legs.
Sure enough, Friday's 3k race showed us how dangerous Boyden can be when he's firing on all cylinders. And the craziest part is that it still feels like he has more upside that has not yet tapped into!
Admittedly, we do need to see Boyden put together a full season of great performances. That isn't something that has happened since the fall of 2022 (debatably).
As for Cole Sprout, a 7:45 (3k) effort isn't too surprising. In fact, that's the exact time that I predicted him to run. His best event moving forward will likely be the 5000 meters, although continuously attacking the 3000-meter distance could get him somewhat close to a national qualifying spot in that event.
Washington's Transfer Duo of Kyle Reinheimer & Justin O'Toole Go 1-2 at UW Preview With Pair of 1:46 (800) PRs
This past summer, the Washington men landed two talented middle distance runners in Kyle Reinheimer (via North Carolina) and Justin O'Toole (via Columbia). Both men had shown plenty of promise prior to joining the Huskies. The former had run times of 1:48 (800) and 2:21 (1k) while the latter had run 1:47 (800) and 2:20 (1k).
Given the steady progress that both of those men made as undergraduates, and based on their 1000-meter times, it was fair to suggest that both Reinheimer and O'Toole had untapped potential.
That, of course, did not mean that we expected those two men to each run 1:46 over 800 meters on Friday night! In a tight battle to the line, Reinheimer pulled out the narrow win over O'Toole, 1:46.45 to 1:46.59, at the UW Preview.
As I'm typing this, the Washington men are fresh off of putting nine men under 4:00 in the mile. And with two upper-tier half-milers suddenly emerging (neither of which are 1:46 man, Cole Lindhorst), the DMR is looking like an awfully tasty event for the Huskies this year.
However, maybe more importantly, a pair of 1:46-mid marks should be more than enough for both of these men to qualify for the indoor national meet in the open 800 meters. And from a team scoring perspective, that is a big deal for what is turning out to be a deeper-than-expected Washington distance roster.
What is the ceiling for these two men? Is there a realistic world where both of them run 1:45 (800) this season? What do these guys have to do in order to be considered All-American favorites? Are they already there?
We can't answer those questions right now, but the sky is seemingly the limit for two of the biggest middle distance transfer steals of the year.
Quick Hits
When I first started writing about NCAA distance running, I never once thought that a 3:55 mile performance would be reserved for our "Quick Hits" section. Even so, Arkansas' Reuben Reina just dropped a fantastic 3:55 mile PR on his home track. He was due for a new PR, but that mark took us by surprise. And now, the Razorbacks' potential DMR lineup for later this winter looks much more complete than it did before Friday afternoon.
Speaking of breakout Arkansas runners, Isabella Whittaker toed the line for the very first 800-meter race of her career. Thanks to a fast field filled with pro athletes, Whittaker crossed the line with a shockingly strong time of 2:02! And for those of you wondering, yes, Isabella Whittaker is the sister of Paris Olympian Juliette Whittaker who currently attends Stanford. With that pedigree in mind, and still so much upside to tap into, the Razorback's may have someone with just as much potential as 1:59 (800) runner, Sanu Jallow.
Really solid 4:34 mile effort from Florida State's Bieke Schipperen. She had a great cross country season and is seemingly benefitting from the improved aerobic strength that she developed.
Seeing Wake Forest's Rocky Hansen run 3:57 in the mile at the Virginia Tech Invitational is hardly shocking. However, seeing him healthy and be competitive against a strong field is an encouraging sign after a tough end to his 2024 cross country campaign.
Florida's Bethan Morley (2:41) and Florida State's Suus Altorf (2:42) had a great battle over 1000 meters at the Jimmy Carnes Invite. Seeing Morley run 2:41 certainly caught my attention, and it now makes me wonder how dangerous she could be in an event like the mile later this winter.
