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First Thoughts (Part Two): Grace Hartman Runs All-Time 31:20 (10k) Mark While Margot Appleton's 4:05 (1500) Effort Leads to Major Win
If you enjoyed the first day of action at the Raleigh Relays, then you almost certainly loved what we saw on day two! While there weren't any NCAA records, the women's distance races did feature a large handful of all-time performances and landscape-changing results.
If you haven't already, be sure to go check out our YouTube page where we have A TON of post-race interviews being posted from the Raleigh Relays!
There's no time to waste! Let's chat about Friday night...
Virginia's Margot Appleton Runs 4:05 (1500) to Defeat Kimberley May & Salma Elbadra, Both of Whom Ran 4:06
When Margot Appleton toed the line for the mile finals at the NCAA Indoor Championships a couple of weeks ago, we had high hopes for her. After all, she had run 4:25 in the mile earlier in the season and had proven to be one of the single-best postseason performers in the entire country.
Unfortunately, Appleton struggled, fading from All-American contention in both the mile and the 3000 meters. That's why her latest result, a huge 4:05 (1500) mark at the Raleigh Relays, felt like a redemption performance, further showing the country that she is still an elite star.
That mark was fast enough to hold off Providence's Kimberley May who ran 4:06 as well as South Carolina's Salma Elbadra, another woman who ran 4:06.
I'm not necessarily surprised that Appleton ran as fast as she did. But if you had told me that she would run 4:05 (1500) this spring, then I would have said that it came in the latter-half of the season...not on March 28th.
Even so, the bigger development is that Appleton was able to defeat two incredibly talented women, one established star in Kimberley May and one up-and-coming star in Salma Elbadra, each of whom ran 4:06 in that same 1500-meter race! That may end up being the most impressive win that we see from any collegiate woman this weekend (or next weekend, for that matter). It also solidifies the idea at Appleton's indoor national meet performance was a fluke and likely nothing more than that.
As for May, she may not have landed the win, but a 4:06 (1500) result in late March matches her PR in the event from last spring. She took down Salma Elbadra, who has all of the momentum in the world right now, and seemingly hit reset after a winter campaign that, truthfully, left us wanting more.
Would it have been nice to see May get the win? Sure, it would have, but there's certainly no shame in losing to someone as accomplished as Margot Appleton, especially when you run 4:06 for 1500 meters.
For May, yesterday's race was more about reestablishing momentum than anything else. Don't be surprised if this Friar ace takes some time off before returning to action once more in late April. She is more-or-less set for the postseason with a national-caliber time like that already on her seasonal resume.
We then come to Elbadra, a fast-rising distance star who initially transferred from Wyoming to Alabama this past summer. However, in a sudden turn of events, the Moroccan distance star ultimately ended up in South Carolina this past winter. And on the indoor oval, she was fantastic.
If you're an in-depth reader of our content, then you may remember a "Quick Hits" note that I made about Elbadra back in February. At the Boston U. Scarlet & White Invitational, she put together a same-day double where she ran 4:31 (mile) and 8:57 (3k)! That is a brilliant display of fitness which suggested that Elbadra's raw talent had a far higher ceiling than we initially suspected.
Now, the newest Gamecock star has run 4:06 for 1500 meters, a massive PR which kept her in contention with two of the best milers who the NCAA has to offer. That's a much bigger deal than some people realize, especially if the South Carolina ace can carry (and build upon) this momentum through June.
We still need to see how Elbadra fares in tactical settings. For the most part, her most notable performances have come in all-out affairs. But remember, this is someone who made it out of the West Regional Championships last spring, qualifying for the outdoor national meet over 1500 meters.
Eastern Kentucky's Bahiya El Arfaoui (4:11), Virginia's Tatum David (4:14) and NC State's Kate Putman (4:14) each had very solid outings of their own, especially the former name. El Arfaoui first caught our attention on the indoor oval when she produced times of 2:07 (800) and 4:42 (mile). Those results, however, didn't suggest that she would be running 4:11 for 1500 meters in the spring.
Keep an eye on both David and Putman over the long term. Both women seem to be riding hot streaks right now. And if they end up delivering on their full potential, then they'll be NCAA stars by this time next year...or maybe even by the end of this spring.
Also, tough day for Providence's Shannon Flockhart. She faded to a time of 4:17 in the top heat of the women's 1500 meters. The Friar star hasn't looked nearly as sharp as we thought she would be over the last few months, leading us to wonder how much rest she'll take after yesterday's underwhelming outing.
NC State's Angelina Napoleon Runs Huge 9:34 (Steeple) PR to Secure Win Over Katelyn Stewart-Barnett in 9:36
We really liked what we saw from Angelina Napoleon over these last few months. After posting marks of 4:41 (mile) and 9:00 (3k) on the indoor oval, we felt confident that Napoleon could be in store for a statement season in the steeplechase.
Of course, if Napoleon was going to have a breakout season over the barriers and water pits, we didn't expect her to run under the 9:40 mark. And if she were to do that, then that kind of result likely wouldn't have come until closer to the postseason or, at the very least, until the Bryan Clay Invite (which is the case for most top steeplechase performances).
But on Friday evening, the still-rising sophomore toed the line for the women's steeplechase on her home track. And in an outstanding battle against Michigan State veteran Katelyn Stewart-Barnett, it was the Wolfpack youngster who came out on top!
Napoleon's winning time of 9:34 comes as a complete shock, both to us and to her. Prior to the Raleigh Relays, the NC State standout had only ever run under the 10-minute barrier twice in her career with her prior PR being 9:54. To drop 18 seconds in a single race -- and her first race of the season, at that -- is incredible.
It is admittedly going to be a challenge to gauge and analyze Napoleon moving forward. On one hand, she's still fairly young and doesn't have many performances to validate a recent PR of this magnitude. On the other hand, Napoleon already has national meet experience from last spring and has some of the best pedigree in the NCAA when it comes to the steeplechase.
Regardless, this was the version of Napoleon that we thought we would eventually see at some point in her career. The only catch is that we didn't think we would see her at this level in the first outdoor track race of her sophomore year.
As for Katelyn Stewart-Barnett, I have been a big fan of hers for a while. She is sneaky dynamic and quietly consistent, two traits that I love to evaluate during the track seasons. The Michigan State veteran redshirted last spring, but that decision has seemingly paid off as she is another year older and now boasts far greater fitness.
A 9:36 PR in the steeplechase is huge. It validates my suspicions that Stewart-Barnett could eventually be an All-American. Sure, she may not have earned the win on Friday evening, but she didn't have to in order to raise her stock. On paper, she is one of the NCAA's more complete steeplechasers, although her lack of national meet experience on the track is something to consider.
Even so, this Spartan veteran should considered extremely dangerous now that she's in her ideal event. And remember, she is coming off of a productive winter campaign which featured multiple personal bests.
La Salle's Gwenno Goode was 3rd in this race, running 9:56, while Texas A&M's Kennedy Fontenot ran 10:08 to place 4th. Those were the final two women to crack the 10:10 barrier on Friday.
Be sure to keep an eye on each of these women. Goode was 99th at the cross country national meet this past fall and had very respectable winter campaign. Fontenot, meanwhile, boasts youth-based upside, ran three different PRs in three different events this past winter and ran 10:08 in the steeplechase last spring.
When you look at the collective efforts of those two women, it's hard to think that they don't have bright futures ahead of them.
Providence's Alex Millard Earns Redeeming & Comfortable 5k Win via 15:27 Mark at Raleigh Relays
Much like the men's 5000-meter race at the Raleigh Relays, the final results of this field didn't leave us with much to analyze. That's not to say that these 5k performances were poor, but we truthfully didn't learn much, either.
Providence's Alex Millard was originally set to battle NC State veteran Sam Bush on Friday night. That matchup, in turn, was bound to produce a handful of electric 5k results. However, Bush ended up as a DNF, stepping off the track roughly around 2200 meters into the race and four seconds behind the leaders. That left Millard as the somewhat clear favorite.
Sure enough, the English distance standout secured a comfortable win in the 5k, running 15:27 to defeat Toledo's Laura Nicholson (15:33) by six seconds.
Millard's win is promising and it certainly doesn't hurt her resume. But when you look at everyone who did compete in the 5k, it seems fairly clear that the Providence ace was the best long distance talent who finished the race.
As for everyone else, Toledo's Laura Nicholson was probably the biggest winner in this race relative to expectations. Make no mistake, the Rocket standout had a solid winter campaign, making clear improvements over the last few months. Even so, a 15:33 (5k) PR and a runner-up finish at the Raleigh Relays is very impressive for someone whom I have always viewed as a 1500-meter and mile specialist.
Slowly but surely, Nicholson is showcasing some great range in the NCAA right now, at least in the East region. This past winter, she ran times of 2:07 (800), 4:30 (mile) and 9:13 (3k) which pair nicely with her 4:11 (1500) PR from last spring and her latest 15:33 (5k) effort from Friday night.
Despite the success that Nicholson had in that 5k race, her best chance of advancing to this year's outdoor national meet likely remains in the 1500 meters. That event holds far more variability given it's tactical nature. It may also be fair to suggest that Nicholson could run under the 4:10 (1500) barrier at some point this spring.
As for the rest of this field, the Colorado women deserve props for having a subtly strong outing on Friday, both in the 5k and the 10k. Jessie Secor (15:38) had a decent race, but it was her teammate, Katja Bauerle (15:37), who really impressed us. The Buffalo veteran had a respectable indoor track season, but that 5k performance was far better than we expected it to be.
NC State's Grace Hartman Runs 31:20 (10k) to Secure Win on Home Track, Now Sits at NCAA #3 All-Time
I will fully admit, I'm awful when it comes to predicting times for the women's 10,000 meters. For whatever reason, I'm always too conservative, having whiffed on Parker Valby's collegiate record from last spring and now failing to come within 30 seconds of Grace Hartman's latest performance.
But maybe that's just a sign of the times.
On Friday night, NC State superstar Grace Hartman toed the line for the women's 10k on her home track. In that race, she began to gain separation at roughly 4000 meters. And from that point on, no one was stopping Hartman.
In a mostly-solo affair, Hartman stopped the clock in the women's 10,000 meters at a jaw-dropping mark of 31:20. That result now puts the Wolfpack standout at NCAA #3 all-time in the event. She is now the 12th woman in NCAA history to run under the 32-minute barrier in the 10k.
Despite my original predictions suggesting that Hartman would run 32:03 (10k), it's still hard to be surprised by her latest effort. The Wolfpack star was brilliant on the indoor oval this past winter, running 4:24 in the mile despite largely being viewed as an aerobic-centric runner. Not only that, but Hartman showed great promise in the 10k last spring despite having virtually zero experience this time last year.
But now, Hartman has reached a new level. The 10k is very clearly her best event, especially if other long distance superstars opt to focus on just the 5k and/or the steeplechase at the national meet this spring (think Doris Lemngole, Pamela Kosgei and more). Plus, given the dynamic nature of her resume, Hartman should be viewed as one of the more complete 10k runners who the NCAA has to offer.
Of course, it's best not to get too ahead of ourselves. Times, after all, are not always translatable to national meet results. And yet, this NC State talent is now beginning to crowd the all-time list in numerous events (the mile this past winter and the 10k this spring). By the end of her NCAA career, it's not unrealistic to think that she could be a top-10 all-time NCAA talent in four different distance events.
As we comb through the rest of these results, we find ourselves looking at West Virginia's Joy Naukot (32:21), Missouri's Monica Wanjiku (32:21), Eastern Kentucky's Edna Chelulei (32:22) and Penn State's Florence Caron (32:26). Those four women finished 2-3-4-5, respectively, in the final results.
For the last few seasons, I have held the belief that Americans within the NCAA have fared incredibly well despite the recent influx of top-tier talent via overseas recruiting. However, Friday's 10k race at the Raleigh Relays felt like one of the many reoccurring signs that the NCAA is developing more and more of an international presence.
Naukot, Wanjiku, Chelulei and Caron are all foreign distance standouts and all four of them posted marks that were VERY impressive. In fact, I think this quartet of results is going to be overlooked for how fast they were.
For perspective, the top-five finishers in the women's 10k at the Raleigh Relays on Friday night would have been found in the top-seven of last year's 10k national leaderboard (top-eight if you include the national meet)! Could that be a sign that we're in store for the fastest season ever in the women's 10,000 meters?
Of course, trying to reconcile times with tactical prowess isn't easy to go. While we already know a good bit about Caron, it's the Naukot-Wanjiku-Chelulei trio who leave us with more uncertainty. That said, Naukot has acclimated incredibly well to NCAA competition over the last two seasons despite her inexperience.
