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First Thoughts (Part Two): Hassan's Statement 1:45 (800) Performance, New Mexico Men & Women Throw Down Fast Mile Conversions & Lemngole Earns Pair of Wins
Another weekend down, another series of performances to review and analyze!
Below are some of the top headlines from Friday and Saturday. If there are certain results that you think we're missing, then be sure to check out Part One of our "First Thoughts" analysis from yesterday!
It seems that the middle distance events were the main focus over the last few days. Here's how the latest performances in those disciplines have changed the NCAA's competitive landscape...
Mississippi State's Abdullahi Hassan Runs 1:45 (800) En Route to Big Win Over Strong Field
When it was announced during the summer months that Abdullahi Hassan was taking his talents to Mississippi State, I was incredibly excited. After all, the Bulldogs have a great history of developing individual superstars over the half-mile distance.
Former Mississippi State runners such as Marco Arop, Brandon McBride and Navasky Anderson were all elite half-milers who once headlined the NCAA. Not only that, but the former two names are Canadians -- just like Hassan.
On paper, Coach Chris Woods could not have landed a better middle distance veteran. And so far, the athlete-coach pairing is working wonderfully.
This past weekend, Hassan toed the line for the 800 meters against a slew of talented Clemson athletes. That, however, didn't faze the former Wisconsin ace who posted a phenomenal personal best of 1:45! That mark gave him a statement win, the top 800-meter time in the country so far this winter and the NCAA #6 all-time mark for the indoor track season.
And to be clear, it's not like Hassan was going all-out in a solo time trial. Golden Coast TC's Christian Harrison (1:46), Clemson's Brian Kweyei (1:46) and Louis Vercueil (1:47) all applied pressure with nationally competitive marks of their own.
Hassan's early-season victory is impressive. However, it's his personal best that really captures our attention.
Sure, the former Badger found success during his time in Madison, Wisconsin, earning four All-American honors (two individually) and dropping his half-mile PR down to 1:46. But for someone who was running 1:47 (800) in high school, the expectations have admittedly been higher than what Hassan has done so far.
That's why seeing him break into 1:45 (800) territory is so encouraging -- it suggests that there is another tier to his fitness.
As for the rest of this field, Brian Kweyei is someone who you should not sleep on. He ran 1:46 (800) this past weekend, but his actual PR sits at 1:45 from when he was racing in Kenya. The Tiger standout seemingly had to go through an adjustment period last year, but based on his latest result, he may be on the other side of that learning curve.
And if that's the case, then Kweyei could have tons of upside to show off this year.
New Mexico's Collins Kiprotich Earns Impressive 3:53 (Mile) Conversion As Three Other Teammates Go Sub-4:00
This past weekend, the New Mexico men (and women) toed the line on their home track, a venue that sits at nearly 5000 feet of altitude. And for the most part, nearly all of the Lobos' top runners were entered in the mile, a race likely designed to work on some early-season turnover for the strength-based squad.
Going into the race, Habtom Samuel felt like the fairly clear favorite (among collegians). He did, after all, post a mile conversion of 3:53 last year on the same track.
But on Saturday, he didn't win.
Instead, rookie Collins Kiprotich threw down a monster time of 3:58.60 (mile) at altitude! That brilliant mark, which was enough to narrowly earn the win over Brooks Beast's Waleed Suliman, ultimately earned a jaw-dropping conversion of 3:53.
Behind those two men was Samuel who settled for a 3:59 (mile) mark and a 3:54 altitude conversion which still demanded plenty of respect. Not only that, but Lukas Kiprop ran 4:00 at altitude to earn a 3:55 mile conversion while Ishmael Kipkurui posted a time of 4:03 to earn a 3:58 conversion!
It's not necessarily surprising to see that many Lobo men dip under the four-minute mile barrier via conversion. However, what is surprising is seeing Kiprotich showcase a ridiculous amount of strength!
Sure, we knew he was talented, but we figured that Kiprotich would be at his best over the longer distances. It's one thing to produce a fast altitude conversion, but it's another thing to take down multiple star-caliber names in Waleed Suliman and Habtom Samuel.
With a 3:53 mile conversion, Kiprotich has more-or-less guaranteed himself a spot to the NCAA Indoor Championships. And yet, there is still so much about him that we don't know. His only other result this season was a 7:56 (3k) effort at the Boston U. Season Opener. His resume before coming to the 'States, while strong, didn't suggest that he was a national-caliber miler.
Of course, it makes sense that a cross country All-American like himself would find success at elevation. While the mile is considered to be more of a middle distance event, having to run as fast as he did at altitude requires more strength than it does turnover. That's something to keep in mind when Kiprotich toes the line for future races this season.
Habtom Samuel's mark was largely unsurprising given what he did in this event last year. However, seeing Lukas Kiprop post a 3:55 mile conversion was incredibly encouraging.
Kiprop is someone how entered the NCAA in the fall of 2023 with excellent credentials over 3000 meters and 5000 meters. But over the last year and a half, the Kenyan distance talent has struggled quite a bit with consistency. And while he has shown flashes of promise, nothing was more positive than what he produced this past weekend.
For Kiprop, this race was likely about jump-starting his momentum. If he can capitalize on that recent performance, then he could potentially string together a handful of sneaky-good results in the coming weeks.
The final Lobo who earned a sub-4:00 mile conversion was Ishmael Kipkurui, the superstar Kenyan who just entered the NCAA earlier this month. Although, truthfully, his 3:58 (mile) conversion, while solid, was a bit underwhelming.
Kipkurui is someone who holds head-turning personal bests of 7:38 (3k), 8:09 (two-mile) and 13:05 (5k). And while he is more of a longer distance talent, his raw fitness likely could have yielded a mile conversion faster than 3:58.
Even so, that was Kipkurui's first collegiate track race. It is still far too early to properly evaluate him.
New Mexico's Pamela Kosgei Showcases Raw Talent With 4:30 (Mile) Conversion
To no one's surprise, New Mexico superstar Pamela Kosgei went all-out on her home track this past weekend in the mile. The Kenyan standout ran a time of 4:36, a mark which earned a conversion of 4:30.
Admittedly, there isn't much to talk about with Kosgei. Her mile conversion is undoubtedly impressive, but it's hardly surprising that an aerobic-centric star thrived in a setting (read: altitude) which requires quite a bit of strength.
Beyond Kosgei, there weren't any other women who ran under 4:45 in the mile (before conversions). And for as impressive as Kosgei's performance was, there's only so much that we can say about her time trial-esque effort.
Alabama's Doris Lemngole Earns Pair of Wins via 4:43/8:54 (Mile/3k) Weekend Double
The Alabama men and women ventured to Clemson this past weekend to take on a handful of southern foes. There, superstar Doris Lemngole continued to work on her speed, dropping down in distance to compete in the mile and the 3000 meters.
Her first race of the weekend, the mile, resulted in a somewhat narrow win over Clemson's Silvia Jelelgo, 4:43.96 to 4:44.34. The next day, Lemngole more-or-less soloed an 8:54 (3k) mark to comfortably take the win over a field that I truthfully thought would have put up more of a fight.
Although, unfortunately for Lemngole, that 3000-meter effort may need to be a bit faster if she wants to advance to the indoor national meet in that event.
Even so, it's hard to be nit-picky about what we saw from the Crimson Tide ace. Lemngole secured two wins, took down a handful of talented names, further refined her speed and ran a nationally competitive mark over 3000 meters.
Quick Hits
Clemson's Gladys Chepngetich produced a very solid 2:02 (800) mark on her home track this past weekend, taking down fellow teammate Judy Kosgei (2:04) in the process. Of course, given that she ran 1:59 (800) last spring and posted a 2:39 (1k) PR earlier this season, it's hard to be too surprised by her latest effort.
We already spoke about the men's mile at the Penn 10 Elite meet, but names like Harrison Witt (Princeton), Damian Hackett (Cornell) and Connor McCormick (Princeton) all deserve credit for producing 3:56 mile PRs. One of those men is almost certainly going to find their way into the national meet come March...I just don't know who yet.
How about Bailey Habler? The redshirt rookie for Villanova dropped a quietly impressive 7:49 mark for 3000 meters at the Penn 10 Elite meet. He is looking more and more like the future face of that program.
Nice run from Iowa's Alli Bookin-Nosbisch who posted a 2:04 (800) mark this past weekend. She's a reliable, long-time Hawkeye veteran with a 2:03 PR over the half-mile distance. If she's able to take that next step, then she'll have a shot of advancing to the indoor national meet in March.
In the same race where Wilma Nielsen ran 4:25 (mile) was Virginia's Margot Appleton who settled for a 4:33 mark. That's a fine effort, but it's clear that she's capable of so much more. Regardless, don't look too deeply into that result, this Cavalier veteran is someone who almost always peaks for the postseason.
It was a tough day for Wisconsin's Adam Spencer at the Dr. Sander Scorcher. The Badger star toed the line for a mile race which featured multiple high-octane pros. And unfortunately for the Aussie standout, Spencer couldn't get out of the bottom-half of the field, settling for a time of 3:58. Even so, this is someone who very rarely has an "off" day -- he'll almost certainly be better in the future.
In that same mile race as Adam Spencer was Eastern Kentucky's Justine Kipkoech. His 3:57 mile result was respectable, although he's capable of running even faster given his 3:32 (1500) PR.
Solid runs from the Virginia Tech duo of George Couttie and Nick Plant who each ran 2:20 (1k) this past weekend. Those marks aren't necessarily surprising -- especially when you realize that Cole Hocker (2:18) and Cooper Teare (2:18) were also in the field -- but those times do suggest that they're plenty sharp right now.
