First Thoughts (Part Two): Price Runs 2:01 (800), Sahlman & Bosley Secure Sub-7:40 (3k) Conversions, Maatoug & Foerster Post All-Time Mark Marks

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Welcome back to Part Two of our "First Thoughts" weekend analysis!

Despite this weekend being primarily reserved for top DMR performances, there were still a large handful of outstanding individual results that deserved to be highlighted. Of course, if you're looking specifically for DMR analysis (outside of the Alex Wilson Invitational), then be sure to check out yesterday's "First Thoughts" analysis by clicking here.

There's no time to waste -- let's dive into all of the crazy performances from Friday and Saturday, shall we?

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Washington's Amina Maatoug & Chloe Foerster Post Pair of 4:26 Mile PRs, Now Sit at NCAA #10 All-Time & NCAA #11 All-Time, Respectively

Friday night's mile race at the Boston U. Terrier DMR Challenge felt like a massive statement for the Washington women. That's because the duo of Amina Maatoug and Chloe Foerster clocked a brilliant pair of 4:26 mile efforts, emerging as the top-two collegians in the field. Those times now sit at NCAA #10 all-time and NCAA #11 all-time, respectively, for record-eligibile efforts.

For Maatoug, this is a season-defining performance. The Husky star, who had built her reputation as an elite distance ace during her time with Duke, suffered an injury at the beginning of the 2024 outdoor track season. Since then, the Dutch distance runner has been slowly recovering, struggling to return to her prior peak form throughout last fall and through the first-half of the winter months.

But then Maatoug ran 4:28 in the mile at the UW Invite and followed up that performance with a fantastic 8:46 (3k) effort at the Husky Classic! Both of those times more or less matched her overall personal bests (her mile performance was a one-second PR).

However, after Friday's night brilliant mile result, Maatoug has proven that she's not only at her prior peak level of fitness, but maybe even beyond that!

The Washington distance star is beginning to peak beautifully, maybe better than she ever has before. And given her pedigree, that is a VERY scary realization for anyone who has to face her in the postseason.

As for Foerster, this was another strong result which shows us that she still has more upside to tap into. Of course, her raw fitness and talent has never been a question. The real question is whether or not she'll be able to translate her regular season success to the postseason.

Thankfully, Foerster is far more experienced nowadays and has shown by her performances this winter that she still has room for improvement. A recent 2:03 (800) PR, which was earned by the smallest of margins, was a great step in the right direction, especially for tactical postseason mile races that require strong turnover.

In that same race, Princeton's Mena Scatchard posted a strong 4:29 mark. That result isn't quite as fast as her 4:28 PR from the other weekend, but it is great validation that she is among the best milers in the NCAA and not just a one-race wonder.

Oklahoma State's Laban Kipkemboi & Boston University's Foster Malleck Each Run 3:53 Mile PRs at Different Meets

In addition to the DMR, this past weekend was a major opportunity for many of the nation's top distance talents to improve their position on the national leaderboard. In doing so, their hopes of qualifying for the indoor national meet would also rise.

Sure enough, that is exactly what happened with Oklahoma State's Laban Kipkemboi and Boston University's Foster Malleck. Those two men each ran 3:53 mile marks on Friday night. The former ran his time at the Arkansas Qualifier while the latter ran his time on his home track in Boston.

When it comes to Kipkemboi, it's been fairly clear to us that this Cowboy standout has tons of raw talent. However, raw talent does't always translate to consistency, something that the Kenyan distance runner has struggled with this season.

Thankfully for him, in the race that mattered the most, Kipkemboi pulled through with a 3:53 mile time that now puts him at NCAA #12 on the national leaderboard. And for the moment, that mark should allow him to advance to the indoor national meet barring a crazy barrage of sub-3:54 marks next weekend.

In our eyes, Kipkemboi is talented enough to be an All-American. However, compared to other NCAA distance stars, the Oklahoma State ace isn't quite as established when it comes to showcasing tactical acumen. That isn't to say that he won't run well on the national stage, but his rise to national prominence is still relatively new.

We then come to Foster Malleck, the Terrier veteran who scored a fantastic 3:53 mile PR. However, his time now sits at NCAA #16 on the national leaderboard with just one more week remaining in the national qualifying window.

Right now, Malleck is guaranteed to qualify for the indoor national meet as long as he stays within the top-16 of the event. Of course, if any collegians opt to go all-out at their conference meet to chase a national qualifying time, then the Boston U. star will need to hope for a scratch or two.

Regardless, Malleck is very much deserving of being on the national stage. He has two mile efforts this season where he has run 3:54 and then 3:53. Although, at the same time, his two other mile performances have ended with modest times of 4:00 and 3:58.

We're not entirely sure which version of Malleck we'll see on the national stage. He has momentum under his legs and he is plenty familiar when it comes to racing against top-tier names. And yet, when it comes to the season finale, he isn't nearly as proven on that stage as a large handful of other men are.

Montana State Duo of Rob McManus & Harvey Cramb Post Big Pair 3:53 Mile Conversions on Home Track

Over the years, Montana State has been home to some of the more underrated distance runners in the NCAA. From Patrick Casey to Cristian Soratos to Duncan Hamilton, the Bobcats have thrived despite boasting a very small roster.

And when it comes to the indoor oval, each of those men took advantage of the generous altitude and flat-track conversions that come with their home facility.

Sure enough, that trend has continued with a new era of Montana State distance runners, this time via Rob McManus and Harvey Cramb. This past weekend, on their home 200-meter track which is held at 4900+ feet of altitude, McManus and Cramb ran a pair of 4:01-high mile marks. After conversions, both of those men secured times of 3:53 which have put them at NCAA #14 and NCAA #15 so far this season.

Barring an unexpected surge in top-tier mile times during conference weekend, both of those men should be able to qualify for the indoor national meet. Of course, trying to figure out how they will fare on the national stage is the trickiest part.

Certain athletes from the BIG Sky Conference (other than those from Northern Arizona) have been very hit-or-miss on the national stage after earning strong mile conversions. Thankfully for this Montana State distance duo, they're a bit more established, having produced fast altitude conversions before.

And yet, at the same time, McManus' and Cramb's fastest sea level mile times this season sit at "only" 3:59. Those sea level performances and their latest conversions are admittedly difficult to reconcile. However, an opportunity to battle the NAU men at the BIG Sky Indoor Championships will likely give us a better indication of where their fitness is currently at.

Virginia Tech's Star Price & TCU's Tabitha Ngao Each Run 2:01 For 800 Meters at Different Meets to Strengthen National Qualifying Positions

Going into this weekend, I was adamant that Virginia Tech middle distance standout Star Price was going to position herself for a national qualifying spot over 800 meters. In my predictions, I said that she would run 2:02 at the Boston U. Terrier DMR Challenge.

However, my prediction was wrong. Price didn't run 2:02 for 800 meters...she ran 2:01.17 instead.

Price thrived in Boston, posting a monster half-mile PR that we knew she was capable of, but had simply not yet seen (until now). But with newfound fitness under her belt, and a proven ability to thrive in tactical championship affairs, this Hokie ace is looking like a very realistic All-American threat.

The challenge, however, is that Price has only ever run under 2:03 for 800 meters one other time in her career. That separate instance came in the spring of 2023 when she ran 2:02 at the ACC Outdoor Championships. Put simply, her recent leap in fitness has put her in new territory as far as national competitiveness is concerned. That fact makes our job a bit trickier to gauge her when we make our championship predictions in the coming weeks.

But for as great as Price's result was, her performance wasn't unrealistic to expect. However, the same can't be said for TCU's Tabitha Ngao.

Make no mistake, Ngao had proven earlier this season to be a strong middle distance talent. Prior to this past weekend, the TCU ace had run times of 4:38 (mile) and 2:03 (800). Even so, those marks didn't suggest that the Horned Frog standout would drop a monster 800-meter PR of 2:01 this past weekend!

In doing so, Ngao took down a slew of talented Arkansas and Oklahoma State runners. Her 2:01 (800) performance was the first time in her college career that she had run under the 2:03 barrier. And prior to this year's winter campaign, the TCU star had never run faster than 2:05.

It is incredibly hard to gauge Ngao moving forward. Her latest result came out of nowhere and there isn't anything else on her resume which suggested that she was at this level. Her lack of experience and proven ability to consistently run at a top-tier level is truthfully difficult to overlook as we near the indoor national meet.

And yet, at the same time, a sophomore with tons of upside who is peaking for the postseason is, in theory, one of the scariest middle distance runners to toe the line next to in the coming weeks. We'll find out if that's actually the case when she competes at the BIG 12 Indoor Championships next weekend.

NAU Duo of Colin Sahlman & Drew Bosley Each Run 7:57 Over 3000 Meters, Earn Big Conversions of 7:37 & 7:38, Respectively

It's official. Including conversions, there are a double digit number of men (11) who have run under the 7:40 barrier for 3000 meters...in a single season. That is such an absurd stat that, just a few years ago, didn't seem remotely possible.

Nowadays, it's our new reality.

The Northern Arizona duo of Colin Sahlman and Drew Bosley gave one last major push this past weekend on their home track to put themselves in a national qualifying position for the men's 3000 meters.

Sahlman had already proven to be a national qualifying-caliber name over 3000 meters after running 7:40.41 at the Husky Classic the other weekend. The challenge, however, is that the dynamic distance star was stuck on the fringes of national qualifying.

Bosley, however, is a different story. For the last year, the Lumberjack veteran had struggled to stay healthy. A barrage of injuries and a challenge to reach his prior peak form clearly held Bosley back from the level that once allowed him to run an NCAA record in the 3k (which has since been shattered).

But on Friday night, both Sahlman and Bosley went all-out on their home track with the hope of running huge altitude conversions. And sure enough, that's exactly what happened as the two men ran converted marks of 7:37 and 7:38, respectively.

For Sahlman, this performance gives him a tremendous amount of flexibility. The highly versatile NAU star can now compete at the indoor national meet in anything from the 800 meters, the mile and the 3000 meters. That kind of range has made him tremendously valuable for a Northern Arizona squad that likely wants to maximize his point scoring potential in Virginia Beach.

As for Bosley, the fact that he ran as fast as he did is incredible. Sure, the long-time NAU veteran had been showing signs of promise in recent weeks, slowly inching towards a nationally competitive tier of fitness. However, we weren't expecting him to secure a national qualifying spot over 3000 meters after all of the struggles that he has had over the last year.

Bosley has slowly begun to pick up momentum. If he can further capitalize on his recent rise, then an All-American honor in March isn't unrealistic to expect. That, in turn, would cap one of the better NCAA comeback campaigns that I have seen in recent memory.

Penn State's Yukichi Ishii & Olivier Desmueles Each Run 1:46 Over 800 Meters to Better Position Themselves for NCAA Indoor Championship Qualification

The Penn State men have been absolutely brilliant over 800 meters this season. Of course, given the history of their program, that's not exactly surprising.

The Nittany Lions now have three men who have run under 1:47 for the half-mile distance this winter. Daris Smallwood and Olivier Desmueles have done that twice while Yukichi Ishii just ran an 800-meter PR of 1:46.41 this past weekend.

With that latest series of results, the Penn State men will likely be able to put three men on the national stage over 800 meters. And in at least one of the rounds, the Nittany Lions will have two or more teammates who can work together against the rest of the field (should they choose to do so).

That could be a huge asset for a middle distance contingent that will also have to deal with a Washington team that may send three men to the indoor national meet in the same event. However, trying to figure out where Smallwood, Desmueles and Ishii fall in the All-American conversation is admittedly a bit tricky as neither man has been considered a strong All-American threat before.

Could that change with such a strong team presence now on their side as we go into March?

Wisconsin Men Take Home Narrow DMR Win at Alex Wilson Invite Over Texas A&M and BYU

Admittedly, the DMR fields at this year's Alex Wilson Invitational didn't produce the jaw-dropping performances that we're so used to seeing from the Notre Dame-hosted meet.

Even so, we did see an outstanding race on the men's side as Wisconsin took home the win over Texas A&M and BYU. All three teams produced 9:20 marks in the event and, barring something crazy, have more-or-less solidified their spots to the indoor national meet.

It's not all that surprising that those three teams ran as well as they did. The Badgers have a great middle distance contingent and they boasted the the best anchor in the field. The Aggies had arguably the most complete DMR lineup of any team entered for Saturday's race. The Cougars, meanwhile, were simply too talented to not be factors this past weekend.

Believe it or not, there is a real possibility that all three of those DMR lineups will be mostly the same at the indoor national meet. The only possible exception to that BYU's Tyler Matthews and maybe Texas A&M's Cooper Cawthra. Wisconsin's top star, Adam Spencer, with just one week left in the national qualifying window, has not yet run faster than 3:58 in the mile this season (although he has only contested that event once this winter).

We're not expecting either of those relays to be in contention for the DMR national title in mid-March. However, given that each of those teams could field mostly fresh lineups with most of their top names, it's easy to argue that this trio of relays could be favored for All-American honors.