First Thoughts: RMAC Championships, Beckwith's 800 Meter D2 Lead & Sharman-Newell's Weekend Triple

Yes! We have Division Two content! There were a handful of fast times from the D2 level this past weekend, so much so that we wanted to offer some analysis in the absence of rankings this week. D3 content is coming tomorrow!

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Ukeyvia Beckwith Runs 2:04 (800) For D2 NCAA Lead

It's hard to dislike anything about Ukeyvia Beckwith. She has an extensive amount of championship experience, lethal long-sprints speed, incredible times, fantastic tactical awareness and an ongoing ability to improve.

Sure enough, we saw this Embry-Riddle ace continue to thrive this past weekend, throwing down a monster time of 2:04 for 800 meters in a field loaded with D1 talent.

In a battle which featured top collegiate standouts such as Olivia Howell (Illinois), Dorcus Ewoi (Campbell) and Sarah Hendrick (Kennesaw State), it was Beckwith who held her own for 4th place and a new 800 meter personal best.

Much like Reece Smith, it feels pretty fair to say that Ukeyvia Beckwith is the clear national title favorite over 800 meters at the D2 level this spring. She is simply the most complete middle distance runner at this level and is easily the most consistent as well.

No, she isn't necessarily a national title lock, but not many runners are -- and Beckwith is as close to that as you can get right now.

This conversation may have been slightly different if Helen Braybrook (CSU-Pueblo) didn't just run as fast as she did at the RMAC Outdoor Championships (we'll have more on her in a moment). But given everything that we've seen out of Beckwith, I don't know what the rest of the NCAA (D2) would need to do to take her down.

It's one thing to defeat someone as talented as Beckwith, but to get a win over someone with her kind of momentum who has gone from 2:09 to 2:07 to 2:06 to 2:05 to 2:04 in just this season alone is...well, an insanely difficult challenge.

Helen Braybrook & Josii Johnson Run Converted 800 Meter Times of 2:05 & 2:07, Respectively

If anyone can take down Ukeyvia Beckwith right now, it might be Helen Braybrook, a middle distance ace from CSU-Pueblo who has built up a ton of momentum this spring.

The Thunderwolf ace just landed what may have been the best 800 meter win of her career this past weekend, running an altitude converted time of 2:05 for 800 meters to defeat Josii Johnson (2:07 conversion) and Aryelle Wright (2:07 conversion).

For some, this may not be a surprise. Braybrook was, after all, the runner-up finisher in the half-mile this past winter at the indoor national meet, making her a key contender for gold in that same event at the end of this month.

But what some people don't realize is that she ran a weekend double of 4:20 (1500) and 2:07 (800) at the Bryan Clay Invite before running an out-right 800 meter PR of 2:06 at altitude this past weekend. And that was en route to a conference title!

Strictly in terms of times, Beckwith has greater momentum, but Braybrook looks insanely good as well. Her 1500 meter prowess gives her a surprising amount of strength that I'm not sure we expected her to have this spring (even though she ran a fast converted mile time this past indoor track season).

And when pairing this recent win with the fact that she defeated the likes of Jessica Gockley and Brianna Robles in the 1500 meters (at altitude) at the beginning of the season, this Thunderwolf runner has proven that she can snag gold medals over upper-tier D2 stars.

Not everyone who runs fast times can always say that.

As for Josii Johnson, she continues to quietly string together strong result after strong result. The Westminster talent has made encouraging progress since the winter months after emerging as an All-American finisher at the indoor national meet over 800 meters. And while she didn't get the win this past weekend, being competitive with Braybrook while holding off Aryelle Wright is great to see.

Her resume may not jump off the page like a few others, but Johnson has become incredibly steady as of late. And as we head into the postseason, it's that reliability that makes her such a valuable All-American pick yet again.

Angel Luera (1:48), Braxton Bruer (1:49) & Kaleb Tipton (1:49 Converted) Post Strong 800 Meter Times

Let's get the unsurprising (but still strong) results out of the way.

Kaleb Tipton, the nationally competitive secondary piece to teammate Reece Sharman-Newell over 800 meters, was able to settle for silver at the RMAC Outdoor Championships in that event. His altitude converted time of 1:49.21, while strong, is exactly what we would expect from him.

Yes, his raw time of 1:49.55 a new PR, but not by a lot. Kipton has previously run 1:49.68 and 1:49.96 for 800 meters before, making this result somewhat predictable. Or at the very least, it was a performance that was due.

It's a very similar story for Braxton Bruer of MSU-Moorhead, a guy who has had a breakout year in the middle distances. The 2023 NSIC indoor champion over 800 meters, and recent finalist for the 2023 indoor national meet, has gone under 1:50 for the half-mile in THREE different races this year.

Bruer's fastest 800 meter time has been capped at 1:49.45, which came this past weekend, but that kind of consistency is massive. Because on the always-chaotic national stage, which will have a new x-factor element of altitude thrown in this year, the reliability that we've seen from this midwest standout is promising.

Again, is his result surprising given when he's done over the last few months? No, I don't think so, but I like to think that his consistency and stability is just as valuable.

And then there's Angel Luera of Dallas Baptist.

It's one thing to have a breakout race over 800 meters and scare the 1:50 barrier. In fact, in a handful of cases, we've seen breakout performers dip into the 1:49 range! But what Luera just did this past weekend, running a huge time of 1:48 (800), is incredible.

For perspective, this Dallas Baptist runner had NEVER run faster than 1:54 for the half-mile distance. Does anyone realize how insane that is?! He dropped SIX seconds in the 800 meters to go directly to a new 1:48 PR!

Yes, it's true, Luera has been solid over 1500 meters this spring, recently running 3:46 for the distance. But for as good as that time was/is, there was NOTHING on Luera's resume to suggest that he was going to run 1:48.

Frankly, there was nothing on his resume to suggest that he was going to go under 1:50!

And yet, here we are, left completely in awe of a guy who has completely altered our expectations and understanding of what he's capable of. Naturally, the one question we have remaining for him is...what's next?

Buckner, Fankhouser & Peterson Post Fast 1500 Meter Marks At Three Different Meets

There are three performances that deserve to be highlighted in this section, but there is one that should surprise no one -- Cailee Peterson producing a 4:24 mark for 1500 meters at the Drake Relays.

As someone who just finished runner-up in the mile at the D2 NCAA Indoor Championships and ran 4:46 for that same distance during the winter months, running 4:24 (1500) simply has us shrugging our shoulders. She ran 4:26 for that distance at the Bryan Clay Invite, meaning that a result like this, and even something faster, was bound to happen sooner or later.

However, I want to move our attention to Katie Fankhouser, the Fort Lewis distance standout who ran an altitude converted 1500 meter mark of 4:23 this past weekend. Not only did she run an unconverted time of 4:27 to win the RMAC title, but she also took down upper-tier names such as Courtney McAlindon, Leah Taylor, Kate Hedlund, Maggie McCleskey, Kira MacGill, Anna Fauske and Allison Beasley in the process.

That is an INSANELY loaded field. In fact, that may be the best collection of 1500 meter talents in a D2-only field this season (that isn't the national meet). And frankly, I doubt anyone here at TSR (myself included) had Fankhouser winning.

For perspective, this out-of-nowhere Fort Lewis talent just brought her 1500 meter PR down from 4:32 to 4:27 in a single race -- and that doesn't even factor in the conversion!

Yes, it's true, the newest RMAC champion did run a 4:59 mile PR (unconverted) at altitude this past winter, but this jump up in time (and the win) still far surpasses what she was able to do on the indoor oval.

And now...I have no idea what to think about her.

Sure, Fankhouser has been great in races before this past weekend, but how do we properly understand the magnitude of this performance? How will this translate to the rest of this month? What is her ceiling? What is the best possible finish that she could earn on the national stage?

I don't know the answers to those questions, but that's what makes this sport so much fun.

And then we come to Lauren Bruckner, a Saginaw Valley State runner who just threw down a fantastic 4:23 mark for 1500 meters at Grand Valley State this past weekend.

For Bruckner, this result isn't a total stunner, but it is clear validation of what she did during the winter months. This SVSU standout ran a 4:50 mile on the indoor oval and did make it to the national stage individually, even emerging as an All-American in the DMR as well.

Make no mistake, Bruckner has been a solid runner for more than just this past weekend. But this 4:23 (1500) PR is special. This was a huge five-second PR and there really weren't a ton of sub-4:30 marks on her resume prior to that.

Much like Fankhouser, we still need to see more from this Saginaw Valley State runner. But the idea that she can build off of this performance gives her a competitive foundation heading into the national meet.

Reece Sharman-Newell Puts Together Incredible Weekend Triple, Wins Three Titles at RMAC Outdoor Championships

I don't think you could convince me that anyone at the D2 level, at least on the men's side, had a better weekend than Reece Sharman-Newell did.

The British middle distance star from CSU-Pueblo put together one of the most ambitious and impressive triples that I have seen in a good amount of time.

At the RMAC Outdoor Championships, Sharman-Newell ran the 800 meters, the 1500 meters and the 4x400 meter relay. And remember, those first two event had preliminary rounds, meaning that this Thunderwolf star ran a total of FIVE races between Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

And yes, he won every. single. race.

Winning the men's 800 meter title wasn't super shocking. As far as the RMAC is concerned, Sharman-Newell is clearly the best name at this distance. He's run 1:46 for the half-mile via a conversion this season and posted that time without a conversion last year as well.

Seeing this sophomore ace take down teammate Kaleb Tipton was encouraging, but by no means a game-changing result. It's a similar story for the 4x400 meter relay. That race is largely moot.

But then we come to the 1500 meters, a race which had a VERY competitive field. The metric mile finals at the RMAC Outdoor Championships featured upper-tier names such as Evan Graff (UC-Colorado Springs), Luke Julian (Colorado Mines), Jagger Zlotoff (UC-Colorado Springs), Simon Kelati (Western Colorado) and Tyler Nord (Western Colorado).

And in a 1500 meter time of 3:50 (which was run at altitude), it was Sharman-Newell who took home the title by nearly two full seconds over Evan Graff! Oredigger star Luke Julian fell back to 3rd place.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but...I think Sharman-Newell should run the 1500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships this year instead of the 800 meters.

There, I said it.

The men's 800 meter field at the D2 level this year is just absurdly stacked. Between Oussama El Bouchayby, Wes Ferguson and Butare Rugenerwa, the chances of Sharman-Newell winning NCAA gold don't look great.

It's not impossible, but...it's a tough outlook.

But earlier this spring, we saw Sharman-Newell run 3:45 for 1500 meters at the Bryan Clay Invite, barely missing out on the heat win. And after taking down a stacked 1500 meter field this past weekend, I can't help but wonder what kind of threat this CSU-Pueblo star would be in a tactical 1500 meter race at the national meet.

And let's not forget, that race isn't expected to be fast. In fact, the D2 outdoor national meet is going to be hosted on Sharman-Newell's home track!

The only issue with my theory/suggestion is that the CSU-Pueblo star is sitting at NCAA #15 on the D2 national leaderboard in this event, meaning that he's riding the line of not even qualifying for the national meet in this race.

However, let's not forget that the Thunderwolf star ran a converted 3:43 (1500) mark at a "last chance" meet on his home track last spring. And if he does opt to go after another fast metric mile effort during the same meet then...could this guy be a legitimate title contender in a race nearly twice as long as his primary event?

In my eyes, a move like that would make A LOT of sense.

Jakob Rettschlag Continues to Thrive, Runs 3:44 (1500)

I feel like it's very easy for someone like Jakob Rettschlag to be underrated. He's a talented European from overseas who has great range, but has been overshadowed by teammate Hamza Chahid and simply put, is new to the NCAA.

But this past winter, we saw this Wingate ace run 4:05 in the mile and step in as the 800 meter leg of his DMR squad en route to them winning a national title. And so far this spring, we've seen Rettschlag run 3:46 for 1500 meters, 1:50 for 800 meters and then most recently, 3:44 for 1500 meters.

Momentum is very much on the side of this Bulldog standout. The SAC isn't necessarily a loaded conference for the distance events, and the southeastern region doesn't usually gain many headlines, but Rettschlag deserves your respect. He is a far more complete distance talent than you realize. He has been competitive, has continued to get better and just posted a time that makes me think that he can be an All-American.

And to be clear, it's not just his time that impressed me. Rettschlag also took down teammate Hamza Chahid, as well as D1 runners Maddon Muhammad and Nickolas Scudder (both of Charlotte), in the process.

By sitting at NCAA #5 in this event on the national leaderboard, I'm still trying to gauge where in the All-American conversation he belongs (if at all). But right now, it's hard to find too many flaws on his resume. That win this past weekend felt like a marquee result for him.

Lindsay Cunningham (15:45) & Katie Doucette (16:13 Conversion) Thrive Over 5000 Meters

I mean...I don't know. Are you really that surprised?

Cunningham is a fast-paced, aggressive front-runner who is happy to run races solo. But even when faced with a competitive 5k field at the Drake Relays, she still produces a 15:45 mark for that distance and emerges as the top collegiate!

And then there's Katie Doucette. Running 16:28 for 5000 meters at altitude and later earning a 16:13 conversion for that distance is impressive. Of course, that isn't a result that has really blown anyone's expectations away -- this was well within her wheelhouse.

Still, a narrow win over Zoe Baker (who has been running very well as of late) en route to an individual RMAC title, has to give Doucette a confidence boost. And at this time of the year, that could make her exceptionally dangerous.

Natalie Graber Runs 10:13 Steeplechase PR En Route to Win

It's weird to call Natalie Graber one of the biggest breakout stars of Division Two this year given how accomplished she already was. But her ongoing consistency of producing elite-level marks has made it undeniable that she has reached a new tier.

The steeplechase was a race that many of us at The Stride Report we're eyeing for this Laker ace. She made her season debut in that event, ultimately producing a 10:24 result over the barriers before running a huge 16:08 (5k) time at the Bryan Clay Invite!

But this past weekend, Graber altered our perception of what she is truly capable of. Posting a new 10:13 personal best in the steeplechase, and winning comfortably by nearly 10 seconds, has forced us to reset what her ceiling could be on the national stage.

Eleonora Curtabbi looks virtually untouchable in this event after running 9:57 over the barriers and water pits earlier this season. And truthfully, Adams State runner Ava O'Connor is still a good ways out from Graber with her recent 10:07 steeplechase mark from April.

However, it feels fair to say that Graber is still trying to find her full potential within this event. And given how big her recent PR was, she may not have found her ceiling. That upside, paired with this exceptional level of bolstered fitness, makes this GVSU runner an outside threat for the steeplechase national title if Curtabbi had a poor race at the end of this month.

That's admittedly a tough scenario to envision, and a handful of big improvements would still need to be made by Graber, but it's not totally out of reach...I think.

Reece Smith Runs 8:38 in Steeplechase at Drake Relays

This is one of those performances that are absurdly fast and deserves attention, but also lacks any element of surprise or deviates from our expectations.

Smith has been on fire since the tail-end of the winter months. His speed and tactical refinement have improved plenty since last spring and his consistency in the steeplechase (and in general) has jumped ten-fold.

An 8:38 steeplechase mark at the Drake Relays is really darn good. Smith barely missed being the top collegiate as Tulsa's Christian Baker edged him by 0.02 seconds. Even so, he continues to inch closer to his 8:33 PR in the event from the 2022 season.

Right now, Smith can do no wrong. And in our eyes, he has to be favored for NCAA gold (D2) over the barriers and water pits. While Clement Duigou could return as a major threat, his latest weekend double at the Bryan Clay Invitational has left us wanting more (he's also been absent since then).

And after a weekend double of 13:50 (5k) and 8:40 (steeple) at the Bryan Clay Invite, it's hard to dismiss Smith from the conversation of being a true top D2 distance guy in the country -- maybe even top-five!