First Thoughts: Ryan's Record, Seeland & Miller's Mile, Mayfield & Smith Battle To Sub-9:40 Marks

Welp, at this point, you know the drill. Let's breakdown some results...

Aidan Ryan Runs D3 Collegiate Record of 3:56 in Mile

Prior to this past weekend, only one man at the D3 level had ever broken four minutes in the mile. That was Jeremy Hernandez (Ramapo) back in 2018 when he ran 3:59.

However, Ryan has now followed a trend this season where distance runners from all divisions and levels are redefining what "great" performances are. A 3:56.88 mile from Ryan is absurd for the Division Three level.

In fact, it's absurd for the Division Two level, as well. Ryan's current mile time sits just 0.14 seconds away from the D2 mile record of 3:56.74.

Yet, at the end of the day, this performance doesn't change much. This Williams star was the 2019 NCAA Champion in the men's 1500 meters and was due to eventually run a fast mile time at some point this season.

Sooner or later, a top performance like this was bound to happen.

Were we expecting him to run this fast? No, maybe not, but his result doesn't change the fact that we believe that Ryan is the best distance talent in D3 right now -- a crazy statement given how good Alex Phillip has been.

Now the next question is...what can he run in the 5000 meters?

Sall & Lambert Headline Women's 800 w/ Sub-2:16 Marks

Nice runs by Delaney Sall (Calvin) and Elise Lambert (Bates) in the women's 800 meters this past weekend. Sall ran a time of 2:13.10 while Lambert ran 2:13.64, both on a banked track, so for qualification purposes, their times actually appear slower on the national leaderboard.

Nonetheless, this is a nice step in the right direction for both women.

Lambert is an experienced veteran and she has actually run 2:10 for 800 meters before on the outdoor oval. In fact, that time came last spring, a season where she ended up finishing 5th place overall at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in that event.

For the most part, it looks like Lambert is translating at least some of her outdoor success to the indoor oval and that's an important development to keep an eye on.

If this Bates veteran is able to pick up more momentum and do the same kind of damage in March that she did last spring, then her most recent performance might be a signal of a potential postseason peak that is coming soon.

The problem, however, is that there is no guarantee that her qualification time of 2:15 will hold up for a spot at this year's indoor national meet.

As for Sall, she is more of a middle distance specialist, so her 400 meter and 800 meter marks are what truly carry her resume. Much like Lambert, she quietly snuck through the prelims at the outdoor national meet last spring and ended the year with All-American honors.

That was Sall's first true NCAA Championship, leaving us to believe that she could be even more dangerous on a championship stage with national meet experience now under her belt.

In theory, Sall's 400 meter efforts would suggest that she is more of a speed-based runner and that her speed would beneficial in tactical prelim races. Based on her past national meet success in prelims, that may be the case.

Men's 800 Explodes w/ Depth

The upper-tier of the D3 men's 800 meters hasn't changed much as of late, but the overall depth in this event just became far more extensive. Just this past weekend alone, nine men ran under 1:55 for 800 meters.

Those names include Nicholas Hoffman (Hope), Tor Hotung-Davidsen (Lynchburg), Kieran Sheridan (SUNY Geneseo), Jinwoo Kang (Williams), Jake Petri (Wis.-Eau Claire), Rece Gobel (Springfield), Garrett Lenners (Nebraska Wesleyan), Braedon Giles (Wis.-Stevens Point) and Sam Llaneza (Lynchburg).

There are too many names to discuss, so I'm going to offer a few quick points of analysis and move on. Otherwise, we'd be here all day...

• Excellent race for Hoffman who ran 1:52.15 for the half-mile distance. He lost to three very talented Grand Valley State runners, but considering that he's more of a miler, there's a lot to like about his race. This was a nice display of speed which could come in handy at the indoor national meet if the mile becomes tactical, presumably in the prelims.

• Great race for Williams rookie Jinwoo Kang. Having an 800 meter ace to pair with a superstar in Aidan Ryan, as well as a top-tier talent in Elias Lindgren, is super exciting when it comes to the idea of a DMR. There is no doubt that the Ephs could pursue a competitive DMR (they certainly have in the past). However, it's still unclear whether the DMR is in Ryan's plans for the national meet given his incredible individual success.

• I really liked what we saw out Sam Llanza this past weekend. The rising Lynchburg talent threw down an awesome 1:53/4:12 double, proving that he can muscle his way through a nationally competitive speed-based double in one day. That's a nice step in the right direction, especially since we know that he's capable of being an even bigger threat in those distances once he hits his peak. After all, Llanza did run 1:51 and 3:47 last spring, the latter mark resulting in a 5th place finish at the outdoor national meet.

• However, Llanza's 800 meter performance wasn't the most important performance for Lynchburg this weekend. Instead, the most important performance came from teammate Tor Hotung-Davidsen. His 1:52 personal best is huge, but it also leaves open the opportunity for the Hornets to go after a very fast DMR later this year. With middle distance standouts like Llanza and Hotung-Davidsen acting as home run hitters, this relay could be scary-good.

Seeland & Miller Establish Dominance in Women's Mile

Update: Messiah's Esther Seeland is still really good. What a shocker.

The D3 national champion who has run 2:02 for 800 meters ended up running 4:52 in the mile this past weekend on a flat-track. She won with incredible ease, securing the victory by 27 seconds.

If Seeland was able to completely solo a 4:52 effort and win by 27 seconds, then what could she do when she has actual competition? I'm not suggesting that Seeland makes the 800 meters an afterthought for her postseason plans, but...there's a small part of me that thinks it could be a good move for her to run the mile, especially if Kassie (Rosenbum) Parker pursues the 5k/3k double at the indoor national meet.

Still, Seeland is the overwhelming favorite in the 800 meters and it's not even close, so I'm more just rambling at this point. I just like to theorize that the mile could be an option for her, but it won't be so...let's move on.

As for Evie Miller, the Trine star just ran a 4:50 mile, a personal best by just under three seconds.

For as strong as that performance was and as encouraging as a new PR can be, seeing Miller throw down this time wasn't exactly a total shock. Prior to this past weekend, she had run personal bests in both the 5k (16:45) and the 3k (9:43). On paper, those marks align with her recent 4:50 mile mark.

So what should Miller pursue at the indoor national meet come March? Based on her cross country resume, she's better suited for the longer distances like the 5k or the 3k. However, Kassie Parker and Esther Seeland are unlikely to pursue the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships, leaving the event open for the taking.

Not only that, but if you look at the at 2020 D3 national leaderboard for the women's mile, you'll notice that the fastest, unconverted seed time was a true 4:53 mile run on a flat-track. In other words, we probably shouldn't expect too many more seed times being run ahead of Miller this season.

Yes, there are other top talents who could seriously contest this event later in the season (like Ella Baran), but as of right now, Miller is probably the national title favorite in women's mile if she wants it.

Numerous Men Dip Under the 8:20 Barrier for 3000 Meters

This was the weekend of the 3000 meters across all divisions, a crazy statement considering how strong some of the mile times were. For the D3 men, there were four distance standouts who ran under 8:20 this past weekend.

Those four men were Matthew Lecky (RPI), David Fassbender (UW-Whitewater), Graham Tuohy-Gaydos (Williams) and Matthew Kearney (MIT).

When it comes to Fassbender, I can't say that I'm surprised. His original time of 8:17 from this past weekend was still two seconds off of his personal best and if anyone was going to match a top performance on their resume, it was going to be him.

This UW-Whitewater veteran is super consistent and he always finds a way to be in the national conversation. He'll continue to run well this winter and he'll make it back to the postseason. However, the indoor and outdoor national meets have not been kind to Fassbender over the years as he has yet to earn an All-American honor on the oval.

Can Fassbender change that narrative come March? I suppose we'll have to wait and see.

As for Lecky, this was a phenomenal race by him. He ran 8:16 for 3000 meters with his RPI teammates as his best competition.

Admittedly, it's hard to get a gauge on his performance. Lecky has run well as of late, earning a 4:16 mile PR and earning an All-American 38th place finish at the NCAA XC Championships. However, nothing on his resume suggested that he was going to run 8:16 for 3000 meters.

That's a massive breakout performance and we have to start monitoring this RPI talent more closely as we go into the month of February. Right now, he has a great 3k result, but how he does throughout the rest of this season will be a better indication of his capabilities on the national stage.

When it comes to the Williams men, Ryan and Lindgren are the two obvious stars who will get most of the national spotlight. However, teammate Graham Tuohy-Gaydos just ran 8:17 for 3000 meters and in case anyone forgot, that's really fast!

Much like Lecky, the mile time that we've seen from Tuohy-Gaydos this season (4:17) didn't suggest that he was going to run 8:17 for 3000 meters. However, his early-season 5000 meter effort of 14:22 and his 19th place at the NCAA XC Championships from this past fall makes Tuohy-Gaydos' recent 3000 meter personal best less of a fluke and more of a continuation of his improved fitness.

Not only that, but Tuohy-Gaydos also took down an entire army of SUNY Geneseo runners this past weekend, including Nick Andrews who ran 8:20 in the same race.

Don't sleep on this distance ace. He clearly went under the radar during the cross country season this past fall, never finishing outside of the top-10 prior to the national meet. Scoring a strong 3k personal best of 8:17 should be viewed as rising momentum for a Williams' runner who should be on your radar.

We can wrap up this section with MIT distance talent Matthew Kearney. In a lot of ways, he mimics the success that we've seen from Tuohy-Gaydos this year. This past fall, Kearney finished 28th at the NCAA XC Championships and then opened his season with a 14:23 time in the 5000 meters.

With a new 8:12 personal best for 3000 meters now on his resume, Kearney looks like he has the rising momentum and the all-star personal best to be a major factor on the national stage. His season is mirroring what we've seen out of Tuohy-Gaydos quite a bit this winter, but an 8:12 mark separates Kearney as a potential All-American favorite in this event.

Mayfield Holds Off Smith In Epic Sub-9:40 (3k) Battle

Was this the best matchup in D3 so far this season? I think it may be.

Carleton superstar Clara Mayfield toed the line against Saint Benedicts standout Fiona Smith in the 3000 meters this past weekend. The two D3 elites went head-to-head over the course of 15 laps on a flat-track, running away from a field that had a few respectable talents (such as D2 runner Xiomara Robinson).

In the end, it was Mayfield getting the edge on Smith, 9:35 to 9:37, two times that currently sit at the top of the NCAA leaderboard. For perspective, only one woman, Parley Hannan, ran under 9:40 for 3000 meters during the 2020 indoor track season.

These two performances are huge, especially for Mayfield. Not only did she record an NCAA #14 All-Time mark in the event, but she also secured a major win over an elite-level name who has been on fire as of late.

A performance like this shows us that Mayfield can contend for a national title. She just ran a fast time, improved her already-impressive resume and took down a top-tier challenger who was also having the best race of her career.

As for Smith, she may not have won, but it's hard to fault her for not winning when a fellow superstar talent was having the best race of her career while Smith was still running under 9:40.

I still feel like there is a chance for Smith to potentially sneak into that gold medal conversation come March. She can learn from this race and be prepared for any minor racing nuances that Mayfield may employ during her race.

Either way, it's a phenomenal effort for this Saint Benedicts talent and she should be incredibly happy with her result from this past weekend.

Quick 5k Thoughts

There are a handful of 5000 meters performances worth noting, but rather than create separate headlines for them all, I figured a bullet point style format would do the trick...

• Ari Marks (Wellesley) is one of the distance talents in our D3 Top 15 rankings, sitting at TSR #14. However, she'll likely move up after this past weekend following her monster 16:38 effort for 5000 meters. We knew Marks was good and a nationally competitive name, but this kind of result puts her at a new level of elite D3 talents. Only Parley Hannan ran faster than Marks did during the 2020 indoor season and if you look at the women behind Hannan during that year, none of them had come close to touching 16:38. Marks is a beast and is suddenly a bigger postseason threat than we realized. Keep an eye on her moving forward.

• Alex Ross (Johns Hopkins) ran 16:51 for 5000 meters this past weekend and now sits at NCAA #2 on the D3 national leaderboard. Is this faster than I was expecting? Yes, definitely. However, this was someone who finished 20th at the cross country national meet last fall and who qualified for the outdoor national meet last spring in both the 10k and the 5k. So while this 5k result may have been a bit quicker than expected, it does follow a trend of major success that Ross has been having.

• Kathleen McCarey (SUNY Geneseo) threw down a surprising sub-17 result this past weekend in the 5000 meters. However, if you look at her cross country results, this time makes sense. McCarey was great throughout last fall and finished 14th at the cross country national meet. Yes, she was due for a reset in her track times, but we didn't know by how much or if that reset would produce a sub-17 performance. It's a great race for McCarey, but now I'll be interested to see if she can replicate that fitness in the 3k and if she can translate her success to the rest of the indoor season.

• Izzi Gengaro (MIT) has gone from young up-and-coming talent to now an established D3 distance veteran. She produced a 5k mark of 16:58 which, for national qualification purposes, was rounded up. According to TFRRS, this is her first track race at the collegiate level. However, based upon her extensive cross country experience and success, I can't say that I'm not totally shocked by this result.

• Great run from Simon Heys (Wilmington (OH)). His 14:23 for 5000 meters was a solid time and it was enough to take down Lynchburg's Max Sparks fairly comfortably. I really like the progress that we've seen from Heys as he seems to be on a hot streak this winter. If he maintains that into the winter months, then he'll be a problem for his fellow competitors.

• Quick shoutout to Lucas Florsheim (Pomona-Pitzer) who ran 14:23 for 5000 meters and Andrew Mah (MIT) who ran 14:25 for the same distance. As strong as those marks are, I can't say that I'm surprised, especially with how fast these distance events are becoming. Still, I'm a fan of these two guys and I think they'll continue to be great over the next month or so.