First Thoughts: Rylee Penn Goes 4:11 (1500), Kimar Farquharson Runs 1:46 (800) & Oregon Makes Season Debut

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We may still be in the month of March, but the outdoor track season is now underway! While many of the nation's most elite distance talents are still recovering from the lengthy indoor track season, a handful of key names did return to action over the last few weeks.

Here are a few key performances from names who you'll want to keep on your radar as the spring months continue to unfold. Let's see what we learned since the conclusion of the indoor track season...

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Rylee Penn Runs 4:11 (1500) in Season Debut

One of the nation's more high profile transfers from last year was Rylee Penn, a runner who took her talents from Cincinnati to Florida State...well, sorta. While Penn did initially commit to the Seminoles, the departure of FSU coach Baylee Mires to Louisville shortly thereafter led to the former Bearcat star shifting course and joining the Cardinals instead.

Admittedly, Penn's first few seasons in the ACC have been "fine," but nothing more. The Louisville talent finished a modest 31st place at the Southeast Regional XC Championships last fall and toed the line for only one indoor track meet back in January, running 2:08 for 800 meters while recording a DNF in the mile.

Luckily, Penn's return to the outdoor oval has gotten off to a great start, running 4:11 for 1500 meters in an overwhelmingly comfortable victory this past weekend. For perspective, Penn ran 4:10 for 1500 meters at the Raleigh Relays last spring, a meet that is taking place this coming Thursday.

In other words, this middle distance star is roughly on par with how she started out her 2023 outdoor track season. That's a good sign considering that, at her best, Penn has enough raw talent to be an All-American at the metric mile distance (yes, even with that event being crazy deep this year).

Admittedly, Penn ended last year's outdoor track season one race earlier than expected, failing to make it out of the prelims over 1500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. That, of course, could be chalked up to simple inexperience on that stage.

However, with a 2:01.90 (800) PR from last spring, is it possible that Penn actually moves down to that distance and focuses on that event instead?

While the top of the women's 800 meters, nationally, is insanely loaded, strength-based half-milers from this past winter such as Juliette Whittaker, Lindsey Butler, Gabija Galvydyte, Wilma Nielsen and Maggi Congdon all emerged as All-Americans in that event. And with the women's mile/1500 meters looking as strong as it ever has been, moving down in distance may not be a bad idea for Penn.

Regardless, this Cardinal standout is someone to watch moving forward. On paper, she has the resume to compete for a top-eight honor on the national stage, although executing effective race tactics against other high-level women will be a key aspect to watch.

Kimar Farquharson Runs 1:46 (800) While Ishii & Ayhan Run 1:47 (800) in Head-to-Head Battle

Iowa's Rivaldo Marshall garnered headlines earlier this month following his national title victory over 800 meters, going from a JUCO superstar to a D1 standout. However, Marshall wasn't the only former NJCAA runner to make headlines in the month of March.

Kimar Farquharson, a former middle distance star for South Plains CC, was brilliant at the JUCO level. He ran under 1:48 (800) multiple times prior to joining Texas A&M, venturing to College Station with a PR of 1:46.88 from the spring of 2022.

Now, after an indoor track season where he ran 1:47, Farquharson has been able to capitalize on his raw, untapped fitness, recently posting a fantastic 1:46.20 (800) personal best in what was largely a one-man show.

There are plenty of instances where NCAA newcomers have thrown down insanely fast times somewhat out of the blue, but aren't truly factors in the competitive realm. But Farquharson doesn't seemingly fit that mold. With prior success, specifically a former 800-meter PR that was already under 1:47, there is enough consistency and top-tier times on his resume which suggest that he is, in fact, the real deal.

The outdoor track, from my perspective, often rewards raw fitness more than the indoor track does. With positioning and tactics being far more important during the winter months due to the limited space to navigate on the indoor oval, guys like Farquharson aren't always able to showcase their true level of talent in those settings.

Of course, when it comes to the 400-meter loops, the ability to simply run all-out while having to worry less about spacing and positioning can oftentimes lead to greater results. And for someone like Farquharson who didn't have anyone within two-and-a-half seconds of his latest head-turning 1:46 (800) effort, that theory makes a lot of sense.

We'll still need to see how Aggie standout fares when other top-tier names are racing alongside him going into the final 200 meters. Farquharson did, after all, show that he was human at the SEC Indoor Championships when he faded 4th place in the 800-meter finals. Even so, I've seen enough from the JUCO product to believe that, in a perfect season, he could be an All-American.

Elsewhere, at the UCF Knight Invite, we were treated to a far closer half-mile battle, this time between Penn State's Yukichi Ishii and Northeastern's Kerem Ayhan. Both of those men ran 1:47 marks for 800 meters with the former runner getting the overall win.

Both Ishii and Ayhan have shown us in the past that they can be strong names capable of giving top men a run for their money. However, this past weekend felt like a pair of statement performances, especially for the former name who ran a PR.

And yet, I would actually be more encouraged if I was Ayhan. That's the second time in the last five weeks that he has gone under the 1:48 barrier for 800 meters, something that he had never done prior to the month of February. Momentum is very much in his favor right now, even if he didn't secure that win.

If you look further down the 800-meter results of the UCF Knight Invite, you'll see that Clemson's Brian Kweyei finished 4th place overall in a time of 1:48.79. That's a fine mark, but just remember that this is someone who has run 1:45 for 800 meters during his time in Kenya.

The Tiger standout was one of, if not the, most talented U20 half-milers that Kenya has had to offer in the last few years. If he can replicate his top form, then we're looking at an All-American favorite...and maybe more.

Oregon Men Make Season Debut, Elliott Cook & Steeplechasers Act as Main Highlights

It's admittedly been a tough year for the Oregon men, a program that is currently under the direction of Coach Jerry Schumacher.

The Ducks were unable to advance to the cross country national meet this past fall (after a very limited racing schedule) and the men's team sent zero distance runners to the indoor national meet. Elliott Cook, the team's focal star, did run an excellent 3:55 mile mark in December, but was absent from racing for the rest of the indoor track season.

Luckily, many of the top names from Oregon were racing this past weekend in a clear rust-buster. And while those final times were far from flashy, it was encouraging to see certain men return to action.

Elliott Cook looks fairly sharp after securing double wins over 800 meters (1:50) and 1500 meters (3:42). That's a promising sign given that he was a mile All-American last winter and was incredibly strong in the latter-half of 2023, but hadn't raced since December 2nd. He doesn't need to be in top form right now, but being healthy and posting solid rust-busting times is encouraging to see.

However, people are likely more interested in seeing what Simeon Birnbaum did, the nation's top-ranked recruit, domestically, from the Class of 2023. After not racing this past winter or in the fall, the Duck rookie returned to action, running 3:45 for 1500 meters in his collegiate debut. Teammate Matthew Erickson also ran 3:45 while cross country specialist Izaiah Steury ran 3:47 in the same race.

Is it fair to want more from both Birnbaum and Steury? Yes, it is, especially the latter who looked like a lethal scorer on the grass during the fall of 2022. Even so, both men have proven that they can be far better moving forward. And frankly, an early-season rust-buster in the month of March against competition that only came from their teammates isn't necessarily a fair way to evaluate one's talent or fitness.

As for a few other results, the Oregon men did have sophomore Giuliano Scasso (8:49) and freshman Benjamin Balazs (8:53) put together a pair of really solid steeplechase results. Sure, those performances aren't going to blow you away, but they are strong marks for late March.

And don't forget, freshman Spanish steeplechaser, Sergio Del Barrio, is also on Oregon's roster, boasting an 8:39 PR over the barriers and water pits. Together, those three men not only give Oregon one of the better steeplechase contingents in the NCAA this year, but they also given the Ducks one of the brightest futures of any team in the country for that event.

Gladys Chepngetich (2:01), Victoria Bossong (2:02) & Kate Jendrezak (2:02) Thrive in Early-Season 800-Meter Efforts

I would love to sit here and tell you why the 2:01 (800) effort that we saw from Clemson's Gladys Chepngetich was a big deal...but truthfully, there isn't much to discuss.

The Tiger rookie was excellent this past winter, running 2:01 for the half-mile distance and advancing to the national meet. However, we didn't truly learn anything new about this Clemson star from this past weekend, although her consistency is encouraging. And truthfully, the same exact thing can be said about UCLA's Kate Jendrezak.

However, seeing Harvard's Victoria Bossong run 2:02 (800) this past weekend certainly caught our attention.

This Ivy League standout was great this past winter, producing strong times that may have been overlooked. The 500 meters, for instance, was an area where the Crimson veteran thrived in, running the NCAA #2 all-time mark (1:08.53) for that distance on the indoor oval. Pair that effort with a two separate 2:04 (800) marks as well as her 52.55 (800) PR, and you get a very underrated middle distance standout.

There were subtle signs on Bossong's resume that she was due for a somewhat big performance. That's why, in retrospect, we shouldn't be totally shocked that this Harvard ace ran 2:02 for the half-mile distance this past weekend. Although, that said, Bossong skipping the 2:03 range entirely wasn't quite what I expected.

There is a lot of sneaky-good momentum under Bossong right now. She's hitting some of the fastest times of her career and she's doing so consistently. Now, with a nationally competitive mark that could put her on the national stage, the Harvard women have yet another talented middle distance runner to work with on their roster.

UCLA's Mia Kane Runs 10:04 (Steeple) in Season Debut

Over the last year or so, UCLA's Mia Kane has put together a handful of solid performances. No, she hasn't necessarily blown us away, but running 4:49 (mile), 9:15 (3k), 16:19 (5k) and placing 31st at the PAC-12 XC Championships deserve nods of respect.

Kane's 2024 winter campaign was very clearly the best season of her career, running sub-9:20 twice for 3000 meters. And now, as she has transitioned to the outdoor oval, Kane is only building on that momentum, recently posting a 10:04 PR in the steeplechase.

For perspective, that mark would have put Kane within the top-35 of the D1 steeplechase national leaderboard last year. And with an entire spring campaign still remaining, the idea that Kane could dip under the 10-minute barrier, and maybe even 9:55, is plenty reasonable.

The steeplechase is an event that can produce a handful of breakout talents each and every year. And while Kane still needs to make further progress before she's in the national qualifying conversation, this Bruin junior is certainly on track to do so by May.