First Thoughts: Vanoppen Runs 3:38 to Defeat Dahl, Riggins Stuns Loaded 1500 Field (Part One)

Laptop? Check.

Excessive amounts of coffee? Check.

13,000 different TFRRS and results tabs open? Check.

Below, we dissected and analyzed a few key results from Friday night. And don't worry! We know we didn't touch on every single result. That will come on Sunday in Part Two.

Alright, here we go...

Riggins Stuns Elite 1500 Field, Takes Home Win in 4:17

The Joe Walker Invitational at Ole Miss was a thriller last year and for the most part, it has partially maintained that reputation in 2022. That's because the women's 1500 meter field produced one of the most shocking results of this young outdoor season.

The women's 1500 meter field at the Joe Walker Invitational featured national-caliber superstars such as Sintayehu Vissa (Ole Miss), Taylor Roe (Oklahoma State), Joyce Kimeli (Auburn) and Mercy Chelangat (Alabama), as well as other standout talents such as Gabija Galvydyte (Oklahoma State), Megan Marvin (Furman), Flomena Asekol (Alabama) and others.

The field also included a young, western Pennsylvania native from Georgetown named Melissa Riggins. The freshman was excellent this past winter, running 2:05 for 800 meters and 2:43 for 1000 meters. The talent was clearly there for this youngster to be something special in the NCAA and we saw that last weekend when she ran 2:03 for 800 meters.

However, prior to Friday's race, Riggins had never finished a collegiate race longer than 1000 meters and had no mile or 1500 meter races on her TFRRS resume. Sure, she was a top-tier miler in high school and has clearly improved since then, but my expectations for her first 1500 meter race weren't super high, especially since she was moving up in distance.

That, of course, was the wrong impression to have. On Friday night, Riggins came away with an outstanding win over one of the best pure milers in the country in Vissa, barely getting the edge on the Ole Miss star, 4:17.53 to 4:17.57.

This is a massive statement by Riggins. Her 2:03 mark from last weekend was very encouraging and a good bit faster than I was initially expecting, but that result wasn't exactly out of the realm of possibility.

But defeating a field full of established superstars? Well, suddenly, Riggins has now turned into a collegiate star whose presence now demands attention and respect.

Admittedly, her winning time of 4:17 wasn't necessarily jaw-dropping. That somewhat slower pace may have opened the door for her a bit, but that shouldn't at all diminish her win. The names she took down are some of the absolute best in the NCAA.

Did Georgetown just find their next superstar? The answer to that is more likely yes than no...

As for Vissa, I'm not really looking into this result too much. Yes, she lost to Riggins, but so did everyone else in this field. Vissa barely missed the win and still took down a handful of top names in the process.

She did way too much this past winter to discount how talented she is and I'm not looking too heavily into a result from an established superstar in the first full week of April.

When looking at the rest of this field, there were some minor surprises. The Oklahoma State duo of Gabija Galvydyte and Taylor Roe finished 3rd and 4th, respectively, each with times of 4:19. Galvydyte recorded her time en route to winning the second-fastest heat.

This was a bit surprising. Roe was incredible all winter long, specifically in the mile. She had a ton of momentum at this distance and on paper, I thought she was going to be a bigger factor in this race than the results suggested.

Heck, I thought she would win.

It's hard to say exactly how this race played out without a (known) live stream or replay to watch, but it seems like the slower pace opened up the field to a handful of middle distance stars. That may have been why Galvydyte, a fellow 2:03 half-miler like Riggins, was able to thrive in this field.

But that's just speculation.

Does this result change anything for Galvydyte? No, probably not. She's still an 800 meter runner and that will likely be the case later in the season.

As for Roe, we now have an interesting question.

Despite being the indoor 3k national champions, Roe has never contested the 5k on the track throughout her collegiate career (according to TFRRS). That's a crazy stat to have for a 3k national champion!

I think it's still way too early to make any declarations about what she should or shouldn't pursue in the postseason...although her recent indoor performances suggest that she may lean towards the 1500 meters.

Even so, the 5k holds so much potential for Roe. On paper, that could be her best event.

Could this latest 1500 result push Roe and Coach Smith into the longer distances? I hope so, mainly because I think that, in a perfect setting, Roe could run in the 15:20s...and I feel pretty confident about that.

After the top-four women in this race, things opened up quite a bit. For the most part, there weren't too many surprises. With exception of a name here or a name there, you could make an argument that most of these women finished this race right around where we were expecting them to.

Vanoppen Runs 3:38 to Earn Key Win Over Dahl & Co.

The Duke Invitational was a meet that we very much wanted to preview, although life got in the way and forced us to cancel those plans. Regardless, the men's 1500 meter race was set to be FAST and it certainly was.

Belgium distance runner Thomas Vanoppen, a standout miler from Wake Forest, joined the Demon Deacons with a 3:37 personal best for 1500 meters which he ran last summer. Coming into the NCAA, the 22-year old had limited experience racing on the indoor oval, but still managed to post a solid flat-track converted mile time of 3:58 this past winter.

The Wake Forest star toed the line against recent All-American and 3:55 miler Nick Dahl from Duke on Friday night. The two would face off in what was essentially a rematch of their ACC indoor mile final from February.

Not only that, but Vanoppen and Dahl were also set to face a handful of underrated middle distance standouts from both North Carolina and Virginia, as well as Michigan veteran Tom Dodd.

Thanks to some great pacing work, as well as the willingness from Dahl and Dodd to pursue a quicker time, this turned out to be a very quick strength-based race.

That, however, didn't seem to faze Vanoppen.

The Wake Forest star looked fairly comfortable for 90% of the race, letting the race unfold in front of him and then reacting accordingly. He made a fairly surprising move to take the lead a little past halfway, essentially trying to out-strengthen a strength-based runner in Dahl.

On the final turn, Dahl and Vanoppen fought for positioning, as did Tom Dodd who had a fantastic race of his own, showing a tremendous amount of poise.

Despite Dahl defending his spot on the inside rail, it was Vanhoppen who fought around Dahl on the final straightaway, opening up his stride, taking the win in a time of 3:38 and continuing to run into the final curve to celebrate with his teammates (and rightfully so).

This was a monumental statement victory for Vanoppen. He just took down one of the most experienced distance runners in the country (Dahl) who is in his prime and was on his home track.

This race favored Dahl in a variety of ways and while that's not to say that the cards were stacked against Vanoppen, it's also fair to say that trying to defeat this Duke superstar in this setting was not going to be easy.

Kudos to Vanoppen. I wasn't quite sure how to gauge him during the indoor track season, but this race validates the idea that he's simply better on the outdoor oval.

Despite not winning and running 3:39, I think Dahl deserves a lot of credit. He ran an aggressive race and without him, we may have had only one man under 3:40 instead of four. He set the tone and got a fast time. That was probably the biggest priority for him this weekend.

The results also don't reflect how instrumental Tom Dodd was in this race. The Michigan standout may have faded to 4th place in a time of 3:39, but he was fighting at the front for most of the race and put him in a position to win on the final curve.

Dodd didn't have enough strength to contend with Vanoppen or Dahl on the final stretch, or to fend off Jesse Hunt, but he still put himself in a great position and put together one of the best races of his career.

Would he have fared better with a different racing approach? Potentially one that was more conservative like we saw from 3rd place finisher and North Carolina runner Jesse Hunt (3:39)? Maybe, but I'm also not going to sit behind a laptop and tell a 3:39 runner how I would have run a race (even though I've definitely done that a thousand times before).

Nice race Hunt, but in a quick race and a perfect scenario, his 3:39 seemed to be on par with expectations. He's super underrated and can absolutely make it to the outdoor national meet. He's got some sneaky-good speed.

The Virginia men also deserve plenty of credit. Wes Porter has also ready run 3:39 this season, but now his Ka'eo Kruse and Nathan Mountain just ran a pair of 3:40s, respectively.

The depth within UVA's mile corp is wildly impressive and there are even more talented names outside of these three men who could be nationally competitive in the 1500 meters.

North Carolina's Patrick Anderson (3:40) and Jack Aho (3:41), as well as Wake Forest's Luke Tewalt (3:41) all deserve a nod of respect for their work in the second-fastest heat. Anderson and Aho showed a lot more speed than I thought they had and Tewalt continues to post yet another respectable time.

Sado Edges Bouchrak in Steeplechase via 8:41 Marks, Addison Posts 8:44 Time for 3rd Place

Depending on who you ask, the Virginia men may have had the best Friday night at the Duke Invitational. That's because Yasin Sado threw down a monster time of 8:41 in the steeplechase, holding off High Point star El Hacine Bouchrak who also ran 8:41.

Sado is a younger distance talent, recently joining the Cavaliers' roster as one of the better recruits from the Class of 2020. The Colorado native was a strong and consistent miler during the indoor season and recently ran 3:43 in the 1500 meters at the Raleigh Relays.

However, even this steeplechase performance isn't something that I saw coming. He never ran faster than 8:55 last spring, but in his first steeplechase performance of this outdoor season, he drops 14 seconds!

Sado is very clearly a strong talent and I don't think anyone is surprised that he has evolved into a nationally competitive name. However, I'm not sure I was expecting him to make this kind of leap so fast...or that this leap would come in the spring of 2022!

Although, when watching the replay, this race unfolded perfectly for Sado. The middle portion of this race was honest, he had someone to chase in the second-half of the race and was he was still pushed at the end.

As for Bouchrak, this guy is an established and consistent veteran. He's been competitive for years now, but this was easily the best race of his career (in my opinion). He ran a six-second PR and looked incredibly strong throughout the entirety of that race.

Sure, he may not have won, but his willingness to go out there and chase a fast time is why this race turned out to be fairly quick.

Quick shoutout to Pitt's Evan Addison. In a race that had a lot of variance and a lot of change, at least in the first-half of the race, Addison was steady and consistent. He consistently put himself towards the front and simply maintained a great pace throughout every lap.

Addison is clearly a top talent, but now the question will be if he can replicate his best performances in the postseason, a task that has eluded him so far in his career.

I was also a bit surprised that the Michigan men didn't fare as well as I thought they would, although Hubaker seemed to be pacing after stepping off the track halfway through.

I only mention this because, generally speaking, the fastest steeplechase performances don't usually come until the postseason and Michigan steeplechasers, for the most part, are usually at their best by the time championship meets come around.

Schiera Surprises With 9:58 Steeplechase Win

The women's steeplechase field at the Joe Walker Invitational had a handful of solid talents. No, the field wasn't overwhelmingly loaded and it didn't necessarily have any marquee stars, but that didn't mean that this field was going to post slow times.

In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Enter Kayla Schiera, a distance runner from Southern Illinois University. The veteran came out of somewhat nowhere on Friday night to earn a stunning steeplechase win in a very impressive time of 9:58.

She is now the third known collegiate to run under 10:00 in the 3k steeplechase this spring.

Admittedly, there weren't many marks on Schiera's resume which suggested that she was going to run this fast. Her personal bests in the non-steeple events currently sit at 4:36 (1500), 4:53 (mile), 9:34 (3k) and 16:37 (5k).

In fairness to Schiera, she did run 10:14 in the steeplechase last spring, so it's not like she wasn't semi-nationally competitive before Friday night's race. Still, running 9:58 is a top-level time and truthfully, there wasn't a ton on her resume which suggested that she was in that kind of fitness.

I'll be fascinated to see what happens with Schiera moving forward. This is an incredible start to her season and given her past steeplechase experience, I feel have confidence in her than I do doubts.

I also want to give credit to Ole Miss' Kristel van den Berg who ran a personal best of 10:07. That's a very solid mark that she can build off of. I'll also be interested to see what she does in the 1500 meters this spring given her 4:22 personal best.

Essayi Runs 3:39 to Take Down Garcia Romo in 1500 Meters

When South Carolina's Anass Essayi was first introduced to the NCAA at the SEC Indoor Championships this past winter, some people may have been surprised that the Moroccan runner won the mile conference title over some elite talents.

However, those familiar with Essayi's background knew that the 3:34 runner for 1500 meters, who was also a recent Olympian, could be a threat at every level. Sure enough, that's what happened when he ran 3:57 in the mile to win the SEC title back in late February.

While Essayi didn't qualify for the indoor national meet, he also never really had the chance to do so given his late start. That, however, is not going to be the case in the spring of 2022.

On Friday night, Essayi toed the line against conference rival and NCAA indoor mile champion Mario Garcia Romo in the 1500 meters. The Joe Walker Invitational also featured other key names such as Parker Stokes (Georgetown), Camden Gilmore (Georgetown), Ryan Schoppe (Oklahoma State) and Fouad Messaoudi (Oklahoma State).

But, in the end, it was Essayi getting the win despite the elite competition. The Gamecock superstar ran 3:39 for 1500 meters while Garcia Romo settled for a time of 3:40. Messaoudi placed 3rd overall, also in a time of 3:40.

Here's a fun fact: Since making his NCAA debut, Essayi is undefeated in every non-prelim race that he has contested.

Now, admittedly, that's only three races, but when you consider that he's had to face Mario Garcia Romo, Eliud Kipsang, Davis Bove, Brandon Hontz, James Young, Cruz Culpepper, Elias Schreml and everyone in this field, it's hard not to be impressed.

Without a replay to watch, it's hard to know exactly what happened in this race. However, regardless of how it played out, Essayi's win over Garcia Romo feels like massive validation. Not only can this Moroccan miler run fast times, but he can earn numerous wins over top-tier heavy-hitters.

I can't believe I'm suggesting this, especially with Nuguse likely running the 1500 meters this spring, but...could Essayi contend for -- and possibly win -- a national title in this event come June?

I think it's time to seriously consider that.

It's one thing to run fast and it's another thing to earn a key win here or there. But Essayi is emerging as a true superstar much faster than some people may realize.

Watch out for him two months from now...

As for Garcia Romo, I'm not exactly looking too heavily into this result. He ran well, earned a fairly quick time and got the job done. Yes, it would have been nice to see him get the win over a conference foe, but I'm not going to hold that against him, at least not in early April.

Messaoudi also ran well, but in terms of time, I can't say that I'm super surprised. The credentials he brought with him to Oklahoma State suggested that a 3:40 mark was within reach for him.

Stokes, Gilmore and Schoppe all ran 3:43 marks. Those are fine and respectable times, but they are all capable of running faster than that, especially Schoppe who probably should have been in the 3:40 to 3:41 range. His indoor track season was incredible and very underrated, so I'm confident that he can do more than what he showed us on Friday night.

Hendrick Goes 2:04 in Challenging Conditions

I'll admit, the Tennessee Relays have been a bit underwhelming in terms of the times that we're seeing. However, the weather conditions have not been good...at all. Temperatures under 40 degrees, wind and precipitation, even some snow at certain points, have not made weekend competition easy for these athletes.

However, defying the obstacles of Mother Nature was Kennesaw State's Sarah Hendrick, the 800 meter All-American who powered to a 2:04 mark on Friday night. She won fairly comfortably over some solid middle distance talents like Aziza Ayoub (Ohio State) and Hannah Ballowe (Virginia Tech).

Does this result tell us a whole lot? No, it doesn't, but I do like the fact that Hendrick handled poor conditions better than pretty much anyone else did this weekend.

Who knows? Maybe that resiliency becomes a factor to consider in the postseason.

After all, I feel like it rains every. single. year. at the East Regional Championships...