.png)
First Thoughts (Women): Kimberley May's Incredible 4:27 Mile, Oregon Just Misses DMR Record, BYU's Overwhelming 5k Depth & Carley Thomas Takes Over NCAA 800m Lead
- Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
- Jan 28, 2024
- 17 min read
It's that time of the year again when my Saturday and Sunday afternoons have me locked to my desk and behind my two monitors, effectively acting as a weekend track and field war room of sorts. Or at least, that's how it feels (and it sounds way cooler).
Below, we highlighted all of the major women's distance running headlines from this past weekend and, as always, offered as much insight and analysis as we could (or thought was necessary). And because there were so many incredible results, we decided to give the men and women their own articles. Our men's analysis will be coming tomorrow!
So with that, let's begin...
Carley Thomas Runs 2:00 for 800 Meters on Home Track
When it comes to Carley Thomas, I have good news and bad news.
The bad news is that she's no longer the NCAA leader in the mile.
The good news is that she is now the NCAA leader over 800 meters.
This past weekend, the Washington veteran toed the line on her home track. And when she did, Thomas threw down an excellent mark of 2:00.95 for the half-mile distance, comfortably following pro runner, Nikki Hiltz, for a good portion of the race.
But here's the thing: That's not even Thomas' PR.
Thomas actually ran 1:59.95 in Italy this past summer. And it was that performance which kick-started an incredible streak of middle distance performances from this Husky star. So when you factor in that result with her marquee mile win of 4:30 from earlier this month, it shouldn't necessarily be a shock that she ran as fast as she did.
Of course, the question of, "What should Carley Thomas run at the national meet?" will not be getting any easier to answer any time soon. I do, however, think the mile is still the better of her two options, especially with the DMR double seemingly easier to manage.
Regardless, when it comes to the overall talent and fitness of Carley Thomas, this is probably the best that she has ever looked. Her poise and steadiness in each of her last two races has been tremendous. And despite a history of postseason woes, I have never felt as good about Thomas as I do right now.
In fact, I don't think she's even been pushed to her full limits yet.
Penn State's Hayley Kitching & Stanford's Roisin Willis Produce 2:01 (800) Marks to Headline Strong Weekend for the Half-Mile Distance
Let's first start with Roisin Willis, the Stanford standout who ran 2:01.99 for 800 meters at Boston University this past weekend. In her race, she battled Nike pro, Lucia Stafford, to the finish line, ultimately settling for runner-up.
There truthfully isn't much to talk about with Willis. Her performance is solid, but she didn't look super comfortable and Stafford's front-running certainly didn't make her race any easier. But if Willis is still able to run as fast as she did without having her best effort, then I would be encouraged about where she can go from here.
As for Hayley Kitching, there is a lot to be excited about.
This Penn State middle distance was a very strong half-miler last year. She ran multiple 2:03 and 2:04 marks throughout last winter, thriving alongside Rachel Gearing. But while she was clearly talented, she had not yet reached the tier necessary to qualify for the indoor national meet.
However, despite not cracking 2:04 for the half-mile distance last spring, Kitching still made it to the outdoor national meet where she gained valuable experience. And this past weekend, after running 2:42 for 1000 meters earlier this season and a 1:28 mark for 600 meters, Kitching finally broke through to the upper-echelons.
The Nittany Lion star dropped a fantastic 2:01.77 (800) personal best to comfortably defeat a field that was simply not in the same bracket as her.
There aren't many pure middle distance stars who have the momentum that Kitching does right now (although Sanu Jallow may have an argument). She has built up some great consistency so far, has reached a nationally competitive level of fitness and has prior experience on a championship stage.
Given Penn State's history of producing star-caliber half-milers, it's hard not to be high on this State College-based middle distance talent. If she's in a field that can push her, a two-flat PR could be in her future.
There were also a small handful of women who ran 2:02 for 800 meters this past weekend. That includes Arkansas' Sanu Jallow, Oklahoma State's Gabija Galvydyte and Clemson's Gladys Chepngetich.
For Galvydyte, seeing her run 2:02.82 for the half-mile distance isn't a surprise. She ran 2:00.47 on the outdoor oval last spring and ran 4:33 in the mile back in December. Running 2:02 at this point in the season is somewhat on par with our expectations.
However, what was a surprise was seeing Sanu Jallow, the Arkansas runner and recent transfer from Texas A&M, take down the Oklahoma State veteran!
Jallow was a top middle distance talent in high school, running 2:07 over 800 meters at the prep level. And when she landed at Texas A&M, it felt like this now-former Aggie was going to be a collegiate star in a couple of years. However, despite running a 2:05 PR for 800 meters during her time in College Station, it wasn't until Jallow came to Fayetteville that she truly broke out.
After running a phenomenal time of 1:26.52 for 600 meters earlier this season, a mark which now sits at NCAA #3 all-time on record-eligible tracks, Jallow was able to run 2:02.60 for 800 meters on Saturday. But the more impressive aspect of that race was the fact that she took down someone like Galvydyte, one of the most experienced and accomplished half-milers in the NCAA right now.
As a sophomore, Jallow is still fairly young -- and that's what makes her so dangerous. In theory, there should still be tons of upside remaining within this rising Razorback star. That, in turn, leaves us with the question, "Just how high can Jallow climb in 2024?"
Seeing Clemson ace Gladys Chepngetich run 2:02 was also impressive. The Tiger's newest distance star had an excellent cross country season, finishing 24th at the NCAA XC Championships. And when she ran 4:37 in the mile back in December, I could only think, "Yeah, that seems about right."
But a 2:02 mark for 800 meters? That's an interesting development for someone who I thought was more of a 3k runner. Having that kind of range gives Chepngetich's resume a major boost. And based on her last few meets, it doesn't look like she'll be straying from the middle distances any time soon.
It feels like we're learning something new about this Clemson rookie every few weeks. And while we still need to see how she fares on larger stages against more potent competition, there is still a lot of room for this Tiger star to thrive over the next six weeks or so.
Kimberley May Thrives in Boston, Runs NCAA #7 All-Time Mile Mark of 4:27 to Emerge as Top Collegiate
I have been a very big fan of Kimberley May since the end of last winter.
And if you think I'm just making that up and giving into recency bias, then I would suggest that you go check out what I wrote about her here and here and here and here. Some of my fellow writers haven't been quite as enthusiastic as I have been about May over the last year, but I have a hunch that their feelings will be changing very, very soon when we redo our rankings.
Now, that being said...I didn't expect her to run under 4:30 in the mile.
And I DEFINITELY did not expect her to run 4:27 for that distance.
There weren't necessarily any crazy moves or tactics from Kimberley May that gave her such a phenomenal time on Saturday afternoon. In Boston, she simply put herself behind Adidas pro, Anna Camp Bennett, and went along for the ride.
That, of course, turned out to be a great decision. And if May had tried to pass Camp Bennett on the outside rather than on the inside rail, then this Providence talent might have been able to snag the overall win, too (or at least been a little closer).
May is simply on fire. Both her and Melissa Riggins are among the best women in the NCAA right now in terms of hot streaks. The Providence star made improvements last year, bolstering her aerobic fitness (by a lot) this past fall and running a huge 8:53 (3k) PR in December.
And now, she's one of the fastest collegiate milers ever.
In theory, May can beat you with speed or she can simply outrun you from the gun, something that she showcased on Saturday. For those reasons, she should absolutely be considered a legitimate contender for NCAA gold in March, not just because she ran a super fast time.
As for the other collegiates, Northern Arizona's Maggi Congdon proved to everyone that her 4:30 mile altitude conversion from last week was very, very accurate. The Lumberjack star had a huge performance, running 4:30 at sea level, looking more and more like an All-American lock at this distance.
Admittedly, Congdon is still fairly new to this tier of competition -- she has never been this good before. Seeing how she handles events like the 800 meters and the 3k will likely tell us more about how diverse her skillset is. But what we do know is that she is very much the real deal and, when paired with her fall campaign, incredibly consistent.
Another woman who ran 4:30 was BYU's Riley Chamberlain! The sophomore standout proved to be an all-around great talent throughout last year, but running a 4:30 mile in January is wildly impressive for someone who is still so young.
Chamberlain was almost certainly going to be better this winter than she was last year. You could see the incredible talent that this Cougar ace had as a rookie. But it was also clear that she simply needed a year to stack fitness to further exhibit her full aerobic potential.
But now, her fitness has reached a point where she can at least put herself in the All-American conversation, especially after getting previous national meet experience last winter. The next step for Chamberlain will be to further refine that nationally competitive fitness so that she can respond to surges and well-timed tactics of the competitors around her.
Providence's Shannon Flockhart, Boston College's Molly Hudson and Stanford's Juliette Whittaker all ran 4:30 as well.
Whittaker's performance is admittedly not too shocking. With a year of experience under her belt and major success in the middle distances as a freshman, seeing her improve to a 4:30 mile PR as a sophomore, as crazy as this may sound, isn't too surprising.
Plus, I am a firm believer that she should (and will) contest the 800 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships six-ish weeks from now.
Hudson, meanwhile, is on absolute fire. She just ran 4:32 in the mile the other week and now has a 4:30 mile PR. That is tremendous momentum to have, especially if/when Boston College goes after a fast DMR later this season.
I would love to see what Hudson can do over 800 meters. She's already run 2:04 for that distance prior to joining the Golden Eagles. And given her recent success, I would bet that she can run 2:03 and maybe even 2:02. If she were to run something like that, how comfortable would you be leaving Hudson out of your All-American predictions?
And then there's Shannon Flockhart, the Providence veteran who bested both of these women, time-wise. Her 4:30 mile mark was great to see, especially since her 1500-meter success on the outdoor oval had suggested that she could also be a great miler.
But after running 4:08 for 1500 meters this past summer, Flockhart wasn't just due for a big-time mile PR, she was overdue. Thankfully, she came through on the stage that was going to give the best chance to run fast.
Now, this British distance talent, who is also a very underrated tactician, is one of the 30-fastest milers in collegiate history (on record-eligible tracks). And yet, she's only sitting at NCAA #7 in that same event this season.
However, maybe more importantly, Providence could very easily argue that they have the best two milers in the NCAA right now. And if that's the case, then the potential DMR lineup that we may see from this group could hold record-breaking potential.
Melissa Riggins & Margot Appleton Battle to Line in Epic Mile Matchup, Anna Workman Has Breakout Race
On our latest episode of the Blue Oval Podcast, I asked my fellow podcast co-host, Ben Weisel, how fast he thinks Georgetown's Melissa Riggins could run a mile in this season. And after reflecting on her recent NCAA #3 all-time 1000-meter performance of 2:40, we both agreed that Riggins could theoretically run somewhere around 4:29 in the mile.
And while we didn't perfectly nail that prediction, we got awfully close.
This past weekend, the Hoya standout toed the line in the mile at Penn State to face a very strong field which also featured Virginia's Margot Appleton. What later ensued was a thrilling battle as both Riggins and Appleton powered down the final straightaway. In the end, it would be Riggins narrowly securing the overall win, 4:30.73 to 4:30.87.
Make no mistake, the time that Riggins just posted is fantastic and she should be very happy with that result. But it's the win over a woman like Margot Appleton that truly excites us. Appleton was the 4th place finisher in the mile at last year's indoor national meet and later went on to validate her fitness in the spring with a 3rd place finish over 1500 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Greater challenges lie ahead for Riggins, but this an extremely important (and encouraging) step in the right direction. Suggesting that this rising Hoya star can be a legitimate threat for the mile national title in March seems more than fair, especially with such a dynamic mix of strength and speed.
As for Appleton, I would argue that this effort was relatively more important! The Virginia distance star had been solid over the last few months, but placing 51st at the NCAA XC Championships and running 9:08 for 3000 meters in December aren't results that we would expect from someone of her caliber.
However, after running a somewhat significant 4:30 mile PR and almost taking down a rapidly rising and high-momentum star in Melissa Riggins, Appleton is seemingly back in top form.
We'll still need to see more from her moving forward -- it would be great if she added a fast 3k to her resume -- but I can only see positives in her latest performance.
Speaking of Virginia milers who had big-time races, where the heck did Anna Workman's 4:31.91 PR come from?! The Cavalier junior has been a solid runner for the UVA women over the last few years, especially on the grass, and she had even run 4:14 for 1500 meters last spring.
However, there weren't many signs on her resume which suggested that a sub-4:32 mark was in her future. Even so, Workman just took down a slew of talented milers and has now left many of us at The Stride Report thinking, "What can she do from here?"
Remember, last winter was when Margot Appleton truly broke out and she thrived in the postseason after barely making it into the NCAA Indoor Championships. That should force most of us to keep Workman on our radars once we enter the national meet.
West Virginia's Ceili McCabe Runs 4:30 Mile at Armory in Top-Heavy Pro Field
West Virginia's Ceili McCabe has finally returned!
The Mountaineer star didn't race against NCAA competition in the fall, but she did win the Canadian XC Championships back in November. And while that may not be the NCAA XC Championships, McCabe still had to defeat a handful of talented runners -- something that she did fairly easily it seems.
But now, McCabe is back in the collegiate ranks, although her greatest competition this past weekend came against the pros.
At the Dr. Sander Invite at the Armory, McCabe battled to the finish line in the mile against numerous pro standouts. She would finish 6th place overall, but she would also run an outstanding time of 4:30.24 and finish with a large handful of women who collectively rushed the finish line together.
For the most part, this result isn't super surprising. At her best, McCabe is a top-tier distance talent who had proven to be a great miler in the past. In fact, she ran 4:31 in the mile at this same meet last year! And frankly, as encouraging as that result was, it's going to be the 3k (and possibly the 5k) where McCabe is going to be the most dangerous.
Regardless, this was a great way to kick-off her season. And despite 2024 being a year where the 3k seems unbelievably loaded, McCabe will likely be just as much of a threat to Markezich, and possibly Valby, as anyone else.
Taylor Roe, Doris Lemngole & Sadie Sargent Go Sub-9:00 Over 3000 Meters, All at Different Meets
By comparison, the 3000 meters was probably the least eventful distance race of the weekend. That's saying something considering that Taylor Roe, Doris Lemngole and Sadie Sargent all ran under nine minutes.
Taylor Roe, the Oklahoma State veteran and 2022 national champion at this distance, made her season debut, running a fantastic time of 8:51 (3k). I feel like most distance running fans would shrug their shoulders and say, "Yeah, that seems right for someone of her caliber." But in reality, that's actually a PR -- and a significant one, at that.
Roe's 8:51 mark is a five-second personal best and an encouraging step in the right direction. The Cowgirl veteran had a few hiccups over the last year, but seemingly rebounded in the fall.
However, the biggest takeaway is that Roe is positioning herself to be a very competitive name on the national stage. She doesn't necessarily need to run under 8:50 to be a major threat. Roe is tactically one of the better 3k runners in the nation and she has proven over the last few national meets that she is going to have a noticeable presence in the postseason.
As for Lemngole, her 8:53 mark for 3000 meters shouldn't surprise anyone. The Alabama star followed former Crimson Tide runner, Esther Gitahi, around the indoor oval at Clemson this past weekend, settling for 2nd place and easily emerging as the top collegiate.
Lemngole's 3k time is strong, but it's clear that she thrives in the longer distances like the 5000 meters (and likely the 10k which she reaches the outdoor oval). She'll need a bit more turnover and speed if she wants to compete for a top-half All-American honor, but for now, this is a really strong result that has the potential to be even faster.
We wrap up this section with Sadie Sargent, the BYU veteran who ran 8:59 for 3000 meters to emerge as the top collegiate at the John Thomas Terrier Classic. Admittedly, Sargent's result isn't much of a surprise given that she ran 8:57 last year. It does, however, suggest that, in the right race, Sargent could run 8:55 or 8:56.
But truthfully, even if Sargent had run that kind of time this past weekend, then her NCAA #11 spot on the national leaderboard wouldn't have changed by a single spot. It's very possible you'll need to run 8:54 over 3000 meters to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
BYU Women Put Three Cougars Under 15:32 (5k)
On Saturday evening, the BYU women did something that many major powerhouses haven't come close to accomplishing. When the trio of Jenna Hutchins, Lexy Halladay-Lowry and Aubrey Frentheway toed the line for the women's 5000 meters, they all had the potential to set personal bests (even if I didn't predict it).
And sure enough, that Cougar trio did exactly that.
Of course, the three-headed 5k monster that is Hutchins, Halladay-Lowry and Frentheway didn't just set new personal bests. Instead, they ALL ran under 15:32, going 15:30.99, 15:31.03 and 15:31.69, respectively! That's incredible!
Do you wanna know the last time that one team had three women run under 15:32 for the indoor 5k in the same season? That was in December of 2018 when the New Mexico women boasted the trio of Ednah Kurgat (15:14), Weini Kelati (15:16) and Charlotte Prouse (15:26).
Other than the Lobos and Cougars, no other team in the TFRRS-recorded era has been able to pull off the same feat. And if I had to guess, it's extremely unlikely that any team came close to doing so before then.
The BYU women flat-out struggled at the NCAA XC Championships, opting to be very aggressive at the beginning of that race before fading hard near the end. But despite their 14th place team finish, it was very clear that the Cougars were so much better than what their result showed.
Sure enough, they proved exactly that on Saturday.
Coach Diljeet Taylor continues to prove why she's one of the absolute best distance coaches in all of the NCAA. That's been the case for a few years now, but even during a time where she doesn't have a focal superstar like Whittni Orton, Anna Camp Bennett, Courtney Wayment or Erica Birk-Jarvis, she has still found a way to stand out with depth.
On top of those three women running under 15:32 for the 5k and Riley Chamberlain running 4:30 in the mile, the Cougars also had Carmen Alder run 4:34 in the mile and Sadie Sargent run 8:59 in the 3k.
So...what does these results mean in the grand scheme of things? Well, in theory, all three of those women -- Jenna Hutchins, Lexy Halladay-Lowry and Aubrey Frentheway -- should qualify for the national meet over 5000 meters (I think). Unless an extremely unlikely anomaly occurs where 15:30 or 15:31 somehow isn't fast enough to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, this BYU trio should feel comfortable about their spots on the national leaderboard.
For perspective, last year's final automatic qualifying time (the NCAA #16 mark) over 5000 meters was 15:40.41. And after scratches, the last time into the national meet in that event was 15:42.48.
In terms of where in the national contention conversation that these women reside in, it's hard to say for sure. Hutchins is still young and fairly inexperienced, but her upside is incredibly exciting. Halladay-Lowry and Frentheway are both proven veterans, but they'll also need to show that they can stay with the top chase packs six weeks from now.
Even so, with three women likely racing in that field of 16, I like BYU's chances of coming out with at least one All-American...and very possibly two.
The other collegiate who we need to mention in this race is Northern Arizona's Alyson Churchill, the graduate transfer from Florida State. She ran a very strong time of 15:36 over 5000 meters, a mark that, depending on how the rest of the season unfolds, may put her on the fringes of advancing to the national meet.
I still think she has a decent shot at getting in, but you just never know nowadays.
With Churchill's performance, the NAU women now four women who have run under 15:40 for the 5k this season. That's outstanding depth and likely another stat that few historical powerhouses have been able to match.
But based on how this season is unfolding, it's very possible that only half of that quartet is able to advance to the national stage. Gracelyn Larkin's 15:38 mark currently sits at NCAA #13, meaning that one big 5k race in Boston or Washington next month could have her (and Elise Stearns) on the outside looking in.
Oregon Women Narrowly Miss NCAA DMR Record & Outrun Arkansas' Women, 10:47 to 10:49
On Friday night, while the world was losing its mind about Nico Young (and rightfully so), a second collegiate record nearly fell. But it wasn't at Boston. Instead, it was in Fayetteville as the Oregon women battled with the Arkansas women in the DMR.
I'm almost a little surprised that Oregon didn't get the NCAA DMR record. This roster is absolutely stacked with top-tier milers. With Klaudia Kazimierska leading off and Maddy Elmore anchoring, the Ducks were likely going to run an all-time mark as long as the middle portion of their relay was good enough.
Kazimierska was incredible on this relay. A 3:15 split on the lead-off is a phenomenal effort and it's one of the faster splits I have ever seen a collegiate produce at that distance. Elmore, meanwhile, split 4:33 on the anchor leg which was plenty impressive in its own right. Ella Clayton (400) and Ella Nelson (800) split 52 seconds and 2:05, respectively.
In the end, the women from Eugene posted a mark of 10:47, the NCAA #2 all-time mark. They sit behind only Washington, a team that ran 10:46.62 last winter. But truthfully, I don't see that record lasting beyond the month of March.
However, relative to expectations, I think I may be even more impressed with Arkansas! On paper, this team shouldn't have come all that close to the Ducks given that they were less experienced and far less proven.
Despite allowing a gap to form, Tiana LoStracco deserves a lot of credit for sticking with Kazimierska for as long as she did, ultimately splitting 3:18. However, the most impactful leg for the Razorbacks may have been Ainsley Erzen. She split 2:03 for 800 meters to completely wipe away Arkansas' deficit. She handed the baton off to her teammate, Mary Ellen Eudaly, just a stride or two behind Oregon.
Much like LoStracco, Eudaly deserves major respect for sticking on Maddy Elmore for as long as she did. The sophomore distance talent kept things close until the final 100 meters where Elmore just had more strength to pull away. But for someone who holds a 4:36 mile PR and split 4:35, I would be thrilled with Eudaly's effort.
I don't know how Arkansas does it. They just put together an all-time DMR performance (which won't technically count since Arkansas had a different relay run faster last year) with a group of women who weren't quite as established as the Ducks.
Kudos to the Razorbacks. I'm so impressed by how they step up to the occasion each and every time they toe the line for the DMR.
Quick Hits
Oregon's Klaudia Kazimierska, Kentucky's Sydney Steely, Texas A&M's Bailey Goggans and Kentucky's Jenna Schwinghamer all ran 2:03 for 800 meters at Arkansas this past weekend. For most of those names, that kind of performance isn't too shocking, although those are definitely successful races for all of those women. However, for Goggans, that's a very big result. The former high school star finally had her collegiate breakout race after a handful of seasons of chipping away at her PR.
Washington's Marlena Preigh ran 2:03 (800) on her home track this past weekend. That's roughly what we would expect from someone who qualified for the indoor national meet last winter. Even so, it's good to see that she's near top form before we have even reached February.
Penn's State Florence Caron ran a very strong mile PR of 4:33 at Penn State. Except, it wasn't in the same race as Melissa Riggins or Margot Appleton. Instead, she ran that time in the next-best heat, taking down unattached athletes such as Esther Seeland and Stefanie Parsons! That is a huge breakout race that, frankly, came out of nowhere.
In the same DMR race which saw Oregon and Arkansas go under 10:50, the Florida women very quietly ran 10:52. That's a great time which should put their relay on the national stage. And more impressively, they did that without Parker Valby.
