Five Things to Watch: 2023 UW Indoor Preview

Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Jan 13, 2023
11 min read

Updated: Jan 14, 2023

After a long winter break and some early-December action, many of the NCAA's top programs are back in action this weekend!

One of the biggest meets of the weekend, the UW Indoor Preview, will be held at the revered Dempsey Indoor Facility in Seattle, Washington. There, numerous collegiate talents will look to take advantage of the always-fast 307 meter indoor oval.

While this meet won't necessarily be the most action-packed schedule of racing that we'll see this year, it still holds plenty of high-octane middle and long distance talents in the entries. And for the sake of time, we've opted to narrow our meet preview down to five headlines.

Here we go...

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Juliette Whittaker To Make NCAA Debut in 800 Meters

If you're not familiar with Juliette Whittaker, then let's quickly get you caught up to speed.

The Stanford rookie was a phenom at the high school level just a year ago. She ran 1:59 for 800 meters, won the USATF U20 Championships in that event, proceeded to finish 3rd at the U20 World Championships and has also run 4:36 in the mile.

Simply put, she's a megastar.

The Cardinal freshman will be toeing the line this weekend in the fastest heat (of six) in the women's 800 meters. This will be her NCAA debut unless you consider her DNF result at the Santa Clara Bronco Invitational this past fall as her official debut.

Either way, seeing Whittaker entered in the 800 meters this weekend surprised me just a bit. In most instances, many top collegiate programs often field their best athletes in "off" distances to start their season, essentially acting as a soft reintroduction to the indoor oval.

But Whittaker's first legitimate collegiate race is going to be on a 307 meter indoor track against some solid top-tier names. And while I have zero reservations about her ability to run well this weekend, I just expected her to start off her season in the 400 meters (like Roisin Willis), the 600 meters or the 1000 meters.

Whittaker, despite being the favorite, is not going to simply be given the win. She'll be up against a very underrated half-mile talent in Laurie Barton (Brooks Beasts). Other women such as Alli Cash (Asics), Ashley Lewis (PDC) and Anna Gibson (Washington) could be competitive, but this race will likely come down to Whittaker and Barton.

Barton, a former 800 meter star at Clemson, is a highly challenging name to take down when she's firing on all cylinders. She has excellent in-race awareness, is not shaken easily and can run fairly well in a variety of scenarios.

That, in turn, could lead to a fairly quick time this weekend for Juliette Whittaker. Don't be surprised if she's headlining the national leaderboard (by a lot) come Sunday.

As for Anna Gibson, the only other collegiate in this heat, this will be a nice rust-buster for someone is predominately a miler. Of course, this is by no means going to be an easy race for her. She will be thrown into the fire of an event that is a slight step down in distance for her.

We should also note that Gibson is entered in the 800 meters as well as the mile. It's unclear if she'll run both events or if she'll scratch for one over the other (it's likely the latter).

Women's 3000 Meters: Thornton-Bott vs Dudek vs Pellicoro

It's not often that we get a matchup of upper-level standouts like this so early in the season. And that's why I would argue that this may be the race of the weekend.

The women's 3k will feature Izzy Thornton-Bott (Oregon), Zofia Dudek (Stanford) and Laura Pellicoro (Portland). All of those women were All-Americans on the grass this past fall.

What I love about these three women is that none of them are specifically 3000 meter specialists. Thornton-Bott and Pellicoro are, historically speaking, better in events like the 800 meters and the 1500 meters. Dudek, meanwhile, is at her best in the 5000 meters and simply improves as the racing distances get longer.

I would imagine that Dudek is viewed as the collegiate favorite in this race. It's arguably easier to move down from the 5k to the 3k than to move up from the mile to the 3k. The Stanford star also had the best cross country season out of this trio and she just ran 15:40 (5k) back in December despite fading hard in the final moments of that race.

If Dudek wants to put herself in position to go for the win, she may want to press the pace in an effort to drop the likes of Pellicoro, Thornton-Bott and others. Of course, both of those women proved this past fall that their aerobic capacity has increased ten-fold.

If Dudek can't drop those two women, then it's possible that an Oregon Duck or Portland Pilot will be in contention for the win.

We should also highlight Stanford's Lucy Jenks. There's a chance that she puts herself in the conversation to win this race. She does, after all, hold a 9:04 (3k) personal best and just ran 15:42 for 5000 meters at Boston University (her PR is 15:41).

Despite what Pellicoro and Thornton-Bott did this past fall, it may actually be Jenks who has the most complete and well-rounded resume of the collegiates in this field. Admittedly, the Stanford distance talent has been a little inconsistent at times, but if she's firing on all cylinders this weekend, then I wouldn't be surprised if she pulled off an upset.

Stanford Stars Drop Down to Mile, Could Face Washington Standouts & Top-Tier Pros

The men's mile looks like it could be highly entertaining this weekend. Part of that is because there is a ton of star power in this field. The other part is because we have a handful of question for those said stars.

Stanford long distance stars, Ky Robinson and Cole Sprout, are both entered the mile for this weekend. Fellow teammates Thomas Boyden, Zane Bergen and John Lester are joining them in the top heat.

That Cardinal contingent will be tasked with taking down the likes of Kieran Lumb and Nathan Green, both from Washington. A handful of top pro runners such as Matt Centrowitz (Nike), John Gay (Canada) and Isaiah Harris (Brooks Beasts) will also be in this field.

We should note that Lumb, Green and Lester are all entered in other events as well. There is a chance that one of those men becomes a pacer or simply ends up opting out of the race.

But for now, let's just assume that everyone is racing the mile.

The (collegiate) favorite of this race is probably Kieran Lumb who holds a ridiculously fast mile time of 3:55 which he ran at this exact meet last year (before sustaining a season-ending injury). Based strictly on time, Lumb is the top collegiate to watch. However, this is also someone who struggled a bit in the 5000 meters at Boston University last month, settling for second-to-last place in the top heat (he still ran 13:39).

That 5k result was likely a fluke, but it does make us curious as to how competitive someone like Nathan Green could be in this race.

Despite running alongside superstar teammates throughout last spring as a true freshman, one could argue that Green was actually the most consistent 1500 meter runner who the Huskies had on their roster last year.

The Idaho native ran under 3:40 for the metric mile three different times last spring, secured a personal best of 3:37 in the event and later finished 7th at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

On paper, Green is probably the most refined collegiate miler in this field. That feels absurd to say about a guy who is a true sophomore (and a redshirt freshman this winter), but there isn't a true NCAA miler in this top mile heat other than him.

As for Ky Robinson and Cole Sprout, I feel fairly confident that both of these men can dip under the four-minute barrier this weekend. Of course, it's just a matter of how far under that barrier they can go.

Sprout is an interesting name. He was phenomenal on the grass this past fall and he's a better miler than his resume may suggest. However, this is also someone who was trying to run through a partially torn hamstring at the NCAA XC Championships under two months ago.

How will that affect Sprout in this race? And even throughout the season? The answer to those questions could easily be, "It won't affect him at all." And if that's the case, then I could see the Colorado native running around 3:57 or 3:58 this weekend.

Robinson, however, is a different story. This guy is easily one of the most talented men in the NCAA right now. Heck, we even have him listed at TSR #1 in our preseason indoor track rankings!

But this Aussie superstar is also a true long distance runner. According to TFRRS, he has never raced in any event under 3000 meters at the collegiate level. And in this kind of field, that inexperience could be a factor.

Robinson is obviously strong enough to stick with an aggressive pace. Whether or not he has the necessary turnover to be in contention for the win at the end of this race is still unknown.

However, I imagine that a fast mile time is arguably more important than a win for this Stanford ace. Because if he drops down well under four minutes, then Robinson will have one of the most complete distance running resumes in the entire country.

Also, be on the lookout for Thomas Boyden. He could certainly dip under the four-minute barrier and establish a versatile resume of his own.

Washington Men Load Up 3000 Meters

It seems as though the Washington Huskies are looking to make a statement in the men's 3000 meters this weekend. In the fastest heat, Coach Andy Powell has entered Kieran Lumb, Joe Waskom, Luke Houser and Aidan Ryan.

Of course, as we mentioned earlier, Lumb is also entered in the mile, so it's unclear if he will actually contest this event. The same can be said for both Joe Waskom and Luke Houser who are also entered in the 1000 meters.

If we assume that all three of those men are contesting the 3000 meters on Saturday, then we could be in store for some FAST times. This field also consists of Adidas pro Sam Prakel who just ran 13:15 (5k) last month at Boston University. And with Asics pro Johnny Gregorek also in this field, it's entirely possible that the front of this race becomes VERY fast.

But if Kieran Lumb is firing on all cylinders and is able to replicate some of the results that we've seen from him in the past, then I could absolutely see this Husky star winning this race.

Let's not forget, Lumb holds a 7:45 (3k) personal best. That's a faster personal best than what either Prakel or Greogrek have run (although not by much, those two guys have still run 7:46). And while those two professional distance talents may boast phenomenal mile speed, Lumb isn't dramatically too far behind with his 3:55 mark.

Of course, this is all assuming that Lumb is going to be racing at his best.

We then come to Joe Waskom. The 2022 outdoor national champion in the 1500 meters holds personal bests of 3:39 (1500), 3:56 (mile) and 8:35 (steeple). However, Waskom has actually never contested the open 3000 meters at the collegiate level.

Waskom's combination of mile and steeple success suggests that he should be able to dip under 7:55 this weekend. However, it's unclear just how far under he could/will go. The men's 3000 meters, like pretty much every distance event, has become ridiculously fast. So is it more likely that Waskom could run under 7:50? Honestly, I don't know.

Waskom is the reigning 1500 meter outdoor national champion and he absolutely deserved that title. No one in the NCAA was tactically better throughout the entirety of the 2022 postseason than this Washington star was.

However, Waskom's times do need to improve a bit. He has a large handful of really strong marks, but none that would necessarily classify him as "elite". That, of course, could change this weekend and over the next few months.

As for Luke Houser, he seems destined to run something along the lines of 7:47 or 7:48 this weekend. With personal bests of 3:37 (1500), 3:56 (mile), 7:52 (3k), 13:48 (5k XC) and 28:38 (10k XC), it feels like the 3000 meters could be / should be his ideal distance.

With the exception of a few races, Houser is fairly consistent. He knows how to be competitive in fields such as this and he's no stranger to running fast times in early January (he ran 3:57 in the mile at this same meet last year). Does that mean he'll establish a new PR this weekend? I would think so.

We then come to Aidan Ryan, a former D3 runner who left Williams as a graduate transfer to join the Huskies in Seattle, Washington this past summer.

Ryan was a true megastar at the Division Three level. He ran 3:56 (mile), 7:54 (3k) and 14:01 (5k), marks that put him in the all-time great conversation.

While some people may view Ryan as a miler, I would argue that he's just as good in the 3000 meters. The newest Husky star has great speed and endurance, theoretically making the 3k his sweet spot. And with a crazy-fast field that features many of his teammates, I don't think it's crazy to say that Ryan could at least scare the 7:50 barrier this weekend.

Whether or not he actually does that is a different story.

As for the other collegiates in this field, Stanford's Devin Hart is a key name to watch out for. He ran 7:51 (3k) in this event last winter and just had the best cross country season of his career.

Hart is undoubtedly in the best fitness of his life, but we don't always know what we're going to get from him. If you look at his times on the track over the past year, they're a little all over the place.

Still, if Hart is able to capitalize on the competition in this field, then he could certainly scare the 7:50 barrier.

Other names to keep an eye on are Meika Beaudoin-Rousseau (Stanford), Ahmed Ibrahim (Boise State) and Tyrone Gorze (Washington commit). Gorze is a high school star who thrives in the longer distances. If the future Husky has enough turnover for a race like this, then I'll be curious to see how far under 8:10 he can go.

Quick Hits: Entries That We Thought Were Interesting

New Mexico's Gracelyn Larkin is entered in both the 800 meters and the mile. Regardless of which one she actually races, I like that Coach Joe Franklin is adding some speed work to Larkin's schedule given how long distance-dominant she is.

Stanford's Roisin Willis, a true freshman who has run 1:59 for 800 meters, is entered the 400 meters this weekend. I like that move. That's an event that Willis can be instantly competitive in, but it also allows her to get comfortable in a collegiate indoor racing environment (not that she necessarily needs to) before attacking the 800 meters.

Someone from New Mexico or Washington is going to run a big PR or a ridiculously fast time in the women's mile this weekend. But between Stefanie Parsons, Anna Gibson, Madison Heisterman, Elise Thorner and Sophie O'Sullivan, I just don't know who that's going to be.

A large handful of Stanford's freshmen women are entered in the 3000 meters this weekend and I am very excited to see the results. Their performances likely won't have a major impact on the rest of the NCAA, but I think it'll be a great first look at these rookies on the track.

Oregon's Elliot Cook is entered in both the 800 meters and the 1000 meters. I'm not entirely sure which event he'll actually contest, but this will be an interesting weekend to see if Cook can show signs of being "the guy" for the Ducks this winter and spring.

Washington's Aaron Ahl, a graduate transfer from Simon Fraser, is entered in the second heat of the men's 1000 meters. I like that entry for Ahl who will be able to slowly introduce himself to the D1 level as he works to assimilate alongside an elite group of milers.

Speaking of Simon Fraser, keep an eye out for Charlie Dannatt. He's in the third heat of the men's 3000 meters which is quietly competitive. This could be a great opportunity for the Canadian distance standout to send a message to the rest of Division Two.

FINAL PREDICTIONS

*Collegiates only, assumes all runners will contest the race that they are entered in. Athletes who are entered in more than event are labelled with an asterisk.