JDL DMR Invite Preview

One of my favorite weekends of the entire year is finally here! With JDL's DMR Invite and Notre Dame's Alex Wilson Invitational scheduled for Friday and Saturday, this upcoming weekend looks like it's going to be all about the DMR.

The Distance Medley Relay is a unique event, as it combines a variety of middle distance events and forces teams to experiment with lineups to see which combinations produce the fastest times and become the most competitive.

Bold decisions, like placing your best miler on the 1200 meter leg, can make or break the outcome of a certain DMR race. The endless scenarios that you could see over these 4000 meters of collective competition is what makes the DMR such a thrill.

Each and every year, the JDL Fast Track facility in Winston-Salem, North Carolina emerges as one of the best places in the NCAA for teams to go after a fast DMR time. With flat-track conversions in their favor, this meet always produces a handful of national qualifying relay performances.

Yes, there are other open events at this meet that do have some talented names entered. However, for the sake of simplicity and time, we'll just be focusing on the DMR for this meet.

Below, we break down every single team in the men's and women's DMR "Elite" races.

So let's waste no time and jump into the analysis...

NOTE: Any and all analysis regarding who is running what leg on these DMR squads is based on what the JDL live results link indicates. It is very possible, maybe even probable, that these relay orders could change prior to the race or that the names are not in proper relay order.

---

MEN's ELITE DMR

Number in parentheses indicates heat section

Missouri Tigers (1)

It's fair to say that in comparison to conference rivals like Ole Miss and Arkansas, the Missouri men aren't exactly a distance running SEC powerhouse. However, this team has a handful of top-notch middle distance runners, including a nice mix of veterans and youngsters.

Martin Prodanov, a 3:58 miler, will anchor home this relay. That is hardly unexpected. Prodanov is super consistent, extremely strong, has great range and boasts sneaky-good speed. If he's in the mix on his anchor leg, he could help Missouri become the surprise DMR team of the weekend.

However, getting Prodanov the baton in a good position will be the biggest challenge and the main task at hand. This team will see Davis Helmrich on the opening leg while Matthew Harding will be on the 800 meter leg.

Helmrich has run 1:50 for 800 meters and 3:49 for 1500 meters. Those aren't bad results by any means, but even on Helmrich's best day, he may still be behind the leaders by one or two seconds.

Harding, meanwhile, owns a personal best of 1:49 for 800 meters, making him a perfect fit for the Missouri men. On paper, he should be able to maintain pace with the leaders, but whether or not he can cover moves and make up ground will be the biggest uncertainty.

Cincinnati Bearcats (1)

Overall, when looking at Cincinnati's lineup, it's hard to not be pleasantly surprised at the pieces they have. Despite losing Aaron Bienenfeld to a graduate transfer situation and Alec Sandusky to a pro contract, the Bearcats still have a few key pieces.

Tyler Wirth, the Pennsylvania native, was one of the most underrated middle distance prep talents in the country as a high schooler. Since joining the collegiate ranks, Wirth has made notable improvements and has become the primary name on the distance side of this Cincy roster.

His marks of 4:00 (mile) and 8:07 (3k) are really solid times, showing a lot of strength and an ability to stick with fast paces. While his resume may not have the allure of a sub-four mile mark or a sub-eight 3k result, Wirth is still very capable of being a factor late in these races.

The rest of his lineup is fairly solid. Jonathan Harley has run 3:46 for 1500 meters and 4:07 in the mile. Meanwhile, Siro Pina Cardona has run 1:52 for 800 meters.

Both Harley and Pina Cardona are respectable pieces of this relay, but someone will need to step up in order to put Wirth in a good position.

The good news is that each of these men are coming off of numerous personal bests at the Music City Challenge, indicating that this entire relay as a whole is beginning to hit their postseason peak.

A lot needs to happen for the Bearcats to be that surprise team of the weekend, but they have a lot of momentum on their side as well as one of the more underrated anchors in either heat.

Virginia Tech Hokies (1)

On paper, there is zero reason why this Virginia Tech team should lose this heat. They are, without question, the overwhelming favorites to take home gold in their section. In fact, they could probably be argued as the favorites to take home overall gold.

The only thing that could (and might) hold them back from doing so would be their heat not being fast enough to give the Hokies the fastest time of the day.

Their 1200 leg, 800 leg and 1600 leg feature Ben Fleming, Seb Anthony and Antonio Lopez Segura, in that order. For those keeping track at home, that's a 3:59 miler, a 1:48 runner and a 3:56 miler on those respective legs.

This team was built for the DMR. Not just to qualify for the indoor national meet, but to earn All-American honors once they are there. The best leg (at any distance) for any of the other team in this heat is probably of an equal caliber (or below) to any distance leg of this Virginia Tech lineup.

On paper, this Virginia Tech relay should blow their competition away. Of course, surprises always happen, especially when you need to rely on four men to run their best on the same day.

The ultimate question for the Hokies is not if they'll win their heat, but rather, will they run fast enough to outpace the teams in heat two?

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1)

If any team is going to take down the Hokies in heat one, it's going to be the Demon Deacons. Their relay lineup isn't necessarily built for the DMR, but they could absolutely keep things competitive with Virginia Tech.

Assuming the entries on the JDL live results are accurate in terms of the relay order, the Demon Deacons are opting to put Kenton Bachmann (1:48 runner) on their 1200 meter leg while placing Joaquin Martinez De Pinillos (4:01 miler) on the 800 meter leg.

Meanwhile, Coen Roberts, a 3:49 runner for 1500 meters, is going to be on the anchor leg.

This is an...interesting lineup for the Wake Forest men to put together. Bachmann would make more sense on the 800 meter leg while De Pinillos would probably be best on the 1200 meter leg.

As for the anchor position, Roberts is a strong talent, but he is probably best suited for the longer distances. Where is Archie Wallis, a 1:49 runner for 800 meters? Where is Luke Tewalt, a 3:59 miler? Where is Thomas Vanoppen, a 3:37 runner for 1500 meters?

I don't have the answer to those questions, but I'm a little perplexed.

Virginia Cavaliers (2)

This is a sneaky-good Virginia relay which features a handful of really solid talents. Yasin Sado is on the 1200 meter leg with a 4:02 mile PR. Liam Bellamy is a second-year talent on the 800 meter leg with a 1:50 personal best for that distance. Wes Porter, meanwhile, will be on the anchor leg, rocking personal bests of 3:41 (1500) and 4:00 (mile).

I don't see a scenario where the Cavaliers have a "poor" race, but I do wonder how they are going to match the firepower in this second heat.

The Cavaliers have a bunch of really solid talents who have been fairly consistent this year, but trying to find someone who can deliver upper-echelon scoring potency to counter the likes of Nick Dahl (Duke), Evan Dorenkamp (Penn State), Parker Wolfe (North Carolina) will be a challenge.

Duke Blue Devils (2)

Here's the thing: This entire Duke relay basically hinges on the success of Nick Dahl on the anchor leg. Of course, in order for him to have success, he needs to be put in a position to do so.

I really like the idea of putting Carter Dillon on the opening leg, but I'm not sure what we're going to get from him. He's run a great time of 2:23 for 1000 meters this season, but has also run a fine, but rather unexciting mark of 1:53 in the 800 meters.

Which side of him will we see this weekend? A great race from Dillon could be enough to keep the Blue Devils in this race and give Dahl a chance at major success if he's in the mix.

As for Jackson Walker, his 800 meter PR of 1:50 is respectable. While it would maybe be more beneficial to see him have a personal best of 1:49, he is arguably just as good as the rest of the 800 meter legs in this field. The chances of Walker having an "off" day this weekend are just as high (or just as low) as anyone else.

Ultimately, I'm not sure what we should expect from this relay, but they have the pieces to be successful. However, whether or not all of those pieces come together on the same day will be the real determining factor in this race (which is such an obvious statement to make, but you get what I'm saying here).

Penn State Nittany Lions (2)

Could Penn State win this race? I mean the entire race, not just the field.

Evan Dorenkamp has emerged as one of the best milers in the country, first running 3:57 earlier this season and later running 3:55 last weekend. He boasts national meet experience and has run 1:49 for 800 meters. His level of mile fitness is completely unmatched right now by anyone in this DMR field (except maybe Dahl) and he has shown on numerous occasions that he can hang with top-level competition.

Honestly, I'm not sure there is an anchor leg in this field that I like more than Dorenkamp. That's saying quite a bit considering that Nick Dahl is in this heat and that Lopez Segura is in heat one.

Despite Dorenkamp's prowess on the anchor leg, it's the rest of this lineup that makes me believe that the Nittany Lions can win it all.

Brandon Hontz is good.

Really good.

He's much better than some people realize. This guy just ran a 4:02 mile, but has often been injured and running relatively low mileage at certain times throughout his college career. His ability to consistently bounce back and drop solid results is wildly impressive.

He's never run an open 800 meter race collegiately, but his mile and 1500 meter prowess should be enough to get him through the opening leg. With the exception of UNC's Jesse Hunt, I'm not sure there is another opening leg who is going to be that much better (or worse) than Hontz is on paper.

And that's why having Olivier Desmeules on the 800 meter leg is huge. He's run 1:48 for 800 meters before and has already run 1:49 this season. The Canadian middle distance runner could very easily be the differentiating factor that gives Penn State the win over UNC in this field.

A great race by Desmeules could essentially lock all of that down.

On paper, I see only upside and little downside to this Penn State lineup. The only thing they have going against them is experience. Hontz hasn't raced against high-level fields like this a ton while both Desmeules and Dorenkamp are still considered to be underclassmen by eligibility.

The Tar Heels have proven that they can field a nationally competitive relay before and they have some high-octane pieces of their DMR squad. Does Penn State have enough raw talent to fend off UNC? I guess we'll find out...

Georgetown Hoyas (2)

Much like Wake Forest, I don't know what the Georgetown men are doing with this lineup. Don't get me wrong, this is a really solid DMR crew that could be quietly competitive in this field, but...what is Joshua Paige doing on the anchor leg?

Obviously, a sprinter like Paige isn't going to be the mile anchor for this team. He will almost surely be running the 400 meter leg, although that does make us question the order of these other relays, even though most of them make sense.

As for Ethan Delgado, Camden Gilmore and Tim McInerney, this could be a really good relay that has a ton of potential. Delgado has run 1:49 for 800 meters, McInerney has run 1:49 for 800 meters and Gilmore recently became a 3:58 miler.

On paper, this team could actually qualify for the national meet this weekend...without their top-three milers! That's insane!

But that leads me to a new question: Why not put Salisbury, Payamps, Stokes and/or Rizzo on this relay? Those guys carry with them tons of raw firepower and if you think about it, they could contend for the win on Friday.

The Georgetown women are attending the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame, but one source has indicated that the Hoya men will not be at Notre Dame this weekend, nor will they be at Arkansas.

That's why I'm a little perplexed to see this relay combination at Camel City.

Again, this is not to say that this is a bad relay. In a perfect scenario, they could pull off a massive upset this weekend even though the deck is stacked against them.

It's just a surprise to see a fairly competitive DMR being fielded without the juggernaut pieces that would make the Hoyas an All-American threat in this event.

North Carolina Tar Heels (2)

If Penn State isn't your favorite to take home the win, then the North Carolina Tar Heels probably are. On paper, this lineup has a combination of raw firepower, tactical prowess and national meet experience that is going to be really tough to match.

The men from Chapel Hill finished 3rd in this event at the indoor national meet last winter, running one of the fastest DMR times ever. However, star talents like Brandon Tubby and Thomas Ratcliffe are no longer members of this relay.

Instead, the UNC men will have Jesse Hunt, a 3:39 runner for 1500 meters, and Parker Wolfe, a cross country All-American and 4:00 miler, in this lineup. They'll also have Kyle Reinheimer, a 1:49 man, presumably on their 800 meter leg.

Based on the entries, it appears that Hunt is going to be on the lead-off leg while Wolfe will be anchoring. Of course, it is very possible that those are not the correct legs and that they are instead switched.

However, for the sake of this article, let's assume that Hunt is on the lead-off and Wolfe is on the anchor.

At first glance, that may seem like a counterintuitive move. Why would Hunt, your best 1500/mile runner, be on the 1200 meter leg, sacrificing time that could he could net-gain at the anchor position?

However, what we have to realize is that Wolfe is very clearly a long distance runner. The further he drops down into the middle distances, the greater the risk is, especially when you consider that he has only ever run the 800 meters twice with both instances coming during his high school days.

Would Wolfe hold his own on the 1200 meter leg? Probably. He has given us very little reason to doubt him this year.

Still, the safer bet, if you're looking for a national qualifying time, is to put your speedier, more experienced miler on the opening leg and let Wolfe, who has the raw fitness to run by himself, run on the anchor leg.

In mind, that makes a little more sense.

How Wolfe responds to challenges from elite milers like Nick Dahl, Evan Dorenkamp and even 3:58 man Camden Gilmore will be a great indication of what we could expect from this relay in the postseason, assuming they qualify.

Final Predictions (times are unconverted):

1. North Carolina Tar Heels (2) -- 9:36

2. Penn State Nittany Lions (2) -- 9:36

3. Virginia Tech Hokies (1) -- 9:37

4. Duke Blue Devils (2) -- 9:39

5. Georgetown Hoyas (2) -- 9:41

6. Virginia Cavaliers (2) -- 9:43

7. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1) -- 9:45

8. Missouri Tigers (1) -- 9:45

9. Cincinnati Bearcats (1) -- 9:46

---

WOMEN's ELITE DMR

Number in parentheses indicates heat section

Wake Forest Demon Deacons (1)

Gosh, what a challenging relay to figure out. The Wake Forest women surprised me two years ago when they put together a fairly competitive relay with a handful of young and inexperienced women.

Nowadays, despite making me look silly back then, I'm still doubting them.

Honestly, I don't know what order the Demon Deacons are going for.

Based on the entries, Hana Catsimanes (a 4:50 miler) would be the lead-off leg, Aleeya Hutchins (a 56.87 runner for 400 meters) would be on the 400 meter leg, Laura Guidice (a 2:10 runner for 800 meters) would be on the 800 meter leg and Mackenna Curtis-Collins (a 9:14 runner for 3000 meters who has also run 4:26 for 1500 meters) is on the anchor leg.

I suppose this relay makes sense, but it certainly confused me for a little bit. Hutchins is an outstanding 800 meter runner when she's at her best, owning a personal best of 2:04 for the half-mile distance.

However, Hutchins has been unable to run faster than 2:13 in two 800 meter races this winter, so it makes sense that she gets moved to the 400 meter leg.

As for Guidice, she has run 2:50 for 1000 meters which would have made her a better option for the 1200 meter spot. However, Guidice is Wake Forest's fastest 800 meter runner this season while Catsimanes hasn't ever run an 800 meter race in her collegiate career.

And while Catsimanes has never run an open 800 meter race, she does own a 4:50 mile time which makes her spot in the 1200 meters a little more reasonable.

And yes, that was very confusing to follow, I know.

All of this is assuming that the entries are accurate for the order of their relay legs. If they are, then it looks like Wake Forest's coaching staff did a really nice job of balancing the trade-offs of certain athletes moving down in distance.

Do I still see this relay making noise in this field? Admittedly no, I don't think there's enough firepower on this team for that to happen, but I do think that the order of their relay is optimal.

Kentucky Wildcats (1)

The Kentucky coaching staff is very, very smart. Despite running a surprisingly fast time of 11:01 in the DMR a few weeks ago, the Wildcats have opted to contest this event with a stacked lineup once more.

With the NCAA becoming increasingly faster with each and every weekend, times that were once shoo-ins for the indoor national meet are now out of the national qualifying conversation.

So while it may have seemed a bit absurd to worry that an 11:01 mark wouldn't qualify your team for the indoor national meet, the last few weeks have suggested that most times from the month of January are not locks to qualify.

This lineup order of Jenna Gearing (1200), Jenna Schwinghamer (800) and Tori Herman (1600) makes plenty of sense for this weekend, especially since this was the squad that ran 11:01 a few weeks back.

The only difference is that the 400 meter leg now Dajour Miles who will seemingly fill-in for former 400 meter leg, Megan Moss.

Honestly, I don't have a lot to say here. This team is really solid in every single aspect of their relay. They're all above-average talents in their respective legs and they already have a proven ability to put together a nationally competitive lineup.

Given how strong each of these distance legs are, a poor race by one woman isn't going to crumble the hopes of this relay.

However, there also isn't a ton of elite-level firepower in one singular leg of this relay. While a rough outing from one of these women won't be the end of the world, it will still limit the Wildcats from bettering their last performance.

In other words, there isn't, in my opinion, necessarily one heroic distance talent on this relay who can completely save the day if someone doesn't have their best race.

Also, where is Phoebe McCowan? Or DeAnna Martin? Or Alexis Holmes? Or Bryanna Lucas?

McCowan has run 2:45 for 1000 meters, Martin has run 2:05 for 800 meters, Holmes has run 51.27 for 400 meters and Lucas has run 2:06 for 800 meters.

If you believe that the 1000 meters is a better indicator of 1200 meter fitness rather than the mile, wouldn't it make more sense to put McCowan on the opening leg?

When you consider that Martin has run (slightly) faster in the 800 meters than Schwinghamer this season and is more experienced, wouldn't it make more sense to put Martin on the 800 meter leg instead?

What about Holmes? She has run well into the 51-second range for 400 meters this winter. On paper, she is the clear and obvious choice to be the second-leg of this relay. There are few 400 meter legs in the country who can make the kind of impact that Holmes could in this DMR, so why is she not even in it? Not even for national qualifying purposes?

This Kentucky relay is too deep to have a poor race this weekend, but I think they're leaving a few seconds on the table based on a few absences from their lineup.

But hey, I could be wrong.

I have been before.

Virginia Cavaliers (1)

Right now, the live results / entries suggest that recent 4:35 miler Mia Barnett will be on the 1200 meter leg while fellow freshman Margot Appleton will be on the anchor leg.

Much like the UNC men, this may not make sense at first glance.

However, just like I spoke about with the Tar Heels, this is actually a great move. Barnett is very clearly a middle distance specialist and has proven that she can be competitive from the gun. That alone should make her a great choice for the 1200 meter leg.

Appleton, meanwhile, has run 4:45 in the mile, although she is more of a long distance specialist, mainly thriving in the 3000 meters and the 5000 meters.

Putting Appleton in a position to drop down in distance any further than the mile is a big ask and it involves some risk. Instead, the Virginia coaching staff is minimizing that risk by putting Appleton in the longest distance leg possible.

If the rest of this relay can deliver on expectations and Appleton can do her part, then the UVA women might (emphasis on "might") be able to sneak into the national meet after this weekend.

However, if I was a betting man, I would think that UVA is probably one year away from making it to the indoor national meet with this lineup.

This group is VERY inexperienced and projected 800 meter leg, Alahna Sabbaakhan, despite owning a personal best of 2:07, will also need to run her absolute best race in order for this relay to qualify.

A lot of things need to go right in order for this relay to qualify for Nationals, but it's not impossible.

Vanderbilt Commodores (1)

The Vanderbilt Commodores haven't exactly been one of the top teams in the SEC as of late. The firepower of these established superstar programs has left Vanderbilt unappreciated, but that could change this weekend.

Here's the deal: Vanderbilt has the pieces to be competitive this weekend. If you're an NFL fan, they're basically the Cincinnati Bengals. They have some really solid weapons, but the deck is still stacked against them and a lot of things need to go right.

And yet, this Vanderbilt team still feels like a team of destiny, much like the Bengals were.

Grace Jensen, a 4:39 miler, will presumably be on the anchor leg. While it may have been preferable to put her on the opening leg, the net-gain she provides this lineup (time-wise) as the anchor is too much to pass up.

Instead, Caroline Eck, who has run 2:50 for 1000 meters, will takeover lead-off duties while Taiya Shelby, who has run 2:07 for 800 meters, will take over the third leg in this lineup.

On paper, that relay squad actually matches up pretty well with the other top teams in this field. They may not have the same firepower as Virginia Tech, West Virginia, NC State or Washington, but their first three legs could actually keep pace with the top women.

Jensen, meanwhile, has proven that she can be competitive with some of the top names in the country. She was, after all, only one-second behind Auburn star Presley Weems in the 1000 meters back in January as well as one-second ahead of Georgia Tech star Nicole Fegans in that race.

On paper, Jensen is due for a mile performance in the 4:37 range. Could that happen this weekend on her anchor split? If so, then we may be looking at Vanderbilt as a national qualifying relay.

And honestly, that's not something I ever thought I would say.

NC State Wolfpack (1)

You could make the argument that the NC State women have the best lead-off leg in this entire race with Samantha Bush. The Wolfpack cross country All-American ran a monster time of 2:43 for 1000 meters earlier this season.

She later followed-up that performance with a 4:37 flat-track converted mile on this same track. However, the pacing in that race was a bit slow, leading me to believe that Bush could probably run faster than a converted 4:37.

Having Bush on the 1200 meter leg is massive and having a 4:39 miler in Savannah Shaw on the anchor leg is promising as well.

The uncertainty, however, comes in the middle portion of this lineup. Anna Vess, who is arguably the most underrated distance athlete on NC State's team, is slotted to be the 800 meter leg.

This season, Vess has only contested the 800 meters once, running 2:09 in the process.

That was her fastest indoor 800 meter time by a whopping nine seconds.

Her personal best, however, is 2:06 from the 2021 outdoor track season. That kind of mark gives us reason to believe that there MIGHT be a few extra seconds that Vess could chop off from her indoor PR this weekend.

And if that happens, then NC State could seriously contend for the win, especially if the other favorites in this field see one of their legs produce an "off" day.

That, however, will be a challenge given who the next team on this list is...

Washington Huskies (1)

There is, without question, no reason why the Washington Huskies should lose this race.

Assuming the entries are accurate for the order of these relays, the Huskies have Madison Heisterman (4:33 miler) on the 1200 meter leg, Carley Thomas (2:02 runner for 800 meters) on the 800 meter leg and Allie Schadler (4:31 miler) on the anchor leg.

Now, despite the elite credentials of these women, there are some notes that need to be made when it comes to this relay.

Anna Gibson, a 4:32 miler and 2:05 runner for 800 meters, is on the 400 meter leg, although she has never contested the open 400 meters in her college career.

Carley Thomas may own a personal best of 2:02 for 800 meters, but she hasn't run faster than 2:05 this season as she continues to rebound from a broken femur that she sustained back in 2020.

Schadler is still a superstar, but has only run 4:35 in the mile this season in comparison to her 4:31 mile personal best.

In case it wasn't obvious, this relay isn't necessarily perfect. Gibson isn't the ideal 400 meter leg and neither Schadler nor Thomas are at the peak of their past fitness.

That, however, shouldn't really make a difference.

Even with this relay not at 100%, the Huskies are still the overwhelming favorites. A solid, but modest race for some of these Washington women would still be considered one of the best career races ever for many of their opponents.

The Washington women almost seem like too obvious of a pick here. What am I missing? Surely there has to be some downside to this team or lineup combination, right? If there is, then I certainly don't know what it is.

Richmond Spiders (2)

The Richmond coaching staff doesn't get enough credit for how strong they've been over the last few years in the middle distances. Brooke Fazio is only one of the highly competitive middle distance talents that the Spiders have had on their roster as of late.

Fazio in the 800 meter spot makes sense, especially since teammate Kayla O'Connell is expected to take the 1200 meter spot given her 2:48 mark for 1000 meters.

Meanwhile, on the anchor leg, we will likely see Elizabeth Stockton in that position.

Here's the thing with Stockton: She's a solid talent who has run 4:48 in the mile and 4:26 for 1500 meters. There's a greater chance than not that she runs something somewhat close to that on Friday.

However, compared to other presumed anchor legs like Savannah Shaw (NC State), Allie Schadler (Washington), Lindsey Butler (Virginia Tech), Grace Jensen (Vanderbilt), Ceili McCabe (West Virginia) and Tori Herman (Kentucky), Stockton's personal bests are still a good ways back from her competitors.

Despite that, I still see a somewhat realistic scenario where Richmond remains competitive in this field. O'Connell will need to replicate the fitness she found in her 1000 meter effort from earlier this season and build off of that.

Fazio, meanwhile, might be the best 800 meter talent in this field and could actually make up tons of ground on the rest of her competition.

Stockton, however, needs to run near (or at) her personal best -- preferably better than that -- in order to keep the Spiders in the mix.

In other words, everything needs to go right for Richmond this weekend.

While that may be a bit of a reach for some programs, there is a realistic scenario where this team surprises a few people. This would probably be the most challenging national qualifying scenario to pull off, but the Spiders have a lineup built to do exactly that.

West Virginia Mountaineers (2)

If you're looking for a sleeper pick, you've got to choose the West Virginia women.

While NC State and Washington headline this field, it's the Mountaineers who have a lineup that could not only qualify for the national meet, but also become All-Americans.

Ceili McCabe is in this lineup which is HUGE. The 3000 meter superstar hasn't raced since December, creating a cause for concern as to when she would compete again.

Luckily, her next race will likely be a heroic effort to lead the West Virginia women to the indoor national meet. And it's not just McCabe who will carry the burden of this DMR. In fact, this may be one of the more balanced relays in the country.

Haley Jackson has run 4:39 in the mile and has run 4:19 for 1500 meters. Not only that, but she has also run 2:48 for 1000 meters this season. Unbelievably, she may actually have the credentials to stick with the likes of Bush and Heisterman on the opening leg.

Meanwhile, Jo-Lauren Keane will run the 800 meter leg, having run 2:05 for the distance in what has been a monumental breakout season for her.

On paper, West Virginia may actually have the best 1200 meter / 800 meter combo in this field. There are a ton of past performances from both Jackson and Keane to suggest that they will deliver this weekend.

And that, of course, leaves us wondering what McCabe could run in the 1600 meters come Friday.

McCabe has run 4:19 for 1500 meters which is really solid. However, she ran that time last spring, well before she had her breakout cross country season and before she had her statement 3k race in Decemember.

It is abundantly clear that McCabe, assuming that she is healthy, is in the best shape of her life right now. However, it has yet to be seen how her newfound fitness will translate to the shorter mile distance. If she's one or two seconds better than her PR equivalent, then that won't change the outcome of this race much.

But if McCabe is splitting 4:36 or faster, then maybe Washington isn't the comfortable favorite in this race after all.

I just see too much firepower and too much opportunity for this West Virginia squad to not be a top-three team and a national qualifying relay come Friday.

North Carolina Tar Heels (2)

This North Carolina relay is young. I mean REALLY young. If the entry orders are accurate, then true freshman Carlee Hansen is the 1200 meter leg, true freshman Alyssa Hernandez is the 400 meter leg, true freshman Mikayla Paige is the 800 meter leg and true freshman Brynn Brown is the anchor leg.

Based on the amount of time competing in the NCAA, this has to be the single youngest DMR lineup in the country this year.

In my mind, this could go one of two ways...

Each of these youngsters could continue to channel the elite talent that they had in high school and tap into that unlimited ceiling by putting togethr major, superstar-level performances on Friday.

Or, their inexperience could get the best of them in a crowded, high-level field that is loaded with top-notch veterans from powerhouse programs.

This is a challenging relay to figure out. On paper, this group is so darn fast. Hansen has run 2:46 for 1000 meters, Paige has run 2:04 for 800 meters and Brown has run 4:37 in the mile.

That is A LOT of scoring potency.

All things considered, I think it's more likely that this team has a good race than not. There is too much talent for them to run poorly. Each of these women perfectly fit into the certain leg they are running and have seemed unfazed by the competition around them this year.

I don't really know how this race is going to unfold for them, especially given their youth, but gosh, I'm scared to bet against any team, squad, relay, etc. that is led by Coach Miltenberg.

Boston University Terriers (2)

If we're being completely transparent, I don't know as much about as this Boston University team as a few others.

Andrea Cleason is a really solid anchor piece who has run 4:39 in the mile this season. She has a handful of strong middle distance marks to validate her talent, but Cleason will be the main driver of this relay.

Meghan Convery at the 1200 meter leg is a respectable option, especially given her 4:45 mile PR as well as her 2:09 personal best for 800 meters last month.

As for Madeline Bachmann, her 800 meter PR sits at 2:12 for the distance and she'll be running that distance on this relay come Friday.

Truthfully, I just don't know if the Terriers have enough overall firepower to stay with the top teams in this field. They have some respectable relay pieces, but even if they all run personal bests, I'm still not sure they'll be able to make it past 9th or 10th place.

Of course, I've been wrong before. Cleason is a pretty solid talent and could be a bigger factor than we realize depending on where she gets the baton.

Penn State Nittany Lions (2)

I'm not going to lie, I'm a little bummed that the Penn State Nittany Lions aren't fielding their best possible lineup. This group had so much potential if Allison Johnson and Rachel Gearing were featured relay pieces, but the women from State College could still salvage a solid result.

Madeline Ullom has run 2:51 for 1000 meters this season, making her a natural fit for the 1200 meter leg come Friday. However, she has actually run as fast as 2:49 for 1000 meters before and has also run 4:44 in the mile.

Relative to past performances, Ullom may actually fit into the 1200 meter leg better than any other woman in this field.

2:03 runner Victoria Tachinski on the 800 meter leg makes total sense, as does 4:42 miler Mackenna Krebs on the anchor.

When you begin to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together, Penn State suddenly has a really strong DMR that could play spoiler for a few teams. Their 800 meter leg (Tachinski) may counter Brooke Fazio as the best half-miler in this field and the rest of their distance legs are just flat-out solid.

How Ullom actually translates her current fitness to the opening leg will ultimately be the determining factor in how high the ceiling is for this Penn State relay. I'm not sure I see a lot of scenarios where they run poorly, but them trying to match the raw firepower of these other relays could be a challenge.

Virginia Tech Hokies (2)

I'd be lying if I said I didn't have any bias here. As a Virginia Tech graduate, I naturally want the Hokies to do well. And honestly, given their current lineup, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't.

Assuming the order is correct, Leigha Torino will run the 1200 meter leg, Hannah Ballowe will run the 800 meter leg and Lindsey Butler will run the 1600 meter leg. On paper, that is a TON of middle distance firepower.

Not only that, but there is also a ton of experience on that relay. Torino and Butler were individual national qualifiers in the 800 meters last year while Ballowe was part of Virginia Tech's national qualifying DMR squad.

In other words, they are the antithesis of North Carolina's lineup.

Here's a crazy stat: All three of those women have run 2:44 or faster for 1000 meters this winter. That is a CRAZY amount of middle distance firepower which should, theoretically, translate to the DMR.

Torino does have to move up in distance a bit, but her 4:42 mile performance from earlier this season doesn't give us a whole lot to dislike about her on the opening leg. Butler, meanwhile, is also moving up in distance from her primary event, but she has run 4:14 for 1500 meters, so she is more than capable of being an effective anchor.

You could maybe make the argument that some of these women aren't perfect fits for their respective DMR legs unlike a few of their opponents, but even that might be a stretch.

Virginia Tech has proven to be a reliable middle distance program each and every year and it should not at all be a shock to see them pull out a top-three finish on Friday.

Final Predictions (times are unconverted):

1. Washington Huskies (1) -- 11:06

2. West Virginia Mountaineers (2) -- 11:07

3. Virginia Tech Hokies (2) -- 11:08

4. NC State Wolfpack (1) -- 11:10

5. Kentucky Wildcats (1) -- 11:11

6. North Carolina Tar Heels (2) -- 11:11

7. Penn State Nittany Lions (2) -- 11:13

8. Vanderbilt Commodores (1) -- 11:14

9. Virginia Cavaliers (1) -- 11:15

10. Richmond Spiders (2) -- 11:17

11. Boston University Terriers (2) -- 11:22

12. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2) -- 11:26