Payton Jordan Preview

The Payton Jordan Invite held at Stanford is one of the fastest distance meets in the country for both collegiates and a handful of professionals (specifically Americans). With tomorrow's fields set in stone, we've got a lot of collegiate action to preview. Let's dive in...

Entries + Results found here

The men's 1500 is STACKED

Grant Fisher may capture all of the attention, but he has some upper-echelon elites next to him on both the collegiate and pro levels. Clayton Murphy, Sean McGorty, Mo Ahmed, and Robert Domanic are not only high-level professionals, but they are guys who are not afraid to make these kind of races fast. The aggressive pace could force Fisher under the 3:40 barrier for the first time in his career. At the same time, Fisher will have to deal with some of the best middle distance runners in the country such as the Oregon duo of James West and Reed Brown, Washington's Mick Stanovsek, Arizona State's William Paulson, and Nebraska's George Kusche.

Truthfully, I don't know if Fisher is favored to be the top collegiate in this race. He's far better suited for the 5000 meters and the names that I just mentioned are far more experienced against competition like this. If I had to guess, I'm taking Paulson or one of the Oregon men to emerge as the top collegiate finisher.

Hull and Birk drop down in distance for another matchup

Honestly, Hull and Birk may be (arguably) two of the better athletes in this field. Marielle Hall from Nike Bowerman Track Club* will make things interesting up front, but I could imagine Hull and Birk duking it out in the final lap of the race. The pace could become incredibly quick (which I think may benefit Birk more than anyone) and could push this field to a time that is potentially faster than 4:07. Plus, women are simply more willing to pursue a faster pace than the men are (don't ask me to provide statistics for that, I don't have any).

*We incorrectly stated that Marielle Hall belonged to Nike Oregon Project. Thanks to one of our readers for the correction!

This is a massively important race because it could sway which event these women choose to run at Nationals depending on how they perform. Does Jones returning to the 1500 make Hull or Birk think twice about racing that event? If Hull runs a fast 1500, does that mean Birk should want to run the 5000 at Nationals for a better chance at NCAA gold? Many of these are repeat questions that we asked in our feature article last week...

Race to Watch: Ostrander vs Prouse vs Cohen

We finally have the race we were looking for. Allie Ostrander is having the best race of her collegiate career, but can she fend off two major steeplechase threats? The New Mexico duo of Charlotte Prouse and Adva Cohen have personal bests that could easily threaten Ostrander and in a race where tactics are less apparent, those personal bests become far more important. This will likely be a preview for what we can expect to see at the National Championships next month.

Questionable seeding in the men's steeplechase

How are we not going to see the defending NCAA steeplechase champion (Obsa Ali) and the BYU duo (Matt Owens and Clayson Shumway) in the same heat? At the same time, how do Owens and Shumway not make the fast heat? Truthfully, I'm not sure heat one is overwhelmingly faster than heat two. Actually, they feel pretty even. Still, I think this could have been a great preview for what we could see at the National Championships if all three of these men were in the same race.

Regardless, you have to be excited about some of the other names headlining these fields. Guys like Ryan Smeeton (Oklahoma State) and Emmanuel Rotich (Tulane) are capable of running under 8:40 (Rotich has done it before) and they will not make this pace slow. With Michael Jordan of the American Distance Project also in heat two, I imagine that Owens and Shumway will have their work cut out for them.

NAU vs BYU...again

The BYU duo of Conner Mantz and Clayton Young captured headlines in late March when they went 1-2 at the Stanford Invite with the top two 10k times in the country. They'll return to the same track to post a pair of fast 5000 meter times, although they'll have to face a group from NAU that is moving up in distance after throwing down monster 1500 meter performances at Bryan Clay.

The Lumberjack trio of Luis Grijalva, Geordie Beamish, and Tyler Day will look to put themselves back into the All-American conversation tomorrow after Beamish and Grijalva ran a pair of 3:39's. If either of those men run well enough tomorrow night, they could have the difficult decision of choosing to race either the 1500 or 5000 meters at NCAA's.

As for Day, it seems relatively clear that he is (once again) going to pursue the 10k/5k double. It's a good choice when you consider that his best chance at NCAA gold is in the 10,000 meters, an event that he would be fresh for if he opted to pursue the double again.

In the grand scheme of things, this rivalry won't mean a ton at Payton Jordan. Still, who doesn't like a sub-plot to follow?

Kelati & Kurgat against the pro's in the 5k

We still haven't seen Monson return after her less-than-ideal performance in the Stanford Invite 10k. If Monson continues to stay absent for the rest of the season, Kelati could suddenly become the national title favorite, especially if she runs a mark near, at, or under 15:20 tomorrow night.

A time like that could plunge a metaphorical dagger into the heart of so many women who may see vulnerabilities in the 5000 meter field this season. With Lokedi gone, Monson absent, Kurgat struggling, Hull potentially defending her title in the 1500, and Birk possibly dropping down in distance to contend the same event, the 5000 meters seems like it's Kelati's to lose come June.

On the other hand, this is a huge opportunity for Ednah Kurgat to regain her confidence. She's been underwhelming over the last few months and hasn't seemed like she's capable of returning to the level of someone who is capable of winning a national title. That said, this could be her opportunity to silence the doubters (pretty much just me) and put herself back in the discussion for NCAA gold.

Other quick thoughts

- I could've sworn Mick Stanovsek was entered in the 800. Did I read that completely wrong? Maybe I did, or maybe he switched events last second. Oh well. Not important.

- Watch out for George Espino (Southern Utah). He's already run 1:47 this season and could be on the verge of dipping into 1:46 territory.

- No women in the 10,000 meters? That's surprising. I get that the Stanford Invite is home to most of the fast collegiate 10k's nowadays, but I was surprised we didn't see one collegiate elite in there on the women's side.

- McMillan and Linkletter running the 10,000 meters should be interesting to watch. In an interview with TSR back in March, Linkletter indicated that he would prefer to race the 10k at Nationals if everything went according to plan. After running 13:36 at Bryan Clay, he'll be aiming for a big time to possibly put him in the national title conversation.

- Sydney Gidabuday could end up breaking the D2 national record for the 5000 meters tomorrow night and I don't think anyone realizes that. The record is 13:22 and the Adams State veteran has already run 13:29 in his career. Keep an eye on that as you're watching the race tomorrow night...

- Speaking of D2, the women's steeplechase at Payton Jordan could be a national preview. Julia Howley (Simon Fraser), Alicja Konieczek (Western Colorado), and Eilish Flanagan (Adams State) could scare the 10 minute barrier this weekend. Howley is currently the top name on the D2 leaderboard with a time of 10:02, but Flanagan and Konieczek are capable of securing a similar mark. This could be a huge race that may complicate the national title picture more than we realize.

- Heat two of the women's 5k is quietly strong. Lauren LaRocco (Portland), Paige Stoner (Syracuse), Taylor Werner (Arkansas), Fiona O'Keeffe (Stanford), and Elly Henes (NC State) are some of the top collegiates in that field. I'm surprised that none of them were able to make the hot heat. At least one of these women could run under 15:30 tomorrow night.