PREDICTIONS: 2024 Boston U. Terrier DMR Challenge

Maura Beattie
Feb 15, 2024
5 min read

Predictions & Analysis by Maura Beattie, editing via Garrett Zatlin

Get excited everyone! DMR week is finally here!

The week before most of the major conference championships is what most people around the country would consider to be "DMR week." This is when the best distance programs in the NCAA assemble their best possible lineups to go after a national qualifying mark in this event.

Usually, the Alex Wilson Invite at Notre Dame and, more recently, the Arkansas Qualifier, have been the top meets that most teams have ventured to in order to run a fast DMR time. And while those meets are still set to be plenty entertaining, it's the inaugural "Terrier DMR Challenge" at Boston U. that will also be drawing some attention this weekend.

Below, our fellow D1 correspondent, Maura Beattie, gave us her full predictions for all of the distance events at Boston U. this weekend and even offered a bit of analysis as well...

NOTE: These predictions were made prior to the release of the heat sheets.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ENTRIES

Boston U. Terrier DMR Challenge (collegiates only)

*Denotes that a collegiate is also entered in another individual event. In these predictions, TSR is assuming that each runner is contesting an event fresh (i.e. not doubling back). At time of publishing, the entries for this meet were not split into heats yet.

Women’s 800 Meters

Sophia Gorriaran (Harvard) - 2:01
Chloe Foerster (Washington) - 2:02
Madison Martinez (Villanova) - 2:04
Isabela Shepard (Boston University) - 2:06

Analysis: There aren’t five collegians slated to contest the 800 meters this weekend, but between Sophia Gorriaran and Chloe Foerster, we could be in for a treat. Gorriaran, a rookie at Harvard, was a stud in high school, recording a huge PR of 2:00 (800). However, the freshman has only managed a 2:04 mark in her only attempt at the half-mile distance this season. But if she's going to run faster, then Friday will be the perfect opportunity to do so. She will, after all, be facing Washington’s Chloe Foerster who is coming off a major mile showing of 4:28. And yet, despite the competition, we’re going to give the nod to the true middle distance specialist, Sophia Gorriaran. Still, Foerster isn’t going to let the Crimson youngster get too far ahead.

Men’s 800 Meters

Luke Griner (Army) - 1:46
Kerem Ayhan (Northeastern) - 1:47
Mitchell Burr (Army) - 1:48
Mahamed Sharif (Connecticut) - 1:48
Shamiso Sikaneta (Boston University) -1:49

Analysis: Luke Griner is the favorite heading into this weekend thanks in part to his 1:47 (800) PR run earlier this season (in fact, he's run that time twice). He’s currently sitting at NCAA #15 on the national leaderboard 800 meters, so he will most likely be looking at making a jump into a more secure position. Northeastern’s Kerem Ayhan will be there to push the pace with Griner as he is also looking for an NCAA Indoor Championship qualifying mark and this field shouldn't necessarily be too overwhelming to race against. Ayhan’s current seasonal best of 1:48 (800) isn’t going to get him into the indoor national meet, so don't be surprised if both him and Griner are more aggressive in this race.

Women’s Mile

Margot Appleton (Virginia) - 4:29
Carmen Alder (BYU) - 4:31
Carlee Hansen (BYU) - 4:32
Sophie O’Sullivan (Washington) - 4:33
Marie Bilo (Boston College) - 4:35

Analysis: Virginia’s Margot Appleton might have the fastest mile PR with her 4:30 mark, but she’s got a tough battle coming with the BYU duo of Carmen Alder and Carlee Hansen. Alder is coming off a strong mile performance at the Husky Classic, recording a PR of 4:33. And for Hansen, she’s got a PR of 4:36 (mile), but that time is from her stint at North Carolina. With the women Hansen’s been training with in Provo, a mile PR is on the horizon. Aside from these three though, we are quite curious to see what Washington’s Sophie O’Sullivan does. The Husky opened her season with a respectable 4:35 (mile) effort, but we are still waiting for the 4:02 (1500) runner to make her mark this winter.

Men’s Mile

Parvej Khan (Florida) - 3:54
Foster Malleck (Boston University) - 3:54
Evan Dorenkamp (Penn State) - 3:55
Davis Bove (Cal Poly) - 3:55
Jesse Hamlin (Butler) - 3:56

Analysis: Gator freshman Pavej Khan took us by surprise when he ran 3:56 for the mile last weekend and now he’s back again this weekend trying to better that showing. Of course, Khan is going to have tough company to push him at the front of this race. Boston University’s Foster Malleck has the home-track advantage and has been on roll all season long, running sub-4:00 (comfortably) on two separate occasions. Penn State’s Evan Dorenkamp, an established miler, needs to improve upon his current seasonal best of 3:56 (mile) to earn himself a spot on the line at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Of course, we've seen this Nittany Lion veteran often have his best races late in the season. Could that be the case once more in 2024? Cal Poly’s Davis Bove, a 3:56 miler, returns to the track for the first time since December. And then there’s Butler’s Jesse Hamlin, a stronger 3k runner trying to make a name for himself in the mile. This race is too good to miss.

Women’s DMR

BYU Cougars - 10:48
Providence Friars - 10:49
Stanford Cardinal - 10:49
Washington Huskies - 10:51
Boston College Golden Eagles - 10:53
Duke Blue Devils - 10:54
Virginia Tech Hokies - 10:56
Penn State Nittany Lions - 10:56
North Carolina Tar Heels - 11:01

Analysis: As usual, the DMR is the highlight of this weekend for Division One teams as they look to solidify a spot amongst the top-12 on the national leaderboard. The Stanford women, headlined by sophomores Roisin Willis and Juliette Whittaker, are the reigning champions from the 2023 indoor national meet. However, given what the BYU Cougars have flexed amongst the 800/mile this season and the threat of Providence leading-off with Shannon Flockhart and finishing with Kimberley May, it’s bound to be a tight battle here. Washington’s bound to be in the mix, too, especially when you see Chloe Foerster and Carley Thomas in their lineup, although it feels like Friday's lineup might not be their best combination that they could possibly field.

Men’s DMR

Georgetown Hoyas - 9:22
BYU Cougars - 9:23
Virginia Tech Hokies - 9:23
New Mexico Lobos - 9:24
Duke Blue Devils - 9:27
Stanford Cardinal - 9:32
Auburn Tigers - 9:34
Boston College Golden Eagles - 9:41
Connecticut Huskies - 9:43

Analysis: The Georgetown men have a not-so-secret weapon for their DMR lineup and that is freshman Tinoda Matsatsa, a 1:46 (800) ace. It’s hard to say if Matsatsa will be on the 800-meter or the 1200-meter leg, but wherever he is, the Hoyas will be expected to hand-off to their anchor in the lead. And while they may not have a major home-run hitter compared to a few others, you could argue that the Hoyas have the most complete DMR lineup. But if we had to guess, we would say that BYU is going to be Georgetown’s biggest competitor as the Cougars are bringing out their focal stars in Lucas Bons and Aidan Troutner. If there’s one big question mark in this field, it’s got to be the New Mexico Lobos. We all know that the DMR isn’t won on the first three legs -- it’s the anchor leg that really matters. And with the Lobos fielding Habtom Samuel, a guy that’s run an altitude converted 3:53 mile, it will be interesting to see what he can do in this field. As for a few others, the Virginia Tech men may have one of the more complete lineups in the field while Ky Robinson makes it impossible to bet against Stanford despite the rest of their relay not having the same speed as a few others.