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Three Sentences Or Less: 2023 D2 NCAA Outdoor Championship Women's 1500 Meters Preview
- John Cusick
- May 20, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: May 23, 2023
Written by John Cusick, edits and additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin
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Editor's Note: Our TSR writers were asked to produce three sentences or less of analysis on every entrant in every distance event for every division. We will be slowly rolling out these previews leading up to the outdoor national meets. Stay tuned!
Predictions coming soon
The below list is ordered by seeding
1. Eleonora Curtabbi (West Texas A&M)
Eleonora Curtabbi is the biggest threat to Stephanie Cotter when it comes to winning the women's 1500 meter national title. The West Texas A&M star has the fastest mark in the event this season and has been a highly reliable/effective runner in championship settings. Unfortunately, if she makes the finals of the 1500 meters, then she will be on her fourth race of the weekend which begs the question...how will she be able to recover between races?
2. Celine Ritter (Lee (Tenn.))
Celine Ritter started her season out slowly, but she’s back to being the national title threat that we initially expected her to be. Ritter just recently posted a mark of 2:06 in the half-mile event which tells us that she has the foot-speed to compete with anyone in this field. If she plays her cards right, then Ritter could finally capture that elusive 1500 meter national title.
3. Klaudia O’Malley (Grand Valley State)
Every time we preview events for the national meet, it feels like Klaudia O’Malley gets left out of the national title conversation more than she should. The Grand Valley State veteran is competing in her sixth national meet on the oval and has finished as high as 2nd place in her previous efforts. O’Malley has shown us that she’s in the best shape of her life and her familiarity with her opponents could give her the upper-hand as long as she can match their raw fitness in the finals.
4. Stephanie Cotter (Adams State)
Stephanie Cotter may be seeded fourth for this event coming into the outdoor national meet, but she is the overwhelming national title favorite. We fully expect the Adams State legend to claim her third 1500 meter national title as she has proven time and time again that she’s the best in Division Two. Tactically, there isn't anyone in the nation (at least for D2) better than her and her fitness is arguably the best as well.
5. Philippine de la Bigne (Azusa Pacific)
Philippine de la Bigne waited until May to debut for Azusa Pacific. But when she finally did toe the line, the France native ran 2:09 (800) and 4:21 (1500), qualifying herself for the outdoor national meet. This recent overseas star should prove to be a worthy adversary to the other women in the field, but her lack of recent racing makes her a significant wild-card with a very limited background.
6. Cailee Peterson (Minnesota-Duluth)
Cailee Peterson has continued to be one of the best D2 runners in the country after her strong showing at the indoor national meet this past winter. Admittedly, the Minnesota-Duluth talent has yet to match her PR of 4:19 in the 1500 meters from South Dakota State, but her progression throughout this outdoor track campaign signals that she will be peaking at the right time. Remember, she was the runner-up finisher in the mile at the 2023 indoor national meet in an inspiring effort and that postseason peak could spell good things for her next weekend.
7. Kate Hedlund (UC-Colorado Springs)
Kate Hedlund has been a constant on the national stage and this outdoor track season is no different. With the national meet being contested in Pueblo, Colorado, there is good reason to believe that Hedlund will be more competitive than she has been in the past given the altitude advantage. Her lone individual All-American honor stems from the 2021 indoor track season when she finished 7th, although her performances from this spring point to her being in better shape now than she was back then.
8. Katja Bauerle (Wisconsin-Parkside)
Coming into this season Katja Bauerle had never run faster than 4:29 for 1500 meters. But in 2023 alone, she’s run 4:28 or faster four different times, including a new metric mile personal best of 4:23 from last weekend. Bauerle’s current trajectory/momentum tells us that she should/could be a top-eight finisher on the national stage, but her lack of experience could be a factor as well.
9. Lauren Buckner (Saginaw Valley State)
Lauren Buckner has returned to the national stage this spring and we think that she’ll perform at a higher level than she did individually at the indoor national meet. The Saginaw Valley State star is in the best shape of her life and is no longer a novice at the national level. Making the finals is easier said than done, but she’s more equipped to do that now than she was two months ago.
10. Katie Fankhouser (Fort Lewis)
Katie Fankhouser has been a pleasant surprise when it comes to racing. She became the RMAC champion in this event and then ran 2:08 (800) and 4:23 (1500) at Azusa Pacific’s "last chance" meet two weeks later. If there was one woman to buy stock in, then we would recommend investing in Fankhouser who is doing all of the right things at the right time.
11. Zanzie Demco (Colorado Christian)
The multi-time D3 All-American, Zanzie Demco, will now get a chance to capture her first D2 All-American honor. Demco posted a new personal best of 4:24 for 1500 meters earlier this season and finds herself building on her-already strong fitness. The Colorado Christian graduate student has proven to be an apt racer at the national level, but will she be able to handle a field of this level after moving up in divisions?
12. Emma Kjellsen (Western Colorado)
Emma Kjellsen attempted two "last chance" meets before finally capturing a qualifying spot to the outdoor national meet. Her personal best of 4:31 (1500), which is not a converted time, came at the RMAC Outdoor Championships, but she nearly replicated that mark at Colorado Mines which lives at 2300 feet higher than Chadron, Nebraska. If she can race like she did this past weekend, then Kjellsen could sneak into the final and play spoiler.
13. Aria Hawkins (Lee (Tenn.))
Aria Hawkins has quickly emerged as Celine Ritter’s replacement as the focal star of the Lee women in the coming years. Hawkins has recently run personal bests of 2:11 (800) and 4:24 (1500) which reiterates that she is the in the best shape of her still-young career. The next step for Hawkins is to qualify for the 1500 meter finals next weekend, something that is easier said than done, but that is still plenty realistic for someone like herself.
14. Eline Pinter (Azusa Pacific)
Eline Pinter set her personal best of 4:24 in the 1500 meters on the last weekend of competition at Azusa Pacific’s "last chance" meet. Pinter will need that same kind of effort to qualify for the finals next weekend. If she does qualify for the finals, then she’ll likely need the third best effort of her life to finish inside the top-eight, although she does seem to be peaking at the right time.
15. Kaylee Beyer (Winona State)
Kaylee Beyer's success at the indoor national meet this past winter didn’t necessarily translate to the outdoor track circuit. While Beyer has run 4:24 for 1500 meters this season, we saw her run 4:46 for the mile during the winter, so we naturally expected the same kind of effort(s) in the spring. That has yet to happen, but Beyer still finds herself at the national meet and as we saw in March, she can be one of the more dangerous women in this field, tactically speaking.
16. Courtney McAlindon (Westminster (UT))
Courtney McAlindon finished 2nd at the RMAC Outdoor Championships over 1500 meters and set a new personal best of 4:27 in the process. She was 6th in the mile at the indoor national meet after a strong showing, tactically. She’ll need that same racing plan during the outdoor national meet to replicate that top-eight finish, but the Westminster ace will also be able to benefit from competing at altitude.
17. Megan Roxby (Simon Fraser)
Megan Roxby will be at her third-straight national meet entered in either the mile or the metric mile. In the two times prior to next weekend’s outdoor national meet, Roxby has failed to qualify for the finals. That will be her first priority next weekend, but if she can do that, then the Simon Fraser star is dangerous enough (as far as her skillset is concerned) to be a factor.
18. Nicole Lawrence (Adams State)
It feels like a long time since we’ve mentioned Nicole Lawrence’s name, but just last year, she ran 4:45 (mile) and 9:41 (3k). Since then, Lawrence has captured a new 1500 personal best of 4:28 and qualified for the outdoor national meet. She’ll have her work cut out to make the finals, but her previously-proven talent could help her overcome some of her opponents.
19. Leah Taylor (Western Colorado)
Leah Taylor is the second Western Colorado athlete in this field and much like her teammate, Emma Kjellsen, she will likely need multiple lifetime races to find success next weekend. Her personal best of 4:28 (1500) is nothing special, but she has run 4:49 (mile) as recently as this past indoor track season. If she can race well and use her strength-based fitness to her advantage, which should benefit her altitude, then she could potentially fight for an All-American finish.
20. Anna Fauske (UC-Colorado Springs)
You could argue that Anna Fauske is better as a longer distance athlete given that she holds a personal best of 16:38 over 5000 meters. The UCCS standout did set a new personal best of 4:31 in the 1500 meters at the RMAC Outdoor Championships, but we’re not sure if that’s enough to be competitive at the outdoor national meet. Fauske will need to use her aerobic-based strength to take the leg speed out of her opponents.
