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Three Sentences Or Less: 2023 D3 NCAA Outdoor Championship Men's 800 Meters Preview
- Kevin Fischer
- May 23, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: May 25, 2023
Written by Kevin Fischer, edits and additional commentary by John Cusick & 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 meet. Stay tuned!
Predictions coming soon
The below list is ordered by seeding
1. Mike Jasa (Loras)
Mike Jasa is coming off a national title victory from this past indoor track season and is looking even better this spring. After running 1:47.81 (800) and posting an even-split 1:48.01 (800) mark, he appears to have found the speed and consistency to challenge Ryan Wilson head-to-head. And with his MIT rival coming off of the double, we may have to ask if Jasa is actually favored outright to win gold in this event...
2. Ryan Wilson (MIT)
The defending outdoor national champion from 2022, Ryan Wilson will likely feel that the national title is his to lose. He holds the indoor D3 record of 1:46.61 (800) and even though he will be doubling back from the 1500 meters, he has shown time and time again that he has what it takes to win at this stage. But if Jasa decides to be aggressive with the pace like he usually does, then how will Wilson respond on tired legs?
3. Bennett Booth-Genthe (Pomona-Pitzer)
Bennett Booth-Genthe scratched the 1500 meters despite having one of the top marks in the nation to go-all in for the 800 meters. With his recent 1:48.31 mark for the half-mile distance, you can’t blame him for throwing all of his chips into this event as he tries to disprove the narrative that this year’s half-mile is a two-horse race between Jasa and Wilson. Tactically, he's just as good as anyone in this field.
4. Garrett Lenners (Nebraska Wesleyan)
After running 1:50 or 1:51 over 800 meters on 12 separate occasions, Garrett Lenners had his big breakthrough race by running 1:48 for the half-mile distance at the ARC Championships. Lenners has been "Mr. Consistent" in the postseason, finishing 5th, 4th and 4th in the 800 meters in his three national appearances between indoor track and outdoor track. Might this be the year where he can take that next step and even challenge for the national title?
5. Carter Oberfoell (Loras)
In the same race where Lenners ran his 1:48 (800) mark, Carter Oberfoell had his own breakthrough, finishing just behind the Nebraska Wesleyan ace to run a half-mile personal best of 1:48.79. He has been at the forefront of Division Three for a while now, but the Loras standout is operating at a whole new level as we enter the season's biggest weekend.
6. Andrew Hutchinson (Dubuque)
Andrew Hutchinson came up big at the Augustana Final Qualifier, beating a field consisting of several national qualifiers and dipping under the 1:50 (800) mark for the first time in his career. The Dubuque standout finished 17th this winter over 800 meters in his first national meet appearance, but he has become far more consistent and his seed is more indicative of his talent.
7. Haiden Diemer-McKinney (Wabash)
After exploding onto the D3 scene in March with his 3rd place finish in the 800 meter finals at the indoor national meet as a true freshman, Haiden Diemer-McKinney is showing that his bronze medal wasn't a fluke. He ran one of the fastest times in the country this season and has already proven that he can compete with the best despite his youth. How much more upside could we see from this rookie this weekend?
8. Sam Llaneza (Lynchburg)
It will be tough to come back from the 1500 meters while most of the field is fresh, but Sam Llaneza has put together successful doubles before. There should be no doubt that he still believes that he can run a competitive half-mile time despite the circumstances. And frankly, we don't have too many reasons to doubt his ability to double.
9. Tor Hotung-Davidsen (Lynchburg)
Tor Hotung-Davidsen is not part of the group that has run huge 800 meter personal bests this spring. But ultimately, times in the regular season don’t matter much compared to what you do in the postseason -- and he is more than proven on the national stage. The Lynchburg star has already been an All-American in this event three times and can add a fourth plaque to his collection this weekend if he continues to be tactically elite.
10. Kyle Miller (Buena Vista)
Kyle Miller is one of the most improved middle distance runners in the country this season, holding an 800 meter PR of 1:56 just two months ago and taking that all the way down to under the 1:50 (800) barrier. Even though he has no national meet experience, he has been sharpened and battle-hardened by running against top competition all year in the American Rivers Conference. Plus, momentum is very clearly on his side.
11. Will Houser (Washington U.)
After finishing 7th over 800 meters at last year’s outdoor national meet and scratching the event in favor of a fresh DMR leg at the indoor national meet this past winter, Will Houser is back to running the half-mile on the national level. He didn’t have quite the same edge this year as he did last spring, but he still ran 1:49.92 (800) which is no joke. He'll look to repeat last year’s feat of making the finals which won’t be easy, but he is certainly capable of doing so.
12. Cael Schoemann (UW-La Crosse)
After coming in this year as one of the top middle distance recruits in Division Three with a high school 800 meter mark of 1:53, Cael Schoemann has hit the ground running. He most recently ran 1:50.01 (800) at the UWL Final Qualifier to earn his spot at the outdoor national meet. He has the potential to develop into a true star and his experience this weekend will help mold him for that level.
13. Oscar Roering (Pomona-Pitzer)
Oscar Roering had a very consistent season, running either 1:50 or 1:51 for 800 meters six times since April. He also notched a silver medal finish behind Bennett Booth-Genthe at the SCIAC Outdoor Championships. He will be taking a big step in his career as he competes in his first-ever national meet this weekend, although his recent reliability may make up for his lack of championship experience.
14. Arthur Santoro (Washington U.)
Arthur Santoro’s collegiate career has been long and illustrious, but last year was tough for him as he dealt with adversity. This year, he has bounced back in a big way, running faster than he ever has over 800 meters, earning All-American honors in the DMR at the indoor national meet and thriving over 800 meters at the UAA Championships. He may be seeded 14th, but he's accomplished enough this spring to be a contender for the finals.
15. Trevor Richwine (Dickinson)
Trevor Richwine put an exclamation point on his impressive freshman campaign with a big 800 meter PR of 1:50.15 at the Widener Final Qualifier. He has been on an upwards trajectory all season long and will ultimately be able to compete at the highest stage of D3 this weekend. We’re not sure where his ceiling truly is, but we do know that he will gain invaluable competitive experience this week.
16. Jake Shumaker (Millikin)
Despite being on the outside-looking-in going into "last chance" week, Jake Shumaker launched himself into the national meet field with a 1:50.18 (800) mark at Augustana. This past winter, he carried on the tradition of Millikin half-milers earning All-American status with a 5th place finish at the indoor national meet. And given his history of posting strong times in the postseason, we would feel pretty good about his momentum going into this weekend.
17. TJ Carleo (Brandeis)
In most years, the fourth-fastest true freshman in the country doesn't qualify for the national meet...but this isn't most years. This freshman 800 meter class has done some really impressive things and TJ Carleo has been a huge part of that. The 2023 New England DIII champion is well on his way to becoming a household name in D3 and given how well his fellow rookies have run this year, we wouldn't count him out from being competitive this weekend.
18. Alex Ivanov (Carnegie Mellon)
Alex Ivanov returns to the national meet after a solid season where he most notably ran a mark of 1:50.21 (800) at the Bison Outdoor Classic. At the indoor national meet, he made the finals and finished 7th place overall, but with the breakthrough races that we've seen from some of the other men in this field, Ivanov will need a few more big-time races of his own.
19. Dawit Dean (Emory)
In addition to running a very strong 800 meter mark (1:50.32) to get into the outdoor national meet, Dawit Dean also has a strong 400 meter background, winning the UAA Outdoor Championships in that event during his indoor and outdoor track campaigns. He has better speed than most of this field, making him an interesting dark horse candidate to make the finals depending on how tactical his preliminary heat is.
20. Noah Jorgenson (Central College)
He left it late, but Noah Jorgenson was pulled by a fast field to a time of 1:50.42 (800) at Augustana on Thursday that saw him make the field of 22 men. Even though the margins were thin, he has been here before, finishing 11th at the 2022 indoor national meet. It may be a tall order to hang with some members of this field, but his previous national meet experience will serve him well.
21. Michael Olson (Plymouth State)
After finishing 2022 with a personal best in the 800 meters of 1:54, Michael Olson made consistent and steady progress in 2023 that saw him run 1:53 during the winter months, 1:52 in April and then finally, a big 800 meter breakthrough of 1:50.47 landed him silver at the DIII New England Championships. We didn't have him on our radar prior to this season, but we certainly do now and he is more than deserving of being on this stage.
22. Wyatt Schmidt (Wartburg)
Wyatt Schmidt's most notable performance this season came in the ARC Outdoor Championships in the 800 meter finals where he finished 4th overall in a star-studded field with seven half-milers that qualified for the outdoor national meet. That was also a season’s best time and was just enough to sneak him into the national meet. So despite being the last seed in this field, just know that Schmidt is more than capable of taking down some of these other guys.
