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Three Sentences Or Less: 2023 D3 NCAA Outdoor Championship Women's 1500 Meters Preview
- Kevin Fischer
- May 22, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: May 25, 2023
Written by Kevin Fischer, edits and additional commentary by 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. Annika Urban (Emory)
Annika Urban is the defending mile champion from the indoor national meet, and has run six seconds faster than anyone else in the field this spring. It will take a Herculean effort to dethrone her this weekend, largely because her skillset allows her to thrive in any race situation thrown at her.
2. Emily Konkus (Washington U.)
The Washington U. ace has run faster with every 1500 meter race that she has contested this season, suggesting that she is peaking at just the right time. And given how good she has been throughout this entire year, it's hard to find many arguments against her as we go into the upcoming weekend of action.
3. Maddie Kelly (U. of Chicago)
Despite a tough outing in her most recent race, Maddie Kelly has proven time and time again that she can perform when it counts the most. In addition to running one of the fastest 1500 meter times in the country this season, she was the 3000 meter runner-up at the indoor national meet this past winter and holds a PR of 2:13.15 over 800 meters. In theory, her range (in both directions) should help her contend.
4. Erin Eivers (SUNY Geneseo)
Erin Eivers capped off an excellent 2023 outdoor track season with a strong 4:28.31 (1500) mark at the Widener Final Qualifier. That was a massive breakthrough race which allowed her qualify for the national meet in an individual event for the first time in her career. If Eivers can replicate that performance this week while blending together effective tactics, then she will be a force to be reckoned with.
5. Amelia Lehman (UW-Oshkosh)
After an indoor track season that was capped off with an 8th place finish in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Amelia Lehman’s first few 1500 meter races this season were decent, but not up to the level that she had set for herself. However, it appears that she was saving her best races for last after a 4:28 (1500) PR mark in her most recent effort. Lehman has a lot of racing under her legs (contesting her primary event seven times this outdoor season), but doesn’t appear to be showing any signs of fatigue as she continues on her upwards trajectory.
6. Gillian Roeder (MIT)
Gillian Roeder is clicking on all cylinders with her best 1500 meter effort of the season coming in her most recent race. The indoor All-American looks ready to once again be contending towards the top of the field, especially after running under the 4:30 barrier in her last two efforts. She picked a good time to be on a hot streak.
7. Hope Murphy (Baldwin Wallace)
Hope Murphy has had her fair share of ups and downs this year, but there is no questioning her talent. And luckily, it looks like the best version of her is coming out to shine after she ran a 2:09 (800) and 4:28 (1500) double at the Harrison Dillard Twilight. Her national meet scratch out of the half-mile event indicates that she is going all-in to challenge for the 1500 meter national title this weekend.
8. Brittany McCauley (Mount Union)
After not racing during the winter months, it was a fairly long road back to the top of D3 for Brittany McCauley. However, this Mountain Union ace has shown up at just the right time, recently running a personal best of 4:29 in the 1500 meters. Now that she is back at this level, she will be poised to try to replicate her All-American performance from last year’s outdoor national meet, although her competition will arguably as deep as it has ever been.
9. Vivian Kane (NYU)
Just like McCauley, we did not see Vivian Kane race during the indoor track season, but the true freshman was still able to turn in a couple of nationally competitive performances to validate the hype that she was getting in the fall. Despite her youth, Kane will be highly dangerous going into this race and her upside gives her a great shot at making the finals.
10. Aoife Dunne (Washington U.)
Known more for her 800 meter prowess, Aoife Dunne has the most pure speed of anybody in this field. Even though she is only seeded 10th, she will not be easy to beat, especially in a tactical race situation where a kick can decide the final results.
11. Lexi Brown (Wartburg)
Up until the last week of the national qualifying window, there was a chance that the 4th place finisher in the mile from the 2023 indoor national meet might not get into the NCAA Outdoor Championships for 1500 meters. But Lexi Brown was determined not to let that happen as she ran a personal best mark at Augustana that got her comfortably qualified. We knew that she was talented, but now Brown has some very dangerous confidence to pair with a fairly dynamic resume.
12. Claire Anderson (Washington & Jefferson)
Claire Anderson had a huge breakthrough this spring to make it into the outdoor national meet as a freshman. During the indoor track season, her mile PR sat at "only" 5:26, so she really wasn’t on anybody’s radar, but has since vaulted herself onto the national scene. The Washington & Jefferson star hasn’t quite found consistency at this high of a level, but if she can run like she did at Harrison Dillard Twilight, then she'll be able to make some noise.
13. Chrissy Aman (Bates)
Prior to this season, Chrissy Aman was primarily an 800-meter runner, but she has really found her groove over 1500 meters, taking her PR from 4:56 to 4:29. She also hasn’t lost a step in the shorter events as showcased via her 2:13 (800) speed at the NEICAAA Outdoor Championships. Between her momentum and lethal turnover, Aman theoretically has the skillset that could allow her to make the finals out of the usually-tactical prelims.
14. Marcie Hogan (SUNY Geneseo)
After earning All-American status in the mile this past indoor track season, Marcie Hogan came into last week with a seasonal best mark of 4:34 over 1500 meters which put her on the outside-looking-in for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. But at the Widener Final Qualifier, she worked with teammate, Erin Eivers, to put down a big result and sneak under the 4:30 barrier. Hogan is one of several names who is running better than they have all season long which will make for an exciting and competitive prelim, but also leaves us uncertain as to what exactly we should expect from her.
15. Windsor Ardner (SUNY Geneseo)
For a star like Windsor Ardner to be this far down the accepted entries list, you would think that she had a tough season, but that really isn’t the case. She ran well this spring, but the D3 women’s 1500-meter scene has stepped up to a different level and is deeper than it has ever been. Even so, we should expect Ardner to outperform her seed this weekend given her pedigree and crucial championship experience.
16. Claire Walters (Franciscan (OH))
Claire Walters has found success since transferring from North Carolina State to the D3 level, thriving in an environment where she is the focal standout. And if her cross country national meet performance this past fall was any indicator of her clutch ability, then she is in for a good weekend. Given her exposure to her D1 level, she is probably one of the most well-prepared backend seeds ever for a D3 national meet.
17. Alyssa Rafuse (Elmhurst)
Alyssa Rafuse burst onto the scene this past indoor track season by running five consecutive personal bests in the mile and improving by a total of 21 seconds (compared to the winter of 2022). This spring, the Elmhurst ace showed us that she can consistently perform at her new level of fitness which gives us some confidence in her after she missed the mile finals by one spot at the indoor national meet this past winter.
18. Cat Wimmer (U. of Chicago)
Cat Wimmer may not have been as consistent as she would have liked this spring, but running 4:30 over 1500 meters is no fluke. And even though she is not being looked at as a favorite to reach the finals, a field where so many names are separated by such little time is prime for some unpredictable results which could favor her.
19. Rachel Conhoff (Ursinus)
The last time Rachel Conhoff competed at a national meet on the track was at the 2022 NCAA Indoor Championships in the mile. She only missed out on All-American status by one spot and even though she has gotten faster since then, so has the rest of Division Three. Still, she has shown flashes of brilliance which suggest that her 2022 form isn't entirely out of reach.
20. Carolyn Shult (UW-Eau Claire)
Carolyn Shult has been a consistent, national-caliber presence over the last few years and has now qualified for her third-straight national meet on the oval between the indoor and outdoor track seasons. The UW-Eau Claire veteran placed 13th on the national stage in both of her last two showings, indicating that she's probably better than her current seeding suggests. Now, it’s just a matter of whether her ceiling can compete with the ceilings of some of the other athletes in this field.
21. Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel (U. of Chicago)
The unanimous winner of TSR's "Most Improved" award from the 2023 indoor season, Evelyn Battleson-Gunkel is showing that her big leap was no fluke. Her best race of the spring months came at the 5000 meter distance, so she has an aerobic advantage over some members of the field which could serve her well if this becomes a strength-based race.
22. Harrinee Senthilkumar (Johns Hopkins)
Harrinee Senthilkumar has been flying high this year, making a big transformation and showing that it’s her turn to be Johns Hopkins’ next breakthrough star. Admittedly, she took a little bit of time to get some momentum at the collegiate level, only running 4:52 for 1500 meters as a freshman last spring after running 5:00 for 1600 meters in high school. But in 2023, Senthilkumar is performing to her full potential and has earned a well-deserved spot in one of the best 1500-meter fields in D3 national meet history.
