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Three Sentences Or Less: 2023 D3 NCAA Outdoor Championship Women'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 meets. Stay tuned!
Predictions coming soon
The below list is ordered by seeding
1. Emma Kelley (Washington U.)
Emma Kelley has run four seconds faster than anybody else in this field this year. Barring something shocking, she is the clear favorite to defend the 800 meter national title that she earned at the indoor national meet. She's just flat-out better than everyone else.
2. Aoife Dunne (Washington U.)
After earning a 2nd place finish in the 800 meters at the indoor national meet, Aoife Dunne has replicated her success throughout the spring month and can potentially repeat the same feat this weekend. It will be a little more difficult this time, though, as she will be doubling back from the 1500 meters, potentially opening up the door for the rest of the field to earn silver.
3. Maddie Hannan (UW-La Crosse)
Maddie Hannan has more range than just about anybody in this field. She is entered in the half-mile and the 5000 meters this weekend which is a pretty and unconventional national meet double. Her top-end speed and strength make her a lethal threat to almost anybody in this field regardless of the race scenario that plays out in front of her.
4. Sydney Packard (WPI)
This will be the eighth national meet on the track that Sydney Packard has toed the line for, so it's safe to say that she has been here before. The veteran is rounding into form with her best performances of the season coming in recent weeks. She will be somebody to look out for towards the top end of this field given her combination of extensive experience and recent postseason peak.
5. Greta Koehler (UW-La Crosse)
After holding an 800 meter PR of 2:17 in March, Greta Koehler opened her outdoor track season with a nice personal best of 2:15. But then she blew that time out of the water with a 2:12 mark at the WIAC Outdoor Championships and finally a 2:09 (800) effort at the UWL Final Qualifier. Her several breakthrough races this year are very encouraging, but her leaps in fitness are so significant that it's hard to know if we have seen her ceiling yet.
6. Cyna Madigan (UW-Oshkosh)
The 2023 All-American on the indoor oval has had several high-level performances this spring which back up Cyna Madigan’s reputation as one of the top D3 middle distance runners in the country. The recently-crowned WIAC champion in the half-mile has run 2:10 twice this season. Her reliability and understanding of in-race positioning will likely give this field trouble assuming she makes it to the finals.
7. Hannah Neilon (Tufts)
Hannah Neilon is an extremely consistent runner who can be relied upon to hold her own in a rather unpredictable event. Her most recent 800 meter effort at the NEICAAA Outdoor Championships was a personal best of 2:10.43 and she was this year’s NESCAC champion in both the half-mile and the metric mile. Despite running a 1500 meter time that would have made it into the field of 22 women, she opted to scratch in favor of a fresh 800 meter race which could prove to be a decision that helps her earn another All-American honor.
8. Rose Teszler (Swarthmore)
After finishing 15th place and 18th place in her first two national meet appearances, Rose Teszler found her groove this past winter with a 7th place All-American finish in the 800 meters at the indoor national meet. The Swarthmore ace has maintained her momentum this spring by notching a personal best of 2:10 (800) at the Widener Invitational back in April. It's hard to know which version of Teszler on a championship stage we'll see this season, but her recent performances suggest that she'll have a good chance of returning to the top-eight.
9. Ellie Rising (George Fox)
Ellie Rising has proven to be a very consistent runner every time she toes the line, running either 2:10 or 2:11 in six of her last seven 800 meter races (with the exception of one race coming in a conference meet preliminary round). If this meet is anything like the indoor edition, then Rising can be relied on to hold her own against nearly anybody given how steady she has been.
10. Maya Ordonez (U. of Chicago)
Maya Ordonez has reached the national stage on three previous occasions, but has never made the final round. She did come close at the indoor national meet with a 9th place finish which, in retrospect, could have sparked her successful outdoor track campaign. Her recent personal best performance at the Augustana Final Qualifier suggests that she is peaking well, although she'll still need one of her better performances to crack the All-American range.
11. Lily Campbell (Wartburg)
Lily Campbell’s best race of the season was her most recent effort, a 3rd place finish at the loaded Augustana Final Qualifier, where she ran a personal best of 2:10.91 (800). The still-improving Wartburg standout also has impressive 400 meter speed, having run 58.38 seconds earlier this season. Look for Campbell to use that turnover to her benefit in the late stages of the preliminary rounds.
12. Alessia Sarussi (Washington U.)
Alessia Sarussi has not taken any weekends off of competition since the start of the outdoor track season. That shouldn’t be too concerning, though, given that her seasonal best of 2:11.06 (800) was run just last weekend, indicating that she still has plenty of energy left in her legs. The Washington U. runner has been an All-American before, finishing 6th in the 800 meters at the 2022 indoor national meet, and when you combine all of the aspects of her resume together, it feels like Sarussi could be an All-American this weekend.
13. Brooke Wellhausen (UW-Stevens Point)
Brooke Wellhausen has improved in every meet where she has contested the 800 meters this spring. She opened her outdoor track campaign with a slightly underwhelming 2:16 (800) mark before running 2:15, 2:14, 2:12 and finally, 2:11.17 at the Augustana Final Qualifier. Her upwards trajectory indicates that she is running her best at the right time which, on paper, makes her one of the best backend seeds in this field.
14. Paige Fassbender (UW-Whitewater)
I might sound like a broken record, but Paige Fassbender’s fastest 800 meter race of the season also came at Augustana this past weekend. That race was a great showcase of athletes who will ultimately run at the national meet and Fassbender was one of several big names who performed at a high level. Being in a fast field certainly helped, but it also proves that she can hold her own when facing-off against some of the best women in the country.
15. Julia Howarth (MIT)
Julia Howarth hasn’t done anything crazy this spring after recording a 5th place finish over 800 meters at the indoor national meet, but she has put together some solid races. It feels like the MIT middle distance talent is one breakthrough away from being in some truly elite company and we are curious to see whether or not that breakthrough comes this weekend.
16. Libby Ranocha (Emory)
After a big improvement during this past indoor track season compared to previous years, Libby Ranocha has found consistency this spring, having not run any slower than 2:13 (800) since February. She hasn’t raced the 800 meters since the UAA Outdoor Championships a month ago, but her recent 400 meter mark of 57.62 seconds suggests that her speed hasn’t gone anywhere. Despite a lack of recent half-mile races, her overall resume seems fairly complete going into this weekend.
17. Alexandra Maddux (Hamline)
As mentioned in previous seasons, Alexandra Maddux doesn’t have the best history with national meets. In her four national meet appearances over 800 meters since 2021, she has finished no higher than 18th and has run no faster than 2:16. But after a really solid MIAC Outdoor Championship showing where she beat out fellow national qualifier, Mary Blanchard, to take home gold, it feels like Maddux may be due for an improvement on the big stage, especially with plenty of experience under her belt.
18. Kayla Kass (Stockton)
After coming to Stockton as a 2:17 (800) runner in high school, the transition to the collegiate level may have taken longer than expected, but the true freshman is really finding her footing and performing to her full potential. Recently, Kayla Kass has been consistently operating at a competitive level and will get her first chance, hopefully of many, to run on this big stage. And while she may be inexperienced, her youth-based upside is hard to ignore.
19. Sierra Doody (SUNY Geneseo)
After winning the TSR's "Best Freshman" award for the winter months, Sierra Doody has proven that her recent streak of excellence was no fluke. Her final 800 meter result of the season at the Widener Final Qualifier snuck her into the national field and after scratching the half-mile at the indoor national meet to help out on the DMR, she will now finally have a chance to showcase her abilities, individually. Don't let her seed fool you, she is likely better than the 19th-best woman in this field.
20. Mary Blanchard (Carleton)
We’ve previously viewed Mary Blanchard a miler, but her move down to the 800 meters this spring has been highly successful. Her long distance background could be helpful this weekend as she has greater range and mile strength than many of the 800 meter specialists in this field. If the race is fast from the gun and strength-based, she could be a pleasant surprise if certain women fade in the final moments.
21. Elly Burds (Loras)
Elly Burds had a big race at, you guessed it, the Augustana Final Qualifier to qualify herself for her first national meet as a true freshman. It will be tough in this high-quality field for her to get out of the preliminary rounds, but regardless of what happens, she will gain a great learning experience in her journey to become one of the elite names of tomorrow.
22. Tanise Thornton-Fillyaw (Goucher)
Tanise Thornton-Fillyaw’s showing at the indoor national meet reflected her youth and inexperience, but she became a stronger runner because of it. She still hasn’t been quite as consistent as you need to be at this level, but that comes with time and her talent is undeniable. She is a couple of pieces of the puzzle away from developing into a certified star.
