Three Sentences Or Less: 2024 D1 NCAA Outdoor Championship Women's 1500-Meter Preview

Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
May 31, 2024
8 min read

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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.

The below athletes are ordered to match the start list

Predictions coming soon!

1. Maia Ramsden (Harvard)

One of the greatest milers in NCAA history, it is going to a Herculean effort to upset Maia Ramsden who looks simply unstoppable this year. This spring, Ramsden has run 1500-meter times of 4:07, 4:19 (prelims) 4:09, 4:02, 4:10 (prelims) and 4:05 while also flexing tremendous aerobic strength over 5000 meters as well (posting a 15:29 PR for 5k on the double). Anything other than NCAA gold would be considered as a stunning result for this Harvard megastar.

2. Flomena Asekol (Florida)

Raw fitness has never been something that we've questioned with Flomena Asekol. After running a 4:26 mile PR during the winter and running back-to-back 4:07 (1500) marks at the East Regional Championships, everything that we've seen from this Gator ace suggests that's she an All-American favorite. However, as we saw during the winter months, certain aspects of her in-race execution on championship stages have often left room for improvement.

3. Kimberley May (Providence)

Arguably the greatest threat to Maia Ramsden (if there even is one), Kimberley May has been brilliant this spring, dropping phenomenal times while maintaining her range. The Providence star seemingly prefers to be an aggressive front-runner, but will she continue to employ that tactic in the 1500-meter finals with someone as dangerous as Maia Ramsden looming?

4. Shannon Flockhart (Providence)

With a pair of 4:08 marks over 1500 meters this season, Shannon Flockhart is looking as solid and as steady as ever. There is a good argument to be had that this Friar veteran is an All-American favorite, especially given how much better she has proven to be on the outdoor oval compared to the indoor oval. This will be her toughest NCAA Championship showing yet, but her tactics in this environment are usually very effective.

5. Judy Kosgei (South Carolina)

With some of the best raw talent in this field, freshman Judy Kosgei is not someone to take lightly. But despite also having some lethal turnover (as seen from her 2:01 PR over 800 meters), youth and championship inexperience are key aspects to consider with her. But if the rounds end up being fairly quick, then that will likely benefit this Gamecock rookie.

6. Teagan Schein-Becker (Rider)

We know that Teagan Schein-Becker has been a nationally competitive name for a while now, but she has never looked this consistently strong. Compared to 2023, she has timed her postseason peak far better this year and her second sub-4:10 (1500) effort of the season validates her ability to consistently battle with some of the top women in the country. In turn, could that mean that this Rider ace is an outside threat for All-American honors?

7. Melissa Riggins (Georgetown)

Nothing that we've seen from Melissa Riggins this season has suggested that she will be any worse than her 4th place finish in the mile from the NCAA Indoor Championships. A 4:07 (1500) PR, multiple instances of going under 4:10 and being able to defeat a large handful of top-tier names makes this Hoya star a favorite to once again finish as a top-half All-American next weekend.

8. Juliet Cherubet (Texas Tech)

Despite her youth and inexperience, Juliet Cherubet was still able to qualify for the outdoor national meet over 1500 meters and 5000 meters. And after seeing her secure a fantastic 1500-meter win at the BIG 12 Championships in 4:09, there's good reason to believe that this Red Raider rookie can be an All-American at this distance. However, with so much racing already under her legs, expecting Cherubet to crack the top-eight of the 1500-meter finals (or even get to that round) is a big ask for someone who is just a freshman with a heavy of amount of recent racing under her legs.

9. Lorena Rangel Batres (LSU)

We've always known that Lorena Rangel Batres has been a strong middle distance runner, but the LSU talent is rounding into her best form at just the right time. After running a 4:09 (1500) PR at the East Regional Championships following a successful weekend at the SEC Championships, this Tiger veteran has tons of great momentum heading into the national meet. Even so, Rangel Batres will still be considered an underdog to emerge as an All-American at this distance.

10. Samantha Bush (NC State)

The long-time NC State veteran was able to qualify for the national meet over 1500 meters and 5000 meters this year. That's an excellent accomplishment, but that also means that she'll have quite a bit of recent racing under her legs going into next weekend. Even so, Bush is savvy enough to make it out of the prelims and she is beginning to peak beautifully as she approaches the finale of her NCAA career.

11. Lindsey Butler (Virginia Tech)

The decision to move up from the 800 meters to the 1500 meters for this year's postseason has seemed like a strong decision (so far) for the Virginia Tech veteran. Lindsey Butler has proven that she can handle fast races over 1500 meters, but her half-mile prowess should theoretically make her a factor in a more tactical setting as well. She is talented enough to be an All-American in this event, but there are also a ton of women in this field who are simply more proven over 1500 meters than her.

12. Sophie O'Sullivan (Washington)

At her best, Sophie O'Sullivan is a borderline national title contender, especially after seeing her run 4:02 for 1500 meters last summer. However, the Washington ace hasn't looked like herself this year...well, not until running 4:09 for the metric mile distance at the West Regional Championships. That latter performance suggests that she's peaking (or nearing her peak) at just the right time, making her a bit of a wild card going into next weekend.

13. Kiara Carter (Lipscomb)

It's been an overall great year and an even better spring season for Kiara Carter who has thrived over 800 meters and 1500 meters as of late. There is a ton of momentum under the legs of this Lipscomb talent who just recorded a PR in this event at the East Regional Championships. However, she'll need to continue her progression if she wants a shot of making it out of the prelims.

14. Suus Altorf (Florida State)

One of the more underrated names in this field, Suus Altorf has been having a very solid season in the middle distance events. And yet, despite her great consistency, Altorf will need to prove that her ceiling climbs just as high as some of the other women in this event if she wants to have a shot at making it through to the finals.

15. Klaudia Kazimierska (Oregon)

Klaudia Kazimierska has evolved into a fairly reliable postseason talent over 1500 meters and the mile. There's a better chance than not that she turns in yet another All-American performance given how strong and steady she has looked this spring. However, trying to figure out how far her All-American ceiling goes in a field loaded with numerous stars is the biggest challenge for us at TSR when making our predictions.

16. Olivia Howell (Texas)

Since joining the Texas women last summer, Olivia Howell had been fairly quiet, mainly focusing on the 800 meters where she posted some solid performances. However, the 2023 mile national champion has begun to look like herself in recent races, running 4:09 (1500) to narrowly miss the BIG 12 title before advancing to the national meet. This year's 1500-meter field is far more competitive than the mile field that Howell defeated during the winter of 2023, but knowing what this Longhorn ace is capable of makes her a threat who we cannot dismiss.

17. Riley Chamberlain (BYU)

Throughout last winter, Riley Chamberlain was fantastic and she got even better when reached the postseason. This spring, Chamberlain has still been solid, but she hasn't been all that close to her peak form that we saw from her in March. We know how dangerous she can be when she's firing on all cylinders, but at the moment, this isn't quite the same BYU runner who we saw over two months ago.

18. Mia Barnett (Oregon)

It's fairly clear that Mia Barnett is not in the same form that she was in last spring where she looked like an All-American favorite. Even so, it would be a mistake to ignore an Oregon runner who has built some valuable experience and is simply a great racer who is unafraid of the other women in this field.

19. Salma Elbadra (Wyoming)

The freshman from Wyoming has shown tons of promise since the winter months, posting a handful of underrated marks and often having her best races in the postseason. Even so, next weekend is going to be more of a learning experience for the rookie who will be a significant underdog against many established veterans.

20. Gracie Morris (TCU)

It's a been a bit of an odd season for Gracie Morris who has been challenging to gauge this spring. Her 4:29 anchor leg split from the Penn Relays suggests that she can be an All-American and she hasn't had a truly poor race as of late. Even so, we're not entirely sure which version of this TCU ace we'll be getting when she toes the line in Eugene, Oregon.

21. Billah Jepkirui (Oklahoma State)

We'll admit, a 4th place finish at the BIG 12 Championships over 1500 meters may not seem great on paper for someone of Billah Jepkirui's caliber. However, when you realize that Jepkirui still ran 4:09 in that race and lost gold by less than half of a second, then you'll come to find that even her "off" day is still really darn good. She hasn't quite matched the success of her winter campaign yet, but a finish as high as silver is still plenty realistic for the Oklahoma State star.

22. Chloe Foerster (Washington)

When Chloe Foerster ran a massive 4:28 mile PR during the winter months, we were impressed, but also cautious about how she would translate that success to the indoor national meet. Unfortunately, the sophomore was unable to get out of the mile prelims back in March. But this spring feels different for Foerster who ran run 4:07 (1500), won the PAC-12 title and is seemingly racing with far greater conviction and consistency.

23. Maggi Congdon (Northern Arizona)

Despite proving how talented she was in the middle distance events this past winter, Maggi Congdon hasn't raced much this spring and when she has, her competition has been somewhat light (by comparison). This is not to say that Congdon can't find success next weekend -- it wouldn't shock us if she was an All-American -- but placing 5th overall or not making the 1500-meter finals both feel like realistic possibilities for this Lumberjack star.

24. Erin Vringer (Utah)

With the slowest 1500-meter PR in this field (4:16) by far, Utah's Erin Vringer is one of the biggest underdogs in the distance events at this year's NCAA Outdoor Championships. That said, if you look at all of the different heats that she has competed in this season, then you'll find that this Utah talent has taken down some decent names and has posted some really solid finishes. When it comes to in-race execution, she is better than you would expect the last seed of a national meet field to be.