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Three Sentences Or Less: 2024 D2 NCAA Outdoor Championship Men's 800 Meters Preview
- Ian Dickenson
- May 23, 2024
- 6 min read
Written by Ian Dickenson, edits and additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin & Gavin Struve
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 alphabetically to match the start list
1. Ethan Anthony (Oklahoma Christian)
Thanks to an excellent late-season charge, Ethan Anthony comes into this week with a good chance of continuing a deep postseason run in the 800 meters. Setting a half-mile PR of 1:49.04 to place 3rd at his conference meet among a number of other national qualifiers gives us confidence that he will make it out of his heat and potentially even be a serious factor in the final.
2. Antonio Blair (Angelo State)
Another rising middle distance runner from the Lone Star Conference, Antonio Blair has flexed an ability to compete with some of the best runners in Division Two. Blair actually had a relatively mediocre season until his conference meet, where he set a huge three-second personal best to dip under 1:49. The raw ability is clearly present, but whether or not he’s able to handle the pressure of the national stage is what will decide how much of an impact Blair can make here.
3. Braxton Bruer (MSU-Moorhead)
With three prior national meet appearances on the track, Braxton Bruer has plenty of experience even if has yet to enjoy grand success at that level. This MSU-Moorhead senior has finished last in both half-mile finals he made. If he advances that far again, he undoubtedly has the potential to improve upon that history.
4. Johan Correa (Central Washington)
There are plenty of men with better times in this field, but Johan Correa showed that he’s not to be underestimated by taking a convincing win against fellow national meet qualifiers Isaiah Rodriguez and Drew Weber in the GNAC Championships half-mile final. With a solid strength-based background and cross country success, Correa has the ability to take some of these pure middle distance runners by surprise if this race plays out the right way.
5. Drew Dailey (Shippensburg)
Considering that it’s been two years since Drew Dailey ran his personal best over 800 meters, it would be easy to count him out. However, with a 1:48.96 half-mile mark in mid-April followed by a conference title by a decent margin, it looks like this Shippensburg senior is rounding into form at the right time. With his talent, a perfect late-season peak would be enough to earn Dailey a medal in this event.
6. Wes Ferguson (Nebraska-Kearney)
Wes Ferguson is one of the best runners in Division Two history regardless of event discipline. This final half-mile race of his collegiate career is his to lose, but with how good Harry Ross-Hughes has been this season, this Loper won’t be able to simply coast to a gold medal. Even so, Ferguson is still the clearest title favorite there is on the D2 men’s side.
7. Aris Houston (Cal Poly Humboldt)
Particularly because it includes Wes Ferguson, Aris Houston will find it difficult to make it out of his heat. His performance this season was not the most consistent, but it wasn’t last year either and he wound up qualifying through the half-mile preliminaries then. Perhaps all he needed was one big performance to solidify his confidence entering the outdoor national meet.
8. Samuel Idiens (Charleston (WV))
As a true freshman, Samuel Idiens is one of the most raw talents in this field. After recently winning his conference half-mile title over the likes of teammate Warren Thiel and besting Robert Fajardo in the same event at the Lee University Last Chance meet, Idiens clearly has one of the highest upsides among D2 middle distance runners. His relative lack of experience means the qualifying rounds may pose a challenge, but if he does make it through, we can envision Idiens placing as high as top-five in the final.
9. Daylen Madison (Ashland)
We would have liked to see Daylen Madison put up more of a fight against Harry Ross-Hughes in their conference meet 800-meter battle, but we also recognize that’s a lofty expectation given how fast the Lake Erie man has been running. Short of being a threat to crack the top-two, Madison still looks like a promising medal contender. Coming off of a fantastic indoor track season and now appearing to be approaching his best form, Madison has become one of the top dogs in this event.
10. Prince Mcabelo (West Texas A&M)
Throughout this season, Prince Mcabelo has been a difficult runner to rank. It took a few races for him to approach the kind of form he showed when placing 4th in this event at the 2024 indoor national meet, but now we see shades of that ability returning. Knowing that he was not at his best until the NCAA Championships this past winter, his recent 4th place finish in a stacked conference field is less of a concern and we see Mcabelo as one of a handful of medal threats.
11. Nolan Moeller (Drury)
Nolan Moeller is not yet one of Division Two's top runners over 800 meters, but he could be soon. At a last chance meet two weekends ago, he ran a substantial half-mile personal best of 1:49.69 to win by about a second and a half. That kind of determination and command of the moment is commendable and it would be encouraging to see this redshirt rookie reveal further poise and potential in this setting.
12. Isaiah Rodriguez (Western Oregon)
This is Western Oregon freshman Isaiah Rodriguez’s first appearance at a national meet in any season. But regardless of how his first time ends up going, this weekend will be an invaluable experience for the youngster who ran 1:50.53 (800) or faster on three separate occasions this spring. With his heat containing the most underclassmen, anything could happen.
13. Harry Ross-Hughes (Lake Erie)
Bridging the gap between Wes Ferguson and the rest of the field is Lake Erie star, Harry Ross-Hughes. To give you an idea of the gap, the third-fastest man in this field has a seasonal best nearly two seconds slower than that of Ross-Hughes. We saw him take the race out hard at the indoor national meet and we hope to see that kind of display of guts and fearlessness again this time around.
14. Nik Shilling (Davenport)
The fastest of three freshmen in this race, Nik Shilling appears poised to make the final. His heat is arguably the weakest, but advancing will still not be easy by any means. However, considering that he has one of the fastest personal bests in the field, it would not be a surprise to see Shilling finish in a podium spot.
15. Benjamin Sumner (Azusa Pacific)
Based on times and placement, Benjamin Sumner was at his best last spring, so it’s hard to predict how he’ll perform here after finishing as a backend All-American in 2023. His mile strength and relative consistency give him a decent chance at returning to the half-mile final.
16. Warren Thiel (Charleston (WV))
This will be the first individual event that Warren Thiel contests at a national meet, and he faces some formidable competition in the first round. Still, he’s here because he earned this spot and seven efforts of 1:51 (800) or better since February began indicate that it would be unwise to write him off.
17. Maxime Touron (NW Missouri)
A half-mile seasonal best and PR of 1:49.48 don't stand out in this field, but the same could’ve been said about Maxime Touron's times before the 2024 indoor national meet and he came away with a 5th place finish there. Touron is tactically sound and has great strength which could be the key to making another half-mile final. If and when he gets there, then he can draw on his previous postseason appearance for confidence.
18. Drew Weber (Western Washington)
Being the last man into this field, Drew Weber must be excited to make the most of his opportunity. The key, however, is that he has been on this stage a few times before, so a top-10 finish would be the realistic next step for this Viking.
19. Riley Witt (NW Missouri)
Another NW Missouri man, Riley Witt finds himself in a tough spot in the second heat. His best hope may be for it to turn into a tactical affair so that he can use his endurance to stay in the mix and move on alongside his teammate, Maxime Touron.
