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Three Sentences Or Less: 2024 D2 NCAA Outdoor Championship Women's 1500 Meters Preview
- Marissa Kuik
- May 22, 2024
- 6 min read
Written by Marissa Kuik, 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. Kaylee Beyer (Winona State)
Although Kaylee Beyer is having a quieter outdoor track season relative to her standards, she has been incredibly consistent throughout the spring. She ran away with the silver medal in the indoor mile final this past winter, but she will have her hands full with some of the other names on this list beyond just Gracie Hyde. Even so, Beyer’s championship experience is a boon and she feels like a safe pick to finish in the top-three.
2. Elena Carey (Adams State) Even though Elena Carey ran an incredible time of 9:54 in the steeplechase, she is all-in on the metric mile this spring. Her converted time of 4:16 (1500) places her high on this seed list, but what was even more impressive was Carey's 1500-meter title at RMAC Championships in which she beat multiple All-American contenders. Carey looks ready to come away with a top-three finish just like she did in the mile at the 2024 indoor national meet. 3. Anna Fauske (UC-Colorado Springs) Anna Fauske has enjoyed some major highs this season with personal bests in both the 1500 meters and the 5k and some great wins over her competition. While her marks in the metric mile are not as fast as some of the other accomplished women in this field, she still has strong odds of making it out of the preliminaries. To do so, she will have to position herself well going into the last lap. 4. Aria Hawkins (Lee (Tenn.)) At last year’s outdoor national meet, Aria Hawkins had one of the best finishes in the 1500 meters to steal the final spot on the podium. Heading into this year's championship meet, Hawkins has run numerous personal bests, including a time of 4:22 (1500). And while that's impressive, the rest of Division Two has noticeably improved as well, so Hawkins may need to rely on her experience in addition to her speed to repeat her All-American honors. 5. Katie Heck (Fort Lewis) After a strong performance at the Bryan Clay Invite, Katie Heck has taken a back seat to the rest of Division Two, running some slower times than her 4:25 (1500) seasonal best. Recently, she performed decently at the competitive RMAC Championships with a 5th place finish in the 1500 meters. While Heck is traditionally at her best in the postseason, she'll be hard-pressed to repeat as the national runner-up in this event. 6. Kate Hedlund (UC-Colorado Springs) The best part about Kate Hedlund’s racing is her willingness to compete at all costs. The tough part about Hedlund’s racing is sometimes that means she does not make it out of the preliminary rounds. While Hedlund has not been as consistent as some of the other names on this list, she has the ability to race with the best when she does reach a final, and she has more experience than most of the names on this list. 7. Gracie Hyde (Adams State) In Division Two distance running, Gracie Hyde has been the headliner throughout 2024. She will be busy at this outdoor national meet, racing the 1500 meters, the 3000-meter steeplechase and the 5000 meters, but her personal bests are quite a bit above the next-fastest times. Hyde’s 4:08 (1500) mark is one of her most impressive PRs, so as long as she is near her best on Saturday, this Grizzly should be the national champion. 8. Khot Juac (Sioux Falls) After finishing 5th overall at the 2023 cross country national meet, we thought Khot Juac may focus on the longer distance events. However, she has been putting a lot of time and effort into the middle distance races, including recently running a personal best of 4:25 in the 1500 meters. Although she may not have had the end to the indoor track season that she wanted, Juac clearly knows how to finish well at a national meet and may be a sleeper pick to make it to the finals. 9. Emma Kjellsen (Western Colorado) Emma Kjellsen may lack the experience that some of the other women in this field possess, but she has nationally competitive PRs in the middle distance events and has displayed both strong turnover and tactical ability. She will have to face some of the same women whom she lost to at the RMAC Championships which may pose her biggest challenge to advancing out of the prelims. 10. Sarah Koomson (West Texas A&M) While originally thought of as more of a long distance runner, Sarah Koomson proved to be more dynamic than expected by declaring for the 1500 meters along with the 5k. Her regular season was not anything extraordinary, but this NCAA rookie has shown no fear of the moment on the national stage. That should help her in a tertiary race distance in which she has no teammates to compete alongside. 11. Vienna Lahner (Adams State) Another Grizzly who fared surprisingly well in the indoor national meet mile final was Vienna Lahner, who finished in 5th place. With a seed time of 4:22 (1500) and newfound championship experience, Lahner will be one of several Adams State competitors who have a good shot at making it to the final. Many of her races during this outdoor track season have been in the shorter events, so she should have the turnover to match up with virtually anyone in this field. 12. Maggie McCleskey (Adams State) Maggie McCleskey raced fairly sparingly this season, but she adroitly put together some of her best performances during the early stages of this championship season. Racing in a very competitive metric mile field at the RMAC Championships, McCleskey came away with a 4th place finish. Her postseason experience belies her youth, and she will have a number of teammates to help her navigate through the prelims. 13. Riley McGrath (Colorado Mines) Similar to Kate Hedlund, former teammate Riley McGrath has been up and down when it comes to qualifying for championship finals. However, that is bound to happen when you are in one of the most unpredictable conferences and events in all of track and field. What we do know is that McGrath has run fast this year and has immense postseason experience, both of which are positives in this setting. 14. Klaudia O’Malley (Grand Valley State) It has been about a month since we have seen Klaudia O’Malley race a metric mile, but she has still looked better than ever this spring. She posted a couple of 2:09 marks over 800 meters, demonstrating serious turnover that will benefit her in tactical racing situations. It will be crowded up front in this metric mile final, but O’Malley has experience that rivals anyone else in this field and has traditionally been at her best over this distance. 15. Jori Paradis (CUI) In what could have been her final race of the season, Jori Paradis ran just fast enough to sneak into the outdoor national meet. Paradis has definitely grown throughout 2024, including the indoor track season, but her inexperience on the national stage and the possibility of being outrun by some of the superstars in this field leaves her an underdog going into this weekend. 16. Claire Rethman (Walsh) Throughout this outdoor track season, Claire Rethman has made big jumps in her 1500-meter times, starting at 4:42 and closing with a 4:26 to get into this field. An improvement like that can be both promising and somewhat concerning. It's promising if Rethman can continue to carry and build upon that momentum heading into the outdoor national meet, but it may be concerning because, in theory, that breakthrough makes it less likely that she'll be able to replicate her new PR right away. 17. Megan Roxby (Simon Fraser) Megan Roxby has been popping off this season as can be most clearly evidenced by her impressive 4:20 (1500) mark at the Mt. SAC Relays. It has been a while since she ran that mark, but Roxby has also qualified for the outdoor national meet in the 800 meters, meaning that she has the turnover to compete with anyone if this race turns tactical. Contesting the 800/1500-meter double will be a challenge, but Roxby should make it to the final here. 18. Leah Taylor (Western Colorado) After finishing an impressive 3rd in this event at last year’s outdoor national meet, Leah Taylor may have a hard time replicating that result. She'll be busy between this event and the 5k, but her turnover and postseason poise should help her reach the final in this very competitive metric mile race. 19. Lauren Wallace (Mississippi College) This will be Lauren Wallace’s first-ever outdoor national meet appearance, so she will first be tasked with navigating through the ever-dangerous preliminary round. Wallace has been incredibly consistent throughout this season, which is promising, and her 2:10 half-mile PR suggests that she has the leg speed to match any moves made at the end of a race. 20. Lauren Willson (Western Colorado) At the conclusion of the 2023 cross country season, Lauren Willson was a name to watch after stepping up big-time for Western Colorado. While she ended up not competing in any indoor track races, she looks like she is back and ready to step up again six months after her most recent NCAA Championships appearance. Willson lacks experience in this setting, but that did not stop her from performing well at the cross country national meet.
