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Three Sentences Or Less: 2024 D3 NCAA Outdoor Championship Women's 1500 Meters Preview
- Conor Daly
- May 22, 2024
- 6 min read
Written by Conor Daly, 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. Mary Blanchard (Carleton)
This Carleton upperclassman has been on an emotional roller coaster over the past week. That’s because when the accepted athletes were first posted, Mary Blanchard was not in this field, but due to a last-second medical scratch, she will now make her fourth appearance at a national meet on the track. Watch out for the speed-based miler to out-kick her competition in a more tactical race.
2. Lexi Brown (Wartburg)
Even after a late start to her outdoor track season, Lexi Brown hasn’t missed a beat. She’s covered it all, flexing her strength over 5k as well as her closing speed to win races. She has the potential to be as good as just about anyone in this field if she’s able to effectively execute.
3. Elisabeth Camic (U. of Chicago)
Seen solely as a 400/800-meter runner entering this year, Elisabeth Camic has found great success in the metric mile as of late. While she’s fairly inexperienced over the distance, this middle distance specialist punched her ticket to the outdoor national meet with a six-second 1500-meter personal best earlier this month. Ultimately, it may take a comparable performance for Camic to make the finals.
4. Riley Capuano (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)
Known for her remarkable run at this past year’s cross country national meet, Riley Capuano now seeks a similar performance at her first individual track national meet appearance. The metric miler has met every challenge that she’s faced this outdoor track season, running a personal best in every 1500-meter race that she’s contested this season (excluding prelims). That trend, coupled with historically strong postseason performances, makes this underclassman a rising star to watch out for.
5. Lauren Cerda (Catholic)
It’s crazy to think that entering this year, Lauren Cerda didn’t run track, instead playing collegiate soccer. However, after putting on the spikes for the first time in her collegiate career, the senior has now run 4:31 (1500). While many may be timid to attack the outdoor national meet with her lack of experience, Cerda doesn’t strike us as one to back away from the challenge.
6. Deyanneira Colon Maldonado (Aurora)
Unlike many of her competitors, there’s no guesswork when evaluating Deyanneira Colon Maldonado since she races so often. The Aurora veteran has doubled very well throughout this season, so it feels likely that she'll rebound well in the final. When she’s fresh, she has as much upside as anyone in this field (other than Grace Hadley), clocking a time as fast as 4:26 (1500) last week.
7. Helen Cross (Carleton)
The second Carleton runner in this field is seeking her first All-American honors after just barely missing out in both cross country and the indoor track season. Also a 3k runner, Cross will likely get a fast race to play to her aerobic strength. She may need a breakthrough to make the finals, but it’s certainly possible.
8. Claire Eberhardt (John Carroll)
Purely a track athlete, Claire Eberhardt has bounced around a lot while trying to find her ideal racing distance, but now with a sub-4:30 (1500) to her name, it’s safe to say that she’s found her sweet spot. She’s never qualified for a track national meet, making her a bit of an unknown in this high-pressure situation. Still, look for Eberhardt to turn some heads as her recent momentum and closing speed could pose a threat to the rest of the field.
9. Lucy Gagnon (Williams)
Although Lucy Gagnon has tended to peak just a bit too early in the past, it seems that she has ended that trend thanks to a recent seven-second personal best to punch her ticket to the "Big Dance." While we are skeptical of the replicability of that performance for many athletes who take such a large chunk off of their personal best, Gagnon feels like a safer bet since she has already been to the national meet on the track on three different occasions. After making her first final this winter in the mile, Gagnon will be seeking more this time around.
10. Grace Hadley (WPI)
After winning the mile at the indoor national meet, Hadley is heavily favored to win another title in the metric equivalent. She enters with an eight-second advantage over the rest of the field this season and holds the fastest 800-meter and 5k marks of any of the entrants in this field to boot. Simply put, Hadley is head and shoulders above her competition, and it would take a heroic effort to get in her way.
11. Maddie Kelly (U. of Chicago)
We mustn’t forget that Maddie Kelly was the silver medalist in this event at last year’s outdoor national meet. Even though the highly accomplished U. of Chicago athlete had an underwhelming indoor track campaign relative to expectations, she has been returning to her top-end form as of late. A highly respectable 3rd place metric mile finish at the UAA Outdoor Championships and a recent 4:26 (1500) run are a pair of performances that suggest she'll be in the mix on Saturday.
12. Amelia Lehman (UW-Oshkosh)
This Wisconsin-based talent has been an All-American at the past three national meets on the track between the 1500 meters and the mile. That’s some unparalleled consistency and experience that few (if any) women in this field can contend with. Remember Amelia Lehman’s name because she will almost certainly be a factor in the finals.
13. Dale Leonard (Ramapo)
The 4th place finisher in the mile at the indoor national meet hasn’t quite reached that level of success since stepping onto the outdoor oval. Of course, that’s not to say that Dale Leonard’s sub-4:30 (1500) mark isn’t highly impressive for a true freshman. Known for aggressive front-running, Leonard will likely have to adopt a different strategy to find success.
14. Grace McDonough (Connecticut College)
A pair of back-to-back 4:30 (1500) results is a really nice way for Grace McDonough to enter this weekend. Coming into this race as a backend seed, McDonough will need to have an optimal race to be a force in this field and advance to the weekend final. But with a handful of recent wins, that’s not out of the question.
15. Hope Murphy (Baldwin Wallace)
The indoor silver medalist in the 800 meters has decided to add the metric mile to her schedule for this outdoor national meet. After missing the finals in this event by a tenth of a second last year, Hope Murphy will look to avenge herself. With 2:09 (800) speed, look for Murphy to make a move on her competitors in the final stages.
16. Ellie Rising (George Fox)
It’s a bold decision for Ellie Rising to go all-in on the metric mile considering that she’s a two-time bronze medalist in the 800 meters at the national level. With only four 1500-meter races in her collegiate career, we’re not too sure what to expect. But if Rising and her coaches think she may fare better in the 1500 meters than in the half-mile, then that means we could see something big from her.
17. Alessia Sarussi (Washington U.)
This half-mile specialist has never really seemed to be all that interested in pursuing the 1500 meters until this outdoor track season. A win over Grace Richardson and a strong field at the UAA Championships is certainly a good sign for someone who is otherwise fairly inexperienced in this event against national-level competition. The 1500/800-meter double that Alessia Sarussi is attempting is no easy task, but if Sarussi can stay in contact with the field, then her 2:09 (800) speed could be her advantage over her competition.
18. Haley Schoenegge (Vassar)
Since taking 9th in the mile at the indoor national meet, Haley Schoenegge has been running at an entirely new level, taking unthinkable chunks off of her personal bests. She’s run 4:25 for the metric mile on two separate occasions this spring, proving that she could very well take home the silver medal (presumably behind Grace Hadley). The freshman seems to be having a season in which nothing can go wrong (knock on wood).
19. Julia Schor (Amherst)
This middle distance specialist is fresh off of the biggest win of her career at the Farley Inter Regional Extravaganza, running a 4:29 (1500) PR. Schor will need to carry that momentum in order to be competitive in the rounds. It’s very possible that aforementioned win will later become the sign that Schor is on track to do something big.
20. Mackenzie Setton (Johns Hopkins)
Mackenzie Setton set out at the IC4A/ECAC Championships to get her final qualifying mark, but when she was unable to do so, she decided to race in another state two days later. There, she ran a five-second personal best and secured her spot in this field. If she’s able to make the finals, that recent feat shows Setton’s awesome ability to race well even on tired legs.
21. Peyton Steffen (Central College)
Even though she’s hardly Central College's focal star, Peyton Steffen has been a quietly great contributor for Central College as of late. With teammates Caroline McMartin and Megan Johnson racing phenomenally right now, it only feels fitting that Steffen will be able to follow that trajectory. She has, after all, beat many nationally competitive names as of late.
22. Laura Zimmer (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps)
Simply put, Laura Zimmer has strung together a very impressive season. She’s run under the 1500-meter qualifying time on four different occasions and holds the second-fastest seed thanks to a recent 4:25 performance. With Grace Hadley seen as untouchable, Zimmer arguably enters as the favorite for the silver.
