Weekend Review (2/25) (Women)
ACC Championships
800
Virginia Tech's Rachel Pocratsky continues to establish herself as one of the most dynamic mid-distance runners in the nation. She took over the race at the halfway mark and never looked back, which led to her winning the ACC title in a time of 2:03 (NCAA #4).
Miami's Kayla Johnson had a nice race of her own, finishing runner-up with a time of 2:05 while VT's Shannon Quinn's 2:06.58 was enough for 3rd place. She was able to hold off Clemson's Kamryn McIntosh who ran 2:06.87 for 4th.
Mile
In one of the best mile fields of the season, we got to see distance stars such as Dominique Clairmont, Morgan Ilse, Sarah Edwards, Logan Morris, Maudie Skyring and many more toe the line to fight for a conference title. In the end, it was Virginia Tech's Sarah Edwards slowly pulling away from the field in the final few moments of the race to take the win in a time of 4:41. She was followed by UNC's Morgan Ilse (4:43.05) and Wake Forest's Johanna Schulz (4:43.50) who finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
3000
Louisville's Dorcas Wasike threw down a kick in the final lap of the race to edge NC State's Elly Henes for the win, 9:24.05 to 9:24.38. Close behind was Florida State's Militsa Mircheva who finished 3rd in a time of 9:24.94.
5000
Wasike may have won a close race in the 3000, but she was unable to edge the winner in the 5000. Instead it was Paige Stoner of Syracuse running a time of 16:06.48 to take home the title. Wasike was a close 2nd in 16:06.99.
DMR
Virginia Tech was the winner in 11:08, defeating Florida State who finished 2nd in 11:13.
SEC Championships
800
Despite losing her training partner Sammy Watson to a future pro contract, Texas A&M's Jazmine Fray was the winner in 2:05.42 while LSU's Ersula Farrow was runner-up in 2:05.51. Georgia's Amber Tanner was a pleasant surprise in 3rd place with a personal best time of 2:05.59.
Mile
The Arkansas trio of Lauren Gregory, Carina Viljoen, and Maddy Reed swept the top three spots in this race, running 4:39, 4:41, and 4:43, respectively.
3000 + 5000
It was the same top two in both races. Arkansas' Tayler Werner earned a pair of wins in 9:15 and 16:18 while Auburn freshman Joyce Kimeli ran 9:24 and 16:28 for two silver medals.
BIG 12 Championships
800
Marleena Eubanks of Kansas had one of the best performances of her career, running 2:03.99 to secure the conference title. With an altitude conversion, Eubanks now has the #5 time in the NCAA.
Texas senior Gabby Crank continues her string of strong performances with a runner-up time in 2:04.92. Baylor's Aaliyah Miller was 3rd in 2:06.73.
1000
Oklahoma State's Sinclaire Johnson continues to keep her momentum high from the regular season as she took home the win in a time of 2:44. Kansas State freshman Kassidy Johnson kept things close with a time of 2:45.
Mile
The Oklahoma State duo of Molly Sughroue and Ariane Ballner ran times of 4:48 and 4:49 to take the top spots in the mile.
3000 + 5000
Just like the SEC Championships, we saw the same top two finishers in both events. Kansas veteran Sharon Lokedi took home double gold with times of 9:20 and 16:11. Oklahoma freshman Haley Herberg showed that she may be the future of BIG 12 distance running with runner-up times of 9:28 and 16:22.
MPSF Championships
800
BYU's Lauren Ellsworth had the best race of her season, running 2:06.48 to edge Utah's Sarah Newton (2:06.62) and Stanford's Caitlin Collier (2:06.64) for the win. A total of six women ran under 2:07 at this meet.
Mile
In a tight race to the finish, BYU's Erica Birk pulled out the win over Oregon's Susan Ejore, 4:34.59 to 4:34.83. For someone who we deemed as a true long distance runner, this performance from Birk is wildly impressive. I like that she is showing off some mid-distance speed heading into Nationals.
As for Ejore, she may not have won, but it's yet another personal best for her this season. This is likely a confidence booster for her heading into the national meet where she'll be an All-American contender.
Portland's Taryn Rawlings and Utah's Sarah Feeny were the final women under the 4:40 barrier with times of 4:36.00 and 4:36.67, respectively.
3000
It was one of the best performances of the weekend as Stanford's Fiona O'Keeffe dropped a time of 8:58 to win the MPSF title and secure herself a spot to Nationals. After such an impressive performance to match a slew of other strong results from earlier this season, O'Keeffe has to be in the All-American conversation for Nationals now.
Behind O'Keeffe was Makena Morley who finished 2nd in a time of 9:02. She was followed by Washington's Lilli Burdon who posted a respectable mark of 9:03. Both O'Keeffe and Morley are in guaranteed qualifying spots for Nationals while Burdon just needs one scratch to qualify.
5000
Colorado's Taylor Tuttle was the winner in a time of 16:29. UCLA's Christina Rice was 2nd in 16:31.
DMR
It was a "do or die" situation for Oregon's DMR who had only one opportunity left to run an NCAA qualifier. Luckily for them, they had Jessica Hull drop a 4:31 split on the anchor leg, giving them a time of 10:57 and an eventual NCAA qualifier (as well as the MPSF title). In the process of qualifying, the Ducks kicked Ohio State out of the final spot to Nationals.
The Stanford women ran hard, but came up short of a qualifier, running 11:02 for 2nd place. This means that we will see Fiona O'Keeffe running the 5k/3k double without the concern of running on a relay.
BIG 10 Championships
800
Danae Rivers (Penn State) cruised to the victory in a time of 2:03.45 which was clear of 2nd place by over two seconds. Right now, we have Rivers scratching the 800 in favor of the mile, but that could very easily change.
Dillon McClintock (Michigan State) and Haley Harris (Indiana) rounded out the top three with times of 2:05.68 and 2:05.88, respectively.
Mile
In what may have been the best matchup of the weekend, we got to see rivals Hannah Meier (Michigan) and Julia Rizk (Ohio State) push each other to a pair of fast times. The end result would be Meier taking home the crown in a time of 4:32.46 while Rizk settled for 2nd in 4:32.79. This is a huge result for both women, especially Meier who continues to drastically improve her fitness in the latter portion of the season. She could very easily be a top three finisher at Nationals.
Although she may not have won, Rizk can take solace in the idea that Meier will likely attempt the mile/DMR double at Nationals. If both women make the mile final at Nationals, Rizk will have the fresher legs.
In 3rd place was Michigan State sophomore Annie Fuller who continues to quietly piece together one of the more impressive seasons of anyone in the BIG 10. Her time of 4:35.63 is a new personal best and may be enough to qualify for NCAA's if there are enough scratches (she is currently tied for #19 in the country).
3000
Wisconsin's Alicia Monson cruised to the win in a time of 9:16 while the Indiana duo of Margaret Allen and Katherine Receveur took the next two spots with times of 9:23 and 9:25, respectively.
5000
Wisconsin teammates Alicia Monson and Amy Davis worked together to run a pair of 16:18's to take the top two spots in this race. They were able to fend off Indiana's Katherine Receveur who was 3rd, also in a time of 16:18.
DMR
Michigan State posted a time of 11:05 (with Annie Fuller on the anchor) to take gold over Michigan who ran 11:11 (who had Hannah Meier on the anchor).
Mountain West Championships
800
Avi' Tal Wilson-Perteete from UNLV was the conference champion in a time of 2:08.05. She was able to upset heavy favorite Kristie Shoffield (Boise State) who ran 2:09.20 for 2nd.
Mile
In one of the most stacked fields of the weekend, we got to see New Mexico's Weini Kelati toe the line against the Boise State duo of Allie Ostrander and Alexis Fuller. In the end, it was Kelati emerging on top with a time of 4:37.75 which eventually converted to an NCAA #3 time of 4:31.03. Although it is likely that she will run the 3k/5k double, she has made a strong case for potentially running the mile.
As for Ostrander and Fuller, they rounded out the top three with times of 4:41 and 4:42, respectively. Those times convert (roughly) to 4:35 and 4:36.
3000
Although she was unable to win the mile, Ostrander did take home gold in the 3000 with a time of 9:11. She was able to hold off New Mexico's Adva Cohen and Air Force's Jaci Smith who ran 9:13 and 9:14, respectively. After conversions, Cohen and Smith earned times of 9:00 and 9:01 which were enough to earn a spot to Nationals in this event.
DMR
The Boise State lineup of Fuller, Moodry, Shoffield, and Ostrander took home the win in a time of 11:10 which converts to 11:00. They comfortably took care of a New Mexico team that had Kelati on the leadoff and Kurgat on the anchor.
BIG East Championships
800
Villanova's McKenna Keegan was the winner in a time of 2:07.08. She held off Marquette's Emma Moravec who ran 2:09.60 for 2nd.
Mile
Villanova flexed their mid-distance dominance by taking the top four spots in this event. Rachel McArthur (4:38), Nicole Hutchinson (4:38), Taryn O'Neill (4:45), and Ann Campbell (4:50) were the top finishers in that order.
3000
The Providence duo of Millie Paladino and Briana Ilarda took the top two spots in this race with times of 9:24 and 9:26, respectively. Villanova's Carolina Alcorta finished 3rd, also in 9:26.
5000
Ilarda not only beat Alocorta in the 3000, but she also came out on top in the 5k. Ilarda ran a time of 16:47 to take home the BIG East title while Alcorta settled for 2nd in 16:48.
Ivy League Championships
800
With Penn's Nia Akins running the 1000 meters, it was teammate Melissa Tanka who took individual glory in the 800 with a winning time of 2:07.87. Claire Dougherty (Dartmouth) ran 2:08.79 for 2nd.
1000
Penn's Nia Akins opted to focus on the 1000 meters this past weekend and was rewarded with a conference title. Her strong winning time of 2:43 was enough to defeat Kathryn Gillespie (Harvard) who ran 2:45 for 2nd.
Anna Jurew (Princeton) and Jocelyn Chau (Yale) also ran under the 2:50 barrier.
Mile
Columbia's Katie Wasserman was the title winner in a time of 4:43.93.
3000
Columbia's Erin Gregoire was the first woman to cross the line in a time of 9:25.
5000
Lisa Tertsch (Harvard) controlled the race and took home the win in a time of 16:18.