2018 Outdoor National Championships Which distance runner had the greatest upset of the weekend? Is Ben Flanagan's win the greatest underdog story in NCAA Championship history? Is Sean McGorty's win the greatest comeback story in NCAA Championship history? Future National Championships Does this mean Grant Fisher will be the favorite to win the 5k next year? Is Obsa Ali automatically the favorite to win the steeplechase next year? Or will guys like Rotich, Grannetia, the BYU men, and the Syracuse duo rise to the top? Is Oregon the early favorite to win the indoor DMR title in 2019? Is there any team that could realistically stop them? Legacy Does Stanford's back-to-back 5k titles (with different runners) make up for the lack of a national title in cross country? What does BYU need to do in order to avenge their struggles at NCAA's? Despite not winning this past weekend, has Josh Kerr done enough to be considered the greatest collegiate 1500 runner ever? David Ribich is the greatest D2 runner in NCAA history...right? Or is it Thomas Staines after running 1:45 in early June? Going pro? By the way, does this mean Staines will go pro now? What else is left for Kerr to do in the collegiate scene? If the answer is nothing, does this mean he'll go pro? Will Isaiah Harris go pro after this season? Will Michael Saruni go pro after this season? If both go pro, who is the favorite to win the 800 title next year? Will Coach Fox really leave Syracuse to start a group with Reebok? If he did, would Justyn Knight actually consider joining that group? Next year uncertainties How will Colorado State perform in 2018-2019 after losing both Mock and Fischer in a single year? How will Virginia Tech perform in 2018-2019 after losing Ciattei, Gourley, and Joseph in a single year? Transfer talk How will Matthew Harding adjust to Virginia Tech after transferring from UNC-Asheville? With an All-American finish now on his resume, has Robert Brandt validated his transfer from Cal to UCLA? Or does he need to do more? If so, what exactly does he need to do? Which JUCO & D2 stars will transfer to D1 this offseason? What kind of impact will Arizona State's three newest transfers have? Is Brody Smith, a transfer from Utah State, the missing piece Purdue needs to qualify for an NCAA Championship in cross country? Coaching Situations How long should we give Solinsky until we expect to see progress with Florida's distance runners? Who will take over as coach for Washington? For Texas? Notre Dame? EKU? Will Greg Metcalf ever have a job in coaching again? Piecing Together Eligibility Will Colorado's John Dressel be healthy enough to compete for the Buffs this fall? Joe Klecker just ran 13:30 at the Portland Track Festival. Did his redshirt season mean he was saving eligibility or recovering from an injury? Both? Will we ever see Soren Knudsen on the collegiate scene again? WHERE IS MATTHEW MATON??? Why did Morgan McDonald use eligibility and run only one collegiate race (where he didn't qualify for NCAA's) at the end of the spring track season? Future plans When will TSR start it's summer rankings? Soon...and much more

The National Championships are done, the recaps are complete, and we have fully digested what the indoor season has given us. However, during those two awkward weeks of transitioning between seasons, there were a handful of interesting performances and headlines that caught our attention. We catch you up on everything that's happened below... BYU highlights strong steeplechase openers It's no secret that the Cougars from BYU are, without question, the greatest steeplechase team in the country. Sure enough, they extended their reputation by placing three men under the 9 minute barrier at the Willie Williams Classic. They also had a fourth runner (Porter Reddish) finish with a time of 9:03. Matt Owens highlighted BYU's collective effort with a monster time of 8:50. That result would have put him at #23 on the 2018 NCAA leaderboard. Of course, Owens personal best of 8:36 tells us that this is just the beginning of what will likely be another huge season for the redshirt sophomore. After gaining some valuable experience on the national stage in 2018, Owens will want to fight for a national title this spring. Close behind Owens in a time of 8:52 was teammate Jacob Heslington, a key steeplechase veteran who continues to put himself at the top of the nation in this event. In 2019, this redshirt junior will use his years of experience to secure an All-American finish that has eluded him over the past few seasons. Despite the mass number of top-tier steeplechasers, there always seems to be a young rising star that finds his way into BYU's group of steeplechase studs. This year, that runner seems to be true freshman Kenneth Rooks who ran 8:59 in his outdoor debut. It's still too early to establish expectations for this youngster, but this is a nice start to his season. The 9:03 from Porter Reddish is respectable, but he owns a PR of 8:50. He'll be back in the steeplechase conversation later this season. As for the rest of this team, we haven't even talked about other sub-nine BYU steeplechasers like Clayson Shumway, Daniel Carney, Garrett Marsing, Cade Perry, and Alex Hedquist. Expect to see those names popping up at the top of the NCAA leaderboard later this season. Ellsworth, Webb, Sharon capitalize on indoor fitness Sticking with BYU, Lauren Ellsworth ran the NCAA #1 time of 2:06 this past weekend which essentially matches her indoor personal best from this past indoor season. Hopefully she can continue to carry her momentum into May. Luckily for her, the top women for 800 meters in the NCAA are almost all in the east region. In fact, seven of the eight All-Americans from the indoor national meet reside in the eastern half of the country. That has to provide a lot of comfort for the half-mile specialists out west. As for Skylyn Webb and Bailey Sharon, they went head-to-head at the CSU-Pueblo Early Bird Invite which resulted in converted times of 2:07 and 2:08 with Webb getting the win. This isn't necessarily a surprising result for Webb, but you have to be encouraged by the fact that Sharon was able to keep things close and push her to the line. She may not have won, but a close runner-up finish to one of the greatest D2 800 meter runners of all time has to feel good. Bartlett, Warren post strong double In the spring of 2018, we saw a lot of great performances from Georgia Tech's Avery Bartlett. The mid-distance stud established a reputation for having a wicked kick while also being able to stay competitive when moving up in distance to the 1500. Now, the Yellow Jacket veteran is back after narrowly missing the national meet during indoors. His 1:51/3:54 double isn't mind-boggling, but it is a good sign for someone who has thrived on the outdoor oval. As for Calahan Warren, the Division Two star made a quick return to the track and was likely fueled by missing an All-American spot at Nationals despite owning a 4:05 mile PR. His 1:50/3:48 double may be one of the more impressive doubles you see in Division Two this season. Early season times don't mean a ton, but I'm a fan of athletes who can display range as well as the ability to double (it bodes well for running trials). Expect big performances from these two come April and May. Hayley Jackson continues solid 2018-2019 campaign West Virginia is a respectable distance program that doesn't often get the attention it might deserve. Maybe Hayley Jackson will change that. The redshirt freshman has posted some very solid results in the 2018-2019 academic calendar with an 8th place finish in the BIG 12 Cross Country Championships as well as a personal best of 4:43 in the mile this past winter. Her winning time of 4:23 in the 1500 at the Charlotte 49er Classic isn't anything crazy fast, but it does show you that she is consistent and still capable of running something truly competitive later in the season. Corcoran, Noble return to competition California's Garrett Corcoran is one of the forgotten stars of the NCAA who still deserves attention as a national contender. With personal bests of 3:59, 7:52, and 13:54, Corcoran is arguably one of the most well-rounded distance runners that the country has to offer. With a plethora of experience in championship settings, the Cal veteran has a chance to do something special in his final season with the Golden Bears. He started off his season with a 3:44 win and although it's nothing special, it's a nice reminder to the rest of the nation that Corcoran can be a problem for his competitors. After making headlines during cross country with a handful of wicked fast times and redshirting indoors, Christian Noble made a statement in his outdoor debut. The Lee (Tenn.) star recorded a huge time of 9:00 for the steeplechase, a result that would've ranked #15 in the nation last year. When you consider it's only March, you have to be impressed with that performance. With enough chances, Noble could become a national title contender in this event by the time May rolls around...

Happy Birthday to us! Today officially marked the second anniversary since The Stride Report was launched and to say that the journey has been fun is an understatement. If you were following the site back in December, you may have read our New Years Eve article Sick of Being Mediocre which discusses how far the site, and our readership, has come over the past two years. We wont overwhelm you with another sentimental piece, but I like to think that that article captures the epitome of what we're all about and what we're trying to do. As a thank you for sticking with us, we're giving away free TSR t-shirts! All you have to do is retweet/share this article on Twitter and/or Instagram (make sure to tag us on Instagram so we don't miss it). We will message the winners on Friday! So where do we go from here? What else does TSR have in store? Simply put, a lot. Due to popular demand, a TSR-produced podcast will be returning to the site! That's still in the works, but you can expect to learn more about that in the next week or two. We are also aiming to add more photos to the site, but that is on a week-to-week basis when our contributors are able to attend certain meets. We also have a new writer on the way who will help expand our coverage among collegiate women, Division Two performances, and a variety of aspects around Division One. Official announcement on that coming soon... We have plenty of other exciting site features and updates in the works that we can't necessarily disclose yet (and may not be able to for a while). However, just know that TSR is working to make 2019 it's best year by far! At the same time, we are always open to new suggestions, feedback, and general comments about the site. If you have an idea for what you want to see on TSR, be sure to let us know! It can be anything from new features, databases, social media content, apparel, etc. If you can think about it, we'll consider it. We also acknowledge that a few of our readers want us to expand our written coverage. Although we can't get to everything, we know that there are so many talented runners out there that deserve some recognition (looking at you D3 and NAIA). Don't worry, we haven't forgotten about you. Additionally, we're always looking for new contributors (not just writers). Take a look at our ABOUT & FAQ page and check out the below section to see if there are any opportunities that may interest you. Working with TSR is a commitment, but it is a phenomenal way to get involved with content creation and to join a growing platform in the running community. We can't take everyone, but we will always take the time to chat with someone who is interested or even just curious. Thank you to everyone who has supported TSR. Whether you've been reading since day one or just found out about us, we're happy to have you on board. This is all we have for tonight (the real-world awaits in the morning), but stay tuned to the site throughout the week as we prepare for outdoors! Stay happy, stay healthy. Your loyal admin, Garrett Zatlin

25. Susan Aneno, Senior, UCONN (Unranked) There were a few women who could have earned the last spot in our Top 25, but Aneno really impressed me this season. She was able to throw down some really impressive times at a consistent rate. The UCONN senior was eventually rewarded with a 6th place All-American finish in the 800 meters at Nationals. I think she was one of the more underrated athletes in the country this season. 24. Hannah Meier, Senior, Michigan (-2 / 22) It wasn't a great performance for Meier in the mile finals as she dropped to last in the race. Still, she had a great season where she showed notable improvement and won the BIG 10 title over the eventual national champion. 23. Nia Akins, Junior, Penn (Unranked) Akins had one of the best run races of the national meet. The Penn junior ran a beautiful race and showed that her string of impressive wins towards the second half of the regular season weren't just for nothing. Instead, it led to an NCAA silver medal. 22. Sharon Lokedi, Senior, Kansas (-5 / 17) Lokedi just seemed to lack a spark this season. Her phenomenal 5k at Boston in December makes it hard to take her off this list, but after falling to 11th in the 5000 meters at Nationals, I can't say I was too excited about her season as a whole. 21. Katie Rainsberger, Rs. Sophomore, Washington (-1 / 20) You at least have to credit Rainsberger for putting herself out there. She attempted the brutal mile/3k double, but walked away with a 7th place finish (mile) and a 12th place finish (3k) at Nationals. Still, she had a very solid season and deserves a spot in our Top 25. 20. Carina Viljoen, Junior, Arkansas (+4 / 24) She wasn't super flashy throughout the season, but Viljoen was incredibly consistent. The Arkansas junior quietly recorded a 5th place finish in the mile to earn a respectable All-American finish. 19. Sinclaire Johnson, Sophomore, Oklahoma State (-4 / 15) The Oklahoma State women went all-in on the DMR and although they didn't win the national title, they still came away with a 3rd place finish. Johnson recorded a huge split of 4:30 to keep the Pokes in contention and I can't help but think that her run was one of the more underrated performances of the national meet. Still, there were just too many good performances that forced her back to the #19 spot in our rankings. 18. Makena Morley, Junior, Colorado (+1 / 19) Morley posted a pair of strong results at the national meet, finishing 6th in the 3k and 7th in the 5k. Two additional All-American honors added to her resume is super impressive and I like the fact that she was able to come back on day two and stay competitive. 17. Martha Bissah, Junior, Norfolk State (-6 / 11) In a race that was fast and tactical, Bissah has no reason to hang her head after finishing 5th in the 800 meter finals. This was arguably the tightest race in terms of finishes and overall competition. She may not have won, but she showed that she was the real deal. 16. Karisa Nelson, Senior, Samford (0 / 16) Nelson's first half of the season was respectable, but her Millrose performance was a bit discouraging. Still, she rallied in the postseason and seemingly returned to her 2017 form at the national meet. The Samford senior finished runner-up in the mile and likely earned herself the title of "Comeback Runner of the Year". 15. Fiona O'Keeffe, Rs. Sophomore, Stanford (+3 / 18) The second half of the season belonged to Fiona O'Keeffe. Entering the national meet, you could tell she was on a roll, running back-to-back PR's and putting herself ahead of the nation's best. She took advantage of a field that was unable to hang with Monson and Kelati, leaving O'Keeffe with a 3rd place finish in the 5000 meters. 14. Julia Rizk, Senior, Ohio State (Unranked) After finishing runner-up to Hannah Meier at the BIG 10 Championships, many fans around the country (including us) were focused on Meier as a potential national title winner. However, Rizk was just as good, especially with a 4:32 personal best. Sure enough, Rizk showed incredible poise in the finals and pulled away from Karisa Nelson to win the national title. A phenomenal second half of her season has catapulted the Ohio State veteran to the #14 spot. 13. Millie Paladino, Senior, Providence (+1 / 14) Yes, I know she finished 3rd in the mile race, but I'm putting her ahead of Rizk and Nelson because she had the better overall season. She never had a bad race, posted strong times, and showed off top-notch range. In the grand scheme of things, she had the better winter. 12. Allie Wilson, Senior, Monmouth (0 / 12) Much like Bissah, this Monmouth senior has a lot to be proud. She had the fastest non-converted time for 800 meters this season and always put herself in a position to win. Additionally, Wilson's lack of experience on the national stage didn't stop her from controlling the final few moments of the race (which takes a lot of guts). Her 4th place finish is a great result in what was one of the tightest races of the indoor season. 11. Ednah Kurgat, Senior, New Mexico (-3 / 8) The final half of Ednah Kurgat's season was admittedly not great. The New Mexico veteran fell back to 6th at the Husky Classic, was a DNF in the Mountain West 3k, and just missed an All-American spot in the 3000 meters at Nationals (finishing 9th overall). That said, her 4th place finish in the 5000 meters, paired with her 15:14 personal best, keeps her from falling too far in the rankings. 10. Rachel Pocratsky, Senior, Virginia Tech (0 / 10) Pocratsky may have waited a bit too long to make her move in the 800 meter final, but she still posted an impressive time of 2:03 to earn the bronze medal. She was a beast throughout the entire season and never gave anyone a reason to doubt her. 9. Nicole Hutchinson, Senior, Villanova (-3 / 6) Her 13th place finish in the 3000 meters wasn't great, but we should also keep in mind that she split 4:31 on Villanova's DMR the night before. When you look at the big picture, she did a lot this season. Her personal best of 8:55 in the 3000 meters is also hard to ignore. 8. Lauren Gregory, Rs. Freshman, Arkansas (-1 / 7) Lauren Gregory joined Katie Rainsberger as the only women to attempt the mile/3k double at Nationals. As a result, Gregory had to settle for 10th in the mile and 7th in the 3k. It wasn't an ideal weekend for her, but with team points on the line she got the job done. I also admire her willingness to attempt such a difficult double while so many other women/programs opted not to. 7. Allie Ostrander, Junior, Boise State (-2 / 5) I was never quite sure what to think of Ostrander this season. Some weekend's she was great, others she just okay. I still see her as an elite collegiate distance runner, especially after she finished 4th in the 3k and 8th in the 5k, but I thought this could've been a season where she contended for an indoor national title. 6. Erica Birk, Senior, BYU (+3 / 9) I am a huge fan of Erica Birk. She may be my favorite women's distance runner in the NCAA right now. Being a student, a mother, and a top-tier national contender is so wildly impressive. On the track, she finished 5th in the 3000 meters, but that came one day after she pushed Jessica Hull on the anchor leg of the DMR. Her range has improved a great amount over the past couple of years and I wouldn't be surprised if she challenges for a national title in the 5000 or 10,000 meters come outdoors. 5. Taylor Werner, Junior, Arkansas (+8 / 13) A 4:30 mile split on the DMR and a runner-up finish to Hull in the 3000 makes it hard for anyone to doubt Werner's overall talent. After such a phenomenal national meet, Werner has put herself in the upper echelon of women's collegiate distance running. 4. Weini Kelati, Sophomore, New Mexico (0 / 4) Kelati hung tough in both the 3000 and 5000 meters, earning bronze and silver medals, respectively. Her pair of podium finishes shouldn't come as a surprise to any knowledge distance running fan. She will likely earn a national title once the women ahead of her graduate, but she could still take home gold later this outdoor season. 3. Alicia Monson, Junior, Wisconsin (0 / 3) It was an absolute dominant display of fitness in the 5000 meters as Monson ran 15:31 to separate herself from Kelati and take home the national title. Admittedly, her race in the 3000 was a bit rough (she finished 10th), but she did enough this season to keep herself in the top three. 2. Danae Rivers, Junior, Penn State (-1 / 1) Rivers ran a 4:29 mile, broke the collegiate record in the 1000 meters, and won the national title in the 800. However, she nearly cost herself NCAA gold by timing her final kick a bit too late. It's a minor detail, but it was enough for me to put someone new at #1 spot. 1. Jessica Hull, Senior, Oregon (+1 / 2) It was really hard to drop Rivers from the #1 spot. However, Hull simply did more. She was able to unleash wicked fast kicks in races that were designed to eliminate strong finishers. She headlined the NCAA leaderboard, never lost a race, anchored home her relay to a national title, and came back to win the 3000 meters the next day (all with relative ease). I don't think there was anything more she needed to do to earn the #1 spot.

KEY (Unranked) Was not ranked during the last update. (#/#) First number indicates the change in a runner's ranking from the prior update. Second number indicates where the runner was ranked during the last update. 25. Conner Mantz, Rs. Sophomore, BYU (Unranked) Mantz turned in a strong performance for BYU in his first appearance at Indoor Nationals. Finishing 7th in the 3k right behind teammate Clayton Young and 10th in the 5k should give him loads of confidence going into outdoors. A traditional frontrunner, it was encouraging to see Mantz effectively utilize his strategy in a championship race. 24. Sam Worley, Sophomore, Texas (-5 / 19) It was frustrating to see Worley and Texas struggle in the DMR. Even though they weren’t fresh, I expected them to at least score. In the end, Worley salvaged the meet by finishing 6th in the mile, but it was a performance that left me wanting more. As talented as Worley is, his performances at Nationals in cross country and indoors has been disappointing. 23. Edwin Kurgat, Junior, Iowa State (-13 / 10) It wasn't a great performance for the Iowa State junior at Nationals as he fell to 9th in the 5000 meters, one spot out of an All-Americans spot. Despite the disappointing, we can't forget that he ran 13:34 earlier this season and nearly nipped Clayton Young in that same race. He's talented enough to stay inside our Top 25. 22. Vincent Kiprop, Senior, Alabama (Unranked) Kiprop reasserted himself back into the national conversation with a 5th place performance. It will be fun to see him and Kigen remind everyone of how talented they are outdoors. 21. Connor McMillan, Rs. Senior, BYU (Unranked) Another BYU Cougar who had a solid weekend in Birmingham, McMillan turned in an unexpected 4th place finish in the 5k while upsetting Kemboi and Kurgat in the process. He struggled in the 3k the next day, but you definitely have to be encouraged by his performance at Nationals. 20. Joe White, Rs. Senior, Georgetown (-14 / 6) Going into Nationals, I thought the top five in the 800 were locks. I wasn’t sure what the combination was going to be, but it was clear to me that it was going to be Arop, Dixon, Hoppel, White, and Heppenstall. Because of this, it was shocking to see how far back White was from the leaders and watch him get passed by Williams in the closing stretch. It would be even more surprising if we didn’t see the senior bounce back during outdoors. 19. Cooper Williams, Rs. Sophomore, Indiana (Unranked) Williams finally reached an 800 meter final and broke through in a big way, finishing in 5th. For the talented Hoosier, this performance has been a long time coming. He started the season brilliantly, but faded towards the end, losing to Dominic Perretta at BIG 10’s. He came back in a big way to beat White who was one of the favorites coming into Nationals. Encouraged by his big breakthrough, we might see Williams make an even bigger jump come outdoors. 18. Alex Ostberg, Junior, Stanford (Unranked) It took three years, but it was definitely worth it to see Ostberg run in his first indoor championship. Not only did he help Stanford’s DMR team place 2nd, but he also earned four more points for the Cardinal with his 5th place finish in the 3k. You have to imagine he will be a threat during outdoors no matter what event he runs. 17. Robert Brandt, Junior, UCLA (0 / 17) Brandt carried his momentum into NCAA's, finishing 8th in both the 5k and the 3k. As was one of four people to score in both the 3k and 5k, Brandt was one of the most consistent distance runners at the meet. He will be a big threat in the 10k come outdoors. 16. Carlos Villarreal, Junior, Arizona (+4 / 20) It was a solid performance for one of the pre-meet favorites. With his finishing kick, he never seems to be out of the race, but he left himself too much distance to make up with a lap to go. We're hoping we get to see the Wildcat run down the field a few more times this spring. 15. Cooper Teare, Sophomore, Oregon (+6 / 21) After running the 1200 leg in the DMR, Teare came back in a big way to finish 4th in the 3k. Oregon looks ready to make a big jump outdoors as they grow more comfortable under Coach Ben Thomas. 14. Devin Dixon, Junior, Texas A&M (-7 / 7) All eyes were on Dixon as he took the line in the 800 final. The favorite couldn’t earn himself a title as he was unable to make up any ground in the last 100 meter. Although it was a disappointing result, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him bounce back in the next few months. 13. Amon Kemboi, Junior, Campbell (-9 / 4) It was disappointing to see Kemboi get passed so easily at the end of the 5k, but we should commend him for putting himself out there. He still finished 6th in the 5k, but was unable to keep up in the 3k where he finished 13th (a race where he also fell). With how well Kemboi ran throughout the season in the mile, 3k, and 5k, you would expect him to have a greater impact on the national stage come outdoors. 12. Yared Nuguse, Sophomore, Notre Dame (Unranked) I really wish we could have seen Nuguse run in the mile because he certainly would have challenged Beamish for the title, but it was exhilarating to watch him inch by Fisher in the DMR. After a surprise 2nd place finish in the DMR last year, Nuguse willed the Irish to the win in 2019. Nuguse and the rest of Notre Dame’s young team will be ones to watch on the outdoor oval. 11. Casey Comber, Junior, Villanova (Unranked) One of the biggest surprises of the weekend was Comber running an extremely smart race in the mile to finish a shocking 2nd one spot ahead of Oliver Hoare. No one gave him much attention even after he ran 3:57 behind Waleed Suliman earlier in the season. However, he showed out in a crowded mile field. After a stellar cross country season, I’m excited to see if he can keep his momentum going into outdoors. 10. Robert Heppenstall, Senior, Wake Forest (+2 / 12) Another NCAA Championship and another All-American performance from Heppenstall. While he is probably a little disappointed that he was unable to win his first title, he ran a smart race that earned him a 3rd place finish in the 800. I really hope he can continue his streak of All-American performances this spring. 9. Kyle Mau, Junior, Indiana (0 / 9) Mau was an ironman, running four times and being competitive in all of them. He qualified for the mile and then helped Indiana finish 4th in the DMR on tired legs. The next day, Mau came excruciatingly close to scoring points in the mile and the 3k, placing 10th and 9th, respectively. While he didn’t score a ton of points, his consistency is commendable. 8. Clayton Young, Rs. Senior, BYU (+5 / 13) 3rd in the 5k and 6th in the 3k. I was expecting this type of performance from Kemboi or Tyler Day, but not Young. He showed poise and smarts in both races to put himself into good spots to score points for BYU. 7. Geordie Beamish, Junior, Northern Arizona (Unranked) Take a bow Geordie Beamish! March Madness came early as Geordie Beamish took down Oliver Hoare for the mile national title. With an early kick, Beamish was able to separate himself from the field which proved to be the difference maker. He certainly validated his altitude converted time and we should pencil him in as one of the favorites in the 1500 this spring. 6. Marco Arop, Sophomore, Mississippi State (+2 / 8) Well, you can’t say that Arop didn’t go for it. He took the lead like he did at SEC's, but he wasn’t quite able to keep it. Hoppel caught him, but it was an impressive showing from Arop to finish 2nd overall. After a breakout 2018, Arop proved that he is the real deal and should be considered as one of the favorites going into outdoors. 5. Bryce Hoppel, Junior, Kansas (+6 / 11) The 800 lived up to expectations as it was anyone’s race with 400 left, but it was Hoppel (not Dixon, Arop, or White) who took home the title. Hoppel spoke to the media after the prelims about trying to run 1:44 in the final which was perhaps slightly unrealistic. That said, it might not be so unrealistic during outdoors if this Jayhawk continues his growth. Winning every race during his indoor season bodes well for outdoors and Hoppel could be the next collegiate 800 meter star. 4. Joe Klecker, Rs. Junior, Colorado (+1 / 5) Klecker probably had the most impressive performance of the weekend without winning a title. The Colorado ace finished 2nd and 3rd in the 5k and 3k, respectively. Klecker more than validated his altitude converted times and proved himself as the best of the rest behind McDonald and Fisher (and maybe Hoare depending on who you ask). 3. Oliver Hoare, Junior, Wisconsin (-2 / 1) I think I might have been Hoare’s biggest fan throughout the entire indoor season. He was running times that no one else was and he seemed unstoppable. I had high expectations for him coming into this meet and thought that he had a chance at scoring over 16 points. With that said, I think he had the most disappointing meet. I was legitimately shocked when he wasn’t able to catch Beamish in the mile. It turns out that even the best runners in the country are human too! You can’t run them in four races and expect them to compete for the win in each of them. Running the mile prelims and the 1200 leg in the DMR seemed to really hurt Hoare the next day where he finished 3rd in the mile and last in the 3k. He even looked tired in the DMR after the mile prelim. Regardless, Hoare should still be the favorite to win the 1500 during outdoors and I can’t wait to see how fast he runs this spring. 2. Grant Fisher, Rs. Junior, Stanford (0 / 2) I posed an intriguing question during our recap of Indoor Nationals . Is Fisher the best ever to only win one NCAA title? We normally ask if someone is the best to never win a title, but I think it's interesting to think about how good Fisher has been and yet he only has one NCAA gold. His finishing kick in the DMR was one of the most exciting parts of the meet, but he wasn’t able to hold off Nuguse for the win. Fisher then couldn’t track down his rival McDonald in the 3k. I think the hardest part of watching his races is that he was excruciatingly close to winning two titles and ended up with none. Looking towards outdoors, I can’t wait to see McDonald and Fisher’s rivalry to continue. And, if I’m being honest, it would be great to see Fisher win a few battles to make the rivalry a little more competitive. 1. Morgan McDonald, Rs. Senior, Wisconsin (+2 / 3) Well, shoot. It seems I was overthinking the top spot a bit. After Fisher beat McDonald in the middle of the season, I dropped McDonald to #3 and kept him there for the rest of the season. That appears to have been a mistake. McDonald looked like the class of the NCAA at Nationals, destroying the field in the 5k and the 3k. His ability to kick past Kemboi and Klecker in the 5k was impressive, but his kick to hold off Fisher was incredible. The cross country champ proved that his performance on his home course wasn’t just a fluke. With three titles this year, McDonald’s season is already better than anyone post-Cheserek. If he can add two more titles this spring, then he will have one of the best single year’s we have ever seen from a distance runner.

We are back with our last TSR Mailbag of the indoor the season! We took a gander at answering all of the questions below after all of the action that took place at Nationals last weekend. Let's dive in... Who will run the fastest 10k in D1 and D2 this season? D1 Men I think you need to look at the groups like BYU, Alabama, and Northern Arizona for this question. There are likely a handful of top-tier men throughout the country, but these programs have guys like Connor McMillan, Clayton Young, Alfred Chelanga, Vincent Kiprop, Gilbert Kigen, and Tyler Day (among others) who have shown that they can run something near the 28 minute barrier. While I'm not entirely sure which of those men it will be, I can't help but think that they should in that conversation, especially since they are willing to travel to big meets like Payton Jordan and the Stanford Invite. D1 Women I think the answer for the Division One women is a bit easier to narrow down since there is a clearer split between the elites and the rest of the national contenders. I would choose Ednah Kurgat or Sharon Lokedi. Although they may not be my first picks for the outdoor national title, they aren't afraid to throw down fast times during the regular season (which we saw this past winter). The same goes for Michigan's Erin Finn (if she decides to use her eligibility this season). D2 Men With James Ngandu no longer in the collegiate system, Sydney Gidabuday will likely be the guy who posts the fastest time in Division Two. If it's not him, then it will be Zach Panning or whoever runs the fastest time at the Raleigh Relays or the Mt. SAC Relays (which is where Karim Achengli ran 29:09 last year). D2 Women I will bet anyone $5 that Caroline Kurgat runs the fastest time in the country for Division Two this season. She is not only the favorite to win the national title, but she likely wants to add yet another D2 national record to her resume. Everything she's done so far says she can. Who has a better shot at a national title? Staines in a 5k or Gidabuday in a mile? I like this question a lot due to the overall absurdity of it, but I also think that the answer is relatively clear. Gidabuday has already run 4:01 during his college career and owns a 3:48 1500 PR as well. While it certainly takes time to develop speed, it takes far longer to build an aerobic base, so I think Staines would be at disadvantage. Even if Gidabuday had to drop down to the 800, I would still say he has a better chance given his personal best of 1:52. I think a better hypothetical would be Gidabuday in the 800 and Staines in the 3000. Should there have been a DQ in the men's mile finals? This isn't the first time I've heard this question or something relating to this race. What this question is likely referring to is the final few meters of the D2 men's mile finals where Felix Wammetsberger stepped in front of Elias Gedyon before crossing the finish line. The consensus may not be unanimous, but I feel like it's a bit of a stretch to say that it was a foul and therefore grounds for disqualification. When you watch the replay, Wammetsberger had a full stride (maybe a stride and a half) on Gedyon and I'm not sure the result would have changed if that move didn't happen. Some may disagree, especially those who saw it live from a better angle, but I've seen far more disruptive moves that weren't called. More likely double for Grant Fisher during outdoors: 1500/5k or 10k/5k? Grant Fisher will almost definitely not double at the national meet this outdoor season. Instead, he will likely focus on the 5000 meters like he's done in years past. That said, this is a good hypothetical. I think most agree that Fisher is more of a 1500/5k guy given his recent success as an anchor on Stanford's DMR. That said, running a 1500/5k double is extremely difficult due to the very little turnaround you have between the two events. For that reason, a 10/5k double for Fisher seems far more realistic. Let's not forget that this guy pushed Morgan McDonald to the line during cross country. He's more than capable of running the 10k if he wants to (especially if it's tactical), but he'll probably focus on the 5000 and nothing more. Based on current fitness, who on the TSR staff would win a 400 meter hurdles race? The initial consensus from the TSR crew was that John is likely in the best shape to handle a middle distance event like the 400. That said, he has warned us about his complete inability to get over a hurdle (much less 10 of them). While John may win that section, Sean actually has the experience and times to make himself a contender. During his time at Penn as a decathlete, he ran 60 seconds for the 400 meter hurdles (and owns a PR of 52 seconds for the open 400) which makes this debate a bit more difficult. We'll let our readers make the decision from here...

KEY (Unranked): Was not ranked the week before (#/#): First number indicates the change in a runner's ranking from week prior Second number indicates where the runner was ranked last week 15. Ayman Zahafi, TAMU-Kingsville (Unranked) I’ll be honest, I wasn’t high on Zahafi going into the weekend, but I guess I’ve learned my lesson. Zahafi impressed with a 3rd place finish in the 800. He ran 1:49.81 which happened to eclipse his previous personal best of 1:49.96 that he set at his conference meet at the end of February. The sophomore looks to be primed for a breakout outdoor season. 14. Devundrick Walker, CSU-Pueblo (-2 / 12) Walker is really only falling here because everyone else had a great national meet performances. He helped CSU-Pueblo take home it’s very first national title in the distance medley relay with an awesome 800 leg. He had qualified for the 800 final earlier in the day and he came back the next day to finish 6th. In fact, he ran the EXACT same time in the prelims and the finals. I like Walker moving forward into the outdoor season. 13. Victor Moreau, Academy of Art (+1 / 14) Moreau didn’t qualify for the mile on the first day, largely due to being in the slower (first) heat, but still had himself a strong meet. He came back on day two and ran 8:13.45 to finish 4th in the 3000. It was also Moreau’s first All-American honors and he couldn’t have run a better race given the circumstances of the three finishers in front of him. 12. Benoit Campion, American International (-1 / 11) Campion finished better than I expected, but like Walker, he slips here because others had better races than he did. The freshman impressed with his savvy racing skills in the preliminaries to get into the final. The only thing that he really needs to improve upon is his closing speed, but that will come with experience and maturity. 11. Brett Meyer, Fort Hays State (-6 / 5) I think Meyer would agree with us that he had a disappointing weekend considering the expectations that he had put on himself. He came in with the #3 fastest seed time and althugh he finished 4th in the mile, he succumbed to being the leader for most of the race. In reality, Meyer did not have a bad weekend, but there is room for improvement considering he was 2nd at this meet last year. 10. Rowan Doherty, Simon Fraser (-1 / 9) Doherty started his National Championship weekend with one of the best performances of the meet. He helped Simon Fraser earn a 2nd place finish in the distance medley relay with an awesome mile leg to edge Colorado Mines by .08. He then came back on day two and finished 7th in the 3000 to claim his second All-American performance of the weekend. Doherty was an athlete that I liked coming into the weekend and I think he performed up to his expectations, if not better. 9. Josh Hoskinson, Colorado Mines (-1 / 8) It was a hot and cold weekend for Hoskinson. He impressed with his 3rd place finish in the 5000 as he played the field perfectly and was able to hold off his opponents in the last 50 meters. However, it seemed that he felt some ill effects from the day before as Hoskinson ran 8:22 to finish four seconds out of the 8th position in the 3000 meters. Given how close he was to his PR in the 5000, the outdoor season should be extremely good for the Colorado Mines senior. 8. Taylor Stack (Western Colorado) (-1 / 7) I think Stack had a very impressive national meet. He garnered himself two All-American spots last weekend. The first came the way of the 5000 meters as he finished 8th and ran 14:12 after deciding he was going to lead the chase pack to go after Panning and Gidabuday. He came back the next day in the 3000 meters and finished 6th. It certainly looks like his experience from last year has given him the experience needed to be successful. 7. Daniel Wallis, Queens (N.C.) (+6 / 13) Wallis may have impressed me the most after his showing. He proved me wrong in the mile by finishing 2nd overall as he helped show the country that Queens University is a school that should not be reckoned with. After leaving us a tad curious as to why he ran the 3000 meters the weekend before, he came back and finished 8th in that race, giving him his second All-American honors in the span of a couple hours. 6. Dennis Mbuta, Grand Valley State (0 / 6) Mbuta found himself in an interesting place last Friday evening as he qualified for the 800 meter final and in just a short time span after, he had the baton in his hand as Thomas Staines breathed down his neck. He was able to survive the onslaught of other teams as he helped the Grand Valley team finish in 5th place. He came back the next day and was the runner-up in the 800. 5. Felix Wammetsberger, Queens (N.C). (+5 / 10) Wammetsberger was one of the biggest surprises of the weekend. The Queens athlete usurped the favorites in the mile after he swung wide in the last 50 meters giving him the national crown. He was a mere .02 in front of his teammate Wallis giving the Royals a 1-2 finish in a fantastic race. Given his success this indoor season, he should also see a successful season as outdoor rolls around. 4. Zach Panning, Grand Valley State (-1 / 3) It’s tough to figure out where to place Panning after his weekend. He placed 2nd in the 5000 with a personal best effort of 13:46.87 and was a half second behind the winner in Sydney Gidabuday. The two battled to one of the best championship races in recent history and Panning came up just short. The next day, Panning finished 3rd in the 3000 behind the likes of Elias Gedyon and Gidabuday. Panning is an elite talent who just so happens to be competing against some of the best D2 athletes in history. 3. Elias Gedyon, Adams State (+1 / 4) After leaving Gedyon off of the DMR roster, it was clear that the intention was for him to win the mile and to maximize points in the 3000. Gedyon was the favorite coming into the mile after his performances throughout the season. After easily making the final, he was outraced in the final and finished 3rd. He bounced back later and took home the 3000 meter crown in a strong race. 2. Sydney Gidabuday, Adams State (0 / 2) Gidabuday won the 5000 meter race for his seventh national title and he won it in a very strong effort from the gun. It was a strong tactical race that allowed him to take advantage of his closing speed. It was fully expected for him to take home his eighth title in the 3000, but instead, his teammate took home the win. His 2nd place finish helped maximize the distance points needed for the team title (although they ended up losing by one point). Gidabuday, if he hasn’t already, has solidified himself as one of the greatest D2 runners in NCAA history. 1. Thomas Staines, CSU-Pueblo (0 / 1) Staines continued to build his legacy with another pair of titles this weekend. The first one from the distance medley relay as he was the anchor on the Thunderwolves team that brought home the first DMR title in school history. He came back on day two and won his third straight 800 meter title by a second over Mbuta of GVSU. This gives Staines four national titles in seven national meet races. With another title likely on the way during the outdoor season, Staines will cement his legacy as one of the best 800 meter athletes in D2 history. 800 1. Thomas Staines (CSU-Pueblo) 2. Dennis Mbuta (Grand Valley State) 3. Devundrick Walker (CSU-Pueblo) 4. Ayman Zahafi (TAMU-Kingsville) 5. Samuel Yaro (Lindenwood) Mile 1. Felix Wammetsberger (Queens (N.C.)) 2. Elias Gedyon (Adams State) 3. Daniel Wallis (Queens (N.C.)) 4. Brett Meyer (Fort Hays State) 5. Benoit Campion (American International) 3000 1. Sydney Gidabuday (Adams State) 2. Zach Panning (Grand Valley State) 3. Elias Gedyon (Adams State) 4. Victor Moreau (Academy of Art) 5. Luke Julian (Colorado Mines) 5000 1. Sydney Gidabuday (Adams State) 2. Zach Panning (Grand Valley State) 3. Josh Hoskinson (Colorado Mines) 4. Gidieon Kimutai (Missouri Southern) 5. Jacob Klemz (Washburn)

If you haven't already, be sure to read up on Part 1 of our discussion by clicking the link here . Was there anyone that you were high on that disappointed you at the national meet? John: I was disappointed in Lucas Taxter’s race this weekend. I expected him to perform better after he had a raw time of 4:03 and some change. I really think him anchoring the DMR team for Stonehill affected his final the next day. Quenten: I think the thing that was disappointing to me was Elias Gedyon of Adams State in the men’s mile. Like I mentioned earlier, he entered the national meet as the favorite with a near sub-4 time of 4:00.75. Adams State as a team lost the National Championship by just one point and if Gedyon would have won the men’s mile, they would be the ones hoisting the trophy. Garrett: That’s an interesting take and I’m not sure I 100% agree. I thought there were a ton of areas where Adams State could have scored better (DMR, 3k, and 5k). Gedyon fell victim to a tactical race and while I’m sure many people thought of him as the favorite, I think he held up alright (especially since he won the national title in the 3k). However, I’ll stick with Adams State and say that their DMR should have had a better performance. Jackson Sayler and Kale Adams on the lead-off and anchors of your relay should typically produce a better result than 11th. Elliott: Adams State’s DMR team definitely failed to meet expectations. I understand that their core members switched out in order to focus on individual events, which left a less than ideal set-up for the Grizzlies. While this did lead to some exceptional races in the 5k and 3k, I can’t help but feel a little bummed that ASU opted to not put a serious emphasis on their DMR in a field that saw Staines step-up and win a national title for CSU-Pueblo despite having to move up in distance. There is something to be said about team races, especially indoor, where DMR’s are often the highlight events. Garrett: I was also pretty bummed about Kristen Metcalfe who didn’t even toe the line on day two of competition despite qualifying for both finals in the 800 and mile. She injured her ankle in the mile prelims which eventually forced her out of competition the next day. It’s super unfortunate and you have to hope that she’ll be aalright for the outdoor season. She is one of the best runners that Division Two has to offer. John: I’ve got two answers here. The first is agreeing with Garrett about Metcalfe and her DNS the next day after her performances in the mile and 800. I also was slightly disappointed in the Simon Fraser women with their DMR team. There was no Addy Townsend on the team, and she didn’t race in the 800. I thought they had a legitimate shot to take home the title and was I was extremely underwhelmed In your eyes, what was the best single performance that you saw this indoor season? Garrett: I don’t think it’s any question. Caroline Kurgat’s D2 collegiate record in the 5000 meters is an easy answer. She absolutely destroyed the previous mark by over 30 seconds with a personal best of 15:28. The women of Division One received a lot of attention this season for all of their impressive performances, but Kurgat was arguably at the same level as some of the nation’s best in the upper division. Elliott: I also have to agree with Garrett’s choice in Caroline Kurgat. She absolutely smashed the previous record and ran a time that would be competitive with any of the top Division I runners in the nation. Talk about #makeityours ! I’m really excited to see how her outdoor season goes and just how fast she can run on a 400 meter track. She definitely should not be counted out regardless of who she is running against. Maybe some of the Division I bias will begin to fade away when meet managers are considering entries this season. Quenten: During this indoor season, the most impressive performance I saw on the men’s side was Thomas Staines of CSU-Pueblo running the crazy fast time of 1:46.27 at the GVSU Big Meet. Staines absolutely hammered it from the start and did not look back. This is a pro-level time and it will be very interesting to see how fast he can actually go on a 400 meter track this outdoor season. Elliott: I like Quenten’s pick in Staines as well. This man absolutely dominated the 800 this season while setting a national record in the process! Nobody was even close to catching him during indoors and it’s difficult for me to think that anyone will be able to catch him this outdoor season with the way his progression has gone. John: Kurgat’s 15:28 was extremely impressive. Like Garrett said, she shattered the D2 record and made it known she could compete with the likes of D1 athletes. Staines is also a good pick due to his domination. However, I think I’m going to go with an event that we saw this past weekend. I thought the 13:46 posted by both Gidabuday and Panning was something that will be overlooked. The two athletes made it an honest race from the beginning and with rumors of trying to break the CR of 13:42, they came within four seconds while putting on a show. What is the biggest takeaway from the weekend? Garrett: The Adams State women are REALLY good. When someone who isn’t even the best miler on your team wins a national title, you’ve got to feel pretty comfortable. Truthfully, a few members of their team didn’t even run that well at the national meet. Tiffany Christensen and Kaylee Bogina are really solid talents who just happened to have off days at the national meet. The Grizzly’s distance squad scored 51 of their 87 points which would have been enough to place 2nd overall in the team scoring on just that alone. And, as crazy as it may sound, they may have even more points and/or national qualifiers during outdoors. Quenten: I couldn't agree more Garrett. The Adams State women are loaded. They won the DMR (I was the only one to predict that), went 1-2 in the mile, and saw Eilish Flanagan place 2nd in both the 5000 and 3000. Elliott: The next round of Gidabuday vs. Panning might be the most epic. It’s hard not to say that after seeing both of these guys throw down 13:46's in a fast 5k. Nobody really runs indoors with the idea that it will be the peak of their season. These two are just getting started, and I cannot wait for them to really hit their strides when it matters during the outdoor season. Quenten: The battle between Gidabuday and Panning was very exciting to see. Both of these men had different race tactics this weekend. Panning was not messing around and would take control of the pace, while Gidabuday played the more tactical game and the end result was Gidabuday on top. It will be interesting to see how Panning will react to this come outdoor. John: My biggest takeaway from the weekend is that Skylyn Webb will be hard to beat in the upcoming season. She takes the lead from the get go and doesn’t let go of it. She only lost one race this entire season (at the CU Invite to Kaela Edwards) and she essentially jogged a 2:05 in the final. Taking her down is going to be tough task during the outdoor season Bold predictions for the outdoor season, men and women? Garrett: Thomas Staines will move up to the 1500 meter distance. I’m not sure he has anything else to prove in the 800 and winning the DMR on the anchor leg likely boosted his confidence. As for the women, I think Kristen Metcalfe will double back and win both the 800 and 1500 at Nationals during outdoors. You heard it here first. Elliott: Bold move, Garrett. Personally, I boldly predict that Gidieon Kimutai will give Panning and Gidabuday a run for their money this outdoor season. Only a freshman, he has already established himself as a top contender in Division II. If he doesn’t beat them this year, then he is surely in the running for the crown after those two leave. An impressive 4th place finish at NCAA's in cross country followed by a 4th place finish during indoors with a 14:10 5k is very impressive…he’s too good not to be considered as a top name in 2019. Quenten: Here me out on this one....Eilish Flanagan will dethrone Caroline Kurgat come outdoors. I boldly think Kurgat may have come out too strong and too early, it is only March and the grind of hard running may wear her down as there are three more months until the outdoor national meet. I think Flanagan is slowly building up her base and will be ready to peak in May and will run down Kurgat for the crown. Damon Martin knows what he is doing. You could say he's the Bill Belichick of DII distance running... John: Quenten is dropping a bomb of a prediction. Kurgat likely runs faster during the outdoor season, but her 10,000/5000 double could make his prediction a possibility. Elliott: Whoa…slow down there partner. That’s quite a statement. John: This goes back to my takeaway from the weekend, but I think the two 800 runners do some incredible things this spring. Thomas Staines will run 1:44 and some change while Skylyn Webb gets down to 2:00 and possibly even breaks it if she gets in the right race.

Rather than just a traditional recap from the Division II national meet, we opted to posed some questions for our D2 specialists to answer. Keep in mind that we'll also be doing a TSR Mailbag later this week! If you've got questions you want to ask for that article, make sure to send us an email or a message us on our Twitter or Instagram! What are your general thoughts from this past weekend? John: This weekend was one of the most impressive ones I have seen in Division 2. Almost every race was different than what I expected when I was looking at heat sheets. One of the biggest surprises that happened was in both the women's and men's mile. The women from Adams State finished 1-2 and then the men from Queens finished 1-2 as well and the reactions from coaches and the crowd were electric. Garrett : Overall, this was a very strong national meet on both the men’s and women’s side. Staines moved up to the mile in the DMR to take home the win while the duo of Wammetsberger and Wallis shocked the nation with incredible tactical racing, resulting in a 1-2 finish. The women’s winners were a bit more predictable, but I don’t think anyone saw Cotter winning a national title or Metcalfe not running in the finals. There was a good amount of drama and I thought it was an overall great meet. Quenten: Generally, this weekend was very exciting on both the women and men’s sides. On the distance side for Adams State, they completely dominated. The men of Adams State had a very impressive 1-2 finish in the 3000, along with Sydney Gidabuday winning the 5000. For the women of Adams State, they also had a impressive 1-2 finish in the mile. Eilish Flanagan had a great outing for Adams State as she finished 2nd in the 5000 and the 3000. However, the highlight of the national meet on both sides was the DMR. Coming into the meet, there was no tell-tale dominant relay and it really showed as the CSU-Pueblo men took the win, while Adams State surprisingly finished 11th. Elliott: This was quite an exciting weekend of action. From Staines taking victory in the 800 (while also anchoring CSU-Pueblo’s DMR to a title), to Caroline Kurgat taking a dominant double victory in the 3k and 5k, this weekend cemented the elite status for some of Division II’s upper echelon runners. In the process, they also proved that in a championship final, anybody has a chance to race for the win. This point was illustrated in the brilliant strategy of both the men’s and women’s mile races where individuals that none of us initially believed would come out on top, used brilliant race strategy to upset the fields. As for Adams State, they continued their distance dominance with the top two spots in the 3k. Sydney Gidabuday had quite a double this weekend, and his duel with Zach Panning of Grand Valley State makes me really excited to check out some 5000 meter action later on during outdoors. These two make for one of the most dynamic rivalries in not just D2, but in all of collegiate distance running. It will be amazing to see these two compete as they enter the closing stages of their collegiate careers. Garrett : Almost forgot to mention that Gidabuday and Panning battle was super fun. A pair of 13:46’s is no joke and makes for a fun rivalry come outdoors. What was the biggest upset that you saw? Garrett: On the men’s side, I think it’s fair to say that Wammetsberger and Wallis going 1-2 was something that absolutely no one expected. The Queens duo had been incredibly solid all season, but I didn't think they were anything more than strong All-American contenders. Obviously, they proved me wrong after showing that their speed was a huge advantage. To take down guys like Gedyon and Meyer is awfully impressive. John: I agree with Garrett here. I think the biggest upset of the weekend has to be the Queens boys going 1-2. I anticipated Brett Meyer to be the winner this weekend and as much as I loved seeing the Queens boys take home the title, I was very shocked. They ran an incredibly tactical race and put themselves in a great position at the end. Garrett: As for the women, I don’t think anyone saw Stephanie Cotter taking home a national title. Adams State was already full of top-tier talent and I think many felt that Roisin Flanagan would be the easy pick for the win. When you factor in Kristen Metcalfe (who was a DNS) along with Allie Ludge and Stephanie Parsons (among others), I’m not sure I’m picking Cotter to pull off the edit (and I didn’t). Props to her on a phenomenal race. John: The women’s upset was also easily Stephanie Cotter. She defeated her teammate after a strong start to the race and brought it home with one of the best tactical moves of the weekend. The Irish teammates seemed to be excited for each other, but Cotter taking home the title was not what I expected either. Elliott: On the men’s side, I have to also carry with the general consensus regarding Wammetsberger and Wallis. Using strong strategic tactics in a race crowded with experienced All-Americans can be extremely nerve-wracking. These two ran smart and really did a great job of keeping their composure going into the closing stages. Elliott: On the women’s side, Stephanie Cotter also takes the cake. Taking down somebody, especially your own teammate, that came into the race seeded nearly six seconds faster than the other competitors says a lot about how you handled the race strategically. Quenten: Along with Garrett and John’s thought I agree that the biggest shock came from the Queen’s men going 1-2 in the mile. Elias Gedyon from Adams State had the fastest time all year and he was the obvious clear-cut favorite heading into the meet. On the women’s side it would also have to be Stephanie Cotter from Adams State. Teammate Roisin Flanagan was right in the same boat as Elias Gedyon, as she entered the meet with a leading time of 4:39.34, which is no joke. It was very shocking to see the freshman Cotter take the title. John: I think that we all can agree that we all expected the mile races to go in another direction on Saturday. Every other race seemed to go the way we anticipated for the most part. Heading into outdoor season, who do you think improved their stock the most? Elliott: For me, the guy that I believe improved their stock substantially has to be Victor Moreau of Academy of Art. This may come off a bit as a strange pick, but let me explain why I liked his performance this weekend. He came into the 3000 ranked #11 and came out with a 4th place All-American performance, a great sign of a solid racer. He also did this by carrying a modest 14:51 outdoor PR in the 5k. This, paired with 3:50 1500 meter speed, shows me that Moreau has taken full advantage of this indoor season. He will already be a step ahead of many of his peers on the west coast who didn't race much during indoors. John: I love that we are talking about Victor Moreau. The dude definitely lived up to his potential this weekend. That being said, I really liked what I saw from the Simon Fraser DMR team. They had a 2nd place finish behind CSU-Pueblo after a strong anchor leg by Rowan Doherty. While they didn’t make finals in the mile (Aaron Ahl and Pierre-Louis Detourbe), they looked to be in great shape. Their national meet was capped off by Doherty’s 7th place finish in the 3000. Garrett: Sticking with the guys from Queens, I really liked what we saw from Seb Anthony this winter. The freshman was a beast with consistent performances, top finishes, considerable improvement, and an All-American finish. He has so much potential and I think he could be the next big name in D2 once Staines leaves. Quenten: I completely agree with that, Garrett. Seb Anthony of Queens ran lights out all year. There were three freshmen that made the national meet and he was the one to come out with All-American honors. I really expect tons of sub-1:50 performances from him this outdoor season. Elliott: For the women, the Flanagan sisters had a busy, but successful weekend of racing, and I definitely feel like it sets them up to have quality outdoor campaigns going forward. Eilish’s runner-up performances in the 3k and 5k paired with Roisin’s 2nd place finish in the mile tells me that these two will be in the mix in a variety of distances come outdoors. John: I think that Allie Ludge of Grand Valley State and Leah Hanle of Mount Olive have set themselves up for success going into outdoor. They are the only two juniors that were inside the top 10 in the 3000 meters. Ludge was also 3rd in the mile and Hanle was 3rd in the 5000. Both have a bright future and it showed this weekend. Garrett: There are numerous women in this conversation who I feel I could put here. However, I will say that Stefanie Parsons from Edinboro really impressed me. She hit three personal bests in the 800, mile, and 3000 within an eight day span this season! Earning an All-American finish makes me think that she could be a serious problem for her opponents during outdoors. Quenten: Stephanie Cotter of Adams State most definitely improved her stock. She only may be a freshman, but you can tell she is not scared in big races and I expect her to drop some huge times this outdoor season.

More impressive season: Hull or Monson? Sean: I have to go with Monson. I’m not sure I want to compare Hull and Monson’s performances generally, but I think Monson’s season was more impressive because it was less expected. Hull is expected to be #1 while Monson was still in the contenders group. 8:45.97 is really fast too... Michael: I agree that Monson had the more impressive season. Her win in the 3k at Millrose was dominant and she followed that up with great performances at BIG 10’s and NCAA's. There’s no doubt Hull was impressive this season, but before this year, Monson wasn’t a contender. That sets her apart from Hull, who already had a national title. Sam: I am also on the Monson bandwagon. Both had incredible seasons, but I think we knew Hull could be good on the track whereas Monson was a bit of a wild card. She had been to NCAA's before, but never had much of a presence until this year. This season she proved her cross country performances were no fluke and that’s why I would give her the edge over Hull. Ben: Where do expectations come into this question? Monson certainly exceeded expectations while Hull ran as expected. I think Hull had the better season, but Monson certainly raised her stock the most this season. Garrett: Wow, really? I get that Monson had that monster 3k at Millrose, but Hull never lost this season. She dominated every distance with relative ease. Even when the pace was fast, she was still throwing down incredible finishing kicks. Her range, consistency, tactics...everything was flawless. Sean: Ben, my definition of impressive here is which season left the greatest impression on me. Since Monson’s expectations were lower, I would say their seasons were equal, but Monson’s left a greater impression on me. Ben: I completely agree with that using biggest impression as the definition. I wasn’t sure how real Monson was after cross, but she proved me very wrong this year. Sam: That’s a good point Garrett. I think like Sean and Ben said, Monson was more surprising and impressionable whereas we all expected Hull to be really good. It will be interesting to compare come outdoors now that we’ve seen them both on grass and the track... Who are you looking forward to seeing outdoors that we didn’t see much of during indoors? Garrett: Dani Jones is the clear answer, right? At least on the women’s side. She redshirted the 2018 outdoor track season as well as this past indoor season and should contend for the national title in the 1500...alongside Jessica Hull. Sean: Freezing my butt of outside during the first meets while hurdlers try not to pull a hamstring in 30 degree weather. Oh, that doesn’t count, does it? Garrett: If that’s what makes you happy Sean, then we can’t get in the way of that! Sean: It does not make me happy. In fact it makes my hamstrings cry. For a real answer, I’m excited for more championship racing. NCAA Regionals are a fascinating experience and there’s just so many more opportunities for strategic races with conferences, Regionals and NCAA's. Indoor has a bunch of strategy too with all the weird distances that are run at conference meets (I’m looking at you BIG 12 with the 600 yard), but outdoor just has a different feel. Michael: This may be too obvious, but I’m pumped to watch the steeplechase this year. It should be relatively wide open on both sides and we rarely see a disappointing race at Nationals. Aside from that, I’m just excited to see more major meets around the country. Meets like Payton Jordan and the Drake Relays bring in athletes from all over the NCAA, and indoors we really only see these huge meets at UW and BU. I enjoy the environment of these huge meets and some of the crazy results that they yield. Ben: On the men’s side, I’m excited to see Brodey Hasty run more. I think he is capable of throwing down a good 5k, but his best event will most likely be the 10k where he could make some noise. Honestly, I’m excited to see everyone at NAU run more in outdoors. For the women, I look forward to seeing Sean’s draft pick Stanford freshman Caitlin Collier run outdoors and become one of the favorites in the 800. Sam: My initial answer was Dani Jones, but since Garrett already covered that, it should be fun to see how well Katrina Robinson of Arkansas does in her track debut. She was one of the biggest surprises of the cross country season and it was disappointing (especially for my fantasy team) that she didn’t run indoors. I imagine she will run the 1500 and maybe an occasional 5000...right? Garrett: As for the men, I’m with Michael on this one and am choosing the steeplechase. I think the Syracuse duo of Tooker and Affolder are going to be extremely fun to watch. They could challenge Obsa Ali for the national title and potentially go 1-2 if everything clicks. Sean: I forgot about the steeple, but that’s a great point on the Syracuse duo and the steeplechase in general. For individuals, add Christina Aragon to the list. Grade the men’s national meet in terms of overall performances and general entertainment. Garrett: Hoppel’s win was fun, but nothing in that 800 really shocked or wow’d me like it did last year. The mile was wildly entertaining, especially with Beamish and Comber finishing ahead of Hoare. The 5k was a bit predictable, but the 3k and DMR left us with two great kicks that left me on the edge of my seat. Not quite as fun as last year’s outdoor national meet, but it wasn’t bad by any means. Official grade: B- Sam: To give it an A, McDonald would have needed to be upset in at least one race. That said, everything else was great from an entertainment aspect. From a personal standpoint, seeing my former youth track teammate Payton Otterdahl win both throws was crazy. Assuming we are accounting for all races, I was actually most excited to watch Grant Holloway in the hurdles. That guy brings an electric energy to the meet and seeing him win two titles was nuts. Official grade: A- Michael: Pretty much every race gave us an exciting finish, whether that was Morgan McDonald pulling away for a dominant win in the 5k or Yared Nuguse beating Grant Fisher in the final steps of the DMR. Going beyond the distance side, Grant Holloway’s performances were incredible to watch. The energy he brings to races is unparalleled and seems to get everyone in the building hyped. Official grade: A- Ben: I agree with Sam that McDonald losing to Fisher or Klecker would have spiced the meet up a bit more. The mile was awesome, and I loved seeing Hoppel win the 800. The DMR was fantastic, but the way McDonald pulled away from the field so easily in the 3k and 5k took away from the drama. In addition, we didn’t see blazing fast times which isn’t surprising in championship races, but it would have been nice to see. Official grade: B+ Sean: As much as I hate saying this, the NCAA meet did not bring us the story lines we expected with a number of letdowns. We expected some big results from Hoare, Dixon, and Mau to name a few and all three of those didn’t turnout super well. It was amazing to see upsets and surprises and have Heppenstall earn a seventh straight All-American result, but I don’t think we will look back and remember any of these races as all-time stories or races. Still a great meet, just misses on the legacy factor. Official grade: B- Grade the women’s national meet in terms of overall performances and general entertainment. Garrett: The 800 was so much fun to watch. I would have loved to see Akins come away with the win, but we still got a super tight finish. Rizk’s win was nice, but you have to ask yourself if there really was a national title favorite in that race. As for the rest of the races, they were a bit predictable. Monson winning the 5k and Hull throwing down two big kicks to take home two wins was fine, but anyone who follows the sport could have told you that those were realistic outcomes. Official grade: C Sam: The women’s meet just did not feel as exciting to me. The lack of the biggest names in the mile kind of hurt that event and although Rizk had a great showing, it wasn’t quite the spectacle I was hoping for after last year’s duel between Purrier and Jones. Like Garrett said, the 800 was great and by far the race of the meet on the women’s side. The 3k and 5k were fairly predictable and the DMR could have been closer. It wasn’t a bad meet by any means, just not as exciting as the men’s. Official grade: C Michael: Aside from the 800, the women’s side didn’t produce as many tight finishes as the men’s. While seeing people lean at the line to get a title isn’t the only thing that goes into a great meet, I just didn’t find myself on the edge of my seat quite as much as I had hoped. I had high expectations for this meet that weren’t quite met. That said, we still saw a bunch of women run fast times and cement themselves as some of the best in the NCAA. Official grade: B- Ben: To echo what everyone else has said, the 800 was awesome with a crazy finish and some weird race tactics. The DMR was fun to watch just to see if Birk could take down Hull, but the rest wasn’t great. Everything else was fine, not good, not great, just fine. Official grade: B- Sean: I don’t have much more to say on this, but I really don’t think this was any less interesting than the men’s. Okay, maybe just a little bit. Just remember, a NCAA Championship is worth the same no matter what grades we give it are. Official grade: C+ Bold predictions for outdoors? Garrett: The Oregon men will send SEVEN different distance runners to the national meet. Coach Thomas is for real and so is that group of milers. Sam: Joe Klecker wins an NCAA title. As for non-distance…Gant Holloway goes sub-13 in the 110m hurdles. Sean: The Arkansas women will earn 30 points in the distance events. Adding a non-distance prediction as well, Mondo Duplantis vaults 6.10m. Michael: Grant Fisher will run the 1500 at NCAA's for the first time in his career. Ben: Ohh I like that one. Garrett: As for the women, Dani Jones will move up in distance to the 5000 and/or Weini Kelati will drop down in distance to the 1500. One of those is bound to be right so don’t say I didn’t tell you! Ben: Kyle Mau scores 16 points at Nationals. Sean: Stanford earns four NCAA distance individual titles. Two women and two men. And one of those titles for the men won't go to Grant Fisher. Garrett: These are awfully bold...but I am here for it.