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Husky Classic: John Cusick Millrose + BU Invite: Sam Ivanecky Iowa State Classic + Music City Challenge: Garrett Zatlin Music City Challenge Mile The Michigan women have been known for their depth, but Hannah Meier just gave them some firepower. The Wolverine senior posted a winning time of 4:34, dominating the fielding to earn the #10 spot in the NCAA rankings. Meier has posted a series of impressive results so far this season and I like her consistency heading into championship races. Husky Classic 800 Gabby Crank of Texas paced the collegiate field as she took 3rd overall with a time of 2:05.17. She ran a personal best in the realm of 2:04 just a couple weeks ago. A few spots behind her was Oregon’s Susan Ejore who finished 6th in a time of 2:05.71. The Oregon Duck is coming off of her personal best in the mile and is a second off of her personal best at 800 (outdoors, 2:04) in her first time at the discipline this winter. She currently sits at #11 on the NCAA list. Three spots behind her was her freshman teammate Taylor Chiotti in a time of 2:08.40. It’s a two second PR from Chiotti. Mile Boise State’s Alexis Fuller was the first collegian across the line on the weekend. She ran 4:36.83 to edge out Washington’s Allie Schadler who was right behind her in 4:37.12. It’s Fuller’s second PR in as many weeks and it bodes well for Boise State’s likely DMR title aspirations in March. Ostrander is an elite name, but Fuller has proven that she can make some noise as well. 3000 We had seven of the fastest 3000 meters times this year all come from the same heat. It began with Jessica Hull of Oregon who had the fastest time in the country for a few hours at 8:53.91. She edged out Allie Ostrander by two seconds who ran 8:55.26 (NCAA #4). It's hard to comprehend just how fast those times are in a weekend where we saw so many mind-blowng performances. Nicole Hutchison of Villanova was the 3rd finisher just four-tenths of a second behind Ostrander at 8:55.68 (NCAA #5). Arkansas’s freshman Lauren Gregory ran 8:55.97 (NCAA #6) for 4th place with teammate Taylor Wener running one second behind her in 8:56.97 (NCAA #7). Hutchinson has clearly taken that next step up in her fitness while the Arkansas women continue their tradition of powerhouse individuals. New Mexico's Ednah Kurgat was the last athlete under the 9:00 barrier as she ran 8:59.78 (NCAA #8) for 6th place in the meet. Washington's Katie Rainsberger was 7th and ran 9:02.84 (NCAA #11). Tabor Scholl (Colorado, 9:07.07, NCAA # 16), Hannah Nuttal (New Mexico, 9:07.64, NCAA #18), Kaitlyn Benner (Colorado, 9:08.30, NCAA #19) and Adva Cohen (New Mexico, 9:08.40, NCAA #20) all added their names to the list inside the top 20 as well. This felt like a national race and it could have easily been a preview of what we see come March. 5000 Six athletes broke into the top 20 from this meet beginning with Fiona O’Keeffe of Stanford finishing 2nd overall in the meet. She ran 15:35.77 (NCAA #13) to hold off Colorado’s Makena Morley who was two seconds behind in 15:37.23 (NCAA #14). Isobel Batt-Doyle from Washington was three seconds behind Morley at 15:40.53 (NCAA #15) while Stanford’s Abbie McNulty ran 15:42.13 (NCAA #16). Emily Venters of Boise State (15:45.09) and Caroline Alcorta of Villanova (15:45.64) sit 19th and 20th respectively on the NCAA list after their performances on the weekend. There has never been a 5k field as fast as this. The current top 16 cut-off time right now is 15:42 and I'm not sure it has ever been that fast. Welcome to the greatest era in women's distance running... Iowa State Classic 800 Virginia Tech's Rachel Pocratsky held up her end of the bargain as the favorite. She took home the win in 2:05.20 to defeat a respectable group of ladies behind her. Indiana's Kelsey Harris continues to impress with another strong performance of 2:05.46 for 2nd place. Marleena Eubanks of Kanas had a nice race, running 2:06.01 for 3rd. Iowa State's Erinn Stenman-Fahey and Oklahoma State's Kaylee Dodd rounded out the top five with times of 2:06.20 and 2:06.55, respectively. Mile It was a tactical battle in this one as BYU's Whittni Orton took home the win in a time of 4:39.19. Teammate Anna Camp was runner-up in a time of 4:41.01. Indiana's Haley Harris rounded out the top three in 4:41.50. 3000 Erica Birk may be the closest thing to Superwoman that there is. After giving birth to her son Jack in January of 2018, the BYU superstar has somehow come back to be one of the top distance runners in the NCAA. Just this past weekend, she ran 9:00 to win the ISU Classic and continue her tear as one of the best that the country has to offer. Behind Birk was Sharon Lokedi who was supposed to race at the Millrose Games before a cancelled flight changed her plans. The Kansas veteran finished 2nd in a time of 9:06. That time currently ranks at #15 in the NCAA. Will that time be fast enough to qualify for Nationals in the 3000 come season end? We'll have to wait and see. Iowa State freshman Cailie Logue rounded out the top three with a time of 9:10. For someone so young, she has a lot of promise and a bright future with the Cyclones. 5000 Wisconsin's Amy Davis went to work this past weekend, running an impressive 15:47 to take home the win. Unfortunately for her, that time won't be enough to qualify for Nationals. Still, it's a strong result and something she can use as momentum heading into championship season. Indiana's Margaret Allen was runner-up in a time of 15:49. She quietly climbed her way up to the top of the pack throughout the race and was rewarded with a nice time and a strong finish. Minnesota's Megan Hasz rounded out the top three with a time of 15:51. Millrose Games Mile The women’s Wanamaker Mile was one of the marquee events of the evening. Danae Rivers of Penn State came across the line in 4:29.47 for a new NCAA leading time, a whole two seconds faster than anyone else in the country. Rivers has had a phenomenal season thus far, setting a collegiate record of 2:38 for 1000 meters while ranking at #3 in the NCAA for 800 meters (in 2:02.94). With this performance, it is likely Rivers will opt to run the mile at NCAA's. There is no real chance of her doing both the 800 and mile given both events have prelims and finals which would mean running four races over two days. Given she currently has a substantial lead in the mile and has great closing speed, it seems the mile would be the clear choice come March. Karisa Nelson of Samford was the other collegiate in the mile, but her race did not go as well. She was still with the pack through halfway, but had fallen off with 600 meters to go and would ultimately finish last in 4:44. Nelson is currently ranked #11 in the NCAA for the mile and #10 over 800 meters. 3000 While only two of the main events at Millrose featured collegiate women, both races produced NCAA leading times. Roughly 24 hours after Jessica Hull of Oregon ran an NCAA leading time of 8:53 for 3000 meters, Alicia Monson of Wisconsin absolutely demolished that mark by running 8:45 for the win at Millrose. That time currently sits at #3 All-Time behind only Jenny Simpson’s (Colorado ‘09) 8:42 and Karissa Schweizer’s (Missouri ‘18) 8:41. Schweizer’s time was run at this same meet a year ago. Monson’s race was impressive for a number of reasons besides just the sheer time. Despite competing in a field full of professionals, she ran within herself the entire race and did not appear phased when moves were made by Aisha Praught-Leer and Rachel Schneider. With 600 meters to go the race, she had closed the gap while Jessica O’Connell with Emma Coburn trailed a few seconds back. Monson waited until the bell lap and surged into the lead with around 100 meters left. She would hold on to take the victory. The race was a 29 second personal best for Monson who had a previous personal best of 9:14 from last year's BIG 10 Championship meet. This performance makes her the clear front-runner for the NCAA meet in a couple weeks where she will likely come in with a PR substantially faster than anyone else in the field. Weini Kelati of New Mexico was the only other collegiate in the race and the sophomore ran the #3 time in the NCAA this season of 8:53, only a few hundredths behind Hull. Kelati’s 6th place performance yesterday also broke her own Eritrean National Record of 9:03 set at NCAA's last year. BU David Hemery Valentine Invitational The BU Valentine Invitational was another star-studded meet that took place this weekend which saw four women move into NCAA qualifying position in the 800 and mile distances. 800 The biggest performance of the meet came from Monmouth senior Allie Wilson who ran 2:02.65 over 800 meters to move into the #2 NCAA position this season. This race was a huge breakthrough for Wilson who entered the meet with a lifetime best of 2:04.58 from outdoors in 2018. This time all but guarantees her a trip to NCAA's this indoor season and will be her second trip to a national meet after qualifying in the same distance during outdoors last spring. Her time this weekend also broke her own school record of 2:05.14 which she set last weekend (also at Boston University). McKenna Keegan of Villanova also smashed her own indoor personal best this weekend after running a time of 2:05.71, moving into #11 in the NCAA. This time makes her the 10th fastest woman in Villanova school history over the 800 distance and it broke her previous best by 1.55 seconds. Keegan will likely be on the bubble of qualifying for the national meet with a slew of fast conference meets coming up in the next couple of weeks. If she can better her time, she will have a strong case for an NCAA qualifier which would be her second trip to a national meet after qualifying last spring in the 800 meters. Mile The Valentine Invitational also saw Millie Paladino of Providence and Mackenzie Andrews of Akron move into the #8 and #15 spots in the NCAA with mile times of 4:33 and 4:35, respectively. Paladino ran her fastest mark of the season over the distance only two weeks after setting the school record for the 1000 meters with a time of 2:42. Currently ranked #8 in the country, Paladino has previously qualified for NCAA's twice indoors (Mile ‘17 / ‘18) and once outdoors (1500m ‘17). She owns a personal best of 4:31 for the event which is just short of the school record of 4:30 set by Olympian Kim Smith. Unless anything less than chaos happens over the next two weeks, Paladino has likely secured her third trip to an NCAA indoor meet. The same is not quite true for Mackenzie Andrews of Akron. This weekend was a huge race for Andrews who ran a five second personal best of 4:35.63 to move into #15 spot in the NCAA. The time also smashed her own school record of 4:40 which she had set earlier this season at the Hokie Invitational. Right now Andrews sits in an interesting spot as her result is nowhere near safe of making NCAA's. However, the slowest time to get in last year after athletes higher on the list deferred to other events was 4:36.89 which ranked #19 in 2018. Similarly in 2017, the last time in was 4:37.92 which ranked #24 in the country. Of the women ahead of Andrews, both Weini Kelati and Jessica Hull are less than guaranteed to race the mile. Kelati will likely run the 3k/5k double as she did last year given her aptitude for the longer distances. Hull is a bit of a mystery as she currently ranks #2 in both the mile and 3000 meters, but she was also #3 outdoors over 5000 meters in 2018. Oregon has a history of running a strong DMR at NCAA's and it seems likely that Hull will be a member of that team along with another individual event that isn’t the mile. Right behind Andrews in the rankings are Alicia Monson, Allie Ostrander, and Katie Rainsberger - three women who will likely also defer to other distances. Despite a busy couple of weeks left before Nationals, Andrews should feel good about her chances of qualifying for her first NCAA meet. 3000 Keeping with the topic of women on the qualifying bubble, Militsa Mircheva of Florida State ran the #17 time over 3000 meters this season of 9:07.33, only .26 seconds away from a qualifying mark. Unfortunately for Mircheva, the number of women who opt out of the 3000 meters tends to be lower than that of the mile. In 2018, the last time in was 9:05.81 which was #21 in the country. In 2017, the last time in was 9:07.22 which sat at #16. Given this, Mircheva will likely need to better her performance in the coming weeks if she hopes to qualify for NCAA's. 5000 The 5000 at BU was relatively uneventful with Emeline Delanis of Boston College taking the overall win in 16:12. The time currently sits at #48 in the NCAA.

Clemson Tiger Paw Invite 800 It was the Marco Arop show at Clemson this past weekend as he ran 1:45.90 to take home the win. He now ranks #2 in the NCAA and has the fastest non-converted time in the nation. As expected, Arop is in the national title conversation. Behind Arop, we saw five other men dip under the 1:50 barrier (all running 1:49's). South Carolina's Otis Jones was 2nd while Mississippi State teammates Dejon Devroe and Daniel Nixon finished 3rd and 4th. Clemson's Malik Epps and John Lewis rounded out the top six. For Lewis, this is slightly concerning. He was an All-American last year, but is seemingly struggling to get back into that 1:47/1:48 range. Will we see him at Nationals this year? Husky Classic Mile After failing to break the four minute barrier all season, Sam Worley stepped up to have a huge performance. The Texas star outran Henry Wynne for the victory in a time of 3:57.98 (NCAA #5). In a race where he absolutely had to run fast, Worley stepped up and delivered. 3rd place overall and the next best collegiate was Oregon's Reed Brown who ran 3:58.22 (NCAA #8). He was the final collegiate under the four minute barrier as Kasey Knevelbaard finished at 4:00. However, the big headline in this race was the crucial and unfortunate fall that took place in the first lap. Although it's not entirely clear what happened, it seems as though Jonah Koech from Texas Tech may have cut in too much, forcing Mick Stanovsek to trip and bring down Carlos Villarreal with him. Stanovsek ended the day as a DNF while Villarreal was last in 4:26. The unfortunate fall shouldn't reflect on the actual fitness of these two individuals, but now our hand is beginning to hover over the panic button. With only two weekends left of competition, both Villarreal and Stanovsek are not even in the scope of national qualifying. I imagine we will see those two men toe the line for the mile once again at the MPSF Championships. 3000 Cooper Teare continues to impress. He took home the win this past weekend in a monster time of 7:50 (NCAA #7). The Oregon sophomore was able to hold off Texas ace Alex Rogers who ran 7:51 for 2nd. So far this season, Rogers has displayed some phenomenal fitness. Could he opt to run the mile and 3k at Nationals? It depends on what the Longhorns decide to do with the DMR, but it could happen. Stanford's Alex Ostberg was close behind in 3rd, also running 7:51. After a standout cross country season, the Stanford veteran has seemingly taken his fitness to an entirely new level. Oregon's James West (7:52.14) and Arkansas' Cameron Griffith (7:52.79) posted strong results of their own. However, neither are necessarily guaranteed a spot to Nationals. West is now ranked #14 in the NCAA while Griffith is ranked #17. This is one of the deepeset 3k fields that the NCAA has ever seen which means we could see some big names left out of the qualifying picture in 2019. Oklahoma State's Isai Rodriguez and Boise State's Addison DeHaven rounded out the top 10 overall finishers with times of 7:54 and 7:55. 5000 A week after running an altitude converted 7:48, Joe Klecker silenced the critics by cruising to an NCAA #3 time of 13:35 and taking home the win. He was able to hold off Eastern Kentucky's James Sugira who ran 13:37 while UCLA's Robert Brandt had one of the best performances of his career, finishing 3rd in 13:40. After a slightly underwhelming performance at the Colorado Invite, John Dressel bounced back to finish 4th overall in a strong time of 13:41. As of right now, all four of these men are in guaranteed qualifying positions. Washington's Fred Huxham continues to stay under the radar despite posting a handful of strong results. His 13:42 is now NCAA #17. Gilbert Boit (Arkansas) ran 13:42 to close out the top tier of finishers. We saw a handful of a surprise performances as well. Penn State's John McGowan had a breakout performance running 13:46 while Paul Hogan (UMass Lowell) also ran 13:46. After a strong cross country season where he became a pivotal point scorer, Oregon's Jackson Mestler posted a time of 13:46. Mestler now adds to an Oregon roster that is rebuilding after losing a handful of top long distance talents. Portland's Michael Somers also ran a big PR with a time of 13:47. Iowa State Classic 800 It wasn't the fastest 800 we've ever seen at the Iowa State Classic, but it was a great battle. Bryce Koppel (Kansas) held off Robert Heppenstall (Wake Forest), 1:48.10 to 1:48.33. Both men are in position to earn a national qualifier. The next two spots were taken by the home team. The Iowa State duo of Roshon Roomes and Festus Lagat finished with times of 1:48.70 and 1:48.80, respectively. Roomes has the final guaranteed qualifying spot while Lagat is ranked at #17 in the NCAA. Indiana's Cooper Williams rounded out the top five with a time of 1:49.15. Mile Indiana's Kyle Mau continues to be one of the dynamic distance runners in the NCAA. After running 7:50 for 5000 meters at the Indiana Relays, Mau posted an impressive 3:57 (NCAA #3) to take home the win at Iowa State this past weekend. Could we see Mau triple in the mile, 3000, and DMR at the National Championships in March? It's possible... The next collegiate across the line was Illinois State's Jack Anstey. He crossed the line in 3:59.66, the first sub-four performance of his career. After a handful of impressive early season performances, we mentioned Anstey as someone to keep your eye on later this season. Sure enough, he continues to post impressive times. Virginia Tech's Diego Zarate rounded out the top five with a time of 4:00.44. 3000 The NAU men decided to stack the 3000 meters, but it was Wisconsin's Olin Hacker who came away with the win. The Badger junior finished 1st in a time of 7:53.88 which currently ranks #20 in the NCAA. If there are enough scratches, Hacker could find himself in a position to qualify for Nationals. The NAU duo of Grijalva and Beamish secured a pair of top three finishes with times of 7:55 and 7:56, respectively. Dan Curts (Iowa State), George Kusche (Nebraska), Michael Ward (Bradley), and Yared Nuguse (Notre Dame) all posted times of 7:57. William Paulson (Arizona State) and David Too (Iowa State) ran 7:58 and 7:59, respectively, to round out the final few names under the 8 minute barrier. Despite the impressive performances, not everyone ran well. Northern Arizona's Tyler Day struggled in this race with a time of 8:01. Illinois' Jonathan Davis, who owns a personal best of 7:49, was last in the invite section with a time of 8:03. Will these men try to earn a national qualifiers in the 3000 meters in the final few weeks of competition? If not, then Davis will just pursue the mile while Day will just pursue the 5000 meters. 5000 It was one of the most exciting races of the weekend with a variety of lead changes and a lot of takeaways. BYU's Clayton Young took home the win, barely holding off a hard charging Edwin Kurgat. Young's time of 13:34.46 is now the #3 time in the NCAA while Kurgat's time of 13:34.54 is NCAA #4. Both had beautiful race execution, staying near the top group and not making any unnecessary surges. Clearly, their patience was rewarded. Minnesota's Obsa Ali (13:38) and BYU's Connor McMillan (13:38) and Conner Mantz (13:39) rounded the top five and were the final names under the 13:40 barrier. Much like Young and Kurgat, Ali stayed patient near the top group while McMillan and Mantz slowly moved to the front. The Alabama duo of Gilbert Kigen (13:40) and Vincent Kiprop (13:41) finished 6th and 8th, respectively. After a pair of underwhelming 3k's at Boston earlier in the year, the Crimson Tide duo were able to bounce back incredibly well. With a national qualifier in the 5000 meters (likely) now secured, expect to see these two go for a national qualifier in the 3000 at SEC's. The 7th place finisher was Indiana's Ben Veatch is now comfortably in national qualifying position after running 13:41. He will be yet another name who could score points for the Hoosiers at Nationals. BYU's Rory Linkletter was 9th overall in 13:42 while Purdue's Jaret Carpenter was 10th in 13:43. Linkletter now has the #16 qualifying time for 5000 meters in the NCAA while Carpenter's time now ranks #19. Will these two try the 5k again in an effort to guarantee themselves a national qualifier? Millrose Games 800 Georgetown's Joe White toed the line in one of the fastest indoor 800's in recent history. His result was a respectable 1:46 and further solidifies him as a national title candidate. It will be interesting to see how he'll respond at Nationals if the pace was fast. Mile When the pace is set for a world record, you're bound to run fast. Wisconsin's Oliver Hoare ran 3:54.83 which easily secures the #1 time in the NCAA. So now the question is...what will he run at Nationals? With indoor personal bests of 3:54 and 7:48 this season, it feels like Hoare could walk away with gold in both races. However, with Grant Fisher, Morgan McDonald, and Amon Kemboi displaying elite fitness over the 3000 meter distance, Hoare may opt to try the mile and DMR double. 3000 Wow. What a race. In a field that was packed with professionals, it was the collegiates who stood out. In a race for the ages, Fisher grabbed the win and held off McDonald. Fisher's time of 7:42.62 is NCAA #4 All-Time as well as the American collegiate record. As for McDonald, his time of 7:42.76 is NCAA #5 All-Time. Amon Kemboi continues show fans around the country that he belongs in the elite tier of the NCAA. The Campbell superstar dropped a 7:44.77 to finish 3rd overall and earn the NCAA #10 All-Time 3k. He will be a dangerous weapon to keep an eye on later in March. David Hemery Valentine Invite 800 Georgia Tech's Avery Bartlett was the top collegiate in a time if 1:48.68. He now ranks #14 in the NCAA and is in qualifying position for Nationals. Columbia's Alek Sauer also ran under 1:49 with an NCAA #18 time of 1:48.94. Mile There were four changes at the NCAA #1 spot for the mile this past weekend. First it was held by Sam Worley, then it was held by Kyle Mau, then it was held by Waleed Suliman, and finally held by Oliver Hoare. Mississippi's Waleed Suliman had a breakout spring season in 2018 and has found a way to translate that success to indoors. Suliman ran a monster personal best of 3:56 to earn (what is now) the #2 time in the NCAA. After becoming an All-American in cross country and running 1:46 last spring, Suliman has proven that he can competitive in whatever race he's in. Close behind Suliman was Villanova's Casey Comber who ran a big personal best of his own. The 40th Villanova Wildcat to run under the four minute barrier posted a time of 3:57 which is now the #4 time in the NCAA. After becoming an All-American in cross country this past fall, it is clear that Comber has elevated his fitness to a completely different level. Ole Miss senior Derek Gutierrez was yet another runner to dip under the four minute barrier. After running a time of 3:58.55, Gutierrez now ranks at #10 in the NCAA. So far this season, Gutierrez has now run under 4:00, 8:00, and 14:00. Talk about range... The last collegiate under four minutes was Columbia's Sam Ritz who has come painstakingly close to breaking the barriers for a few seasons now. The senior ran a time of 3:59.36 and now ranks #15 in the NCAA. It will be close, but it's very possible that Ritz will end up on the national stage in March.

Written prior to Millrose Games performances Texas asserts dominance After an underwhelming cross country season, there may have been some pressure for first-year coach Pete Watson to produce stronger results during indoors. Sure enough, Sam Worley and Alex Rogers have been setting the track on fire. After back-to-back PR's (which led to a personal best of 3:58), Rogers just ripped open a 7:51 for 3000 meters. As for Worley, he just broke the Texas indoor mile school record with a time of 3:57.98 to take the #2 spot in the NCAA (Kyle Mau literally just ran the NCAA #1 time of 3:57.61 as I'm writing this). Ironically, Worley held off 2017 NCAA indoor mile champion Henry Wynne for the win. Wynne was formerly coached by Pete Watson during his time at Virginia. No Jones, All Hull This Oregon superstar can seemingly do it all. After running 4:31 earlier in the season, she just ran a massive 8:53 to defeat Allie Ostrander (8:55) and lead three other women under the 9 minute barrier. That time now puts her at NCAA #9 All-Time* and pushes Ostrander's 2018 performance to #10. *Since the time was run on an oversized track, it will not officially count on the All-Time List With Dani Jones likely taking a redshirt indoor season, Hull has become the very heavy favorite in both the mile and 3000 meters. Now the question becomes "What will she race at Nationals"? Will she run both open events? Will she triple in the DMR? Run one open event in addition to the DMR? It's tough to say, but it's not unrealistic to think that she could have three gold medals in March. The women's 5k becomes even deeper A total of seven collegiates (eight if we count unattached athletes) ran under the 16 minute barrier at the Husky Classic this past Friday. Makena Morley has (likely) now secured herself a pair of national qualifying spots in the 3k/5k after running 15:37 while Stanford's Fiona O'Keefe took home top collegiate spot in 15:35. The top 16 cut-off to qualify for Nationals in the 5000 meters this year is now 15:42. Since TFRRS began recording data in 2010, that is the fastest top 16 cut-off time we have ever seen. Historically, the cut-off time is around the 16 minute barrier (but it has been faster in recent years). Still don't think this is the fastest era of women's distance running? Think again... Back on track...kinda Cole Rockhold's cross country season was cut short this past fall after sustaining a stress fracture. The 3:59/7:50 Colorado State talent has been out since then, but made his indoor debut on Friday with a 4:06. It's far from what his true talent level is, but when you consider that he's only had four workouts this entire winter season, it's an encouraging sign for the future. Finn Gessner made his debut for Iowa State, albeit it lacked a spark with a finishing time of 8:36. Still, it's encouraging to see that the Cyclones are willing to give Gessner opportunities to race even after an immediate move from Madison to Ames. Wisconsin has returned as a modern-day powerhouse Oliver Hoare won the 1500 meter national title over Josh Kerr last spring. Morgan McDonald won the cross country national title this past fall. Oliver Hoare runs 7:48 at Indiana. Shuaib Aljabaly won the USA Junior Cross Country national title. Olin Hacker wins the Iowa State Classic 3k in 7:53. The Badgers have had some jaw-dropping performances in the past year. They are truly at another level right now, and it's scary to think that they could get even better. Within two hours of this article being published, McDonald will make his season debut in the 3000 meters at the Millrose Games. Oliver Hoare will make his mile debut (also at Millrose). The women have been just as impressive. Alicia Monson had a breakout cross country season and has already run 15:34 for 5000 meters this season. She will also be racing a Millrose. Meanwhile, Amy Davis just won the Iowa State Classic 5k in a time of 15:47. What can't these Badgers do? A very quick Millrose Games preview 800 Joe White needs to show that he's just as good as Marco Arop and Devin Dixon who have both run under 1:46 this season. Luckily for White, he's more than capable of running a time like that. Mile Oliver Hoare will be the lone collegiate in this field and will have to deal with a world record pace. Unless he becomes too overwhelmed with such elite talent surrounding him, expect a new NCAA #1 time. As for the women, Karisa Nelson is entered. She will be looking to prove that she can still be a top contender in the mile. She won the 2017 indoor national title in the mile before taking a year off from competition. Meanwhile, Danae Rivers needs to show the world that she is more than just a threat in the 800/1k distances. A new NCAA #1 could be in the cards for her. 3000 Fisher vs McDonald vs Kemboi...wow We know how good Fisher and McDonald are. They will likely run under 7:50 and put themselves back in the national title conversation. As for Kemboi, this is his big opportunity to show that he belongs with some of the best athletes the NCAA has ever seen. The women's race will host two collegiates - Weini Kelati and Alicia Monson. Can Weini Kelati return to the national title conversation despite Jessica Hull running 8:53 earlier this week? What about Monson? In a season where we've seen some of the greatest collegiate distance running of all-time, where does she stack up in the big picture? These are just some of the questions we have for later this evening...

John Cusick (800 / Mile) Michael Weidenbruch (3k / 5k) 800 There isn’t a whole lot of emphasis on the 800 this time around at the Husky Classic. In fact, there's only four total heats of the event (which is relatively low for a meet that hosts so many teams). The name that immediately headlines the event is Harun Abda of Nike’s Oregon Track Club Elite, but we’re not here for the professionals. We want to know about the collegiates. There are four Huskies in the fast heat with Jason Palmer, Devan Kirk, Conner Morello, and Cass Elliott. This would be Palmer’s first ever 800 if he were to finish, giving us an idea that he may be pacing through for a quick time. Kirk and Morello have both broken 1:50 before while Elliott is looking to dip underneath that barrier this weekend. If they have a good day and are paced properly, Kirk and Morello could sneak into the national qualifying conversation... Hari Sathyamurthy of Stanford is also in the fast heat and after helping the Stanford team run a fast time in the distance medley relay two weeks ago, he’ll be looking to log a fast time to put himself in a good position for March. He has a personal best of 1:49.93 from last year’s outdoor season. The other two athletes in this final heat are Nickson Rotich of Eastern Kentucky and Sean Munnelly of UMass Lowell. Rotich has run two 800's prior to this one, clocking times of 1:50 (converted to 1:49) and 1:52. The junior holds a best of 1:49.52, which was also set during the outdoor season last year. As for Munnelly, he just ran a mile in 4:15 (PR) last weekend and comes into the meet with a 1:48.68 as his best. All of these athletes seem to be on the same plain when it comes to their best times in this event. This usually signals a strong race and likely some new personal bests coming from it. It will help that Abda from OTC Elite is racing and he should carry some of these athletes to a strong time. Mile Moving to the mile, we have what feels like a more electric field. There are seven total heats with the seventh one potentially having multiple athletes go sub-4:00. Before we get to the final heat though, there are several athletes that are more than capable of being towards the top of the results when it is all said and done. Carlos Villarreal (Arizona, 3:57), Sam Worley (Texas, 3:58), Alex Rogers (Texas, 3:58), and Mick Stanosvek (Washington, 3:57) were all left out of the fastest heat and all are clearly capable of running the fastest (collegiate) time of the weekend. This heat also includes Izaic Yorks, Drew Piazza, and Brannon Kidder rounding out a penultimate finale. This might be the best mile matchup we will see all year (prior to Nationals). Heck, it might even be better than the fast heat. In the span of two years, Villarreal has gone from being a respectable miler to top-tier guy in the NCAA with incredible range. However, he'll have to deal with numerous mile specialists in this race. It will be interesting to see what kind of strategy he employs this weekend. The Texas duo of Rogers and Worley seem to always produce strong results when they're in the same race and I can't imagine that this weekend will be any different. Worley has yet to break four minutes this season while Rogers has asserted himself as the top Longhorn miler so far in 2019 with back-to-back personal bests. Mick Stanovsek has become one of the best tactical runners in the country. Not only has he elevated his fitness to a national-contending level, but he has learned how to navigate and thrive in competitive environments (such as this race). After a pair of 800's and a 2:21 for 1000 meters, expect a breakout mile performance from Stanovsek on his home track. So where does that leave us with the fast heat and the athletes entered in that? Well, let’s take a look... James West and Blake Haney will represent the Ducks. Haney has run 3:56 before and is coming off of a personal best in the 800 (1:49) from the Razorback Invitational two weekends ago. A few years back, Haney was considered one of the top milers in the nation. He can still be a national contender, but he needs to regain that fitness and confidence. This will be the perfect week to do so. West has yet to break 4:00 in the mile, but has come close with his 4:02 and owns a 1500 PR of 3:37. He ran 1:50 recently and was apart of the Oregon DMR team that ran 9:36. Jonah Koech of Texas Tech is another athlete yet to break 4:00, but his pedigree says that he should be capable of getting under that 4:00 barrier this weekend. Koech ran 1:47 two weekends ago in the race that set the American collegiate record. Arkansas' Cameron Griffith, a guy known for his incredible range, is entered in this race. He ran 3:59 two weekends ago at his home meet and he comes into this race with that time as his personal best. He also holds bests of 1:50 and 7:49, leading us to believe that he is capable of an even a faster time in the mile. We’ll certainly see if that claim holds true this weekend. Colin Abert from Penn State ran 4:05 and 1:52 last weekend in the first race(s) of his season. He comes into the meet with a time of 3:59 as his personal best and it looks like this might be the race that he focuses on this winter. Abert is likely a dark horse for this race as he’s not as big of a household name. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stays in the mix and finds himself in the front with 50 meters to go. We are finally going to see Cole Rockhold debut for the indoor season. After an injury sidelined him for the last few weeks of the cross country season, he’ll look to get back into the swing of things. He has a PR of 3:59 and has some underrated finishing speed. When it comes down to it, he’s at least going to be talked about and hopefully, it’s for the right reasons. The last athlete to talk about is likely the favorite for the collegiate athletes and that is Kasey Knevelbaard from Southern Utah. He set a personal best two weeks ago when he ran 3:58. After that, he ran 1:51 and 8:26 at the Mountain T’s Invitational to take home two victories. After redshirting the cross country season, it’s clear the Knevelbaard is in great shape and is likely looking to run even faster than that 3:58 from two weeks ago. Also joining this race are Brooks Beasts runners David Ribich and Henry Wynne. They’ll both be looking for strong times early in their season and that usually bodes well for the rest of the field. 3000 The 3k is loaded with national caliber talent from around the NCAA. The Oregon Ducks are fielding Cooper Teare (who owns personal bests of 3:59 and 7:53) as well as James West who has a PR of 7:51 in this event. The Ducks have been a little quiet so far this season, but this duo could break into the national qualifying picture this weekend. Another headliner is Isai Rodriguez, the Oklahoma State sophomore who established himself as one of the nation’s best distance runners with his 4th place finish at NCAA's in cross country. Rodriguez has yet to run a collegiate 3k, but he has run 13:53 for 5k and 4:05 in the mile. Cameron Griffith of Arkansas is another top seed with a PR of 7:49. Griffith finished 3rd in last year’s NCAA Championship 3k, and is the top returner this season. Stanford’s Alex Ostberg is entered in the 3k as well. He doesn’t have a listed collegiate 3k PR, but his 3:59 mile PR (which was run at UW earlier this season) should hold up against this strong field. Stanford teammate DJ Principe is entered in what will also be his collegiate 3k debut. Principe’s collegiate career has been relatively quiet after running 4:00 for the mile in high school, but the Stanford sophomore ran 4:04 in the mile at UW a few weeks ago so he seems to be rounding into shape nicely. Texas’ Alex Rogers is entered as well, and he holds a 3k PR of 8:11 which he ran in January 2017. Rogers has been on a tear lately, running 3:59 and later 3:58 in the mile. This could be a breakout race for him if he's comfortable with moving up to the 3k distance. Washington’s own Talon Hull is coming off of a 3:59 mile performance and will be running his first 3k of college as well which could be an impressive debut on his home track. This race has the potential to put a bunch of guys in the NCAA top 16. None of the guys entered are currently in qualifying position, but five of them are in the top 16 for the mile so it is very likely that we could see some guys trying to get a qualifying spot in a second event before heading into conference championships. 5000 The 5k field is shaping up to be just as impressive as the 3k. Eastern Kentucky freshman James Sugira is entered in what will be his collegiate 5k debut. The NCAA Southeast regional cross country champion and 14th place finisher at the Cross Country National Championships ran 7:58 in the 3k at Camel City last weekend, a flat-track time that converts to 7:52 which currently puts him at #9 in the NCAA. Sugira appears to be in the same terrific form he was in during the fall, so we could see him push the pace in this race. Joe Klecker and John Dressel of Colorado are both entered with PR's of 13:42. Klecker just ran 8:01.68 for 3k at altitude, which converts to 7:48.32, an NCAA-leading time. He will likely battle for yet another qualifying mark while Dressel looks to reenter the national qualifying conversation. Stanford’s Steven Fahy has a PR of 13:44 and comes in as another top seed. He also holds a top 16 time for 3000 meters and will be looking to follow that up with a similar result in the 5k. If he's healthy, he'll be a major factor in this race. Alek Parsons is also entered for Stanford; he has run 13:58. Portland has entered Emmanuel Roudolff-Levisse who has recently run a personal best of 7:55 to complement his 5k PR of 13:57. Arkansas’s Gilbert Boit is coming in with a PR of 13:50 along with his teammate Austen Dalquist who has also run 13:50. UCLA’s Robert Brandt is entered with a PR of 13:41 and is coming off of a respectable win in the collegiate 3k at the Dr. Sander Columbia Challenge. The Washington duo of Tanner Anderson and Fred Huxham will also toe the line and are coming in with PR's of 13:43 and 13:44, respectively. They will likely work together to keep the pace honest and put themselves in favorable positions throughout the race. UW teammates Gavin Parpart (14:00) and Tibebu Proctor (8:16 3k) are also entered for the Huskies. Some other interesting entries include Oregon’s Soren Knudsen who recently ran 8:13 in the 3k and owns a PR of 13:54. Paul Roberts of Wyoming is entered, coming off of a 20th place finish at NCAA's in cross country this past fall. The 5k at UW includes many of the nation’s best distance runners who will be looking for a coveted spot to Nationals in March. This is one of the best opportunities to throw down a fast time, as the UW track is oversized and we have yet to reach the tactical races that come with conference championships. Keep an eye out for some of these big names to break into the top 16, which currently cuts off at 14:10. I imagine we could see that cutoff dramatically lowered after the competition this weekend.

Man, does indoor season seem to fly by. Believe it or not, we are about to reach the second weekend of February which means it is time to start running national qualifying times. This weekend is always one of the most exciting weekends of the indoor track season because it is when most runners earn their spot to the promised land (Nationals). The Iowa State Classic, along with the UW Husky Classic, is a meet that every elite runner circles on their calendar at the start of the year. Let’s take a look at the runners who are waiting to punch their ticket to Nationals... 800 I am pumped to watch this 800. Like the other distance events, the 800 field is deep and has at least three or four guys who will make it to NCAA's. Last year’s qualifying time was 1:48.31, but the current mark according to our Scratch Tracker is 1:49.09. With that in mind, everyone will be gunning for at least a sub-1:49. The reason why this race stands out to me is that it gives us a small preview into the national race, or at the very least the prelims. Bryce Hoppel from Kansas is someone that I have talked about a lot since the beginning of the year as a favorite to win the title. Compared to some of the preseason favorites, he hadn’t run quite as well until he walked away with a big win at the Texas Tech Open to run 1:48. Also racing is one of the most consistent runners in the country and another preseason favorite, Robert Heppenstall. The Wake Forest runner has famously made it to the 800 final at indoor and outdoor Nationals every single year of his career. Heppenstall has yet to break 1:50 this year in the 800 this season, but I don’t expect that to last after this weekend especially since he just ran an unconverted 4:07 in the mile last week. The last big challenger in the field is someone who came into this year as a bit of a dark horse. Cooper Williams from Indiana hasn’t run in two weeks, but his performance at the Indiana University Relays was very impressive. He ran 4:05 in the mile after he helped Indiana run the fastest DMR time in the country this year. Oh, and he assisted in IU’s 3:11 4x400 team. The guy is a beast. Williams has run a fast 600 and 1000 already and has won every single race (including relays) that he has run in this year besides his 6th place finish in the mile. Those three guys could all challenge for top three places at Nationals in a very deep 800 field. Whoever wins this race will gain a lot of confidence knowing that they beat some of the top contenders already. My prediction is that all three run under 1:48 with the pace being quick from the gun. Heppenstall will surely run a smart race and put himself in the right position to kick for the win. That said, I believe Williams will pull off the upset and narrowly edge out Heppenstall and Hoppel. He seems to have everything working for him right now between the solid mile time and 400 and 600 times. This might not be the case in March, but I think Williams is in the best shape out of this elite crew. Other guys to watch out for who could run qualifying times are Roshon Roomes from Iowa State who has already run 1:48.94, Brennan Munley from Georgetown, Matthew Harding from Virginia Tech who has run 1:49 so far, and Nittany Lion Domenic Perretta who owns a 1:48 season best. All of those guys will look to improve their current times to guarantee themselves a spot at Nationals. Mile The mile might be the least interesting race at Iowa State, but that is like calling the lightest kid at fat camp skinny. The top dog is obviously Kyle Mau of Indiana who has been on a tear the entire season. He has run 13:58, 7:50, and 4:01 this season and even anchored the top DMR time in the country. Look for him to go under 4:00, easily. The rest of the field is full of very good runners who will try to push their way into Nationals. The time to qualify for the mile was 3:58 last year, but the current standard is 4:00.3. Michigan’s Chase Barnett ran 4:00 two weeks ago at Boston. Daniel Michalski from Indiana and Ben Hill from Michigan have both run 4:01. Ben Young from Kentucky and Loyola Chicago’s Kevin White have run 4:04 so far. When you throw in Dylan Jacobs (Notre Dame) and Dan Curts (Iowa State), the mile looks to be stacked with people who will run sub-4:00. 3000 While the mile was loaded with guys who have chances at making it to Nationals, the 3k is full of people who are expected to qualify. Out of the 16 runners who qualified for the 3k last year, six of them earned their spot at the Iowa State Classic. This shows you the importance of running well at this meet, but it also means that even if you don’t win the race then you could still qualify. That said, there will be at least 10 guys looking to earn a spot at Nationals. Last year, the final qualifying time was 7:53. This year the current cut-off time is 7:56, but that will most likely be lowered (by a lot) after this weekend. The top team from cross country brings all of their top guys into this race. NAU has Tyler Day, Geordie Beamish, Luis Grijalva, and Brodey Hasty all toeing the line. Beamish, Grijalva, and Day are all coming off of converted times of 3:57, 3:58, and 4:00, respectively. Day might be the man to beat as he also owns the top 5k time in the country. Johnathan Davis is probably the co-favorite with Day when you consider his personal bests of 3:58 and 7:49. Wisconsin's Olin Hacker has been posting some solid performances of his own over the past few weeks, running 7:56 and 4:01 so far this year. Also of note, Daniel Carney from BYU is making his indoor debut after he qualified for Nationals in the 3k last year. Some dark horses to watch out for are Mike Ward from Bradley, Cornhusker George Kusche, and Missouri’s Kieran Wood. All have run very good times already. Ward has run 7:57 while Kusche narrowly beat Wood in the mile last week (each running 3:59). Look for all three of these guys to challenge for the win and more importantly, hit national qualifying times. Want more sleeper picks? Yared Nuguse (Notre Dame) and Noah Affolder (Syracuse). Those two will not disappoint. 5000 The 5k might be the most competitive race of the weekend. Like the 3k, most of the qualifiers for Nationals came from the Iowa State Classic in 2018. Last year, nine of the 16 qualifiers ran their times at Iowa State. This year looks to be no exception. The current last time in according to the Scratch Tracker is 14:15 which is very weak compared to last year’s 13:46. I have little doubt that the current time will drop like a rock this weekend. Let’s take a look at our contenders... BYU has entered nearly their entire top seven from cross country (Clayton Young, Rory Linkletter, Connor McMillan, Connor Mantz, and Clayson Shumway). McMillan and Young have both run 7:51 this year while Mantz has run 7:53. In the mile, Linkletter has run 4:02 in what seemed to be an effort to develop speed. All five of these guys have gone sub-13:55 in their careers with Young and Linkletter owning PR's of 13:37. The Iowa State combo of Andrew Jordan and Edwin Kurgat will look to build upon their indoor seasons by qualifying for Nationals in the 5k. Jordan has already run 7:51 and Kurgat just earned a (converted) 7:53 for 3000 meters. Out of all the teams fielding multiple runners in this race, my bet is on Kurgat and Jordan to finish better than any other. Next up is the Alabama duo of Vincent Kiprop and Gilbert Kigen who are returning to the spotlight after redshirting cross country. They obviously have the talent to earn All-American spots at Nationals, but we still don’t know if they are 100%, even after running 7:59 in the 3k. Aidan Tooker of Syracuse is coming off of a sub-4:00 and is one to watch as he looks to qualify for Indoor Nationals for the first time in his career. Similarly, Indiana’s Ben Veatch is looking to punch his first ticket to Indoor Nationals. The Hoosier ace has already run 7:56, so it would not be surprising to see him go under 13:50. Lastly, some other names to watch are Minnesota’s Obsa Ali, Purdue’s Jaret Carpenter, and Virginia Tech’s Peter Seufer.

The Iowa State Classic, along with the Husky Classic, produces some of the fastest regular season marks each and every indoor season. With national qualifying marks on the line, we will see a number of the NCAA's best toeing the line. We highlight some of the top names below... 800 Like every other distance event, the half-mile is loaded with a handful of women who could not only qualify for Nationals, but even finish on the podium. Virginia Tech's Rachel Pocratsky is likely the favorite in this race when you consider her veteran status and wicked fast personal bests of 2:02 and 2:41. She is looking to continue her momentum after running a flat-track converted 4:33 at Camel City last weekend. However, Pocratsky will not simply be handed the top collegiate finish. Baylor's Aaliyah Miller is the top collegiate seed (behind Nike's Shea Collinsworth) and has run 2:08 this season, but with an indoor best of 2:04 she will be considered a contender for a top finish this weekend. The same can be said for Iowa State's Jasmine Staebler who has only run 2:08 this season, but has an indoor PR of 2:03 dating back to the 2017 season. Much like Pocratsky, she is a dangerous weapon in the middle distance events of 400 meters all the way up to 1000 meters. LSU ace Ersula Farrow could very easily take home the win in what has been a strong indoor season for her so far. She has three individual wins (two in the 800, one in the mile) along with a season best of 2:05. Farrow still has a lot of untapped potential and will be running with the incentive of possibly qualifying for the first national meet of her career. Kelsey Haris (Indiana) also deserves a mention. She's been on the NCAA leaderboard since the indoor season started and has been tremendously consistent. Look for this to be her breakout race. Sleeper picks to keep an eye on include Kelly Hart (Notre Dame), Gabrielle Wilkinson (Florida), and Kaylee Dodd (Oklahoma State). Mile The mile doesn't hold quite the same depth as some of the other distance events, but the field will still provide some excellent matchups. BYU's Whittni Orton seems to be one of the more under appreciated milers in the country right now. Between her personal bests, extensive experience, and championship accolades, it's hard not to pick her as the potential winner this weekend. Of course, there are plenty of other interesting names in this field. UNC's Morgan Ilse has been one of the biggest breakout stars of the 2019 indoor track season. Her season best of 2:09, 4:40, 9:08*, and 16:11* show that she has some jaw-dropping talent. She will be a legitimate challenger to Orton this weekend. *indicates flat-track conversion Much like her sister, Indiana's Haley Harris has shown off some impressive consistency. She has four individual wins this season and owns a season/personal best of 4:43. This field should be just fast enough to push to her to a new PR while also keeping her in the hunt for a win. Sleeper picks to watch include Morgan Mooney (Wisconsin), Kristlin Gear (Furman), and Anna Camp (BYU). 3000 The 3000 meter race will be the marquee event in Ames, Iowa this weekend. There are so many top-tier names that it will be tough to talk about all of them...but we'll give it a go. We are set to see an exciting matchup between Erica Birk-Jarvis (BYU), Jessica Pascoe (Florida), and Katherine Receuver (Indiana). While there are certainly others who could contend for the win, I think it's fair to say that these three likely have the best shot. Birk-Jarvis is coming off of a breakout cross country season where she finished 7th individually at the Cross Country National Championships. After running 4:36 earlier this season, Birk-Jarvis seems primed to rip open a fast time for 3000 meters. The 3k will likely be the sweet spot for her this season. Jessica Pascoe had a monumental cross country season and followed that up with a massive 15:34 personal best for 5000 meters back in December. Since then, Pascoe has displayed some respectable mile speed (4:43) which complements her in a race like this. As for Receuver, she has seemingly hit a rough patch this winter after a pair of mile performances that yielded times of "only" 4:50 and 4:47. Still, she has been one of the best 3000 meter runners in the NCAA over the past few years. With a personal best of 9:03, she will certainly be in contention to take home the win. Outside of those three, I really like the BYU pairing of Olivia Hoj and Courtney Wayment. These two produce consistent results and have found a way to quietly compete against some of the NCAA's top talent. The Cougars work better when they race together and I expect that to benefit them in this race. One of the more underrated names in the NCAA is freshman Cailie Logue (Iowa State). She ran 9:20 earlier this winter, but after such a remarkable cross country season it's hard not to think that she can go faster. Virginia Tech junior Sarah Edwards should definitely be on your radar. After running a flat-track converted 4:33 at Camel City, Edwards has proven that her fitness is as good as anyone's. She could pop off something fast at Iowa State this weekend if she's comfortable enough with the 3k distance. Nevada Moreno (NC State), Bethany Hasz (Minnesota), Aubrey Roberts (Northwestern), and Sydney Meyers (Eastern Michigan) are just a few of the top names who could also contend for a top spot this weekend. 5000 The 5000 will be an exciting race to watch, mainly due to the 5000 meter debut we are expecting to see from Syracuse star Paige Stoner. With a personal best of 15:41, she could be considered the favorite, although she won't be guaranteed the win. Wisconsin will likely gain a lot of attention this weekend as Alicia Monson, Oliver Hoare, and Morgan McDonald race at Millrose. However, Amy Davis will also be in the mix to run something fast. The field at Iowa State will be deep, but won't hold quite the same firepower like we've seen from other top meets like the BU Season Opener. That should benefit Davis in this race and potentially lead her to a new PR (which is currently 15:44). I think the Furman duo of Savannah Carnahan and Emma Grace Hurley are relatively underrated. Carnahan has quietly put together times of 9:11 and 15:49 this season while Grace Hurley has flirted with 16 minute barrier earlier this year (by running 16:07). Looking for a pair of breakout performers? These two will be the ones to watch. As for the rest of the field, there are plenty of names to keep an eye on. The ISU duo of Amanda Vestri and Anne Frisbie should work well together on their home track. Indiana's Margaret Allen is due for a breakout race. Notre Dame freshman Jacqueline Gaughan is a young star with plenty of potential. The storylines are endless. Other names to keep an eye on include Megan Hasz (Minnesota), Paige Hofstad (Georgetown), Sarah Freix (Virginia Tech), Haley Herberg (Oklahoma), and Annie Heffernan (Notre Dame).

With a collection of huge competitions this weekend, the NCAA leaderboard is slated for a major shuffle. Only a month separates us from the NCAA Indoor Championships which means many women will be looking to run a national qualifying mark - and the Husky Classic is just the place to do it. The meet will feature many familiar faces to the Dempsey this season as well as some new ones from around the country. Below we take a look at who to watch this weekend... 3000 Of all the events at Husky, the 3000 is the marquee race. The race features a crazy amount of All-Americans and should produce multiple NCAA qualifiers. Headlining the field is 2018 runner-up Allie Ostrander of Boise State. The junior is making her season debut in the event after already running an NCAA qualifier in the 5000 meters. She has run once at Dempsey this season, posting a 4:35 mile after anchoring the Boise State DMR the night before. She enters this race as the favorite, but will face strong competition from a number of other women. Among those looking to take down Ostrander is someone who has done it once already this season. Ednah Kurgat is making her 2019 indoor debut after posting an NCAA leading 5k back in December. Kurgat struggled during the cross country season compared to her 2017 campaign, but appears to be back and better than ever for indoors. While her personal best of 8:57 is slightly slower than Ostrander’s 8:54, Kurgat will certainly be mixing it up at the front. The distance favors Ostrander’s speed over Kurgat’s range, but with her 5k performance she appears ready to lower her personal best this weekend. It would not be a race at Dempsey if it didn’t feature at least one Oregon star...enter Jessica Hull. The defending 1500 meter national champion is coming off of her best cross country season ever and blitzed a 4:31 mile at Arkansas a couple weeks back. She has the finishing speed to match anyone in the field and her personal best of 8:58 puts her right up with the best in this group. Expect Hull to shadow the leaders for much of the race and try to make a move in the later stages. Other names to watch in the field include Lauren Gregory of Arkansas, Nicole Hutchinson of Villanova, Molly Sughroue of Oklahoma State and Katie Rainsberger of Washington. 5000 The 5000 meter features arguably just as much talent and will be a great chance for some of the top names to chase the qualifying times that were run at the BU Season Opener. Headlining the field is Makena Morley of Colorado, the 8th place finisher from NCAA XC, making her indoor season debut at the distance. Currently, she owns a personal best of 15:40 and has a good chance to better that mark with the competition in the field. She is also fresh off her first indoor meet this year where she ran a 9:20 for 3000 meters at 5300 feet of altitude. While Morley tends to favor longer distances (11th in NCAA 10k) she will certainly be near the front of this one. The hometown favorite Lilli Burdon will also be stepping up to the distance for the first time in her collegiate career. It’s somewhat surprising that the Washington star has never raced this event indoors given she was 3rd outdoors in 2018, but this weekend will be a good chance to see what she can do on the smaller oval. Burdon has been off to a slower start this indoor season, racing the DMR and mile at the UW Invitational. She clocked a 4:42 for the mile, seven seconds off her personal best of 4:35 despite a strong finish to her cross country season. After outdoors last spring, Burdon seems more comfortable in longer races and this weekend will be a chance to test that indoors. Another big name making their indoor 5k debut is Weronika Pyzik of Oregon. Pyzik is coming off a 12th place finish in cross country and ran 9:28 over 3000 meters at Arkansas to open her indoor season. While she is generally considered a 10k runner outdoors, Pyzik owns a personal best of 15:59 over 5000 meters and will need to run substantially faster if she hopes to qualify for NCAA's this season. Right now, the cutoff time to make nationals sits at 15:58, but there will surely be plenty of women who run faster this weekend, including some in this race. Although Pyzik is better suited for the longer distances, she should be a dark horse to win this race if any of the top names falter. There are plenty of other women who will be looking to run NCAA qualifiers as well, including Fiona O’Keefe of Stanford, Clare O’Brien of Boise State and Caroline Alcorta of Villanova. Any of these women have a realistic chance to win the race and if the pacing is right, we could see a strong contingent break the 16-minute barrier this weekend. Mile Despite not being known as a miler, one of the biggest names to watch in the mile will be Division 2 star Caroline Kurgat of Alaska Anchorage. Kurgat has been on fire this season, running NCAA Division II leading times of 9:07 for 3000 meters and 15:28 for 5000 meters. Her 15:28 broke the former Division 2 record by over 30 seconds and would put her among elite company in Division 1. Currently, Kurgat’s mile personal best is a modest 4:53, but her 1500 meters best of 4:21 indicates that she should be able to run much faster. Not only that, but she is having by far the best indoor campaign of her career and is positioned to absolutely demolish her personal best this weekend. While she likely won’t win given her preference to the longer distances, it would not be surprising if she managed to run something huge. Molly Sughroue will be looking for a strong comeback after a rough performance in her last race at UW. She raced the leadoff leg of the NCAA leading Oklahoma State DMR, but Sughroue faded hard over the last 400 meters. She currently owns a personal best of 4:37 for the mile indoors and has the wheels to close with anyone in the field, indicated by her 2:07 best over 800 meters. She is also ranked 15th in the NCAA for the 3k, but will likely be pushed out of qualifying after the races this weekend. With two rough performances hanging over her head from her last trip to Dempsey, expect Sughroue to have some extra fire this weekend. The collegiate favorite in the field looks to be Carina Viljoen of Arkansas, who is coming off a big performance at the Arkansas Invitational where she ran a personal best of 4:33 over the distance. Despite only running 4:47 to open her season, Viljoen has made huge strides in a matter of weeks and will be looking to carry that momentum into this weekend. While the heat sheets have yet to be released, the meet features a handful of professional women who could pull Viljoen closer to the 4:30 barrier if the pace is honest. Outside of these three women, there are not a ton of huge names in the mile field. That said, keep an eye on Adva Cohen of New Mexico and Brie Oakley of California who will be making her 2018-19 debut after redshirting cross country. 800 Last, but certainly not least is the two-lap tango. The 800 meter features a few big names doubling back from the 3000, including Katie Rainsberger and Jessica Hull, but we will also see some fresh faces. Stanford's Caitlin Collier opened her collegiate career with a 2:10 at the UW Invitational. The performance was nowhere near her personal best marks from high school, but now that she has had some time to adjust to the collegiate racing scene, the bar has been raised. Collier undoubtedly has the talent to run under 2:05 on a track like Dempsey, but with only one performance under her belt it is tough to guess what kind of shape she is in. This weekend will be a great chance for her to post a big mark with a field full of professionals. Another woman looking to breakthrough this season is Kaylee Dodd of Oklahoma State. Dodd has only run 2:11 this year, well off her personal best of 2:04 indoors. Her biggest performance this season was running the 800 leg of the Oklahoma State DMR, but she will certainly be looking to run closer to her personal best this weekend. On paper, OSU has a chance to run a DMR national record based on the personal bests of the four members of the team. If that were to be a goal, the group would need Dodd to quickly find her form before NCAA's.

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. Leakey Kipkosgei, American International (-6 / 9) Idle. Kipkosgei is an interesting name to keep here. His range means he can be a top athlete in any event he runs. 14. Rowan Doherty, Simon Fraser (Unranked) Doherty continued his strong season this past weekend, setting a personal best in the mile with a time of 4:08.27. The time currently has him ranked #12 in the country while he also sits at #6 in the 3000 meters with a time of 8:12.35. Doherty has continued to impress after his strong cross country campaign and he has put himself in the conversation for competing in multiple national events. 13. Taylor Stack, Western Colorado (Unranked) Stack is currently ranked #7 in the 3000 meters after his performance this past weekend at the Colorado Invitational. He also ranks #10 in the 5000 meters from his effort prior to Christmas break. The sophomore has transitioned well from his 5th place finish in cross country to the track. He jumps into this list in large part because Marcelo Laguera looks to be redshirting this indoor season. 12. Benoit Campion, American International (+3 / 15) Idle. 11. Dennis Mbuta, Grand Valley State (+2 / 13) Mbuta recorded another personal best at the Meyo Invitational. He ran 4:07.70 to drop four seconds off of his best time from last year. Mbuta now finds himself within the top eight of the two middle distance events. He’s continuing his strong breakout season and is showing that Grand Valley State has more than just their distance/cross country team. 10. Josh Hoskinson, Colorado Mines (+2 / 12) Idle. 9. Austin Anaya, Adams State (Unranked) Anaya moves into these rankings for two reasons. He was 3rd overall at the Colorado Invitational where he ran 4:06.99, which converts down to 4:00.97. He sits at #2 on the performance list. The second reason is because he ran 8:29.21 last weekend for 3000 meters at the Power 5 meet. It converts down to 8:05.20 and is #3 on the performance list. It's hard to leave a guy out of the rankings with top positions on the NCAA leaderboard. 8. Shaquille Dill, St. Augustines (0 / 8) Idle. Dill remains on this list for now due to his past performances and my belief that he’s a top five 800 meter runner. 7. Brett Meyer, Fort Hays State (0 / 7) Meyer continues to race and continues to impress. After a personal best in the mile last weekend, he followed it up with yet another one this weekend at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. Meyer ran 4:04.23 which was almost a full two-second improvement over what he ran last weekend. The Fort Hays State product is a name to keep an eye on as the season winds down. 6. Elias Gedyon, Adams State (0 / 6) If you believe in converted times, then you’ll consider what Gedyon (and Anaya) did this weekend impressive. He ran 4:06.77 at the Colorado Invitational and it converts down to 4:00.75. After that performance, he and Anaya are now four seconds clear of Meyer in regards to season bests. Gedyon has really flexed his range as a runner which is a big reason why we have him ranked at #6. He was a top performer in cross country, currently #2 in the 3000 meters, and is now #1 in the mile. Whatever he decides to run, he’ll be a threat. 5. Enael Woldemichael, Grand Valley State (0 / 5) Idle. Odd that he didn’t run this weekend when Panning did. Hopefully he's not injured... 4. Dustin Nading, Western Oregon (0 / 4) Idle. Still no opener for Nading. I'll give him one more week, but there's not much time left for him to race... 3. Zach Panning, Grand Valley State (0 / 3) Panning finally raced for the first time of the 2019 season. He ran the mile at the Meyo Invitational this past weekend where he ran 4:08.39. He’s just a second off of his personal best that he set a couple of years ago. This isn’t Panning’s primary event obviously, but he still can hold his own if it came down to it. He is ranked #13 on the performance list right now. 2. Sydney Gidabuday, Adams State (0 / 2) Idle. Gidabuday was idle this weekend, but we can bring up last weekend’s performance again. His time of 7:54.77 bettered his own collegiate record that he set two years ago (7:56.88). Any chance he goes at the 5k record? It’s 13:41 and he’s run 13:44 indoors. Be on the lookout... 1. Thomas Staines, CSU-Pueblo (0 / 1) Breaking the British National Record over the course of 600 meters is something that probably locks down the number one spot for a little bit longer. That’s what Staines did this past weekend at the UNM Classic with a time of 1:15.31. He currently holds the number one time in the world after his effort this weekend. He also helped the Thunderwolves run to the #8 fastest 4x400 time in D2 this year. Rankings broken down in each event (new additions are bolded)... 800 1. Thomas Staines (CSU-Pueblo) 2. Shaquille Dill (St. Augustines) 3. Dennis Mbuta (Grand Valley State) 4. Hugo Arlabosse (Franklin Pierce) 5. Juman Randall (Western State) Mile 1. Dustin Nading (Western Oregon) 2. Elias Gedyon (Adams State) 3. Brett Meyer (Fort Hays State) 4. Austin Anaya (Adams State) 5. Benoit Campion (American International) 3000 1. Sydney Gidabuday (Adams State) 2. Zach Panning (Grand Valley State) 3. Enael Woldemichael (Grand Valley State) 4. Elias Gedyon (Adams State) 5. Rowan Doherty (Simon Fraser) 5000 1. Sydney Gidabuday (Adams State) 2. Zach Panning (Grand Valley State) 3. Enael Woldemichael (Grand Valley State) 4. Josh Hoskinson (Colorado Mines) 5. Taylor Stack (Western Colorado)

"Elevate, elevate... Only obligation is to tell it straight" I like to think that the third track on Drake's 2018 album Scorpion was referencing the ongoing debate in the running community surrounding altitude conversions in the NCAA. No? That's not what he's saying? Well, let's just say it is. The conversation happens every year. Someone runs a fast time at altitude, they earn a generous conversion, and the nation suddenly becomes more divided than any presidential campaign we've ever seen. It's happened every year since I started covering the sport in 2014 and it will likely continue for the foreseeable future. So why do critics and internet trolls hold so much disdain for altitude conversions? There's no concrete answer, but it's easy to understand the perspective for some of their reasons. "They never run those times when they're NOT at altitude!" "The conversion cuts off too much time!" "They use those times as PR's! They never truly ran that time!" Let's break down these arguments one by one in an attempt to gain some clarity... They never run those times when they aren't at altitude Let's take a step back and rewind to the indoor track season of 2015, the unofficial (and arbitrarily assigned) birth of the altitude debate. Cristian Soratos was a senior at Montana State. Prior to the beginning of that indoor track season, the Wildcat veteran had modest personal bests of 1:51, 4:06, and 8:27. His resume was respectable, but he was far from a legitimate contender on the national stage. However, that all changed on January 16th, 2015 at the Montana State Open. At 4900 feet of elevation, Soratos opened up his season with a mile time of 4:05.18. When you throw in the flat-track conversion, Soratos was given a mind-boggling mark of 3:56.87. Awesome...right? Wrong. Soratos was promptly ripped apart as nearly everyone doubted the legitimacy of his conversion. How could a guy who ran a season best of 4:11 less than one year ago suddenly become one of the most elite milers that the country has to offer? For many, it just didn't seem plausible. So what did Soratos do? He proved the haters wrong. The MSU ace went on to run an unconverted 3:55.27 to win the Husky Invite and later finished runner-up to Edward Cheserek at the Indoor National Championships. After his dominant victory at Husky, the narrative changed quite a bit... We could on for days with these kind of examples. Dani Jones ran an altitude converted time of 4:32 in 2017. Are we doubting her now? What about Diego Leon, another Montana State stud who ran a converted 3:57 mile last year only to run 13:39 (unconverted) for 5000 meters two months later? And those are just mile times were talking about... Conversions cut off too much time In fairness to the critics, this one might hold some merit. Still, even if it does, the difference has to be marginal. If the conversion did cut off too much time, wouldn't we see an exorbitant number of athletes race at altitude? Wouldn't a majority of national qualifiers be run at altitude? If so, the incentive would be too high to race elsewhere... Let's take a look at the top 16 men's milers and women's milers for each indoor season since 2010. In the past nine years (not counting 2019) 23 out of 144 men had altitude adjusted marks on the NCAA leaderboard (~16%). For the women, that number is far lower. Only 5 out of 144 women have had altitude adjusted times on the NCAA leaderboard in the past nine years (3.5%). In fact, five of those years held no altitude adjustments at all. More so, there were actually more flat-track conversions (10) than altitude conversions in that time period. In total, less than 10% of the guaranteed mile spots to Nationals (using the current qualifying system) were altitude adjusted times. When altitude debates come up, we often point out the men's times...but why? The answer is simple. There is a smaller sample of top women with altitude converted marks and a smaller sample doesn't support the criticism against these conversions. Despite the overall numbers, it's important that we recognize trends. A majority of the 28 total altitude marks were run in 2017 and 2018. For the men, 13 of the 23 converted times (56%) came within the past two years. For the women, 3 of those 5 also came within the past two years. It may be too early to determine whether or not these recent spikes in altitude adjusted marks are legitimate trends, but it is something we should observe over the next few years. They use their altitude conversions as PR's Does it happen? Probably. Does it happen often? Probably not. You know that one friend who constantly says "I'm a sophomore by credit hours" when they're actually a freshman? That's pretty much the equivalent of altitude conversions. It might be true on paper, but almost no one will take it seriously. I'll let Matthew Baxter, a recent Northern Arizona graduate, explain... The thread is more far extensive, but the point is clear. No one uses altitude conversions as their legitimate personal bests. Nonetheless, there may be some sympathy when it comes to national qualifying. The runner who competed at sea level and earned a faster finishing time is likely frustrated that someone is going to Nationals with an altitude conversion and didn't actually ran faster than them. Running is the purest form of competition that mankind has ever known. For many traditional fans, adding an algorithm into the mix feels somewhat unreliable and at a very basic level, it's easy to understand their rationale. Regardless, we have come to a day and age where the math and science is irrefutable. It is harder to race at altitude and athletes need to be compensated for the lack of oxygen, plain and simple. There's a reason why Joe Klecker's 3k time of 8:01 was converted to an NCAA #1 mark of 7:48. It takes jaw-dropping fitness to run that fast at 5000+ feet of elevation. The same can be said for Geordie Beamish who ran 4:06 in Flagstaff (6900 feet of elevation) and earned a conversion of 3:57.99 (also NCAA #1). There will likely never be any agreement about conversions, but in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter. The collegiate elites will toe the line in March and conversions won't make a difference between who wins and who loses. At the end of the day, the best of the best will rise to the top.