NCAA Mile Preview

By: Caleb Gatchell

I said the theme for the 800 was parity, and if you’re looking for a theme for the mile I think it’s new faces. Last year 28 people broke 4 minutes, 32 if you count conversions for track size and altitude. 14 of those guys were seniors, and when you factor in some of the crazy talent coming in with guys like Matthew Maton and Grant Fisher, you have the perfect recipe for some new faces rising to the top.

The Front Runners

Edward Cheserek-Oregon: No surprise here, and really, no qualification needed. He said he was willing to triple when he was interviewed at the Bowerman presentation, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him run the mile again this year. As with any event the King enters, if he runs the mile he would be a pretty clear favorite.

Brannon Kidder-Penn State: I’ve already talked about how much I like this kid in the 800 preview, but allow me to mention a few other things he’s done. He ran 3:38 as a sophomore, sub 1:17 in the 600 last year (That’s blazing fast), and has never missed an NCAA final outdoors. Now, he’s had some issues making NCAA finals indoors, but you get the feeling that has to change at some point soon. I have no idea what he’s going to focus on this year. I get the feeling he likes the 800 a little more, but he’s so good at the mile too he could easily end up running that. Whatever he chooses, I think he’s going to have a pretty good year.

Chad Noelle-Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State’s mile specialist is poised to have a big year coming off of very successful outdoor and xc campaigns. He can compete in just about any type of race as he proved by winning 1500s in both 3:38 and 4:05 last year. If you want to take it from the gun he has the strength to hang with the pace, and if you wait and kick, his last 100 meters is blazing fast. He was a bit off in Mile prelims indoors last year, but I don’t think that will happen again. Chad’s a fiery competitor, and I have no doubt he’s going to come in with a chip on his shoulder ready to prove that he is the best miler in the NCAA.

Izaic Yorks-Washington: The UW Junior shocked a lot of people with a really good All-American xc season this year, and I think he’s ready to do the same on the track. He ran 3:57 last year, and made his first NCAA final outdoors. This year he’s coming in stronger and more experienced than ever, which should worry everyone else. Look for him to finally make an indoor final, and be a major factor late in the race.

Julian Oakley-Providence: Oakley had a breakout race at the BU Valentine invitational last year running 3:57.22 and showing some great potential. He then followed that up with a second place showing at the Big East Indoor Championships before failing to advance to the final at NCAA’s. Unfortunately, Oakley did not have an outdoor season, I’m guessing he was injured, so we weren’t able to see any progression there. However, his xc season this year was pretty solid and he opened up his indoor season with a good 8:17 3k. Oakley ran under 4:01 3 times last year, and took 2^nd in the one race where he didn’t, so I think he’s poised to be a real contender on the national scene this year. It’s clear he has the talent, now he just needs to make an NCAA final.

The Second Tier

Rob Denault-Villanova: Denault has showed some real talent in the past couple seasons, and you could make a really good case for him to be one of the favorites. However, he’s had issues getting it done on biggest stage. He finally made an NCAA final outdoors last year, but finished second to last. I think Denault’s a really good runner, but he just hasn’t been able to crack into that elite group at the top yet. I think this could be his year, but only time will tell

Ahmed Bile-Georgetown: Bile had a pretty solid year indoors last year, running sub-4 three times and making the final at NCAAs where he finished 9^th. However, he had a rough outdoor season and failed to make NCAAs. I liked what I saw indoors last year, but it’s going to take a little more than 3:58 to break into that top group.

Amos Bartelsmeyer-Georgetown: When it comes to performances, Bartelsmeyer is pretty much Bile’s twin. He also ran 3:58 indoors last year and failed to make NCAAs outdoors. The only difference is he ran a leg on Georgetown’s 4^th place DMR instead of running an individual event. Like Bile, I like a lot about what I see, but he’s just not in that upper echelon yet. If he can drop a little more time though, he could be a big time threat.

Show Me More

Patrick Joseph-Virginia Tech: Don’t get me wrong, Pat Joseph had an awesome season last year. He ran 4:00.57 on a flat 200 track, ran 2:26 for 1k, and won the mile at ACCs. However, he had a rough day at nationals, and then was unable to qualify for Nationals outdoors. Pat Joseph showed talent last year, but was unable to execute when it really mattered at NCAA’s and Regionals. Add to that the fact that he’s never actually broken 4, and you have a guy who I think can be really good, but needs to show me a little more.

Elmar Engholm-New Mexico: Elmar is another guy a lot like Pat Joseph. He got into NCAAs indoors with a converted mark, and missed the final running 4:00.79. Then outdoors he ran 3:42 but had a tough day at Regionals. He’s shown flashes of brilliance, but I need to see some more consistency. If he can become more consistent I think he’ll have all the tools he needs.

Vegard Oelstad-Oklahoma State: Vegard transferred to OSU from Western States last year and enjoyed a relatively successful indoor campaign. He ran 3:58 and showed some good speed with a 2:24 1k before opting to focus on team success and run the DMR at nationals. However, his outdoor season did not go nearly as well, as he only ran 3:47 and 14:57 for 1500 and 5k respectively. While his 3:58 shows talent, I need to see that he can step up and deliver at a consistently high level.

New Kids on the Block

Grant Fisher-Stanford: Fisher had a phenomenal senior year last year and then followed that up with an excellent cross country season this fall. He showed some great range to go with his speed, and I think that makes him really dangerous. He’s not running against high school kids anymore though, he’s running against the likes of Edward Cheserek and Chad Noelle so it will be interesting to see how he is able to hang with them. He picked up a lot of valuable experience last year though running at Payton Jordan and the Festival of Miles so I think he’s going to be in pretty good shape.

Blake Haney-Oregon: Not as much of a new name as Grant Fisher, but this will be his first real indoor season. He’s coming off a really good outdoor season that saw him progress very consistently and ultimately finished with a 3:40 pr and a 3^rd place finish at nationals. Haney also won Junior USAs and Junior Pan-Ams in the 1500 gaining some more valuable experience. He has great speed but can also hang in a fast race. I think this combination makes him very dangerous, and I think he could be one of the favorites by the end of the season.
Matthew Maton-Oregon: Maton actually beat Grant Fisher to breaking 4 last year before his outdoor season was cut short by injury. He was able to return and compete at Junior USAs however and won the 5k in 14:47 before going on to win the 5k at Pan-Am Juniors in 14:20. I think Maton gained some valuable experience and showed some really good strength over a longer distance that will help him a lot this year. Like Fisher, I’m not sure how he’ll stack up against the college kids, but don’t be surprised if he’s a favorite to make the final come NCAAs.