The Weekend Review: Scott Out-Kicks Knight (Again!); Ches & Gilbert Battle In 5K

By: Garrett Zatlin

Clemson Tiger Paw
800
It was easy for this meet to get overshadowed by ISU and the Husky Classic, but this 800 was incredibly deep and a very fun one.

Texas A&M freshman Devin Dixon has been killing it on a consistent basis and has been dropping more and more with each passing week. Dixon earned the win this weekend with a 1:47 which is the 14th fastest time in the NCAA.

The next three collegiates were all Clemson Tigers! PA alum John Lewis, Terrell Jackson, and Mpho Makofane each ran 1:48. Where did Clemson get all of this depth?

A total of nine men went under 1:50.

Music City Challenge
800
In another deep 800 meet, Quamel Prince (Tennessee St.) was the top collegiate in the race with a time of 1:48. Vincent Ciattei of Virginia Tech was close behind in 1:49 low.

Mile
Bryan Kamau (Georgia) got a nice win over Virginia Tech's Patrick Joseph 4:03 to 4:04

PA ALUMNI
Dan Jaskowak, Rs. Junior, Virginia Tech: 4:08.34 (3rd)

DMR
It was the best relay matchup of the weekend with UTEP and VT giving the fans what they wanted and putting together a very fast DMR. In a race that was separated by .02 seconds, UTEP was able to get the win over VT with a time of 9:31.13.

However, we have to keep in mind that the Hokies did not run their 3:58 man Neil Gourley. To run 9:31 and an NCAA #3 without Gourley is incredibly impressive and it now makes me wonder if they'll forgo individual events for the pursuit of a gold medal...

5000
PA ALUMNI
Seamus Collins, Junior, Cincinnati: 15:10.45 (24th)

Iowa State Classic
800
In a thrilling race that came down to the final kick, Georgetown's Joe White out-ran Eliud Rutto of Middle Tennessee State to get the win and a time of 1:46.44 (NCAA #4). Rutto was 1:46.70 (NCAA #6).

At this point in the season, I really like White as a title contender. He has been tactically perfect during his last few races and now has wins over Isaiah Harris and a deep ISU field.

In third was LSU's Blair Henderson who did a lot of work up-front early on in the race. He ran 1:47 and was followed by BYU's Abraham Alvarado who also ran 1:47.

Other under 1:48 include notable names Ryan Manahan, Carter Lilly, Craig Engels, and Andres Arroyo (in that order).

In total, 17 men were under 1:50.

PA ALUMNI
Ned Willig, Senior, Michigan: 1:49.70 (15th)

Mile
NAU's Andy Trouard led the way with a time of 4:00. He was followed by Mississippi's Trevor Gilley who finished with a time of 4:01.

3000
It was one of the most exciting races of the week as Justyn Knight and Marc Scott squared off once again. With two laps to go, Knight took off in an effort to put away the race early. In the meantime, Scott held back and waited for his time to strike. Just when you thought that no one would catch Knight, Scott unleashed a furious kick to come back from 20 meters back and earn the victory over Knight by less than a second. It was hard not to think back to the 2015 Wisconsin Invite when Scott surprised Knight with a lethal kick and took away the win.

Each of them ended with times of 7:47 and were followed by NAZ Elite athlete Martin Hehir who ran 7:49. Those 7:47's rank 3rd and 4th in the NCAA respectively.

The next collegiate in was Scott Carpenter (Georgetown) who ran 7:51. That time should be good enough to make the NCAA championships and after such a strong cross country season, I really like his shot at earning All-American.

Jack Bruce (Arkansas) was the final collegiate under 8 minutes with a time of 7:58.

5000
After weeks of unexciting 5K performances, ISU produced some excellent results with 18 men under 14 minutes. The winner was Campbell's Amon Terer who earned a time of 13:42. He was able to beat out an elite field which included names like MJ Erb (13:43), Matthew Baxter (13:44), Clayton Young (13:45), Jonathan Green (13:45), and many more.

In 6th place was Alfred Chelanga of Alabama who ran a time of 13:48. That name might sound familiar because Chelanga was actually a D2 star at Shorter where he became a cross country national champion in 2015. He was runner-up in 2016.

The top ten was rounded out by Rory Linkletter (13:49), Tyler Day (13:49), CJ Alberston (13:50), and Colin Bennie (13:51).

SPIRE D1 Indoor
800
Isaiah Harris stayed away from the craziness of ISU and UW to get a win with a time of 1:48. He may have won, but he was given some competition from freshman teammate and PA alum Domenic Perretta who also ran a time of 1:48.

PA ALUMNI
Billy McDevitt, Rs. Freshman, Penn State: 1:50.84 (6th)
Brad Rivera, Senior, Penn State: 1:55.16 (19th)
Joey Logue, Rs. Sophomore, Penn State: 1:55.18 (20th)

1000
Tommy Land (Guelph) was able to get Justine Kiprotich (Michigan State) at the line with each runner recording times of 2:23.

Mile
PA ALUMNI
Nate Sloan, Rs. Sophomore, Pittsburgh: 4:08.55 (3rd)
Billy Caldwell, Junior, Pittsburgh: 4:11.85 (6th)

3000
Nick Wolk, Freshman, Pittsburgh: 8:16.23 (6th)
Sebastian Curtin, Sophomore, Pittsburgh: 8:17.21 (7th)
Aaron Lauer, Junior, Pittsburgh: 8:20.29 (10th)
Matt McGoey, Sophomore, Pittsburgh: 8:40.32 (28th)
Chris Pastore, Senior, Pittsburgh: 8:50.59 (35th)

5000
Barrett Kemp, Junior, Buffalo: 14:20.01 (3rd)
Alex Archer, Senior, 15:19.89 (16th)

New Meixco Don Kirby Classic
Mile
It was a Mountain West battle between New Mexico's Josh Kerr and Utah State's Dillon Maggard. The end results were very exciting as both individuals ran unconverted times of 4:03 each and Kerr getting the victory on his home track.

The altitude-adjusted time gave Kerr and Maggard an extra five seconds which allowed both individuals to earn times of 3:58. Kerr nows sits at 8th in the NCAA while Maggard has settled in at 11th in the rankings.

Last spring, I underestimated Kerr and noted his youth as a weakness. I like to think he heard me because he came back to show off his excellent racing ability and tactical style. He eventually made it to the NCAA final. With a 3:58 now under his belt, I like to think he'll make another NCAA final and, if the race is tactical, maybe he can get away with All-American honors.

Vanderbilt Invite
800
Collins Kibet (Arizona) puts another win on his resume with a time of 1:49.

Mile
Jack Bruce (Arkansas) was able to hold off the MTSU duo of Sampson Laari and Kigen Chemadi to get the win. Bruce earned a time of 4:00 while Laari and Chemadi each ran 4:01.

Millrose Games
Mile- Wanamaker
Henry Wynne highlighted the race as the only collegiate in the field. Unfortunately, Wynne struggled in the spotlight as he faded to 11th and finished with a disappointing time of 4:11.95.

Wynne is now running out of time to get an NCAA qualifying mark. He has roughly three weeks to get a 3:58 and even then that might not be fast enough. Could we really see the defending NCAA indoor mile champion not qualify for nationals? It's becoming more and more plausible with each passing week.

Mile- Invite
Cristian Soratos (Adidas) took the spotlight with a 3:54, but he was able to drag Penn's Chris Hatler to his first sub-four mark ever with a 3:59! I'm pretty happy for Hatler. He's been a guy that has had to live in Awad's shadow for the past year or two and now he's becoming the face of the Penn program. He's a great tactical runner and is probably one of the more underrated milers in the NCAA (in my opinion).

Behind Hatler was Julian Oakley who had to settle for a mile time of 4:00

Tyson Invitational
800
The Texas Tech duo of Vincent Crisp and Charles Jong went 1-2 with a times of 1:48 and 1:49 respectively.

Fastrack National Invite
800
PA ALUMNI
Jeff Wiseman, Junior, Penn: 1:52.77 (4th)
Dylan Eddinger, Sophomore, St. Joseph's: 1:53.88 (12th)
Josh Coakley, Sophomore, West Chester: 1:58.39 (47th)

Mile
James Gowans (Cornell) was the top collegiate in a time of 4:02. He was actually on pace to run sub-four until he (apparently) finished the race with a 33 second last lap. Gowans is certainly someone who could make NCAA's, but he'll need to fix a few things if he's going to make it.

PA ALUMNI
Sam Ritz, Sophomore, Columbia: 4:06.33 (4th)
Casey Comber, Rs. Freshman, Villanova: 4:07.84 (7th)
Ross Wilson, Junior, Penn: 4:09.55 (8th)
Jaryd Flank, Senior, Muhlenberg: 4:12.80 (16th)
Andrew Marston, Rs. Freshman, Villanova: 4:13.98 (18th)
Will Sponaugle, Sophomore, St. Joseph's: 4:20.78 (37th)

3000
Fran Ferruzzi, Junior, LaSalle: 8:26.02 (19th)
Tyji Mays, Rs. Freshman, Temple: 8:49.21 (37th)
Lyle Wistar, Senior, Penn: 8:55.69 (42nd)

5000
PA ALUMNI
Brenden Shearn, Senior, Penn: 14:23.76

Husky Classic
800
In a very deep field, we saw USC's Robert Ford emerge as the top collegiate with a respectable time of 1:48. The next US collegiate was Robert Uhr (Texas) who ran 1:49.

Mile
The NCAA should be thanking Bowerman TC for bringing seven collegiates sub-four minutes. Lopez Lomong and Evan Jager went 1-2 and each recorded times of 3:56. Josh Thompson of Oklahoma State was the only college athlete that was able to threaten the pro's as he also ran a time of 3:56 which is good for an NCAA rank of 4th.

But Thompson wasn't the only Cowboy to go sub-four. Matthew Fayers and Craig Nowak also recorded marks of 3:58 and 3:59 respectively. Favorites for the DMR? It sure seems that way...

Others under the four-minute mark included Oregon's Matt Maton and Tim Gorman (each running 3:58), CSU's Cole Rockhold (3:59), and California's Thomas Joyce (3:58).

My biggest takeaway from this is seeing Thomas Joyce running under four minutes again. After a magical breakout track season in 2015, we never saw Joyce get back to that same level. He severely underwhelmed in the seasons following and has been a bit forgotten ever since.

But now it appears that Joyce is getting back into his groove. He currently sits at 13th in the NCAA rankings and it looks like he'll be able to sneak into nationals by seasons end.

3000
When Joe Klecker earned a converted time of 3:55 for the mile last weekend, there was some discussion among the writers about how valid that time was.

Now, the argument is becoming more and more favorable towards Klecker after he dropped a thrilling 7:51 (NCAA #9) to out-run top-tier athletes Brian Barraza and teammate Ben Saarel. Both Barraza and Saarel each ran 7:53 for second and third respectively.

In total, eight collegians broke the eight minute mark. The most exciting result, however, had to be Jefferson Abbey of Colorado State who finally had a good result after a series of horrendous races. The CSU senior earned a time of 7:56 which is good for 17th in the NCAA. Will that be good enough for nationals? I'm leaning towards no, but a lot of it depends on how everyone else runs this season and who ends up scratching.

5000
In what had to be the fastest race of the entire weekend, Edward Cheserek was able to hold off a great effort by Washington's Colby Gilbert to earn the world lead in a time of 13:32! This is an indoor PR for Ches and it just shows that he's not going to let one fluke race during XC affect his ability to run fast.

Meanwhile, Gilbert has made it clear that he is gunning for Cheserek and will continue to chase him throughout the rest of the season and nationals. Although I don't believe he can't beat Cheserek, I do believe that Gilbert is next best distance runner in the NCAA. He's been incredibly strong and has put together performances of 3:58, 7:45, and now 13:34.

Ches and Gilbert now hold the top two times in the 3000 and 5000 so far this season.

Outside of the top two, we saw Erik Peterson (Butler) back at it with a third place finish in a time of 13:40. He is looking more and more like a lock for All-American.

Behind Butler was John Dressel (13:42), Jerrell Mock (13:44), Grant Fischer (13:45), and Alex Short (13:47). They rounded out the group of seven which went under 13:50 in this race. Keep in mind that I'm talking about Grant Fischer of Colorado State...not Grant Fisher of Stanford. This is a huge race for Fischer who has been primed for a breakout race like this for a while. His time will most likely be fast enough to make NCAA's.