2017 Indoor NCAA Predictions: Caleb Gatchell

By: Caleb Gatchell

800 Meters: I really hate having to pick this event before prelims, because if we’re going to be honest here, I have no idea who will end up in that final. This field is not only wide open, but also deep. We have two trials finalists, indoor world record setter, and a top 9 separated by just over half a second. The problem? Only 8 guys make the final, and one of the trials finalists, Craig Engels, isn’t even in that top 9. So, now that I’ve given all the reasons I’m wrong, here’s what I’m going with. I said a week ago my gut pick was Dan Kuhn and I’m going to stick with it. Craig Engels will place 4^th in every big race for the rest of his life. Sorry, man, you’re just cursed. One final detail worth noting is that Emmanuel Korir did not race at his conference meet and has been cross training due to an injured ankle. I think that’s really going to shake things up a bit.

1. Dan Kuhn – Indiana
2. Joe White – Georgetown
3. Eliud Rutto – MTSU
4. Craig Engels – Ole Miss
5. Isaiah Harris – PSU
6. Robert Heppenstall – Wake Forest
7. Patrick Joseph – VA. Tech
8. Drew Piazza – VA. Tech

Mile: Spoiler alert: Ed Cheserek will win this race. It’s not close. The real story is the race for second, especially with Dave Smith saying he’s going to turn Josh Thompson loose. No reservations, no racing safe, just go for it and if you blow up and finish 8^th, so be it. I think that makes this race really interesting. Does Thompson hold on? Does he drag anyone with him or does the field play it safe and sit and kick? We saw the field sit and watch Soratos and Cheserek duel it out two years ago, but I think it’s going to play out a little differently this time. Either way, this race is going to be really fun to watch.

1. Ed Cheserek – Oregon
2. Josh Kerr – New Mexico
3. Josh Thompson – Ok. State
4. Ben Saarel – Colorado
5. Matthew Maton – Oregon
6. Sampson Laari – MTSU
7. Tim Gorman – Oregon
8. Zach Perrin – Colorado

3000: Guess what? Ches wins again. After that? I have no idea. Gilbert, Scott, and Knight all look very strong, but all have their drawbacks as well. Scott has struggled at NCAAs historically and will be on the double, as will Gilbert. And Knight? He hasn’t done anything overly impressive indoors. He failed to qualify in the mile and his 3k is solid, but not insane. However, I don’t think we’ve seen Knight all out. He’s been waiting for this moment. Also keep an eye on Erik Peterson. The senior is severely underrated and poised to breakout big time.

1. Ed Cheserek - Oregon
2. Justyn Knight - Syracuse
3. Erik Peterson - Butler
4. Jack Keelan - Stanford
5. Joe Klecker - Colorado
6. Marc Scott - Tulsa
7. Amon Terer - Campbell
8. Brian Barraza – Houston

5000: The last individual event in my predictions but the first event that will run. This is where Cheserek will begin his historic triple, despite Marc Scott and Colby Gilbert’s best efforts. However, Gilbert has already had his wheels run off by Cheserek this year, so I can’t see him taking the win. Scott can close really well, but I don’t think he can close better than Ches. Behind these three favorites watch out for Erik Peterson, Alex Short, and Amon Terer to keep the rest of the race interesting.

1. Ed Cheserek – Oregon
2. Marc Scott – Tulsa
3. Colby Gilbert – Washington
4. Amon Terer – Campbell
5. Erik Peterson – Butler
6. Matt Baxter – Northern Arizona
7. Alex Short – San Francisco
8. Alfred Chelenga – Alabama

DMR: This event is always one of my favorites to watch just because there are so many different ways it can play out. I think there’s a lot of uncertainty when it comes to the anchors this year which will make it even more interesting than usual. Is Kyle Mau legit?  What about Wetzel, Wiebke, and Ciattei? Because of this uncertainty, I think the first 3 legs will be even more important than usual. That makes Ole Miss really interesting because of how strong their first 3 legs are. I think Arkansas is also sneaky good, although they were unable to beat Ole Miss at SEC’s so I don’t know if they could beat them here. Then of course we have Oklahoma State who has the best anchor in the race, Josh Thompson.

1. Ole Miss
2. Ok. State
3. Arkansas
4. Stanford
5. Indiana
6. UTEP
7. Oregon
8. Virginia Tech