Championship Week in Review

Yes, I know I’m a bit late with this post but better late than never. There was some exciting action last week that has definitely changed my projections for nationals. I’ll cover most of the performances if I feel that they were “noteable”. Also, the rest of writers and I will be releasing our NCAA predictions soon so look out for that in the next couple days! So with that said, let’s dive into it.

ACC’s

Mile

Well not only did my Hokies win the ACC title but they also won this event as well. Patrick Joseph won the event in a 4:01.57 effort. This is a great win. Not for the time but to show that he’s a great race tactician which will bode well for him at nationals. Second place was taken by no other than PA alum Nate McClafferty in 4:03.15! Unfortunately, he has not made the NCAA cutoff time and we will not be seeing him in the open mile. However, he will contribute greatly to a very talented Duke DMR.

3000

I was able to watch this race and it was arguably one of the best finishes I have ever seen. Tommy Curtin of Virginia Tech and Martin Hehir of Syracuse went head to head in a race for the ages. After taking out the first 400 in 58, Curtin seemed to be in cruise control for much of the race while Heir quietly sat back. With three laps to go Hehir had made up an astonishing 40 meter gap and began going back and forth with Curtin. With one lap to go Curtin and Hehir were neck and neck. Whether it was the big gap he had to make up, or the 5k win he had earlier, Hehir couldn’t hang on to the closing speed and Curtin took the race in 7:52.92. He finished with a 59 400. Hehir settled for second in 7:53.15 and Kyle King (UVA) was third in 8:03.31. We will luckily be seeing them face off again at Nationals.

5000

While he didn’t win the 3k, Hehir (Syracuse) should be happy with his 5k win. He won with a 13:57.97 which will not get him into NCAA’s. Hopefully he can use that strength and endurance side of him in the 3k. Stuart Robinson of Virginia Tech was second in 14:04.97.

Big 10’s

There quite honestly wasn’t a lot of interesting results. The mile was won by the Penn State duo of Creese and Kidder. The catch? It was won with a 4:11.41. The race must’ve been extremely tactical and no one wanted to take the pace. Creese also won the 3k in 8:10.75. While none of these times are exactly mind-blowing, it does show that Creese is in some wicked shape and should be heavily watched going into NCAA’s. I’ll be interested to see what he chooses to run (Mile, 3k, DMR…all?). The 5k was won with a solid time of 13:58.77 by Mason Ferlic of Michigan. He was able to edge out the sophomore stud Malachy Schrobilgen from Wisconsin (13:58.82).

Big 12’s

800

The NCAA leader, Edward Kemboi (Iowa State), came out and showed the nation that he is ready to go for NCAA’s with a 1:48.68 win. Brandon Moore of Baylor was second in 1:49.75. With this win Kemboi should be feeling pretty confident heading into NCAA’s as now only him and McBride are undefeated in the 800 this season.

Mile

The mile was an interesting race in terms of placement. The preliminaries were pretty quick with Craig Lutz (Texas) leading it in 4:03.72. However, Lutz would eventually finish dead last in the finals with a 4:23. Chad Noelle continues to improve his winter resume with a 4:08.64 win. He beat out DeLago (4:09.66) and Burcham (4:10.22). Lutz is set to run the 5k at NCAA’s but with his collective poor races he’s put together I’m not feeling too confident about how he’ll perform on March 14th.

DMR

OK State wins in 9:37.31 with Noelle on the triple (It was part of his triple but I’m not sure where in his triple this race occurred). I’ll be watching for them to make some noise at NCAA’s. They could be a sleeper pick this upcoming weekend.

SEC’s

800

This race was stacked with some of the best 800 runners this season. The finals consisted of the Florida duo (Ryan Schnulle and Andres Arroyo), Keffri Neal, Hector Hernandez, Alex Amankwah, Ryan Thomas, Dameon Morgan, and Patrick Rono. That list is also the order in which they all finished. Schnulle and Arroyo finished 1-2 running 1:48.25 and 1:48.48. Yet, what really surprised me was some of the action behind them. One of the favorites coming into this season, Keffri Neal, is now no longer in the top 16 for the 800 this season. Very surprising considering he held one of the top spots for a heavy portion of the season. He will be running the mile where he is qualified but I think he’s better acclimated to the 800. Alex Amankwah ran one of the fastest 800’s of the season back in late January and earned the “Who is that?” award of 2015. However, since his 1:46 at Vanderbilt he’s been very quiet and slightly underwhelming. His fifth place finish raises some questions about how he’ll handle the pressure at NCAA’s. Yet, when discussing underwhelming performances, Patrick Rono’s name seems to be constantly coming up. When I first began posting earlier this season, I mentioned that Rono was one of the most consistent runners in the NCAA. That is still technically true except this season he’s been consistently having poor races, something not typical for the veteran Razorback. I hope he’ll be able to rebound and have a great season this spring. It’d be a shame to see him go out on such a low note.

3000

Kemoy Campbell cruises to an 8:00.27 win with his partner in crime, Stanley Kebenei, finished behind him in 8:02.64. Campbell is clearly in great shape and is one of the very few that can challenge the Oregon squad that has dominated the 3k this season. Brandon Lord of Georgia has been having an excellent season but seemed to have an off day coming in fifth with a time of 8:08.08. I’m not too worried about this considering his impressive racing this season. He’ll be running the 5k at Nationals and I expect him to make some noise there.

5000

Parrish and Campbell went at it in an excellent 5k race that eventually ended up in Campbell’s favor. Campbell eventually pulled away the Florida Gator and got a convincing win in 13:44.96. Parrish faltered to second in 13:53.68 while Ty McCormack of Auburn rounded out the top three in 13:56.75.

MPSF

800

Shaquille Walker of BYU takes the win in 1:48.53. It’s nothing special but he has had a couple wins this season and could be sneak up on some of the top talent at NCAA’s. I’ll be watching him. PA alum Luke Lefebure (Stanford) couldn’t put together the season many of us hoped for. He finished 10th in this race in 1:50.41. Out of his three 800’s this season, his best performance was a 7th place finish. Like Rono, I’ll be looking for Lefebure to be relevant during the outdoor season.

Mile

Wow! What a race! I wasn’t really expecting anything that fast but I was pleasantly surprised. Izaic Yorks of Washington makes a big statement and is suddenly a National mile contender after this race. He won with a 3:57.81. Behind him was Will Geoghegan (Oregon) who continued to show his mile prowess and finished second in 3:58.36. He’ll be important for Oregon as they try to accumulate enough points for the team title. In third was none other than PA alum Tom Coyle! Very exciting race for him as he drops his first sub 4 mile. He ran 3:59.32 and beat out seasoned Oregon veteran Colby Alexander in the process! Great race for Coyle and a great result for the PA running community.

3000

Just like the SEC 800, this race was stacked with a bunch of big names. It was a fast race with 14 guys under 8 min! Jeramy Elkaim of Oregon got the win and added another name of Oregon runners that will most likely take the 3k title at NCAA’s. Elkaim ran 7:48.48 for the win. He beat out Erik Olson who ran 7:51.26. I feel that Elkaim and Olson are very similar runners and I’m glad we were able to see them go at it in a strong 3k race. Morgan Pearson of Colorado and Parker Stinson of Oregon rounded out the pack finishing 3rd and 4th in 7:51.93 and 7:52.21 respectively.

5000

Aaron Nelson of Washington takes the win in 13:53.80. It won’t get him into NCAA’s but a nice ending to the season for Washington. It’s a shame that they are just now putting together some solid performances. I feel as if they could have had a much better DMR earlier this season. Although I’ll discuss that next…

DMR

Oregon unsurprisingly wins the DMR. But they way they did it was incredible. Oregon runs an outstanding time of 9:27.02 with Cheserek on the lead off and Jenkins on the anchor! Could we see the same set up at NCAA’s? That might be pushing it but crazier things have happened. California finished second in a surprising time of 9:33.81. Washington finished third in 9:34.81. I really feel like Washington should’ve pursued the DMR a week or two earlier. They had the potential but may have started that push a little too late.

Big East Champs

800

Just as I suspected, we saw the Georgetown boys hop into the 800 and run pretty well. Slade Elliot (Villanova) won in 1:48.91. The Georgtown guys (who I have mentioned all too often) were second and third (Bartelsmeyer and Bile).

1000

Surprising race by Cole Williams of Georgetown. He runs 2:21.71 to get the win and is followed by his teammate Billy Ledder in 2:22.10. This is a great race for knowing what to do with that 1200 leg and it seems that they may have found that piece.

Mile

A slow race but Manahan of Gtown grabs first place running 4:10.79. Julian Oakley, one of the surprising milers this season, settles for second place. Denault of Villanova was third. The race was filled with a lot kickers and speedy 800 guys so I’m curious as to how that last half played out.

Heps (Ivy League)

800

Nothing exciting but PA readers will be happy to know that Drew Magaha is back at it. He finished second in 1:51.49. Maybe more from him in the future? His name hasn’t really popped up a lot since he left the high school scene so hopefully complications he was having earlier have subsided.

1000

The race was relatively unexciting with Brendon Fish taking first in 2:25.22. PA alum/old teammate of mine, Ned Willig (Brown) was third in 2:26.12. A bit of an off day for him but considering all the injuries he’s had to deal with this is pretty solid and he’ll be ready for the spring season. Hopefully a mile from him in the spring?

3000

Awad of Penn gets the win in 8:05.45. I was hoping he would throw in a couple more races in his race schedule. Yet, he usually prospers in the spring so I’ll be tracking him next season. Second was Curtis King of Dartmouth running a time of 8:06.02.

MVC

Sam Penzenstadler (Loyola (Ill.)) wins the mile in 4:13.78. An easy race for him and he’ll be ready to go for NCAA’s. John Mascari (Indiana State) gets double gold in the 3k and 5k running 8:14.52 and 14:10.09.

Big Sky Championships

Soratos continues to prove he is a man among boys as he completes a successful triple winning the 800, mile, and DMR. The times weren’t anything special but he’s clearly ready to go and he just let the entire NCAA know it. Futsum Zienasellassie takes double gold in the 3k and 5k.

Mountain West Championships

Adam Bitchell (New Mexico) continues his very underrated season wining the 3k in 8:11.05 as well as the 5k in 14:30.17. He hasn’t put up many flashy times this season, but he has been winning more than anyone I can remember. The Lobos also went 1,2,3 in the mile with Elmar Engholm leading the charge. Engholm won the race in 4:10.13. Ross Matheson and (of course) Adam Bitchell followed right behind running 4:10.53 and 4:10.63.

Thanks for reading and as always let me know your thoughts and anything I missed. Also start getting your predictions together! It’s going to be an exciting weekend.

Run on,

Garrett