Doha Diamond League Recap

I know it’s been almost a week since the Doha meet, but I figured I’d recap it anyway. I don’t think anyone was hanging on by a thread waiting for the recap and, let’s face it, this is mostly for me so I can gather and organize my thoughts to help me enjoy the next Diamond League races and the World Championships to come later this year. So let’s get to it.

Women’s Hurdles

As is the case for what feels like every Diamond League meet, the 400 hurdles was the first contest of the day. And, as has also started to feel familiar, Daliah Muhammad put down a dominate performance for the victory. She ran 53.61 to win by over a second (fellow American Ashley Spencer was second). It wasn’t the most stacked field ever assembled, but it was certainly a major statement. Muhammad likes to go out hard and then see if she can hold on and, in this instance, she had no problems in the home stretch. Everyone was ready to crown Sydney McLaughlin after last summer, but Muhammad is the defending Olympic Champion with a rising amount of big race experience and a ton of talent. I think she has a shot at the world record before Tokoyo 2020 is over.

In the short hurdles, Jamaica’s Danielle Williams picked up a bit of a surprise victory with a 12.66 clocking. Don’t get it twisted, Williams is awesome (I mean, she’s the 2015 world champion after all), but the Americans have recently owned this event, particularly Brianna McNeal. Yet the USA was nowhere to be seen as McNeal finished 7^th overall and Sharika Nelvis ended up the top American in 3^rd (12.78). Tobi Amusan of Nigeria came through for second in an impressive showing. The 22-year-old was bounced from the semi-finals in the London World Championships and the Rio Olympics.

The Jumps

It was a slow start for the #1 Pole Vaulter in the world in Doha, but ultimately Sam Kendricks righted the ship when it mattered most and came away with another DL victory. But the biggest story from this event was the reemergence of Thiago Braz of Brazil. After winning the Olympics on home soil, Braz has struggled in the Pole Vault the last two years, but mixing it up with Kendricks until the final round has to be a confidence booster. He finished the day at 5.71, his best mark since 2016.

In the women’s high jump, the large shadow cast by Mariya Lasitskene was gone, meaning a new star would have the opportunity to steal a DL gold. Many suspected it would be Bulgaria’s Mirela Demireva, currently the world #2 in the event, but instead it was a coming out part for 17 year old Yaroslava Mahuchikh. The Ukranian youth cleared a lifetime best of 1.96 to pick-up the victory. She and countrywoman Yuliya Levchenko (world #3) are possibly the two best young stars hoping to usher in the new era of high jumping. But still, this meet reminds us that nobody can catch Lasitskene when she is jumping anywhere near her best.

Caterine Ibarguen may be known for the Triple Jump, but the defending diamond league champion as really established herself as a contender for double gold after yet another major victory in Doha. Ibarguen won the long jump with a best of 6.76 it was considered one of the best fields of the day. She jumped 6.93 last year which was easily a lifetime best and, considering how strong Rojas has been in past triple jumps, she may actually have a better shot at gold in the Long Jump than the Triple. By the way, it looks like this event was Ibarguen’s 36^th DL victory in her career.

The breakout star in the Long Jump was Maryna Bekh-Romanchuk of Ukraine. She was a narrow second to Ibarguen with her best jump only 2 centimeters back. Clearing 6.74 is the best Bekh’s performed since 2016. She’s yet to be a true factor in the global championships as she hasn’t even landed a jump in a final.

200m

Turkey’s Ramil Guliyev, the defending world champion, showed why he was the class of Friday’s field with a 19.99 runaway victory. It actually looked like Guliyev might be in trouble after Aaron Brown ran a spectacular bend, but Guliyev calmly turned on the jets in the final 50 to blow the race open (Alex Quinonez of Ecuador got up for second). Guliyev is a really strong 200 guy which going to serve him well when rounds starting coming into play in global championships. Lyles has stolen all his shine recently (and has been close to untouchable at 200), but I think Guliyev will give him all he can handle the next time he hits the track in Doha.

If you’re calling Guliyev’s win emphatic, I’m not sure how to describe Dina Asher-Smith. The women who absolutely rocked the European Championships last year (10.85/21.89) threw down a 22.26 to scorch the rest of the field by 0.64 seconds. But ultimately, the Asher-Smith story will be decided by her performances against the big dogs later this summer. We know she can run fast, but she has to prove she can win consistently when it counts. This is her third individual DL victory and she’s still searching for a first individual global medal. Jamile Samuels of the Netherlands picked up the silver in a strong result for the 27 year old. It was her best ever finish at a Diamond League individual event.

800m

The men’s 800 was a thrilling battle to the finish as Nijel Amos of Botswana was able to sprint past Kenya’s Emmanuel Korir on the final straight to steal the victory 1:44.29 to 1:44.50. Korir, who won the DL last year and came in as the favorite, has rarely been hawked down at the end. And Amos hasn’t always been known for his strategic brilliance. But both runners were able to step up in this important moment. It will be interesting to see if this is a fluke or a trend for Korir (and Amos) as the 800 landscape looks a bit more wide open after one DL meet.

The USA’s Donovan Brazier finished 3^rd in the meet with a 1:44.70. While a 3^rd place result behind arguably the two most talented guys in the event is undoubtedly a positive, I found it an oddly passive result from Donovan. He was back a fair amount at the start and left himself a lot to do on the last lap. Still, now is the time to figure out the strategy and every bit of experience helps for a massive talent still looking to get into a global final for the first time.

The women’s race featured a familiar figure at that front. Caster Semenya was arguably more dominate than ever as she absolutely obliterated a star-studded field that included the most recent world and Olympic medalists behind her. She dropped a 1:54.98 to win by almost 2 full seconds against Francine Niyonsaba. USA’s Ajee Wilson grabbed third in 1:58.83 and Raevyn Rogers placed 5^th. Rogers mixed it up well with Wilson and got in a strong rep against the US record holder. I thought this was a very encouraging performance from her, even if she couldn’t quite hold on for a spot in the top 3 overall.

Men’s Throws

The Discus was all about Daniel Stahl. The Swede threw the Diamond League Record three different times and put together a consistent string of throws around 70 meters. Meanwhile, nobody else could crack 67. Stahl, who turns 27 this August, has yet to win a global title but will undoubtedly be the favorite this year. That said, he was chucking it well in 2017 (71.29 best) and still had to settle for Silver and in Rio, he didn’t even make the final. In 2018 he was second at Euro’s and 3^rd in the Diamond League Final. So the guy needs to prove himself in the big moments, but this event showed just how much of a cushion he has at this point in the season.

Nice result from the USA’s Reggie Jagers, who took 4^th overall in a strong Discus field. Jagers did not throw in any DL events last year, but did win the USA Championship with a monster 68.61 throw.

Three Americans were in the Men’s Shot Put final in Doha, including the eventual winner Ryan Crouser. Crouser put a 22.13 early and nobody was able to catch up. On paper, Crouser has owned this event as he has already been over 22 meters 4 times in 2019 (twice indoors) and 9 times in 2018. But Crouser didn’t even medal in the 2017 London Championships and he was 3^rd at last year’s DL final. You can argue that Tomas Walsh (second in Doha with a 22.06) has had his number since the 2016 Olympics and he was lurking not far behind him in this one.

Longer Stuff

In the 3000m Steeplechase, American Hilary Bor stole the show. Although Bor ended up second behind Morocco’s Steeplechase king Soufiane El Bakkali, he made a hard surge on the final lap and nearly broke the heavy favorite. He was rewarded with a lifetime best 8:08.41. El Bakkali never really looked comfortable in this race and seemed at multiple points like he would drop completely from contention, but ultimately class prevailed as he dropped an 8:07.22 for the gold. He will need to get a lot sharper if he is going to take down Conselsus Kipruto in the World Championships when he returns to Doha.

In the men’s 1500, the top contenders finished at the front of the race as expected. But it wasn’t quite the order most would have guessed. Elijah Manangoi held on against a hard charging Timothy Cheruiyot as the Kenyans went 1-2 to lead a 1 through 7 sweep for the country. Manangoi won worlds over Cheruiyot in 2017, but Tim had been the man in 2018 (including a DL victory and a 3:28.41). Ultimately, it seems like Manangoi just has the better kick if the pace isn’t super fast (3:32 was the winning time in Doha).

The race of the day was probably the women’s 3,000 meters. It was a battle between world record holders Genzebe Dibaba and Beatric Chepkoech, but the winner was somebody else. And few people were surprised. Hellen Obiri, who just recently was crowned the IAAF World Cross Country champion, put the pedal to the medal on the final two laps of the 3K and broke the furious kick of Dibaba to grab the win in 8:25.60 (Dibaba was 8:26.20). Obiri, who already has major wins on the track, is a phenomenal racer and really showed her class with a perfectly executed race against a deep field. The 3k may even be under distance for her at this point as she may try the 10k-5k double at some point over the next two global championships.

Shout out to Lilian Rengeruk who fell late in the race while in the top pack, but still managed to get back up and take 3^rd overall in a new personal best time of 8:29.02.

Global Track Check In

Laura Muir at the European Championships

This past weekend, I watched most of the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow because yes, I am that cool. I’m not really sure how much we should be taking away from an indoor event some seven months out from the World Championships in Doha, but I have to say I was very impressed with the performances from Laura Muir.

In the 3,000 meters, Muir went up against Konstanze Klosterhalfen of the Nike Oregon Project. Koko had been a tare since joining up with the most infamous training group in the USA, including a dominate 4:19.98 to win the Millrose Games Mile and an 8:32 in the 3k in Germany a week later. But Muir absolutely smashed Kloserhalfen in their duel at the Euro Indoors, dropping an 8:30.61 with a blazing final k.

Two days later, Muir lead wire to wire in the 1500, easily outclassing the rest of the field, including the world #2 in the 1500 this year Sofia Ennaoui. Again, she torched the track in the final 200 meters with a kick that I didn’t know she had available. It seems like a new weapon she recently added to her arsenal and it makes her very dangerous in the more tactical world championship finals (where she has had her fair share of struggles).

It’s still very early, but the Scots on Team Muir have a lot more to celebrate recently than Shelby Houlihan fans here in the states might.

Indoor Track

In case you haven’t noticed, indoor tracks have become pretty darn quick. Right up the east coast in Boston, one track in particular has stood out. On Sunday, Yomif Kejelcha absolutely smashed the indoor world record in the mile (and came within inches of breaking the 1500 record en route) with a 3:47.01. That’s not only 1.45 seconds faster than anybody in history, but when you compare it to outdoor times, it’s the fastest mile we’ve seen since 2007: Alan Webb’s American Record (shout out to the ghost of Steve Scott).

But this wasn’t the first moment of glory for this indoor track. Just a year earlier, Edward Cheserek ran a then #2 all-time mark of 3:49.44 on the blazing fast surface. And before all of that, Galen Rupp owned a permanent wing on the track where he chased American Records in everything from the 5k to the mile (he tapped out a 3:50.92 in 2013).

By the way, it wasn’t just Yomif blasting the all-time list on Sunday. Johnny Gregorek dipped under 3:50 with his 3:49.98 mile to move to the #6 position all-time and Sam Prakel matched Marcus O’Sullivan’s 10^th ranked mark. Neither have ever topped that outdoors which probably isn’t all too shocking when you consider Olympic Gold Medalist Matt Centrowitz’s outdoor best is “just” 3:50.53.

So that’s really the point I was (quite long-windedly) getting around to here. Are indoor tracks actually faster than outdoor tracks? When guys who are likely 5k specialists such as Kejelcha, Cheserek and Rupp are soaring to some of the fastest miles of all-time (marks they will likely never equal outdoors), should we begin to give more credence to the idea that indoor facilities are really the fastest we have available?

IAAF World Rankings

The IAAF has come out its new world ranking system and they seem ready to publicize it. The list is all over their official website in some form or another, categorizing runners current rankings, equivalent result scores and meet categories.

In case you haven’t seen (because only about 1% of the track community has), the IAAF has set up a system that aims to standardize performances based on the time (results score) and place in a given meet. The bigger the meet (the highest being the world championships/Olympic games), the more potential placing points that are available. The rankings then take an average of these performance metrics and rank the athletes in a given event based on said average. There’s a full, much more detailed and complex explanation available for those who are into that sort of thing on the IAAF website (I’ve already read the whole thing unsurprisingly).

If you’re any sort of track fan, I think it’s a lot of fun to click around the rankings. There are certainly some flaws (the NCAA meet results do not place out very well against many top Euro meets, despite the fact that it had likely the best competitors in the world in the men’s and women’s 400 hurdles and men’s 400), but I think it’s really helpful to have a starting point metric for, say, where one of the USA’s pole vaulters stack up against the best in the world.

What I find particularly interesting is the fact that the points are normalized across events so, in theory, you can rank a steeplechaser against a triple jumper or a marathon runner against a decathlete. I don’t think they actually intend to use this part of the rankings for anything (the individual event rankings could be used for future global championship qualifying), but it’s a fun little activity. Beatrice Chepkoech, recent world record holder in the steeple, ranks #1 on the women’s side while the USA’s 200 meter man Noah Lyles is tied with 400 hurdler Abderrahman Samba of Qatar. Freshly minted marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge comes in at #3 (my wife says he got robbed).

2017 Worlds: What To Watch For Day Two

2017 IAAF World Championships – Day Two (NBC Sports Network, NBC, NBC Gold)

Men’s Shot Put Qualification: PA Represent!

Not only does the United States have 4 representatives in the Shot Put qualifying, but 3 of them hail from our home state of Pennsylvania. Darrell Hill (Penn Wood) and Ryan Whiting (Central Dauphin) are not locks for the final, but certainly have the potential to throw well beyond the 20.75 meter automatic qualifying mark (season bests are 21.91 and 21.65 respectively). If either of them can pop off a performance near or above their PRs, they will be in the medal hunt. Then, there’s Joe Kovacs (Bethlehem Catholic) who is the defending world champion and has heaved a PR of 22.57 meters this year. That puts him in truly elite company (9^th all time).

Of course, even Kovacs is chasing the Olympic Champion Ryan Crouser who has heaved 22.65 meters this year. If Crouser looks in form through qualifying, the world record of 23.12 meters is in play.

Women’s Hammer Throw Qualification: A Medal Opportunity for USA

Gwen Berry of the USA enters this event as one of the top seeds and could potentially bring home a medal for the USA in the hammer. She moved to #11 all-time in this event in May when she tossed a 76.77 meter effort. However, the American Record Holder didn’t even make the final in Rio last year so she has something to prove. The USA’s DeAnna Price did make last year’s final and placed 8^th in the Olympics. She’s looking to make it two in a row in London.

If you want to see the most dominant performer in the history of the event, look no further than Anita Wlodarczyk of Poland. She’s got the 13 best Hammer Throw performances of all time including an 82.98 world record last year. The next closest personal best is 77.33 while the next closest season best is Berry’s 76.77.

Men’s 400m Heats: Watch a World Record Holder and 4 Americans

There shouldn’t be much drama in the heats of the 400 as the big names usually advance with relative ease. However, the times in Beijing a few years back were electric in the 400 rounds so you may see one or two runners pop off a fast time. Plus, if you tune in for Heat #2 you get to see the world record holder Wayde Van Niekerk take to the track. Americans will be Heat 1 (Kerley), 4 (London), 5 (Merritt) and 6 (Roberts). Top 3 in each heat go through automatically with the next six fastest advancing on time.

Women’s Triple Jump Qualification: USA’s Long Shot Looking for Long Jump

The final in this event is sure to be fantastic as Caterine Ibarguen battles with fellow 15 meter jumpers Yulimar Rojas and Olga Rypakova (assuming all athletes advance), but for American fans the real drama will be in the qualifying round. Tori Franklin is the USA’s only competitor in this event and she enters with a PB of 13.86, the shortest of the field, from this past indoor season. Franklin is the ultimate long shot for the finals, but she will be on the track with a chance to surprise on Saturday morning.

Women’s 100m Heats: Tori Bowie and the Ducks

We haven’t seen much from our US contingent in the 100 meters since the US championships. Tori Bowie is a world class talent in this event and the 200, but we haven’t seen her race since the championships. It’s going to be interesting to see what kind of form she is in. Meanwhile Oregon’s Deajah Stevens and Ariana Washington are coming off long collegiate seasons. Will they have enough left for the rounds in London? It would be stunning if the US didn’t have at least one woman in the final competing for a medal given their history success in this event, but there are a good amount of question marks surrounding this group. They should have no problem with the prelims, but their form in this first race should provide an indication of how they will handle the later, tougher rounds.

Men’s 800m Heats: Another Year, Another New US Team

In 2015, the top 3 at USAs were Nick Symmonds, Erik Sowinski and Cas Loxsom. A year later, the Olympic team was Clayton Murphy, Boris Berian and Charles Jock. Now, we have Donovan Brazier, Isaiah Harris and Drew Windle toeing the line in the 800. That means three rookies will competing in one of the most grueling events in the championships, a three round, cut throat ordeal.

I’m nervous for our guys in the early rounds. Brazier is a huge talent, but he’s struggled with tactics in slower paced races. He almost missed the finals at USAs and this will surely be a deeper group. Meanwhile, Harris is relatively inexperienced on this stage, despite great form at our national championships the past two seasons. He was excellent during the collegiate season, but that was a long time ago now. Windle has perhaps been our most consistent performer, but he can’t afford to spot this field a big gap and expect to kick down world class athletes each round.

The top 3 in each heat will advance to the finals along with the next 6 fastest times. Windle runs in Heat 1 of 6. He draws Kipyegon Bett and Andres Arroyo among others. By personal best, Windle is the #2 seed in his heat with a good chance to advance, but the 5 guys right behind him are capable of 1:45 or faster.

Harris is in Heat 3 and draws Ferguson Rotich of Kenya as well as home town stand out Elliot Giles of Great Britian. Like Windle, Harris has the #2 PB in this group, but a lot of 1:45 guys will be in the mix. I think I am most nervous for Harris out of all of the USA guys, but I think he got a decent draw. He will definitely have a chance to advance.

Lastly, Brazier goes in the final heat of the day. That should give him a chance to make things fast if necessary. That’s the good news. The bad news is his heat will be loaded. While Brazier has the fastest 2017 best of the bunch, he draws 2013 World Champ Mo Aman, 2015 Bronze Medalist Amel Tuka, consistent global finalist Marcin Lewandowski and Kenya/UTEP’s Michael Saruni. Throw in a Brit with homefield advantage (Guy Learmonth) and you have an extremely capable field, including some very savvy veterans. Aman and Tuka have not been in top form thus far this season, particularly Aman, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be dangerous. Brazier has to go into this race very focused if he wants to come out the other side.

Women’s Heptathlon Day One: The New Multi Star

With Ashton Eaton retiring this year, the Multis need a new face. Introducing Belgian Nafissatou Thiam. After winning the Olympics over an all time great in Jessica Ennis-Hill, Thiam asserted herself as a world class athlete. But the 22 year old, in turns out, was only just getting started. Thiam produced a new PR of 7013 points this year, moving her to #3 all time in the event. She’s only a few points back of #2 and she’s still improving.

On Day 1, the Heptathlon competitors will take on the 100 meter hurdles, the High Jump, the Shot Put and the 200 meters. Thiam is a world class High Jumper (she jumped 1.98 in the Olympics, a mark that would have put in her contention for gold in the open event) so that will be her big point scoring opportunity on Day 1. Her PRs in each of the events she will be contesting on Day 1 are as follows: 13.34s, 1.98m, 15.24m and 24.40s.

Erica Bougard and Kendell Williams of the USA have a good chance to be competitive on the first day of competition. While neither are great shot putters, their personal bests are very competitive in the 110 hurdles, high jump and 200. Also expected to excel on day one is Germany’s Carolin Schafer. She’s #2 in the world this year behind Thiam.

Women’s 1500m Semi-Final: Who Will Survive To The Final?

The prelims today were fast! It started with Jessica Judd pushing the pace and being rewarded with a 4:03 PR and an auto Q. And it ended with Sara Vaughn of the USA and Sarah McDonald of Great Britain running PRs to get themselves into the next round as time qualifiers. In total, it took 4:05 to get you into the final, which is worth roughly 4:25 for the mile. That’s moving for a preliminary round where they were only beginning to weed out the talent.

Now we head to the semi finals with just 12 spots up for grabs. The two heats will each get 5 automatic qualifiers and then the last 2 spots will be determined by time. As expected, the heats are absolutely loaded. Right off the bat, we will have world record holder Genzebe Dibaba, Diamond League champ Laura Muir, Olympic 800m champ Caster Semenya and Olympic 1500m champ Faith Kipyegon. In case you were wondering, that’s four spots that could be taken up by truly elite talent. It’s not even accounting for someone having a step up day. Assuming those 4 are the ones who advance, that leaves just one more spot for women like Angelika Chichocka of Poland, and sub 4 performer Gudaf Tsegay. Not to mention the USA’s own Kate Grace. This could be bad news for Kate who only just skated by to make into this semi final on time.

Heat 2 should be a bit more manageable although it’s still no cakewalk. Sifan Hassan and Jenny Simpson of the USA will headline this heat, but the race also includes 3 other women with sub 4 minute 1500 PRs. Also sure to factor in is Laura Weightman of GBR. She’s run 4:01 this season and should get a nice boost from the hometown crowd. The London faithful should be a real x-factor as, on Day One, they willed all four British athletes through to the semi-final including two PR performances. The USA’s Sara Vaughn will be looking to continue her truly magical season by making the final from this heat. She will need something truly heroic if she is going to make it out of this loaded group, but Sara is clearly not someone who goes quietly. After her PR in round one, she will be hungry for more.

**Men’s Discus Final: Stahl is the favorite, but the gap is closing**

Dan Stahl of Sweden advanced through automatically on his second throw of the preliminary round. The only man over 70 meters this year had the best throw of the qualifiers, however Robert Harting and Piotr Malachowski had an easier time, qualifying on their first throw. Andrius Gudzius of Lithuiana emerged as a podium threat as the only auto qualifier from Group 2. If I had to guess I’d say the three medals come from those four throwers.

USA’s Mason Finley qualified for another global final in the Discus. He went past the auto Q mark which was pretty impressive. He was definitely in good form during qualifying and, if he holds it through to the finals, he could surprise and slip into the top 5.

**Men’s Long Jump Final: A New Champ Will Be Crowned**

Defending Olympic Champion Jeff Henderson and defending indoor world champ Marquis Dendy both missed out on qualifying for finals in the long jump. That opens the door for a newcomer to emerge atop the podium. The front-runner is likely Luvo Manyonga who looked plenty healthy eclipsing the auto qualifying mark on his first jump. The South African was the silver medalist in the Rio Olympics and, with Henderson out, can smell the gold.

Jarrion Lawson is the only remaining US jumper and, although he didn’t wow with his series, he advanced to the finals with an 8.05 meter jump. Lawson had an awesome second jump where he was incredibly close to the board that was called a foul. If it had been legal, he would have been one of the top jumpers of the day without a doubt. Lawson has been playing the game inches for years as he memorably missed out on an Olympic medal last year when his hand brushed the sand.

Also in medal contention will be Ruswahl Samaai of South Africa, Aleksandr Menkov of Russia and Radek Juska of the Czech Republic. Juska had two very strong jumps in qualifying and, although his PB is one of the lowest of all finalists, he seems like a breakout candidate in Saturday’s night final.

**Men’s 100m Semi-Finals & Final: Bolt’s Last Race**

The Semis and Finals are both held tomorrow in the 100 meters meaning we won’t have a complete picture of how things look until the afternoon. That being said, the stage certainly looks set for Bolt to win yet another gold. Nobody looked particularly impressive in the heats as Coleman was arguably the best from Heat One. I that he would be done after a long collegiate season, but he seems to be holding form well enough to be a factor.

Bolt didn’t look phenomenal in the prelims, but he clearly had plenty of gears to use as he made up ground in a hurry on his competitors. I don’t feel like he’s a lock, but after watching Farah pull out some magic in the 10k, there’s no way I’m betting against Bolt.

The remaining medal spots seem pretty open to me. Blake looked rough, Simbine didn’t even get an auto Q and Ujah didn’t blow me away like I was thinking he might. The name that jumps out from the first round was Jamaica’s Julian Forte who will be dangerous after a 9.99 win in his heat.

Update: Gatlin draws a tricky 100 meter Semi as he will go up against Simbine, Meite and Forte who are all sub 10 guys this year. Only the top 2 are guaranteed a spot in the final. Bolt and Coleman will get a good luck at one another in the semis as they are both in Heat 3 with Ujah and Vicaut. I think Belcher got a nice draw in Heat 2 as he obviously didn't get any of the names I mentioned. His primary competition will be Blake and Bingtian Su of China, the latter of which has looked very strong thus far.

**Women’s 10,000m Final: How Healthy Is Almaz?**

A year ago in Rio Almaz Ayana demolished one of the most impressive world records on the books when she clocked a 29:17 in the 10,000 meters for Olympic Gold. That mark alone makes her an overwhelming favorite in this event, but it helps that her main rival, 2015 world champ Vivian Cheruiyot is not competing these year due to pregnancy. However, Ayana has given us no performances with which we can judge her fitness. So do we trust that the world record holder will have enough talent to defeat any field?

Similarly, Tirunesh Dibaba of Ethiopia, the Olympic bronze medalist in Rio, has given us little results to discuss. She excelled in her appearance in the London Marathon, running 2:17 to move to #3 all-time. However, she hasn’t been hitting the track circuit so far this summer either. So although she is a prolific talent with a long list of global medals, Tirunesh is a question mark as well.

The USA’s Molly Huddle should be a name to watch in a potentially wide open race for the medal stand. Huddle was just 6^th in Rio, but she clocked a time of 30:13 in the process. That was not only a new American Record but the 16^th fastest performance in history. She memorably lost out on the 2015 Bronze medal to a hard charging Emily Infeld and who probably like a shot at redemption before she moves full time to the roads.

The aforementioned Infeld along with Providence grad Emily Sisson round out the USA contingent. If the pace is honest (and Alice Aprot of Kenya is expected to make it honest), it’s going to be tough for these ladies to hang on and compete for medals as their PRs are over two minutes slower than Ayana’s world record. But these two are in great form. Infeld just ran a great 10k PR in hot conditions at USAs and then broke 15 minutes for 5k. Sisson is also excelling, having PRed in that same 10k race.

Ultimately, I have a lot of questions about this race which means I don’t have a lot of answers. All the more reason to tune in and find out how the race unfolds!

2017 Worlds: What To Watch For Day One

2017 IAAF World Championships – Day One (NBC Olympic Channel, NBC Gold)

Men’s Discus Qualification: How many can the USA advance to finals?

The USA will have three competitors in the discus, an event that the Americans have typically struggled to impact. However, Andrew Evans has been having a strong season, throwing a personal best 66.61 while Mason Finley and Rodney Brown both have thrown in the 65s this season. By season’s best rank, Evans is 7^th while Finley and Brown are 14^th and 15^th. The top 12 are guaranteed a spot in the final and anyone who is able to surpass the automatic qualifying mark of 64.50 gets to throw in the finals. Although they have shown potential, only one American qualified for the finals in Rio (Finley). He placed 11^th in the final. The US had no finalists during the last edition of the World Championships in Beijing.

Men’s Long Jump Qualification: How healthy is world leader Luvo Manyonga?

The South African long jumper has been out of action since June because of an ankle injury, but prior to that mark he had posted an impressive 8.65 meters this season. Manyonga is looking for revenge against American Jeff Henderson, who defeated him by a centimeter for the gold in Rio. Speaking of Henderson, he is one of three Americans in the event, all of whom are expected to advance to the final. The automatic qualifying performance is 8.05 meters, with the top 12 guaranteed a spot in the final.

Women’s 1500m Heats, Men’s 100 Meter Prelims & Heats: Will any favorites go out?

Typically, these events don’t have much drama. In fact, the worlds’ best 100 meter runners don’t even compete in the 100 meter preliminary round as features many competitors from third world countries without much of a track history. Barring a false start or a fall, all the big names should advance through their respective prelims. The semi finals on Saturday will be the true test. However, it’s usually fun to get a look at which runners are looking sharp and which are looking nervous on the big stage.

The American with arguably the most to be concerned about in these rounds is Sara Vaughn. She should be in the mix to advance to the 1500 semis, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if she slipped through the cracks of the first round, should other runners have a strong day. Jenny Simpson and Kate Grace are expected to advance and will hopefully be finalists in this event. In the 100 meters, we will see Christian Coleman race for the first time after a long post-NCAA lay off. He is one of the biggest question marks in the entire field as he has the potential to win gold or not even make the final.

Women’s Pole Vault Qualification: What’s Next for Emily Grove?

The women’s pole vault should feature two Americans with realistic chances at the gold medal in Sandi Morris and Jenn Suhr, but the third American on the start list should be the name to keep an eye on during qualifying. Emily Grove, who competed at South Dakota this past NCAA season, was just 15^th overall at the collegiate championships with a best jump of 4.00 meters. However, at the US championships, she dramatically turned things around with a 4.55 meter clearance. That put her in a tie for 3^rd place and a spot in London. In case you are wondering, that means she made it on to the World Team via a jump-off!

Let’s see if Grove has any magic left in her in London. She will have to match her PR of 4.60 meters to get an automatic qualifying mark to the finals. Otherwise, she will need to be in the top 12 overall.

**Men’s 10,000m Final: Mo Farah’s Last Hurrah?**

Running in front of the hometown crowd, GBR’s Mo Farah will look to add to his prolific championship resume. Since 2011, Farah has not lost a global championship at either 5,000 or 10,000. For those of you keeping score at home that gives him 9 straight gold medals in 9 championship events. There’s little reason to doubt that the 34 year old is going to be bested in his pursuit of #10 as Mo has showcased his usual dominant finishing ability in his races in 2017.

The question becomes, what tactics will the others try to defeat him? The general consensus seems to be that you can’t leave it to a kick. However, it will be tough to run the legs out of him. In oppressive weather in Beijing in 2015, the Kenyan trio of Kamworor, Tanui and Karoki set a blistering pace, but they were unable to drop Mo. In fact, Mo’s 10k PR is the fastest in the entire field (26:46 from 2011) and he’s run one of the fastest 10ks in the world in 2017 (27:12 is third behind a pair of Ethiopians: Hadis and Yimer). Quite frankly, there may not be a way for to beat this guy no matter what you do (short of tackling him to the track).

With no Galen Rupp in the event, the USA will be lacking a front running medal contender for the first time in years. We do send an experienced group in Hassan Mead, Shadrack Kipchirchir and Leonard Korir, all of whom have competed in a global championship 10k. However, they have yet to produce any truly fast results in the 25 lappers. Korir is the fastest at 27:29. They’ll be long shots for a medal, but if the pace is conservative for a decent stretch, they could hang around and try and make a bid for the top 5.

The better chance for a recognizable “local” name to contend for the podium is Villanova graduate and Australian Patrick Tiernan. Although he’s only run 27:29, we’ve seen him contend consistently in both international cross country races and diamond league affairs as short as 3,000 meters. I could definitely see Tiernan hanging around in the lead pack until the pack really quickens in the final laps and people start to kick. Maybe he will even surprise with a better result than that.

The sleeper pick worth mentioning is 20 year old Joshua Cheptegei. The Ugandan was 6^th at the Olympics in 27:10 (one spot behind Rupp) and he posted a new PR of 12:59 for 5k in Lausanne a month ago.  But Cheptegei’s biggest moment in his professional career came at the World Cross Championships in March. With an explosive fourth 2,000 meter lap of the course, Cheptegei opened up a 12 second advantage over defending champion and world silver medalist in the 10k Geoffrey Kamworor. Unfortunately, he paid the price for his bold move and broke down completely in the final half lap and ended up barely taking 30^th.

Some may call that a stupid judge of pace, and that may be true, but it also says that Cheptegei won’t be afraid of Mo when they take the track in London. Maybe he will try a similarly bold move in this 10,000 meter affair and maybe this time he will have enough to hold on through the finish.

2017 World Championships!

Hi Track Fans,
I know most of you are only here because you want to talk about PA runners, but as a fan of all levels of track and field, I figured I would share with you some of my worlds hype. I tried my best to make predictions for every event's medalists on both the men's and women's side. Those picks are all outlined in the posts below. Also in those posts are the IAAF previews which are very helpful for outlining the big names in all the events and helping keep the exitiement up for fans.

There's also a prediction contest on LetsRun that I've entered. You can join in by choosing the group TrainStaff from the drop down menu. Should be a fun time and we can laugh about how wrong my picks end up being.

Excited for the championships! Should be an awesome event with the best from our sport on display.

Men Picks (with links to IAAF previews)
Women Picks (with links to IAAF previews)
IAAF Site (results and startlist) 
LetsRun Prediction Contest

PS don't forget about the upcoming mile at Henderson next Thursday night. It will feature some of the best mile talent in the country and is a great chance to get up close and personal with elite athletes. It's an experience that no other sport really offers and I encourage anyone local to take advantage. I will be there, likely holding a giant hoagie like last year. Hope to see you there.

2017 World Championships - Men

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
100m	Bolt	Gatlin	Blake	100m
200m	Van Niekerk	Blake	Webb	200m
400m	Van Niekerk	Makwala	Thebe	400m
800m	Korir	Amos	Bosse	800m
1500m	Manangoi	Iguider	Centrowitz	1500m
5000m	Farah	Edris	Jenkins	5000m
10,000m	Farah	Kamworor	Tanui	10,000m
Marathon	Tola	Tsegay	Kiprotich	Marathon
110mH	McLeod	Merritt	Shubenkov	110m Hurdles
400mH	Warholm	Copello	Clement	400m Hurdles
3000m SC	Jager	Elbakkali	Kemboi	3,000m Steeple
4x100m	Jamaica	China	GBR	4x100m
4x400m	USA	Botswana	Britian	4x400m
Shot Put	Crouser	Kovacs	Walsh	Shot Put
Javelin	Rohler	Veter	Yego	Javelin
Discus	Stahl	Malachowsi	Milanov	Discus
Hammer	Fajdek	Nowicki	Nazarov	Hammer
Pole Vault	Kendricks	Wojiechowski	R Lavillenie	Pole Vault
Triple Jump	Taylor	Claye	Dong	Triple Jump
Long Jump	Lawson	Manyonga	Henderson	Long Jump
High Jump	Barshim	Bondarenko	Drouin	High Jump
Decathlon	Warner	Mayer	Freimuth	Decathlon
20 Km RW	Takahashi	K Wang	Lopez	20K RW
50 Km RW	Tallent	Haukenes	Diniz	50K RW

2017 World Championships - Women

	Gold	Silver	Bronze
100m	Thompson	Ta Lou	Schippers	100m
200m	Schippers	Miller	Bowie	200m
400m	Felix	Miller	Jackson	400m
800m	Nyonsaba	Semenya	Bishop	800m
1500m	Kipyegon	Hassan	Dibaba	1500m
5000m	Obiri	Dibaba	Ayana	5000m
10,000m	Ayana	Teferi	Huddle	10,000m
Marathon	Kiplagat	Kirwa	M Dibaba	Marathon
100mH	Pearson	Harrison	Williams	100m Hurldes
400mH	Muhammad	Russell	Little	400m Hurdles
3000m SC	Chepkoech	Jepkemoi	Jebet	3,000m Steeple
4x100m	USA	Jamaica	GBR	4x100m
4x400m	USA	Jamaica	Poland	4x400m
Shot Put	Carter	Gong	Marton	Shot Put
Javelin	Spotakova	Kolak	Liu	Javelin
Discus	Perkovic	Perez	Caballero	Discus
Hammer	Wlodarczyk	Wang	Berry	Hammer
Pole Vault	Morris	Stefanidi	McCartney	Pole Vault
Triple Jump	Ibarguen	Rojas	Rypakova	Triple Jump
Long Jump	Reese	Bartoletta	Spanovic	Long Jump
High Jump	Lasitskene	Cunningham	Licwinko	High Jump
Hepthalon	Thiam	Ikauniece-Admidina	Schafer	Hepthalon
20K RW	Wang	Palmisano	Yang	20K RW
50K RW	Henriques	Yang	Yin	50K RW

Millrose Professional Events Primer

By Jarrett Felix

I’m very excited for the upcoming Millrose Games at the Armory in New York City. For the second straight year, I’ll be attending the meet and hoping to see something as fantastic as last year’s meet. It was one of my favorite meet experiences I’ve had.

So in honor of the Millrose Games I’m going to try and break down all the professional events that are listed on the schedule at the entry link here: http://www.nyrrmillrosegames.org/fields-2017/. Let’s do this.

Men’s 60m

Olympic Long Jump Champion Jeff Henderson tests his speed in the 60 meter dash. He will be battling with elite talent Mike Rodgers, 200 meter stand out Ameer Webb and the young, newly turned professional, Noah Lyles. Lyles just ran a fantastic 300 his last time out, but I think the 60 is probably too far out of his peak range to make him a contender for gold here. My money would be on Rodgers, even at his slowly advancing age.

Men’s Invite Mile

The Invite Mile doesn’t have the same star power as the Wannamaker, but it’s a pretty darn good field. Remember that just last year, then high schooler Andrew Hunter set the indoor national record for the mile with a blazing 3:57 performance. This year another top high schooler, DJ Principe, will look to join the sub 4 club. Principe has already run 4:04 and 4 flat this indoors, but he looked a bit tired up in Boston when Josh Hoey of PA pulled off the upset. Let’s see if he comes back hungry or looks tired when he returns to the track in NYC.

Former NCAA champions Andy Bayer, Chad Noelle and Mac Fleet are all in this race along with current NCAA talents from the Ivy League Chris Hatler, Conor Lundy and Rob Napolitano. But my pick to take this race actually isn’t any of those guys. I think I like Julian Oakley for the win. If not him than I guess I would say Bayer. I’m interested to see how his fitness looks under his new training group. Rooting for Mikey Brannigan, Peter Callahan and Travis Mahoney to make noise.

Men’s 60m Hurdles

There’s a PA connection in this one with Jarret Eaton of Abington set to compete. He will have his hands full with former NCAA Champ Andrew Riley and reigning Olympic Champion Omar McLeod in the field. Aleec Harris is another national class hurdler toeing the line. I actually think Eaton has an outside shot at victory if McLeod is a little off his game, but it’s hard to bet against the Olympian who absolutely dominated the circuit a year ago (and I believe is the defending champion in this event).

Men’s HJ

Two words for you: Derek Drouin. The world’s best High Jumper is a must watch for field fans at the Millrose Games. I wish he was battling Kynard (who won last year), but regardless it should be fun to watch a world and Olympic champion in action.

Men’s 1k

This race should be a blast. First of all, you have the American Record Holder in David Torrence. He ran 2:16.76 back in Boston in 2014 to take that record. Then you have freshly minted 600 meter world record holder Cas Loxsom from Brooks. This event is probably stretch Cas’s range a bit (600 is definitely his sweet spot), but he will have plenty of teammates to help push him Brannon Kidder (collegiate 1k record holder) and Shaq Walker (formerly of BYU).

But the names I’d imagine most will focus on are Brandon McGorty and Donovan Brazier. McGorty is a high school superstar who will set his sights on the 2:22 high school record, currently held by Robby Andrews. Brazier turned pro this past summer after one fantastic year at A&M, where he set the US collegiate and junior records en route to the NCAA title. He actually has a nice distance background from his high school days and this event could be a really nice fit for him.

The sleeper here that I figure I should mention is Andrew Osagie of Great Britain. I haven’t seen much from him recently, but in 2012-2013 he made back to back world championship finals in the 800 and clocked a 1:43. If he is back and healthy, he has the talent to run with anybody in this field and maybe win the thing, but he also may not have the same pop he had 3-4 years ago.

Men’s 500m  

Brycen Spratling, formerly of Pittsburgh, is a master of the 500 meters. In his college days, he was a beast at the distance and then, in one of his first major professional races, Spratling set the world 500 record at the Millrose Games with a 60.06. That world record was broken last year as Abdalelah Haroun became the first man to dip under 60 seconds. I’d imagine Spratling will be gunning for revenge.

He’ll have to contend with 400 hurdler Breshawn Jackson (60.70 PR), Chris Geisting (ran 60.58 on an overzied track) and Lalonde Gordon.

Men’s Wannamker Mile

The signature even of the Millrose Games is lacking some of its usual firepower. No Nick Willis, no Matt Centrowitz, no Bernard Lagat. Considering that Lopez Lomong and Will Leer (other recent champs) are not among the entries either, we will have a new face of the event this year. Many suspect that face will be Clayton Murphy. Murphy won two NCAA championships last year before adding a US championship and an Olympic Bronze medal. He has all the tools to be a great championship racer with excellent top end speed and strong tactical prowess. He will also be looking for redemption after a lackluster start in the 3k (an off event for him).

The Nike Oregon Project’s Eric Jenkins is no stranger to the bright lights of the Millrose Games. After competing in the 3k at this meet the past two seasons, Jenkins will drop down to test his speed. Although Jenkins was a 5k/10k for most of the spring, he won the 5^th Avenue Mile in a blazing fast time against Olympic Gold Medalist and training partner Matt Centrowitz. So Jenkins may have more wheels than we think.

Drew Hunter, in his first year out of high school, will take his first stab at the Wannamaker Mile. As mentioned, he ran 3:57.8 at this meet last year and, after a great 3k in meet #1, he looks like he may be in even better shape than he was this time last year. Hunter battles with a couple other young stand outs in Henry Wynne and Izaic Yorks.

Olympic medalist Leo Manzano will toe the line, hoping to bounce back from a disappointing end to his 2016 campaign. Leo is a bit streaky, but when he is on his game, there’s nobody better. Colby Alexander, who had some memorable victories in 2016 including a fantastic win at the Tracktown Team Challenge. Robby Andrews is always dangerous, considering his signature closing wheels, but the mile has been a bit of an enigma for him. He had a huge PR at this meet last year, so maybe he is over those issues and ready to roll.

Sleeper would be Cory Leslie.

Men’s 2 Miles

This race should be the best of the day. Reigning Olympic Champion Matt Centrowitz is moving up for his usual mile/1500 focus to jump in the 2 mile. But standing in his way of a victory is Ryan Hill, the indoor 3k world medalist and defending champion from the 3k last year. Hill has terrific closing speed of his own and will give Centro all he can handle whether the race is tactical or not.

The guys who could crash this US party are Mo Ahmed and Andrew Butchart. Both of these guys were excellent in the Rio final over 5,000 meters and Butchart in particular is off to a very promising start to this indoor campaign. He just crushed a mile to show his speed is in good shape. An upset is very much in play for the Brit.

Women’s 3k

This field doesn’t have quite the same star power than others have, but it does include world class 3k steepler Stephanie Garcia and one of her American steeple rivals in Ashley Higginson. It also includes PA alum Angel Piccirillo and multi time NCAA champion Molly Seidel.

Women’s 60m

Tianna Bartloletta should be the heavy favorite in this one. Not only is she the Olympic champion in the long jump, but she also is an Olympic 100 meter finalist. She ran well under 11 seconds for 100 meters. Without her US rivals Bowie and Gardner in the field, she may be able to run away with this one.

Women’s 800m 

Ajee Wilson has been terrific at 600 meters to start 2017. She just recently ran 1:24 for that distance, making her the 4^th fastest woman ever at that distance inside. That came just two weeks after she ran the 7^th fastest 600 ever. So now she jumps up to her favorite event, looking to drop a sub 2 minute 800.

Also in this race is high schooler Sammy Watson who is fresh off her own fast 600m: a 1:27 national high school record. Watson has run 2:03.94 for 800, the 3^rd fastest by a female high schooler. Ironically, she is one spot ahead of Ajee Wilson on that list.

Women’s 300m

Olympic 400 meter champion Shaunae Miller were traverse to the USA for the 300 meters at Millrose. She takes on a stashed field that includes 400 hurdle medalist Ashley Spencer and US veteran at 400 Natasha Hastings. Also in the field is high schooler Sydney McLaughlin who, after running in the Olympics this past summer, just contributed a 400 leg to a world record DMR. McLaughlin is already #2 ever for high schoolers at this distance, but will chase the 36.96 national record currently belonging to Francena McCorory. Miller will be looking to better her 36.10 personal best which ranks 6^th all-time.

Women’s Pole Vault

In one of the most star studded events of the day US Olympic Medalist Sandi Morris will go after the Olympic Champion Katerina Stefanidi in a battle for the ages. Morris is the 3^rd best indoor performer ever, having jumped 4.95 in March of last year. She joined the 5 meter club last outdoors when she set the outdoor American record. Stefanidi has jumped 4.90 for Greece, but she was clutch when it counted last summer.

Women’s 60m Hurdles

Despite the US Women’s amazing depth in the 100 hurdles (we swept the medals last summer), we don’t have an Olympic medalists in this one. We do, however, have the very talented US hurdler Sharika Nelvis and PA high school alumn Leah Nugent from Abington High School.

Women’s Wannamaker 

Shannon Rowbury has her fair share of US records. But the multi time world medalist is still gunning for the indoor US record of 4:20.5. She ran 4:22 in 2015 and also ran 4:24 twice. She won the Wannamker last year as well, but she faded a bit from the fast early pace. This year, however, she has a secret weapon to help her chase the standard. New training partner Sifan Hassan, who has run 3:56.05 for 1500 meters, is ready to help attack this field and make the race face. She’s never been afraid of a hard early pace (chased hard after Dibaba during the 1500 world record) and also has great closing speed for a kick.

Outside of these big two, there’s plenty of other talented names. Most notably, Olympic 800 meter finalist Kate Grace (who has been crushing the longer stuff this year), collegiate stand out Kaela Edwards from OK State and recent world record setter Brenda Martinez. Also in the mix will be Amanda Eccleston, a US finalist at 1500 and near Olympian, Alexa Efraimson, the US Junior record holder and recent grad Leah O’Connor, an excellent steeplechaser who is #2 in NCAA history for the mile.

Women’s 500m 

Courtney Okolo was a dynamite 400 meter runner at Texas. She ran four of the fastest ten NCAA quarter miles ever last outdoor season including a blistering 49.71. She faded down the stretch after a long track season and was a surprising miss from the Olympic open 400. But she has used that as motivation heading into the outdoor season, running a super quick 1:25 for 600 at some serious over distance (#6 ever). Okolo could realistically pursue the 500 American record of 1:08.70 or the 1:08.40 non-Russian record.

To help her, we have Alysia Montano, the 600 meter indoor American record holder who has made multiple global finals at 800, and the reigning 400 hurdle Olympic champion in Dalilah Muhammad. Muhammad ran 52 seconds for the 400 hurdles, within striking distance of the world record. The 400 hurdle skill set is often associated with the 500 meter skill set as that extra strength can help a runner like Dalilah power through the final stretch. She’s got record potential in her own right.

A Tale of 2 Meetz

By: Garrett Zatlin

If there's one thing that Jarrett and I have in common, it's that we make really poor references to rap music. Hence the title. But I digress...

After weeks of winter break, many student-athletes have returned back to campus and are prepping for the first big week of collegiate track and field. We'll get to see two major meets headlining both the east coast (Nittany Lion Challenge @ Penn State) and the west coast (UW Indoor Preview @ University of Washington).

Below, I have previewed the distance events of each meet. I also made sure to mention which PA alum are running in which events. Be sure to point out if I missed someone!

Let's hop into it.

NITTANY LION CHALLENGE (performance list here)

800

Surprisingly, the half-mile at this meet seems to be a bit more mild this year than it has been in the past. The race will be headlined by many youngsters, but the favorite will most likely be Georgetown's Charles Cooper (junior) who owns PR's of 1:49 and 2:24 (1k). 

It will also be interesting to see how freshman Jack Salisbury (Georgetown) is able to handle his first collegiate track race. Luckily, the field shouldn't be too overwhelming for him.

Final Predictions

1. Charles Cooper (Georgetown)

2. Jack Salisbury (Georgetown)

3. Louis Tobias (Bucknell)

PA ALUM ENTERED

-Joey Logue, Penn State (Rs. Sophomore) 

-Brad Rivera, Penn State (Senior)

1000

This will be the event to watch this weekend. Penn State star Isiah Harris will look to build off of his unbelievable freshman year and become the focal point of PSU's middle distance program now that Brannon Kidder is gone. He is the favorite to win when you consider his 800 PR of 1:45. 

That said, there has been a lot of positive talk about Georgetown's Joe White. He is in the early-season discussion for the half-mile national title and could very easily get a win this weekend. In addition to a strong 800 PR of 1:46, White also has experience in the 1000 with a PR of 2:23. Harris has never run the event.

The match-up will surely be labeled as "Harris vs White", but there are plenty of other guys that could mix it up with the front pack. In addition to Harris, Penn State will also field guys like Jordan Mankins and freshman Dominic Peretta. PSU alum Robby Creese is also entered.

Meanwhile, Joe Gioielli (Central Connecticut) and Spencer Brown (Georgetown) have shown to be very consistent in the 1000 and boast PR's of 2:23. I like their experience in the event and I think that will bode well for them in this race.

Final Predictions

1. Joe White (Georgetown)

2. Isaiah Harris (Penn State)

3. Joe Gioelli (Central Connecticut)

4. Spencer Brown (Georgetown)

5. Robby Creese (Unattached)

6. Jordan Mankins (Penn State)

7. Dominic Peretta (Penn State)

8. Ben Malone (Villanova)

PA ALUM ENTERED

-Dominic Peretta, Penn State (Freshman)

-Kyle Adams, Bucknell (Sophomore)

-Brad Rivera, Penn State (Senior)

Mile

Curious to see how our PA alumni are doing? This is the event to watch as a total TEN PA alumni will contest the event. Many of them are freshmen.

In fact, the youth of this field makes it hard to gage just how this race will play out. Many of these guys are freshmen who have yet to run a race this season.

But the most experienced (and arguably most talented) in the field will be PSU alum Robby Creese. It's very possible that he is the rabbit for this race, but there is also a good chance that he goes out and runs something fast.

Outside of Creese, we'll get to see Georgetown's Michael Clevenger drop down in distance. He has a PR of 4:02, but has mainly focused on the 3000 and 5000 throughout his career. 

Penn State's Tim McGowan now has a year of being a Nittany Lion under his belt and also holds a mile PR of 4:06. He could be an x-factor in this race.

Final Predictions

1. Robby Creese (Unattached)

2. Tim McGowan (Penn State)

3. Michael Clevenger (Georgetown)

4. William Bordash (Bucknell)

5. Jack Van Scoter (Georgetown)

PA ALUM ENTERED

-Jaxson Hoey, Penn State (Freshman)

-William Loevner, Penn State (Freshman) <--running unattached

-Billy McDevitt, Penn State (Rs. Freshman)

-Billy Caldwell, Pittsburgh (Junior)

-Matt McGoey, Pittsburgh (Sophomore)

-James Hare, Pittsburgh (Junior)

-Nate Sloan, Pittsburgh (Rs. Sophomore)

-Kent Hall, Georgetown (Freshman) 

-Jacob Stupak, Bucknell (Freshman)

-Dominic DeLuca, Cornell (Junior)

3000

The Cornell duo of James Gowans and Mark Tedder will be the favorites in this race. With mile PR's at or under the 4 minute mark, these two have the best resumes in the field. However, Gowans has never recorded a race in the 3000 while Tedder owns a PR of 8:02. 

I'll also be on the lookout to see how Villanova's Paul Power does. He could find a moment to shine in a very manageable field.

Final Predictions

1. Mark Tedder (Cornell)

2. James Gowans (Cornell)

3. Paul Power (Villanova)

4. Tom Hogarty (Maryland)

PA ALUM ENTERED

-Kent Hall, Georgetown (Freshman) 

-Paul Power, Villanova (Rs. Freshman)

-Chris Pastore, Pittsburgh (Senior)

-------------------------------------------------------------

UW INDOOR PREVIEW (performance list here)

800

Honestly, I don't know a lot about the names in this race. However, there are definitely a few names that pop out at me. The biggest being Edward Kemboi.

The former NCAA 800 champion will be making his season debut this weekend as he continues his search for a sponsor*. He will be the favorite in this race and will most likely dip under 1:50.

It's tough to say if anyone in the field is quite at Kemboi's level, but guys like Austin Tomagno (Oregon), Christian White (Stanford), and Paris Speidel (Concordia) will be fighting for positioning behind him.

Hoka One One will also be fielding two sub-4 milers in Aric Champagne and Derek Thomas.

*I believe I've seen Kemboi compete in a Nike kit, but there is nothing online that mentions him having a major sponsor.

Final Predictions

1. Edward Kemboi (Unattached)

2. Aric Champagne (Hoka One One)

3. Derek Thomas (Hoka One One)

4. Austin Tomagno (Oregon)

5. Christian White (Stanford)

6. Paris Speidel (Concordia)

1000

Eric Jenkins of Nike Oregon Project will drop down in distance to get some speed work in before pursuing longer events later this season. Even with him being out of his comfort zone, he is still the favorite.

However, Stanford's Tai Dinger and Scott Buttinger have both gone under 1:50 in the half-mile before. They have the speed to make things interesting with Jenkins. 

Many track fans will be interested to see performances from the freshman duo of Issac Cortes (Stanford) and Austin Tomagno (Oregon). These were two big-time recruits that are about to make their collegiate track debut. 

But the most dangerous runner in the field might be Washington's Blake Nelson. The Husky senior has a 1k PR of 2:23 as well as a 4 minute mile. His experience and success in the event may end up being the biggest threat to Jenkins crossing the line in first. 

Final Predictions

1. Eric Jenkins (Nike Oregon Project)

2. Blake Nelson (Washington)

3. Tai Dinger (Stanford)

4. Scott Buttinger (Stanford)

5. Keith Williams (Washington)

Mile

In a field full of pro's, one collegiate stands out. After a disappointing cross country season, Washington's Colby Gilbert will look to redeem himself on his home track this weekend. We saw Gilbert break out last winter and spring where he earned 1500 and Mile PR's of 3:40 and 3:59. Hopefully we see Gilbert improve as he transitions back to the oval.

Gilbert will provide competition to a slew of pro's which includes Eric Jenkins. Some of the entered milers are also in the 1000 so it's hard to know if they will scratch one event in favor of another.

In addition, be sure to keep an eye out for Oregon alum Jeremy Elkaim as he pursues a sponsorship. He'll be motivated to prove himself in a talented field.

Final Predictions

1. Eric Jenkins (Nike Oregon Project)

2. Luc Bruchet (Asics)

3. Ciaran O'Lionaird (Nike)

3. Colby Gilbert (Washington)

4. Aric Champagne (Hoka One One)

5. Jeremy Elkaim (Unattached)

6. Brian Llamas (Roots Running)

3000

After looking at the performance list, I feel pretty comfortable saying that this will be the race of the meet. Just like the mile, the 3k has plenty of pro athlete entries. One of them includes Olympic Gold medalist Matt Centrowitz who is competing in his first race back since August. Others include Dan Huling (Nike), Craig Lutz (Hoka), and Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project).

But the collegiates will be out in full force looking to establish fast times early on in the season. Portland will be racing their top guys such as Tim Ball, Nick Hauger, Jeff Thies, Caleb Webb, and many more. After such a successful cross country season, it will be interesting to see which of these guys can transition their cross country fitness to the track.

But out of all of these names, I'm most looking forward to seeing a result from Gonzaga's Troy Fraley who has flown under the radar the past few seasons. With a 3k PR of 7:57, I imagine Fraley will be hungry to grab an NCAA qualifier this season. A strong opening race may give him enough momentum and confidence throughout the rest of the winter to do so.

Final Predictions

1. Matt Centrowitz (Nike Oregon Project)

2. Dan Huling (Nike)

3. Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project)

4. Craig Lutz (Hoka One One)

5. Troy Fraley (Gonzaga)

6. Nick Hauger (Portland)

7. Tim Ball (Portland)