1:59?!
We continue with our preview and in this post we will focus on the distance runners. No track that they will compete on will have a more knowledgeable base about distance running. Nor a more interested fanbase. After all this is the house that Steve Prefontaine has built. The Oregon men are in a team title hunt and will rely heavily on their distance runners to score a large volume of their points. Being at home on historic Hayward Field will give them an advantage but is it enough...
Men’s Preview
800 Meter Run
At the west regional meet we were given a championship
preview courtesy of the top two qualifiers, Isaiah Jewett the senior from USC
and true freshman Brandon Miller of Texas A&M. Jewett lead the country for
majority of the season and did not taste defeat until the wester regional meet.
Miller was able to outlast Jewett 1:45.57 to 1:45.60. There is also Miller’s
teammate Devin Dixon who seems to slowly be rounding in to shape. Let’s not
forget Dixon has an indoor personal best of 1:45.27 and has ran 1:44.76
outdoors. He was also runner’s up in 2019. However, Jewett has been running
smoothly all year and could Miller hit the freshman wall. Both must be keenly
aware of Dixon but he has a lot ground to make up. There is also Finley McLear of
Miami (OH) who finished 2nd indoors and nearly won the title.
Pick: Devin Dixon Texas A&M
1,500 Meter Run
The Oregon Ducks are looking to score high in this event and
will be relying heavily on true freshman Cole Hocker. Hocker is going after a
tough double running the 1,500 and 5,000. Yared Nuguse of Notre Dame broke the
NCAA record in the event in the prelims of the ACC Championship and will most certainly
have all eyes on him. Do not forget the top qualifier freshman Eliud Kipsang of
Alabama who ran 3:35.49 to defeat Nuguse at the eastern regional. Kipsang seems
to be picking up steam as the Championship season moves on. I still expect for
the mile’s NCAA record to fall again.
Pick: Eliud Kipsang
5,000 Meter Run
Oregon did qualify two big names in Cooper Teare and Cole
Hocker. Keep in mind that neither are near the top of the qualifying list. The
top qualifier is junior Morgan Beadlescomb of Michigan State. Beadlescomb
finished third indoors at nationals in the 5k and recently added another Big
Ten title to his trophy case. Robert Brant of Georgetown was close to defeating
Beadlescomb at the eastern regional. He is the number two qualifier with a time
13:40.66. Although Teare did not run the top qualifying time its fair to notice
that there were a few top 5k runners whose only goal was simply to qualify. With
that being said I have to be honest and say that having the top qualifying mark
here does not necessarily make Beadlescomb the favorite.
Pick: Cooper Teare Oregon
10,000 Meter Run
Wesley Kiptoo of Iowa State is attempting a tough double competing in both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter run. A 25-lap race is the ultimate test on a track of endurance. Connor Mantz of BYU has been the top guy at this distance since mid-May. Unlike Kiptoo, Mantz is only competing in the 10,000. Kiptoo ran a torrid 5k pace indoors to dominate the field. The 10k will require a different strategy since Mantz has a 27-minute personal best. Then there is true freshman from Northern Arizona Abdihamid Nur. Nur is currently ranked 2nd in the country and like Teare of Oregon did not run an overly impressive race to but clearly, he needed to just qualify. This race will come down strategy. How fit will Kiptoo be, how well can Mantz push the pace and what has true freshman Nur learned.
Pick: Connor Mantz BYU
3,000 Meter Steeplechase
No event has perplexed me more this season than the 3,000. The performance list for this event changed literally ever week. I was constantly reporting a new number one performance for our weekly recaps for this event. The top qualifier for this event was Arkansas State junior Bennet Pascoe. Pascoe was mentioned on this blog before and at one time did have the top mark in the country. Prior to regionals his time was ranked 15th. Fitsom Seyoum of Virginia Tech garnered the top ranking after winning the ACC Championship. With no clear-cut favorite this race is anyone’s game.
Pick: Bennet Pascoe Arkansas State
Women’s Preview
800 Meters
This event lost some of it’s luster when NCAA record holder Athing Mu decided to focus on the 400 the other event where she holds an NCAA record. There is still Aaliyah Miller of Baylor in the field who won the race indoors. Michaela Mayer of Virginia is a new name to throw in the ring as she is the top qualifier after hitting a mark of 2:01.40 at the eastern regional. There is also ACC Champion Laurie Barton of Clemson who has 2:00.70 on the season. Without Mu the race should still produce a sub 2:00 minute time.
Pick: Aaliyah Miller Baylor
1,500 Meters
Sage Hurta of Colorado has been the favorite to win this event since claiming the number one ranking during the regular season. She has the sixth ranked qualifying mark entering the meet after a successful western regional. Another Alabama standout will challenger in Amaris Tyynismaa. The true freshman led the way at the eastern regional to claim the top qualifying time of 4:09.48. Tyynismaa has had some impressive performances but has yet to put it together in a championship meet. Whittni Orton of BYU has also performed well throughout the season along with the rest of her BYU teammates. Orton looks to be their strongest representative her and can certainly push for a championship.
Pick: Sage Hurta Colorado
5,000/10,000 Meters
Alabama clearly decided to recruit nothing but championship level distancer runners to match those great sprinters. Freshman Mercy Chelangat is the latest talent to step up for the Crimson Tide. Chelangat had quite the regional performance claiming the top qualifying marks in both events. Her times were 15:45.59 for the 5k and 33:06.83 in the 10k. She already had the top 10k time before regionals and was in the top three for the 5k. Chelangat is attempting a grueling double but she is certainly capable of winning both. Her biggest challenge in the 5k will come from Whittni Orton of BYU who entered the post season as the number one ranked runner. In the 10k fellow freshman Grace Forbes of Rice should give chase.
5,000 Pick: Whittni Orton BYU
10,000 Pick: Mercy Chelangat Alabama
3,000 Meter Steeplechase
BYU is having quite the impressive season. They are competitive in every distance event minus the 800 and are coming off the high of winning the Distance Medley Championship indoors. Courtney Wayment has been a big part of those performances and the steeplechase is where she will get her chance to take an outdoor crown. She is the number one performer this season and had a comfortable lead over second place. Top qualifier Gabrielle Jennings of Furman ran an impressive regional performance, but the race seems to me to be Wayment’s to lose.
Pick: Courtney Wayment BYU
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