2022 D3 Outdoor Nationals Preview
Top 10 Teams based on Entires - We know WashU and Eau Claire proved that it doesn’t matter where you come in ranked!
Live Results —— Thursday Live Stream
In the Northeast corner of Ohio, just 30 miles from the border of Pennsylvania, you won’t find much. Cornfields, subdivisions, and an opposing Wendy’s and McDonald’s are among some of the sites you may see on your trip to Geneva, OH. Until you walk into the outdoor track and field stadium at the SPIRE Institute, the host of one of the most competitive NCAA national championship meets in D3 history. A total of 17 events (11 men’s and six women’s) saw their fastest qualifying marks this year, making the journey to SPIRE one of the most challenging feats a D3 athlete has ever had to embark on.
One of these events saw its national record fall two times this year. Another awarded an athlete a national record and then took it away. If the dramatic build-up to the NCAA meet indicates what’s to come, you might want to bring your popcorn (or fruit snacks).
Season Overview
This season saw four national records go down, two of which were non-championship event relays, one of which was broken twice by two individuals. In the relays, the women’s squad from St. Norbert captured the women’s 4x200m national record in a time of 1:40.05. The team of Maddie Lebrun, Audrey Makope, Daijah Brown, and Sydney Zima averaged splits of 25 seconds each. The Loras squad of Carter Oberfoell, Ryan Harvey, Wyatt Kelly, and Mike Jasa set a four-second national record of 7:28.23 in the men’s 4x800m relay, averaging splits of 1:52.
Loras had a big season of national records, as distance standout Kassie Parker also secured a national record in the women’s 10k. This effort followed her 5k national record and near-miss of the 3k record indoors. Parker ran an early-season 33:03.61 at Stanford to shatter Mary Proulx’s previous record of 33:21.8 set in 2003. Parker is entered in two competitive line-ups in the 5k and the 10k this weekend. You won’t want to miss these events. Parker will look to continue her year-long streak of national titles, including cross country in the fall and the 3k and 5k indoors.
The men’s sprints are another set of must-see events this weekend. The men’s 200m dash will feature a head-to-head battle between Gallaudet’s Eric Gregory and Centre’s JP Vaught, both of whom have held the D3 200m national record this year. The nation dropped their jaws when a video circulated of Vaught cruising to a fourth-place finish behind NIKE pro Christian Coleman and two Kentucky athletes, clocking a blazing time of 20.66, the D3 national record by 0.14 seconds. The shock was even more incredible when news broke that Gregory had dropped a time of 20.62 in an impressive solo effort at Gallaudet’s conference championship meet in New York two weeks later.
In addition to national records, several athletes assisted in rewriting the all-time lists this season. With an opportunity to compete with the best talent from across the nation this weekend, we expect several more entries to appear. Over 40 athletes this season have a mark that is inside the top 20 All-Time!
Here’s everything you need to know to get in on the action, including start times and who to watch. All times are EST.
Thursday: Multis/Field
Men’s Discus (10:30 AM)
Carroll’s Steven Hermsen leads this field by three whole meters with his mark of 58.60 meters. Hermsen is the heavy favorite heading into the week’s lead-off event, but Bethel’s Gabe Irons and Stout’s Kevin Ruechel are also entered in the shot put with Carnegie Mellon’s Bram Miller Friday 11:30 a.m. We spoke with Miller in the Outdoor Nationals Contenders Part 1 episode.
Multi-events (Men @ 11:30 AM Thurs./10 AM Fri; Women @ 12:30 PM Thurs./11 AM Fri.)
The battle for the top podium spot in this two-day event will ensue between Linfield’s Keaton Wood and Eau Claire’s Marcus Weaver, the only two athletes to exceed 7,000 points for the decathlon so far this season. Wood is the current No. 1 seed with his mark of 7,254 points, the No. 9 all-time performance in D3. However, he will have stiff competition from Weaver, who is the indoor heptathlon national record holder and No. 3 all-time decathlete with his mark of 7,510 points from last year’s championships.
DePauw’s Erin Pasch currently leads the women’s field with her point total of 5,041, which is No. 15 all time. She is trailed by indoor pentathlon national champion Hannah Zenkovich of La Crosse and runner-up Logan Bruce of Ithaca. Zenkovich and Bruce also enter the meet with over 5,000 points.
Women’s Pole Vault (12:30 PM)
Kathy Myrda of North Central currently leads the women’s vault as the only woman over four meters this season. Her mark of 4.00 meters is No. 16 all-time. She adds to NCC’s history of successful athletes in this event. The most recent was Luke Winder, who cleared a season-best 5.70m at the USATF Throws Fest. If Myrda wins, she will become the 8th national pole vault champion in NCC men’s and women’s program history.
Myrda will have strong competition from Augustana’s Kat Krebasch and Ithaca’s Meghan Matheny. Matheny is the two-time defending national champion from the last indoor and outdoor season. She has also cleared four meters in her career and enters the meet with a 3.91-meter season best.
Women’s Discus (1 PM)
As an outdoor-only event, the women’s discus welcomes some new faces to NCAAs compared to the indoor competitions in the weight throw and shot put. Gabby Hicks of Eau Claire is the favorite entry in the women’s discus competition. Her toss of 49.21 is No. 23 all-time and leads the field by 28 centimeters over No. 2 seed Vanessa Uitenbroek of Carroll. Hicks is one of three Eau Claire athletes in this event, with teammate Kayla Behnke sitting as the No. 3 seed. This duo, plus No.16 seed Evelyn Walker, could bring valuable points to the Eau Claire team score. Also, watch out for indoor weight throw national champion Kaitlyn Wilder of Dubuque, who is entered in the top five of three out of the four throws events.
Men’s Long Jump (2:30 PM)
The long jump will be an exciting event, as the top seven athletes are within a narrow six centimeters of each other. Some of the favorites are Central College’s Brock Lewis, Carnegie Mellon’s Justin Keifel, La Crosse’s Sam Blaskowski, Rowan’s Nana Agyemang, and indoor national champion Kenneth Wei of MIT. Agyemang will look to score big points in this event as his team contends for a meet trophy.
Hear from Blaskowski in our Outdoor National Contenders Part 2 episode.
Women’s Javelin (3:30 PM)
Pacific Lutheran’s Ava Nelson has risen to the top of this event with her toss of 45.79 meters. Last year’s national champion and No. 8 all-time women’s javelin thrower Sophia Slovenski of Southern Maine has been absent since she underwent shoulder surgery last fall. Nelson was seventh in this event last year behind George Fox’s Chrissy Strickland and Saint Mary’s Anna Swanson, who sit as the No. 2 and No. 9 seeds. Other familiar faces from last year include Ursinus’s Isabelle Deal, Buena Vista’s Rebecca Simpson, and Calvin’s Kamryn Elgersma.
Women’s Long Jump (5:50 PM)
The battle for the women’s long jump title will be highly competitive. The current top seed is tied at 6.06 meters (No. 12 all-time) between WPI’s Katy Nippert and indoor national champion Victoria Kadiri of Johns Hopkins. Stevens’s Gina Del Russo also enters with a mark over 6m.
Two-time national champion and two-time national runner-up Isabel Maletich of U Chicago enters as the sixth seed. Kadiri beat Maletich indoors in the middle of competition for the multi, an event she will not be competing in this week. However, Maletich has more experience at NCAA meets and is sure to bring some heat into this battle for first.
Men’s Javelin (5:45 PM)
Greg Poloso of Rowan is the athlete to watch in the men’s javelin throw. His season-best mark of 70.39 is No. 7 all-time and dominates the rest of the field by over three meters. Tim Vanlieuw’s national record of 75.55 meters could be in jeopardy this week. Four Rowan teammates join Poloso in this event, three of which are ranked within the top seven. On paper, Rowan could score 24 points in this event, having major implications in the team battle.
Thursday: Running
The men’s and women’s 10ks will be the only running finals on Thursday. Everything else will be a qualifying prelim.
Women’s 4x100m Relay (Prelim 5:15 PM/Final Sat. 12:05 PM)
The WashU Bears hold the No. 1 seed at 46.07, the No. 6 all-time in D3 history. Redlands is five-thousandths of a second behind WashU’s squad, with a 46.12 No. 9 all-time mark. Another team that’s in the conversation is Loras.
WashU has insane depth as three of the four athletes on their 4x100 finished 1, 2, and 3 at the UAA final in the 100m. Still, Redlands has a national qualifier in the 100m, Alexandra Ackerman, and a national qualifier in the 200m and 400m, Andrea Lyon.
Men’s 4x100m Relay (Prelim 5:25 PM/Final Sat. 12:15 PM)
The team from Benedictine currently has the No. 1 seed at 40.17, which is No. 3 all-time in D3 history. Only two-thousandths of a second behind them is the squad from Oshkosh, whose 40.19 is No. 5 all-time. Benedictine has strong legs in DJ Anderson (the national leader in the 400m) and Koren Leonard (the 110 hurdle leader), but Oshkosh has team depth in the 100m. They had six athletes qualify for the WIAC final in this event, including last year’s 100m runner-up, Jaylen Grant.
Women’s 1500m (Prelim 5:35 PM/Final Sat. 12:25 PM)
Messiah’s Esther Seeland will take on her first double at an outdoor national meet, looking to go uncontested with her seed-time of 4:18.28, the sixth-fastest time in D3 history. She is the only woman in the field to have run under 4:20 this season after a scratch from Hopkins’s Ella Baran, whose season-best of 4:19.97 is No. 7 all-time. Baldwin Wallace’s Hope Murphy and Middlebury’s Cassie Kearney will likely be close behind. Watch out for Oshkosh’s Zanzie Demco and Caltech’s Margaret Trautner.
Men’s 1500m (Prelim 5:50 PM/Final Sat. 12:35 PM)
The last time into the men’s 1500m was 3:48.24, a whole two seconds faster than what was previously required. The top four marks in this event made the D3 all-time top 25 list, with Ezra Ruggles of SUNY Geneseo leading the way with his time of 3:44.90 (No.15 all-time). Another name on this list is Williams’s Aidan Ryan, who won this event in 2019. Ryan also won the 2021 indoor mile and his indoor mile time of 3:56.88 is the fastest mile in D3 history by almost 3 seconds. The other two are Pomona-Pitzer’s Bennett Boothe-Genthe, who has the fastest season 800m PR in the field, and Jack Rosencrans.
Other names to pay attention to are Sam Verkerke of Eau Claire, who is fresh off of a massive 800m PR of 1:50.0, and Jacob Ridderhoff of WashU, who comes off a big 3:46 performance at the St. Francis Last Chance Meet a few weeks ago.
Women’s 400m Hurdles (Prelim 6:10 PM/Final Sat. 2:15 PM)
The 400m hurdles is typically a race of veterans at NCAAs, and this year is no exception. Five All-Americans from last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships return to fight for first place. Emma Lawrence of La Crosse enters prelims as the only athlete to have broken the minute barrier—she currently leads the field with a time of 59.98. She is returning to the 400m hurdles after a third-place finish in 2021.
Behind Lawrence are three returners under 61 seconds: Gwen Shepardson of SUNY Geneseo (60.19); defending national champion, Simone Wilson, of Concordia Univ. Chicago (60.41); and Birgen Nelson of Gustavus Adolphus (60.64). Nelson is set to race both hurdle events at nationals as she currently holds the No. 1 seed in the 100m hurdles. Also not to be overlooked in this race is four-time All-American Jayci Andrews, the 2019 60m hurdles and 100m hurdles champion, who placed 4th in this event in 2019.
Men’s 400m Hurdles (Prelim 6:25 PM/Final Sat. 2:25 PM)
Twenty athletes are qualified for the 400m hurdle prelims, but only eight will make it to the finals. On par with other events at 2022 nationals, qualifying times for this year’s meet have far surpassed 2021. Last year, only six athletes entered with times under 53 seconds; this year, 14 athletes have run sub-53.
Dallas Wright of Wartburg, and fourth-place finisher in this event at 2021 outdoor nationals, leads the field by almost a second and a half with a seed time of 50.88. Behind him are 13 athletes, all with sub-53 second entries. Other top returners in this event include defending national champion Jake Gladieux (52.37); 2021 runner-up Joel Smith of Bethel (52.32); All-American Cameron Rodgers of UMass Dartmouth (52.95); All-American Tyler Sealock of Bethel (52.95); and All-American Eli Odell of Wheaton (53.23). No. 2 seed, Joel Smith, and No. 5 seed, Deyton Love of Wartburg, are separated by only .08 seconds. Newcomers to look out for are JoJo Frost of Dubuque (52.37), Peter Hansen of Middlebury (52.76), and John Owens of Rowan (52.86), among others. The depth of this prelim will make qualifying for finals a hotly-contested battle.
Women’s 200m (Prelim 6:40 PM/Final Sat. 2:40 PM)
Stevens’s Gina Dello Russo is the only athlete in this event with a seed time under 24 seconds but is followed closely by Dubuque’s Alison Beeman, who has run 24.09 this year. Beeman took runner-up in this event in 2019 with a time of 23.75. She also comes off of a dominating conference weekend in which she swept the short sprint events and scored points in both relays and the high jump. Both Beeman and Alyssa Pfadenhauer of Loras will have full loads this weekend before the 200m, so Connecticut College’s Malissa Lindsay, Carnegie Mellon’s Samantha Giordani, and indoor 200m champion Bella Hogue could make a run at top three in this event.
Men’s 200m (Prelim 6:55 PM/Final Sat. 2:50 PM)
With a twice-broken national record in this event this season, the final in the men’s 200m is sure to have a nail-biting finish. Gallaudet’s Eric Gregory will look to defend or better his national record of 20.62. Centre’s JP Vaught will be on a mission to take back ownership of the record he broke first in mid-April.
Vaught is the two-time defending national champion in this event both indoors and outdoors. Rowan’s Jah’mere Beasley, last year’s outdoor runner-up, and La Crosse’s Sam Blaskowski and Ramapo’s Cheick Traore will also shake things up in this event. As the last open sprints event of the meet, the men’s 200m will crown whoever has the most gas left in the tank.
Women’s 3k Steeplechase (Prelim 7:10 PM/Final Sat. 11:30 AM)
The women’s steeple could be renamed the Evie Miller show, as the senior from Trine holds a lead of 15 seconds over the rest of the field. Her time of 10:06.26 is No. 2 all-time in D3 history. Only Centre’s Annie Rodenfels has broken 10 minutes in this event, and her D3 record of 9:58.83 could be in jeopardy this week. If Miller wins, it will be her first-ever national title. Behind Miller, seeds 8-9-10 are all at 10:51, so it could be anyone’s chance to become an All-American.
Men’s 3k Steeplechase (Prelim 7:35 PM/Final Sat. 11:45 AM)
The men’s steeplechase has three men currently seeded under 9 minutes and could see even more break this barrier at the championships. Pomona-Pitzer’s Colin Kirkpatrick leads the field with an 8:46.96, the No. 6 all-time fastest performance in D3 history. Kirkpatrick leads by 10 seconds over No. 2 seed Christian Patzka of Whitewater. John Carroll’s Ethan Domitrovich is the No. 3 seed with a time of 8:59.66 from last week. This event could be a big scoring event for current distance powerhouses Pomona-Pitzer and John Carroll, who each have three athletes entered in this event.
Women’s 4x400m Relay (Prelim 8 PM/Final Sat. 3:50 PM)
The women’s 4x400m relay will let off fireworks at the end of the meet with solid line ups from several teams in contention for team trophies. SUNY Geneseo, Loras, Wash U, and La Crosse will likely be in a tight battle to make a team podium finish.
Geneseo leads the way in this event with their seed time of 3:42.19, the fifth-fastest mark by a unique squad in this relay in D3 history. They will rely heavily on their anchor, Madison Mulder, who is in strong contention for the open 400m title and has split sub-54 in the relay already this season. Geneseo has two athletes entered in the open 400m, two in the 400m hurdles, and a strong leg in Jenna Strickland, who is entered in both relay events.
Similarly, the squad from La Crosse has three athletes in the 400m hurdles. The teams from Rochester and TCNJ have two athletes qualified in the open 400m, making the lineup in this event stacked. Indoors, the team from Loras won this event to solidify their win in the team battle, so watch out for them to try to beat Geneseo.
Men’s 4x400m Relay (Prelim 8:15 PM/Final Sat. 4 PM)
A simulation of the NCAA final in this event happened a week ago at the Augustana last chance meet, where six teams ran under 3:14, and Dubuque dropped a D3 No. 22 all-time best of 3:10.85 to rise to the No. 1 seed on the qualifying list. Behind them, Loras ran 3:11.65, and the squads from Oshkosh, Wartburg, and Bethel all ran 3:12, making this year’s 4x400m relay qualifying time the fastest in D3 history.
Add key players Mount Union, CMS, and the indoor championship team from Rowan into this race at the NCAA championship, and we could see a tight finish from first to eighth place. Based on entries, seven teams in the top 10 team scores have 4x400m teams entered, meaning we could see another dramatic finish to the NCAA meet this year (but hopefully not as dramatic as indoors).
Women’s 10k (8:30 PM)
The women’s 10k was one of the most competitive events to qualify for, and it will be just as competitive Thursday night. National record holder Kassie Parker leads the field by over a minute but will be joined by Wellesley’s Ari Marks, who battled with Parker wire-for-wire indoors in both the 5k and the 3k. Watch out for St. Benedict’s Fiona Smith, who enters as the No. 3 seed with her time of 34:33. A total of seven women enter this event with times under 35 minutes, including CMS’s Meredith Bloss, Carleton’s Clara Mayfield, Hopkins’s Alex Ross, and Amherst’s Sophia Wolmer.
Men’s 10k (9:15 PM)
John Carroll duo Alex Phillip and Jamie Dailey headline the men’s 10k, entering as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds with their times of 28:48 and 29:28. Phillip will look to continue his winning streak, which started with cross country in the fall and continued with the 3k and 5k indoors. This year, it took under 30 minutes to qualify for this event, so expect a narrow finishing window for All-American status as many of these athletes are packed together with close times. Keep an eye out for Williams’s Grahm Tuohy-Gaydos, Colby’s Tyler Morris, La Crosse’s Ethan Gregg, and Wilmington’s Simon Heys.
Friday: Field
Women’s High Jump (11:30 AM)
Eight centimeters separates the first and last entrants in this event, making the high jump an event with little room for error. Indoor national champion and outdoor runner-up last year Jaidyn Appel of Tufts currently leads the way with her mark of 1.75 meters. Loras’s Grace Alley and Wartburg’s Breya Christopher trail closely behind with their marks of 1.74 and 1.73 meters, respectively. Watch out, too, for Colby’s Sharde Johnson who won this even last year.
Loras’s Alley will be looking to contribute points to the team score as she did indoors with her third place finish in triple jump and sixth place finish in the pentathlon, finishes that helped Loras to secure the winning team trophy. Though her first time in the non-multi high jump competition, Alley is once again entered in the multi and the triple jump.
Men’s Shot Put (11:30 AM)
The men’s shot put competition will be highly competitive up front with Stout’s Kevin Ruechel’s No. 20 all-time toss of 18.29 meters and Carthage’s Joseph White’s No. 25 all-time toss of 18.01 meters leading the way. Trailing shortly behind is Carnegie Mellon’s Bram Miller, who is tied with White at No. 25 all-time with his lifetime PR in this event from last year. Ruechel is the returning champ and Miller the returning runner-up, so this trio is sure to push each other to new distances. Behind them, a tight battle for All-American honors will ensue as seeds four through nine are within just a half-meter of one another.
Men’s High Jump (2 PM)
St. John Fisher’s Kyle Rollins hasn’t lost an NCAA high jump competition since the 2019 indoor season. Even then, he still cleared the winning height and narrowly lost by one failed attempt off a tie-breaker. The five-time high jump All-American will look to continue his winning streak this weekend and perhaps even add an additional national title to his belt as he is also entered as the No. 1 seed in the men’s triple jump. His biggest competition in the vertical jumps will be Central College’s Sam Beatty, who comes in as the No. 2 seed with his jump of 2.09 meters, PSU Behrend duo Brady Smith and Samuel Hetrick, who went 3-5 indoors, and Mount Union’s Tanner Slack, who took runner-up both indoors and outdoors.
Women’s Shot Put (2 PM)
When you throw against two of the best other women’s shot putters in the nation at your conference meet, you’re sure to be prepared for the big stage. WIAC schools dominate the women’s shot put with the power trio of Platteville’s Brianna Leahy (15.34m), Eau Claire’s Catie Fobbe (15.33m), and La Crosse’s Skye Digman (14.66m). Though the finishing order at the WIAC Championship was Leahy, Fobbe, Digman, Digman is the reigning indoor champion in this event and holds a lifetime PR just two centimeters behind Fobbe. The disappointment of a third place conference finish could be enough to propel Digman back into contention for the crown at NCAAs.
Friday: Running
Women’s 100m Hurdles (Prelim 2:10 PM/Final Sat. 12:50 PM)
Gustavus Adolphus’s Birgen Nelson currently leads the high hurdles by 0.11 seconds with her time of 13.71, which is No. 5 all-time in D3 history. In addition to Nelson, there were four more additions to the all-time list in this event this year including Stevens’s Laura Mathews’s 13.82 (No. 8), La Crosse’s Emma Lawrence’s 13.94 (0.01 off of her No.17 performance from 2021), Julia Babinec’s 13.94 (No. 18), and Stout’s Hannah Zastrow’s 14.04 (No. 24). In total, five returning All-Americans from last year will compete head-to-head once more this year, including Bethel’s Kelsie Sealock, who is tied with Babinec at No. 18 all-time.
Men’s 110m Hurdles (Prelim 2:30 PM/Final Sat. 1 PM)
Junior college transfer Koren Leonard has been on a tear this year. His 14.08 is No. 20 all-time and leads the nation by a tenth of a second. This is Leonard’s second NCAA meet in a Benedictine jersey after he was 7th indoors in the 60m hurdles. He will be challenged by La Verne’s Zachary Reid, who is the only other seed under 14.20, as well as WPI’s Oliver Thomas, Wartburg’s Deyton Love, Trine’s Jake Gladieux, and MIT’s Kenneth Wei, all of whom garnered All-American honors indoor in the 60m hurdles. Key player Andrew Whitaker of WashU, who was the indoor national champion, will not be competing due to participating in Green Bay Packers camp, as he is currently being drafted to play in the NFL. I guess we can let it slide.
Women’s 400m (Prelim 3 PM/Final Sat. 1:10 PM)
The battle for the 400m title will be a close one between Geneseo’s Madison Mulder and Wesleyan’s Grace Devanny, whose seed times are separated by just a hundredth of a second. Mulder’s 54.57 and Devanny’s 54.58 are No. 19 and No. 20 all-time, respectively. Loras’s Pfadenhauer and Concordia’s Kayla Armstrong are also on the all-time list with their times from the championship last year of 54.33 (No. 16) and 54.61 (No. 22). Pfadenhauer took runner-up in this event last year and Armstrong third behind Stevens’s Gina Dello Russo, who will not line up in the 400 this year. Another name to watch out for is Susan Bansbach of Rochester, who has split sub-54 on the end of Rochester’s No. 3 seed 4x400m relay. Bansbach is joined by teammate Madeline O’Connell, who is entered in this even just behind Bansbach as the No. 5 seed, making the women;s 400m a big scoring event for Rochester.
Men’s 400m (Prelim 3:15 PM/Final Sat. 1:20 PM)
The men’s 400 falls into the ‘deepest field in D3 history.’ With the last seed being 47.86, the one lapper is setting the stage for another electric sprint race. Four men have gone under 47 seconds this season and are led by Beneditine’s DJ Anderson, who has run 46.75, which is 18th all-time. Last year’s runner-up, Dallas Wright, will have his plate full once again. Wright is entered in the 400, 400mH, 4x1 and 4x4. Don’t count out Cheick Traore ad Eric Gregory as they have risen to the top of D3. They are the only two athletes that have broken 47 and 21 in the 400/200. Joining the mix will be a trio of athletes from Texas. Rangel Miller, Jayden Sloan, and Malik Pratt from East Texas Baptist, McMurry and Hardin Simmons have posted fast times down south and look to bring the Texas heat to Ohio.
Women’s 100m (Prelim 3:30 PM/Final Sat. 1:30 PM)
The women’s 100m dash took 12.00 to qualify this year after last-woman-in Maddie Moran, who was entered at 11.99, scratched the event. 12.00 is the fastest qualifying time in this event in D3 history, making it a highly competitive field. The current leader is Connecticut College’s Malissa Lindsey, who has splashed onto the scene this season with her impressive times of 11.79 in the 100m (No.13 all-time) and 24.14 in the 200. Indoors, Lindsay was 18th in the 200m, not making it out of the prelim. Now, she’s one of the fastest seeds in the event and the fastest women’s 100m seed. Her biggest competition will be from Nebraska Wesleyan’s Bella Hogue, who won the 200m dash indoors and enters with an 11.80 seed time, and Lauren Gay of Wash U, and Gwen Orr of Platteville, both of whom have run under 11.90. Don’t count out Bridgewater’s Adalia Coleman, however, who won the 60m dash indoors and has a lifetime PR of 11.79 in the 100m.
A few key characters are missing in this field, including North Central’s Marcedes Jackson, whose 11.80 is No. 15 all-time and Moran, who placed fourth indoors in the 60m dash, but will not compete in any event this season. Jackson is entered in NCC’s 4x100m relay.
Men’s 100m (Prelim 3:45 PM/Final Sat. 1:40 PM)
A lot can transpire in 10 seconds, and in this case, 10.49 seconds, which is what it took to qualify for the men’s 100m dash this year. This time is the fastest qualifying time for the NCAA meet to date and beats the previous qualifying time of 10.63 seconds from the previous two championships by 0.14 seconds, a large margin over 100 meters. La Crosse’s Sam Blaskowski headlines this event with his seed time of 10.14 seconds, the second fastest time in D3 history under all conditions. Defending champion JP Vaught of Centre enters with the third fastest wind-legal performance in D3 history with his time of 10.21 and will look to repeat his victorious sweep of the short sprints from last year.
Other characters at play in this event are Platteville’s Cade VanHout, who took runner-up in the fastest WIAC final in conference history, Oshkosh’s Jaylen Grant, who placed third in the WIAC final and was runner-up in this event last year, and SUNY Delhi’s Naquille Harris and Hardin-Simmons’s Parnelle Shands, who enter with seed times of 10.35 and 10.37, respectively.
We’d be remiss not to also mention Knox College’s Derrick Jackson, who took fifth in this event last year and whose 10.17 performance from earlier this season was recognized as the D3 national record, then flagged by USTFCCCA as a “questionable mark” for unknown reasons. A man who was awarded a D3 national record and then stripped of that record for circumstances presumably outside of his control is a man anyone should be afraid to line up against in the 100m final.
Women’s 800m (Prelim 4 PM/Final Sat. 1:50 PM)
The Women’s 800m is not going to be an event you will want to miss. Messiah’s Esther Seeland will finish her first double at an outdoor national meet, looking to go uncontested with her seed-time of 2:03.66. The three-time 800m national champion is the only woman to run under 2:05 outdoors this season, and a recent performance of 2:03.08 in NYC last weekend is her second fastest 800m time ever. Right behind Seeland are five other women who have run sub-2:10. Based on seed-times, there seems to be an exciting battle shaping up for runner-up between Middlebury’s Cassie Kearney, WashU’s Emma Kelley, and Caltech’s Margaret Trautner who have all ran 2:08.05, 2:08.06, and 2:08.43, respectively.
We’re sure to see an incredibly exciting race as there are 2 other women behind Seeland, Kearney, Kelley, and Trautner who have broken 2:10: Calvin’s Delaney Sall and Middlebury’s Nicky Johnson. With a field this deep, it could take a sub-2:10 performance to be an All-American. Watch out, too, for WPI’s Sydney Packard, who enters with a 2:12.01, but is a five-time All-American in this event. The Women’s 800 is certainly going to be a fireworks show.
Men’s 800m (Prelim 4:15 PM/Final Sat. 2 PM)
Another event you’re not going to want to miss is the Men’s 800m. This season has been a thriller as seven men have broken 1:50. Amongst those poised to take home the crown are the only two men who have dipped under 1:49 this season: Loras’s Mike Jasa and Redlands’s Tucker Cargile. Jasa currently leads the division with a 1:48.70, which is No. 12 all-time in D3 history, and finished 4th at indoor nationals in the 800m with 1:52.78. Cargile enters the meet as the second seed with a 1:48.89, but the Redlands middle distance star has cited wanting to break Nick Symmonds’s outdoor record of 1:47.34 from 2006.
We’re sure to see an incredibly exciting race as there are 5 other men behind Jasa and Cargile who have broken 1:50: Lynchburg’s Tor Hotung-Davidsen, Millikin’s Ben Kuxmann, WashU’s Will Houser (who negative split his time of 1:49.39), Wis.-Oshkosh’s Steven Potter, and Loras’s Carter Oberfoell. All of these men are within striking distance of an individual national title or All-American accolades.
Saturday: Field
Women’s Hammer (11 AM)
The women’s hammer will be a marquee throwing event this weekend. With three women throwing top 20 all-time throws, those who venture out to the hammer ring will be in for a treat. Kendra Noneman is currently 7th All-Time with her throw of 60.15m, but she will have stiff competition from Valerie Obear and Kaitlyn Wilder. Obear and Wilder are 10th and 17th, respectively. All three of these women are separated by less than two meters which may seem like a lot, but anything can happen at the national meet. Noneman is using the remainder of her eligibility this outdoor season after transferring from Boise State as a grade transfer. Obear will look to improve upon her third place finish in 2021. As for Wilder, this will be her third throwing event of the weekend and she will look to add another trophy next to her weight throw national title from indoors.
Men’s Triple Jump (11 AM)
Though St. John Fisher’s Kyle Rollins has won three high jump national titles, he has never won a triple jump title. He was seventh in this event indoors and third last year, and this year he enters as the No. 1 seed with his leap of 15.11 meters. Not far behind at 15.10 meters is Utica’s Ka’Sean Watlington, who could be Rollins’s biggest competition. Also on this list, however, are indoor national champion Jonathan Wilburn of Oshkosh, who is No. 10 all-time on the outdoor list with his leap of 15.67 meters from last year, and Rowan’s Ahmir Johnson, who was the outdoor national champion last year. Johnson will be on the hunt for team points but will have to beat some pretty talented athletes in this field in order to score big.
Men’s Pole Vault (12 PM)
The men’s pole vault welcomes some new faces this season compared to indoors with the absence of indoor national champion Ben Drummey of Southern Maine and indoor national leader Kyel Wolff of Mount Union, neither of whom qualified for the outdoor competition. Five men enter this week’s competition with seeds at or over five meters including indoor All-Americans Garrett Silva of Whittier, Joe O’Connor of Washington and Lee, and Dominic Mikula of Ithaca. MIT’s Luka Srsic currently leads the field with a height of 5.06 meters. MIT has two athletes in contention for All-American in this event, while Eau Claire, who had three athletes in this event indoors, will send Abrahm Schroedl as their lone representative outdoors.
Men’s Hammer (1:45 PM)
Alex Kristeller and Jude Misko headline the men’s hammer as Kristeller is 16th All-Time and Misko is 22nd. When two all-time talents go head to head, the performances will be elevated. With their All-Time marks happening in the last two seasons, they are currently separated by only 7 inches. Carthage teammates Matt Ausse and Joseph White will look to bring points back to Kenosha as White will be competing in three throwing events. Kristeller not only has the top mark this season, but has the Weight Throw title from indoors to carry his confidence into this weekend’s meet. But Misko brings the experience from winning the Hammer Throw last outdoor season. Get ready for two champions to battle it out.
Women’s Triple Jump (1:45 PM)
The big storyline here is will Isabel Maletich rebound after fouling out indoors? She tied the national record in this event during the indoor season and left the indoor championship as the runner up in the long jump. She’s been off her personal best this outdoor season but will look to add another national championship to her resume. Victoria Kadiri picked up triple jump this outdoor season and is already thriving. The indoor national champion utilized her long jump skills to pick up the new event quickly. Despite not qualifying for the heptathlon, Kadiri sees the brightside that she’ll be fresh for both the long and triple jump. Keep your eye on the indoor national champion, Lia Rotti. She is currency in 5th but will look to make a similar rise up the ranks like she did during indoors.
Saturday: Running
All running finals with the exception of 10ks will take place today.
Women’s 5k (3 PM)
The women’s 5k has the potential to be one of the most exciting distance events of the weekend. Hopkins’s Ella Baran is all-in in this event, having scratched the 1500 to enter Saturday’s final with fresh legs. She currently has the fastest seed with her time of 15:49.09, the second fastest 5k time in D3 history. Her biggest competition will by Loras’s Kassie Parker, who ran 15:58 indoors to break the indoor 5k record and enters this weekend with a seed-time of 16:09. One also cannot count out Wellesley’s Ari Marks, whose gritty championship racing style this year is bound to pay off for her eventually.
St. Benedict’s Fiona Smith will also be a strong competitor and comes off of a valiant mid-season effort against Parker at Drake. Smith finished just behind Parker in a time of 16:16. Trine’s Miller will double back following her steeple final in the morning. Miller comes off of a big conference weekend in which she competed in the 800m prelim and final, 1500m final, 10k final, and 4x4, placing no lower than third in each event, an effort that should prepare her well for the NCAA double.
Men’s 5k (3:25 PM)
There is potential for history to be made in this race if Alex Phillip comes to the line with a 10k title under his belt. He’ll be the first D3 Athlete to win XC, the indoor 5k/3k and the outdoor 10k/5k. However, he has to go up against the deepest field in D3 history. 14:17.87 was this year’s cutoff. This is a time that typically puts you in good contention to become an All-American. 12 men in this field will be fresh including indoor runner-up Michael Obroin. With the majority of the field fresh, it’ll be interesting to see which tactics athletes in the field will use to try to dethrone Alex Phillip. Though Williams’s Ryan will have a 1500m on his legs, his seed time of 14:01 is currently Phillip’s biggest competition. The Williams trio of Ryan, Tuohy-Gaydos, and Lindgren will have an opportunity to try to outscore JCU duo Phillip and Dailey, who hold the highest seeds of any team at No. 1 and No. 3, respectively.
Team Battle
Though a double protest in the 4x400m relay to determine the meet winner was an exhilarating finish to the indoor meet this year, coaches, officials, and D3GD commentators are hoping for a more decisive close to this season’s championships. Below are the top ten teams on each side based on entries alone, but remember, neither Eau Claire nor Wash U were ranked based on entries indoors. At the NCAA meet, anything can happen.
