D3 Outdoor Season Heating Up: 4/12-4/13 Highlights

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Set the bar high early and the rest of the nation will follow suit. After some of the best marks in D3 history were set this past weekend, D3 track and field is in for a deep season. Forget about what it took to get into the national meet five years ago. These are different times. You are all witnessing history rewrite itself. 

Sub-10 for Blaskowski

There are certain barriers in track and field that are notoriously impressive when they are broken: 2 minutes in the women’s 800, 4 minutes in the men’s mile, and 10 seconds in the men’s 100-meter dash. The latter was broken for the first time in D3 history this past weekend when UWL’s Sam Blaskowski dropped a 9.99 in the 100-meter dash final at the Beach Invitational in Long Beach. He narrowly placed second to D1 UTSA’s Brice Chabot and beat the rest of the mostly D1 field in the process. 

“BuT tHe WiNd ReAd wAs 5.5!” Ah, yes. Blaskowski’s time does not count for a national record because it was significantly over the legal wind limit of 2.0 meters/second at 5.5 meters/second. That’s quite a tailwind. 

Several studies have been conducted on the impact of wind on sprinting performance, including one conducted by Moinat, Fabius, and Emanuel that created a wind correction calculator to predict adjustments to wind-aided times (you’re going to want to bookmark this). With no wind, or conditions in which the air is completely calm, Blaskowski’s time converts to 10.14, just 0.01 off of his national record of 10.13. At 2.0 m/s, the top bound of the legal wind limit, 9.99 converts to 10.05. 

This range indicates that with any strength of tailwind, Blaskowski was on track to run at his PR or better, down to as fast as 10.05 under legal limitations. Since he doesn’t get to choose what the wind does when his heat goes off, all Blaskowski has to do is keep replicating this performance. On a less breezy day, the already lightning-fast men’s 100-meter national record is as good as gone. 

Kadiri can’t be stopped

One of the reasons Hopkins’s Victoria Kadiri is so fun to watch compete is that she has what many would consider “the clutch factor.” She rises to the challenge when it matters and produces big results. Such was the case for Kadiri last spring when she won the women’s triple jump crown in a massive new national-record leap of 13.21 meters. Jaws in the audience dropped when they saw this mark hit the results. 

So what if I told you she jumped a full 22 centimeters further in a regular-season meet in mid April? Because that’s just what Kadiri did at the Bison Outdoor Classic last weekend. Thirteen meters and 43 centimeters–a leap that is over 44 feet, mind you–is the new mark to beat, and one that will likely stand as the national record for many years to come. Kadiri has cemented herself as the best triple jumper in D3 history and will look to back it up with a fifth national title in this event this May. She currently leads the field by almost a full meter. 

She is certainly one to continue to watch as the season forges on, particularly in what she can do in the long jump and multi events as well. Kadiri competed in all three events at the outdoor champs last year, capturing double national titles in the horizontal leaps and an eighth-place All-American finish in the heptathlon.

You get a sub-14, you get a sub-14!

Five years ago, only seven athletes in D3 history had ever dipped under the 14-minute barrier in the outdoor 5k, including NCC’s Dhruvil Patel, who did so in 2019. Today, seven current D3 athletes have already broken this barrier so far this season, meaning sub-14 might be required to be an All-American this year. Only 5 out of the top 25 marks in D3 history are not under 14 minutes, the slowest of which is 14:01.29. Talk about a record-book makeover.

Simpson’s Spencer Moon led the way at the UW-Platteville Invitational, winning in a blistering 13:51.65 and dragging three additional athletes with him: Wartburg’s Christopher Collet (13:55.45), NCC’s Max Svienty (13:57.03), and Wartburg’s Tyler Schermerhorn (13:57.09). Out at Bryan Clay, Manchester’s Enrique Salazar posted a sub-14 effort of his own, running 13:54.72, good for a top-ten finish amidst large-school talent. 

The women’s 5k at Platteville also showcased some deep fields, led by Wartburg’s Aubrie Fisher, who won in 16:28.70. In total, 13 women ran under 17 minutes in this hot heat of the 5k, making Platteville, Wisc. the place you wanted to be this weekend for 5,000 meters. 

West coast, best coast for Steeplechase

On the other hand, for steeplechase, there was nowhere in the country faster than Azusa, Calif. for the seven-and-a-half-lap barrier event. Both the men’s and women’s nation-leading times were set at the Bryan Clay Invite at Azusa Pacific last weekend. 

Central College duo Megan Johnson and Caroline McMartin led the way in the women’s event, with Johnson coming out victorious in a national leading time of 10:19.79, the 12th fastest women’s steeple in D3 history. McMartin finished not too far behind in 10:30.78 (No. 3 on the qualifying list), making this the best steeple pair in the country. They just beat Wartburg’s Aubrie Fisher and Ellie Meyer, who currently sit second and fourth, respectively. 

The men’s steeple was action-packed with four D3 athletes dipping under 9 minutes in the same meet to move in front of national record holder Christopher Collet on the qualifying list. Whitewater’s Christian Patzka led the way with his time of 8:43.98, narrowly missing his No. 2 all-time mark of 8:42.46. Behind him, UWL’s Adam Loenser set a new PB of 8:44.88, the seventh fastest time in D3 history. Pomona-Pitzer’s Colin Kirkpatrick and St. Olaf’s Will Kelly rounded out the weeken’s leaders, running 8:53.64 and 8:55.17, respectively. 

Mid-D showing out

Bennett Booth-Genthe is at it again. This time dropping a 1:48.08 to take a heat win out at the Bryan Clay invite. The indoor mile champ improve his PB by 0.23s and moves him to fifth All-Time. Three others went under 1:50 and they did that together in the same race. Sam Llaneza of Lynchburg, Dawit Dean and Spenry Watry of Emory had a heated battle running 1:49.13, 1:49.29, 1:49.35 respectively. On top of these four guys, six more went under 1:51.

Grace Hadley of WPI continues to be on a tear after dropping the fifth All-Time 1500m. She ran 4:17.61 to become the ninth woman under the 4:20 barrier. So far this season she’s posted 2:11.17/4:17.61/34:06.68. A 5k is seemingly coming soon for Hadley.

Four women went under 2:11 this weekend in the 800 led by Julia Howarth of MIT running 2:08.08. Indoor 800m runner-up, Hope Murphy, put together a nice 2:10.30/4:29.06 double this weekend.

Leaderboard changes

Several other big performances shook things up on the qualifying lists over the weekend. You may recognize many from the indoor national podium. Here’s who else jumped to the national lead over the weekend: