D3 Past and Present Shine
We are less than a month out from the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships that will be held at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, OH. Athletes used this weekend to solidify their spots on the qualifying list, add their names to the D3 All-Time top 10 lists, and, as with many other weeks this year, take down national records. Here’s what happened in D3 track and field this week.
Weekend of relays
Two of the biggest and most historical relay meets of the year, the Penn Relays and the Drake Relays, took place this weekend, giving many teams an opportunity to run non-championship relay events. Though these events have no implications for the NCAA meet, they’re a great way to train for rounds in a fun, team-driven environment.
These events do have their own national records lists on USTFCCCA, though. And so, squads from Loras and St. Norbert loaded up their teams and got after it at Drake, each team leaving Des Moines with a D3 national record.
The men’s squad from Loras kicked off Friday morning with a record-setting time of 7:28.23 in the 4x800m. The team of Carter Oberfoell, Ryan Harvey, Wyatt Kelly, and Mike Jasa beat the previous national record of 7:32.28 set by North Central in 2007 by four seconds.
Graphic by Maddie Bahr
Each team member’s splits were impressive. To break the record, each athlete had to run 1:53 or faster, and perform well on the same day. Not many programs in the country have four men capable of this. WashU is currently the only program with four men in the top 50 of the men’s 800m national qualifying list.
Oberfoell set the pace for the Duhawks, splitting 1:53.21, just a shade over the goal time of 1:53.00. This gave Harvey a bit of fire under his feet when he got the baton. Harvey split 1:51.45, a time that would place him No.14 on the qualifying list in the men’s open 800m. He handed off to Kelly, who brought the baton around in 1:52.78, the perfect offset to Oberfoell’s 1:53.21. The only runner left was Jasa.
When you hand the baton off to a national champion in the 800m with a 1:49.45 PR and your team is already ahead of schedule, you probably feel confident. Jasa carried the efforts of his teammates home with a split of 1:50.81, crossing the finish line in a new D3 record.
The excitement continued into the sprints relays when the women’s 4x200m relay team of Maddie LeBrun, Audrey Makope, Daijah Brown, and Sydney Zima of St. Norbert dropped a time of 1:40.05 to place fifth overall and set a new D3 record. This time bested the previous record of 1:40.40 held by Nebraska Wesleyan. With this time, each member averaged a split of 25 seconds, which requires depth and synchronicity. Currently, only Zima is on the national top 50 list for the 200m with her time of 24.96. Only WashU has four women currently in the top 50.
Maddie LeBrun, Audrey Makope, Sydney Zima and Daijah Brown after setting the 4x200m record
Moments later, the men’s squad from Dubuque nearly set a national record in the 4x200m relay when the team of Nolan Lentz, Jeremiah Steed, Kobe Howell, and JoJo Frost ran 1:25.74 to place third overall, beating several D1 programs along the way. The current national record is held by Nebraska Wesleyan and was set in 2003.
Each leg of Dubuque’s relay split well under 22 seconds for 200 meters. Steed clocked in the fastest split at 21.21, a time that currently sits third on the qualifying list in the open 200m. Frost anchored in 21.28, bringing the team home to their national record. Three out of four of these national record-holding relay members are also on the 4x100m relay squad ranked first in the country.
Behind Dubuque, Loras placed second to finish sixth overall, setting the fourth fastest time in D3 history in this non-championship event. Only UW Oshkosh currently has four men on the top 50 list in the open 200m, making the No. 2 seed 4x100m team from Wisconsin a top contender in this championship event.
5k power plays: Smith, Parker, JCU men crack D3 All-Time List
The women’s 5k at Drake and men’s 5k at Penn both produced some lightning-fast times, led by distance stars Kassie Parker of Loras and Alex Phillip of JCU. Both Parker and Phillip were making attempts at the D3 national record in their respective races. Parker was chasing Missy Buttry’s 15:37.48, and Phillip had sights on Dhruvil Patel’s 13:51.40. Both fell short, but just as they say “shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Shoot for a D3 record; even if you miss, you’ll land in the top 10.
Parker’s finishing time of 16:09.66 is currently fourth all-time in D3 history, while Smith’s time of 16:16,54 is sixth all-time. Smith ran a savvy race, holding steady 77- and 78-second laps until she caught up to Parker at the 3k. The pair ran together for the next mile until Parker made one final move into the bell lap to gap Smith and take third overall. In the same race, Carleton’s Clara Mayfield and Hope’s Ana Tucker ran PRs of 16:33.04 and 16:36.95 to rise to sixth and seventh on the current qualifying list.
Photo Credit: Emily Richards - Fiona Smith and Kassie Parker working together during the 5k.
Phillip repeated his second sub-14 effort of the year, running a 13:58.78, the eighth-fastest outdoor 5k in D3 history. Phillip and Ian Lamere are the only two men in D3 history to run under 14 minutes in the 5k both indoors and outdoors.
Phillip’s teammate, Jamie Dailey, was the second D3 finisher in the Penn 5k, running a new personal best time of 14:08.22, No. 21 all-time in D3 history. Christian Schaff of Elizabethtown finished third in D3 with a time of 14:14.38, moving to No. 11 on the men’s 5k qualifying list. Out at Drake, Wartburg’s Christopher Collet ran 14:12.16 to move to No. 8 on the list. With these additions, the qualifying top-20 mark in the men’s 5k is now under 14:20, an unprecedented standard. Throw in six men under 14:10 and we’re gearing up for a wild 5k final at nationals.
Similarly, in the men’s 10k, the 20th time is currently 29:56.46, meaning a sub-30 performance in this event might not be enough to guarantee a spot on the start line. In an event like the 10k, athletes usually only have one big opportunity during the regular season to drop a fast time, meaning conference weekend could be several athletes’ last chance to add their names to the qualifying list. Two men dipped under 30 minutes at the NESCAC meet this past weekend, but most conferences will take place this coming weekend, so look for this list to become even faster.
D3 Alums make a splash
Though no longer sporting their D3 singlets, several D3 alums shook things up in elite races around the country this weekend.
Out at Stanford, Centre grad Annie Rodenfels dropped a world-leading time of 9:25.48 in the women’s steeplechase, winning the event by seven seconds. Rodenfels’s last steeple race was at the Olympic Trials after discovering she had a bulging disc in her spine. Though a post on Twitter pointed out the way she stutter-stepped into most of her barriers and landed on two feet after her water jumps, Annie Rodenfels is a name that is steadily rising to the top of the nation, and with big jumps come big expectations. Rodenfels fans around the country (ourselves included) are stoked to see what she will drop in the steeple next after tackling some barrier work.
Annie showing off how she spiked herself. Not enough people talking about her epic season!
Another big name in the women’s steeplechase this weekend was Carmen Graves, Roanoke grad and winner of the Penn Relays women’s steeple. Graves ran 9:46.68 to narrowly take the victory over On’s Alicja Konieczek. Last year, Graves was the first one out of the steeple final at the Olympic Trials, but with competitive wins like this one, Graves is on a mission to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Listen to her story on podcast episode 54.
Photo Credit: Johnny Zhang - Carmen Graves taking the win at Penn Relays
Staying at Penn Relays, Elizabethtown alumnus, Samuel Gerstenbacher, took On’s Ben Flanngian to the line in the 5k. Samuel ran 14:06 which is a massive PB from 14:56 in college. Based on his TFRRs, Samuel was a senior when Covid sent the nation home and continues to chase fast times.
Another name worth noting from this past week is Jenn Randall, an Ithaca grad with a new mile PR of 4:32.68, which she ran at the USATF Road Mile Championships last Tuesday. She finished second behind professional adidas runner and NCAA D1 mile national champion while at Villanova, Emily Lipari. She then traveled west for the Payton Jordan Invitational, where she ran 1500m in 4:11.36, narrowly missing a PR.
While at Ithaca, Randall was a two-time All-American—once in the 800m outdoors and once in the mile indoors. Now, after a breakout 2021 season, Randall is one of the top US women’s middle-distance runners in the entire country.
Last year, she ran lifetime bests of 4:10 in the 1500 and 15:30 in the 5k. This momentum carried through the 2022 indoor season when she ran 9:02 in the 3k in January. This outdoor season she has run 2:06 in the 800 and 4:32 in the road mile. Watch for Randall as one of the D3 runners represented at the USATF outdoor championships in Eugene, OR this year.
Photo Credit: Grand Blue Mile - Jenn Randall (right) finishing second.
Conference Rumblings
Conferences around the country began their championship portion of the season, including the SCIAC, NESCAC, SAA, and NEWMAC.
The SCIAC Championships took place in Whittier, CA, boasting sunshine and warm conditions that many midwest and east coast schools have been pining for all year. CMS won by a sizable amount on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Photo Credit - Thomas D’Anieri - CMS celebrating the SCIAC Sweep
The women were led by their depth in the distance events, with Laura Zimmer winning the 1500m and scoring in the 800m, Emily Clarke, Riley Harmon, and Meredith Bloss sweeping the 5k, and Bloss winning the 10k. Hurdler Caroline DelVecchio was also a huge contributor by winning both hurdle events.
On the men’s side, Doritos enthusiast Henry Pick won the 5k, Daniel Sealand was runner up in the 1500m, Kai Dettman was runner up in the 800m, and the sprints squad of Jamie Cockburn, Massimo Bertini, and Christian Campbell swept the men’s 200m. Bertini also won the 400m to score big points.
At the NESCAC meet in Clinton, NY, Tufts brought home the men’s trophy and Middlebury claimed the women’s trophy. Tufts was led by Luke Botsford, who swept the men’s 200m and 400m dashes. Teammate Alex Lemieux also scored in the sprints events, claiming points in both the 100m and 200m dashes. Ryan Proulx and Ivan Appleton went 1-2 in the steeple, and every field event except javelin, pole vault, and triple jump saw a champion in a Tufts jersey, making this a victory largely attributable to Tufts’s depth off the track.
The women’s team from Middlebury was led by Cassie Kearney, who completed a highly impressive triple this past weekend, winning the 800m and 1500m, and anchoring her 4x800m relay team to victory. Her winning times of 2:09.51 in the 800 and 4:26.64 in the 1500m are both third in D3 on the outdoor qualifying list. Another big contributor for Middlebury was Jaxon Palmer, who won the women’s javelin throw. Kearney and Palmer were the only two athletes from Middlebury to win an individual event on the women’s side, meaning this team relied largely on their depth to rack up enough points to overtake Tufts, who narrowly missed the men’s and women’s sweep by seven points.
Another impressive performance to call out was Sophie Wolmer of Amherst. Sophie became the seventh woman this season to break 35 minutes in the 10k after she ran a solo 34:59.86. She won by 100 seconds leaving herself with plenty of time to think about repeating as a 10k All-American this year.
At SAAs, Berry won the men’s team battle, and Rhodes won the women’s team battle. Centre’s JP Vaught won the 100m, 200m, and 400m dashes, and anchored his 4x400m relay to a fifth-place finish. The NEWMAC title was claimed by MIT on the men’s side and saw a tie between WPI and MIT on the women’s side.
Six-time All-American Sydney Packard is back, dropping a season-best of 2:12.87 to win the women’s 800m at NEWMACs and jump to No. 16 on the qualifying list. With a qualifying mark and a month left to train, Packard is certainly one to look out for on the start line in this event at the national meet.
A few teams completed the triple crowns (XC, ITF, OTF) over the weekend. The Manchester women won HCAC to round out their triple as well as both the Men and Women from Lynchburg.
Leaderboard changes
Several changes to the leaderboards occurred this weekend, and the addition of more names to the top 20 continues to raise the qualifying standard for the NCAA meet at the end of the month.
At NESCACs, Connecticut College’s Malissa Lindsey ran two nation-leading times in the women’s 100m and 200m dashes. She won both events and was also part of the crowning 4x100m relay. Her slightly wind-aided (+2.6m/s) 11.76 in the 100m dash improved her previous No. 1 seeded time of 11.79 by 0.03 seconds. She remains the only woman to break 11.80 in the 100m so far this season. Later on, she dropped a new PR of 24.14 in the 200m dash, a national lead over indoor 200m national champion Bella Hogue of NWU by a tenth of a second. 24.14 is currently No. 21 in D3 history in the outdoor women’s 200m.
Also at NESCACs, Grace Devanny won the women’s 400m in a time of 55.01, a new NCAA D3 lead. Tufts’s Jaidyn Appel defended her No. 1 seed in the high jump by clearing 1.75m, a 3-cm improvement from last week and just enough to stay ahead of Wartburg’s Breya Christopher, who cleared 1.73m at Drake.
Other shuffles to the leaderboards included DePauw’s Erin Pasch, who moved into first on the qualifying list past indoor pentathlon champion Hannah Zenkovich in the women’s heptathlon after this weekend with her score of 5041 points. Eau Claire’s Gabby Hicks tossed 49.21m in the women’s discus to move to first place ahead of Dubuque’s Kaitlyn Wilder by two meters. The Rochester women’s 4x400m squad of Madeline O’Connor, Eileen Bequette, Kristin Hardy, and Susan Bansbach posted an impressive solo performance of 3:45.24 at home, a new NCAA D3 lead ahead of the squad from Loras.
Photo Credit Maddie Bahr - Erin Pasch (DePauw) is your new leader in the Hep!
Some big performances this weekend were also good enough to crack the D3 all-time top 10. Out at Penn, Esther Seeland ran 4:18.28 in the women’s 1500m to pass Ella Baran on both the leaderboard and the NCAA record book, as she moves to No. 6 all-time in D3 history in this event. Phillip passes 5k leader Aidan Ryan with his time of 13:58 from Penn.
At Drake Relays, Wartburg’s Dallas Wright dropped a No. 8 all-time 50.88 in the 400m hurdles to place third among D1 talent. He now leads the country by a second and a half. Rowan’s Greg Poloso threw a whopping 70.39 meters (230’11”) in the men’s javelin throw, No. 8 all-time in D3 history. Rowan now has the one through three seeds as well as the No. 10 seed in this event (perhaps there should be a javelin throw relay?). Poloso was named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week for his efforts. He owns the farthest throw in this event by any D3 athlete since 2018.
20th / 22nd Marks Chart
With just 15 days left to qualify, here are the 20th place marks for the men, 22nd place marks for the women, and 16th place relay teams. As the season heads toward conference meets and last chance meets, athletes will look to best these marks to ensure their spot at the national meet. If not, they’ll have to wait until Friday, May 20th to know if they’ve made the meet. If you compare this year’s marks to the average 22/20 marks below, you’ll see plenty of events are better than the average of years past.
17 events have already surpassed the average. W100, M100, W200, M200, W1500, M1500, W5K, M5K, W10K, M10K, W100H, M110H, M4x1, WLJ, MLJ, WTJ, and WSP. We’re going to sound like a broken record, but get ready for nationals!