NCAA Championships

This coming weekend I, as etrain, must drop the PA knowledge front and try and give my best interpretation of the national scene. NBIN and the three NCAA championships are coming up!

I always love the NCAA championships, especially now that I am a college guy. A few Haverford guys that I have seen race in person a bunch are heading to Iowa to race the 5k and the 800m. Ben Scheetz, PA alumn and DIII record holder in the 800m, is the #1 seed in both the mile and the 800 at the national championships.

In the DII Championships the Shippensburg squad features a boat load of PA alumn including Brain Beegle in the open mile and the Shippensburg DMR is in the national title talks.

But of course the most exciting event will be the Division 1 NCAA indoor championships. Entries aren't up just yet but we can speculate that this meet will be extraordinary after a record setting season. Lalang, Sambu, Batty and even Hill have chased down NCAA top all time marks, some getting them, some just missing. And of course the great thing about indoor nationals is the fact that distance is represented in the relays. The DMR will once again be a battle with Andy Bayer and Miles Batty, last years heroes, back again to run after the title.

In the 800m Cas Loxsom looks to return to the cream of the crop in the 800m after some struggles this season. He missed the finals last year and I'm sure he hasn't forgotten about it just yet. Aaron Evans is another fierce competitor for the title out of Georgia. Joey Roberts of Texas A&M is amongst the leaders in the event as well as two sub 1:47 Minnesota 800m runners. Three Minnesota 800m runners are in the top 12 nationally, 4 in the top 24.

In the Mile a whopping 10 runners have hit the auto time including Diego Estrada's altitude adjusted 3:55 from a 4:04. But that group features a large amount of 5k guys with high hopes in that race. Batty is the defending champ and will almost surely look to take down a second straight title. He just set the indoor college record in the mile. Assuming Diego, Lalang, and Levins pull out, the other favorites will be guys like McEntee, Bayer, McCarthy and Van Ingen. Cory Leslie and Chris O'Hara also have experience at the top level and potential to mix it up and surprise for the title. If Peter Callahan gets in, he has one of the best kicks in all of the NCAA and may really surprise some people in a tactical race. Freshman superstar Robby Creese who currently holds the NCAA 1k indoor record, may also sneak his way into the championship and be fun to watch mix it up.

In the 3k 15 runners have hit the auto time. Hill, Lalang, Levins, Sambu, Derrick, Heath, Bayer, Dunbar, Korir, Estrada and Batty are among the group of guys with the qualifying time. There is a shocking 41 guys under 8 minutes already this winter and of course not all will get in. There is a lot of talent in this field, most guys will be doubling in some way or another from the DMR or the 5k or something along those lines. Batty and Bayer will have a decision to make as to which event that want to pick the mile or the 3k (Batty definitely is a mile guy). Lalang has to be the favorite, even if he runs a blistering 5k the day before.

10 guys dropped the auto time in the 5k. Including Parker Stintson and Trevor Dunbar from Oregon, Jake Reily and Chris Derrick from Stanford, Lalang and Sambu from Arizona and Korir, Mead, Estrada and Levins. I'm a big Levins fan and so is my buddy Josh Elkan so we will be pulling for him but Lalang, Sambu and Korir are definitely the favorites after their Millrose run. It will be interesting to see how tough everyone else hangs. Cabral should also end up in this field and he is a steeple chase champ you can't forget about.

And of course the DMR, one of the best relays ever invented should feature defending champions BYU, Indiana, Texas A and M, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Wisconsin who have hit the auto time already. Arkansas, Stanford, Nova, and Washington have the next fastest times and about 10 teams are expected to get in so this may be the full field. Notre Dame has Jeremey Rae on the anchor, Wisconsin will have Hatz most likely, Stanford's relay that qualified had Derrick and Lefebure on the squad, but Derrick will almost certainly opt for the 5k that night instead. Ellison was the 800 leg on Nova's fastest time and they have a sub 4 anchor leg of their own. This race should be wide open and will be fun to watch.