While the top collegiate and professional athletes showed their stuff this weekend, many D3 athletes came up with some impressive performances of their own.

Lots of these top performances came from the big name relays, where the D3 elite mixed it up with many of the sport’s stars. At the Penn Relays, the most anticipated event of the weekend did not quite live up to its billing as Nick Guarino ran “only” 4:03.61 in a race that went out far too slow—the 800 split was around 2:05. Still, he finished fourth in a loaded field, only one tenth of a second behind Liam Boylan-Pett, a sub-4 miler formerly of Columbia and Georgetown. Also of note was the thirteenth place finisher: Brian Leiter, a multiple-time D3 All-American alumnus of Frostburg State, who showed he’s still in decent shape with a sub-4:10 clocking. Nick Guarino’s twin, Josh, also added an automatic qualifier of his own with a 9:03.30 performance in the steeple. There were also numerous national marks in the longer distances, with Plattsburgh’s Mike Heymann and St. Lawrence’s multi-time national champion Wendy Pavlus hitting the automatic marks in the 10k with times of 29:55.40 and 35:23.30, respectively. Kate Leugers of Ithaca and Grayce Selig of Brandeis provided the only other current top-ten distance performances with 5k times of 17:06.50 and 17:13.10. However, there certainly were other solid provisional distance marks from John Johnston and Dan Ramsey (St. Lawrence), Eric Macknight and Tim Pipp (Keene State), Robin England (Rutgers-Camden), Courtney Cooper (Berry), Andrea Walsh (Keene State), and Jenna Peacock (Rowan), as well as some great field, sprinting, and relay performances.

The Drake Relays played host to six division-leading performance, including two from indoor champions Mike Spain (North Central) in the 5k and Keelie Finnel (Coe) in the 800. Spain’s time of 14:15.79 was a slight personal best from his indoor nationals championship, and in my mind, establishes him as the current favorite in both the 5k and 10k as he has division-leading times in both events. Even more impressively, Finnel roared to a 2:06.83 victory and lifetime best, which is good not only for the division-lead but also for the fourth best all-time performance in D3. The 10k’s saw great performances as well, with Brian Butzler of UW-Whitewater adding a 30:11.33 provisional mark to his 5k auto, while Simone Childs-Walker of Carleton got the auto and a fifth-place finish in 35:29.44. However, the best D3 performance at the meet belongs to Wartburg’s 4x400 squad. Despite setting the bar extremely high—coming into the race, they had already hit the automatic standard multiple times—they exceeded anything ever seen before at the D3 level by running a division-record of 3:40.41. Central College also hit the auto in the women’s 4x400, while North Central posted the first men’s 4x400 auto of the indoor or outdoor season with 3:10.66 finish. In the decathlon, Ethan Miller of Central (notable for scoring 26 points at indoor nationals) notched a division-leading and tenth best all-time score of 7134 points. Concordia’s Andy Ashenden, St. Thomas’s Allie Metzler, and Nebraska Wesleyan’s Hayley Sutter added 10k provos to the list of exceptional performances, and, of course, there are countless other top field, sprinting, and relay marks that have been left unmentioned.

Despite the performances already mentioned, the biggest D3 meet of the weekend came from the unheralded Gina Relays, which featured an astounding 35 provisional and automatic qualifiers in the distance events alone. The men’s side had the majority of these qualifying marks, with Calvin teammates Greg Whittle and Alex Wrobel setting the tone with 3:50.60 and 3:50.73 1500 provisionals, good for third and fourth on the performance lists thus far. Calvin’s success continued into the 5000 as indoor All-American Nick Kramer posted a solid personal best and the top D3 time of 14:17.70. However, the second D3 finisher was the story of the day, as miler Dee Salukombo of Denison just put his name on the short list of national contenders with a one minute personal best of 14:18.83. Following close behind were UW-Platteville’s Nate Patesch, UW-Oshkosh’s Nate Stymiest, and Allegheny’s Chris Marker, all finishing in under 14:30. The onslaught of top times continued into the 10k, where Thomas Breitbach of UW-Eau Claire and Tim Nelson of UW-Stout both hit automatic qualifiers with times of 29:49.69 and 30:06.66. Following these men were nine additional provisional qualifiers: Jason Garvens (UW-Platteville), Dan Kerley and Neil Klein (North Central), Dan Kerr (Calvin), Sean Harrington (UW-La Crosse), Rhett Morici (Calvin), Mark Punzenberger (UW-La Crosse), Anthony Swimm (UW-Platteville), and Nathan Warstler (North Central). The steeplechasers did their part, too, as Calvin’s Ben Van Wyk, Wartburg’s Jon Stover, and UW-Oshkosh’s Tyler Morey all dipped under 9:10, placing them fourth through sixth on the performance lists. Brian Shonat (UW-La Crosse), Kale Booher (Ohio Wesleyan), and Matt VanDerRoest (Calvin) also hit provisional steeplechase marks. Those of you anxiously awaiting cross country next year, take note of Calvin—they have five returners who just went 3:50, 9:22, 14:17, 30:29, and 30:37, though the always dangerous North Central had three returners hit the 10k provo.

Although the women’s half of the meet did not have the same quantity of national qualifiers, it certainly had its fair share of quality. Indoor All-American Christy Cazzola of UW-Oshkosh provided highlights with a 2:12.65 provisional in the 800 and an even more impressive 4:24.36 automatic 1500 qualifier, which is the sixth fastest all-time performance in D3. Emily Schudrowitz of St. Norbert was close behind in the 800 with a 2:13.46 provo of her own, and Emily Elmers of Wartburg was the only other middle distance provisional qualifier with a 4:37.96 showing in the 1500. In the distance events, Calvin’s Jodi Hoekstra was the top D3 5k-er with an almost 30-second personal best of 17:07.96, and Oberlin’s Joanna Johnson and Wartburg’s Lori Tlach weren’t far behind with 17:18.88 and 17:20.78 provisional marks. Meanwhile, Calvin’s success continued in the steeplechase where Gretchen Braymer charged to a 10:39.75 auto qualifier, while UW-Oshkosh’s Cassie Petersen and Hope’s Kelly Lufkin hit provisional marks of 11:04.55 and 11:05.04.

While many athletes were putting up top performances at these premier events, many other D3 stars were busy with their conference championships. At the NESCAC meet, Middlebury’s Kaitlyn Saldanha and Margo Cramer ran provisional marks of 2:11.15 and 2:12.75, and this came after Cramer ran a 10:49.77 provisional in the steeple. However, Williams came away with the victory, bolstered by freshman Chiara Del Piccolo, who lapped the entire field en route to a 36:20.06 provisional qualifier. In the 1500, Amy Wilfert of Tufts, Melissa Sullivan of Amherst, and Sophia Spring of Middlebury all hit provisional marks, with Wilfert getting the victory in 4:34.06. The men’s meet featured only two distance provisional marks, with Jack Davies of Middlebury, already an automatic qualifier in the event, leading Brandon Abasolo of Williams across the line with times of 9:13.97 and 9:17.25, respectively. Abasolo’s efforts helped Williams come away with the men’s title, as well. Also of note was 800 star Ben Scheetz of Amherst, who took home victories in the 800, 1500, and 4x400.

The steeplechase at the SCIAC championships was also the premier distance event, with teammates Anders Crabo (already an auto qualifier) and Charles Enscoe of Pomona-Pitzer sandwiching teammates Bennett Naden and Rafer Dannenhauer of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, as all four ran provisional marks between 9:17 and 9:22. Despite a solid sixteen points from this event, CMS came up short in their team title bid as Redlands came away with the victory. However, the most competitive event at the meet was certainly the 400 meter dash, as Andy Green of Redlands ran an automatic qualifying 47.54 and finished third. Marcus Fortugno of La Verne got came out with another huge win and a 46.55 division-leading time, placing him just outside the all-time top ten list. The other automatic qualifier was freshman Kevin Curbelo of Whittier who clocked in at 47.50, and Jeff MacDonald of CMS and Ryan Shorey of Redlands added provisional marks of 48.12 and 48.38. Annie Lydens of Pomona-Pitzer was the only new provisional distance qualifier in the women’s meet, as she won the 1500 with a time of 4:34.49. Lydens added a 5k victory, but third-ranked CMS took home the women’s title by a solid margin.

At the Centennial Conference meet, Sheena Crawley and Caitlin Regan of Franklin and Marshall went 1-2 in the 800 with solid provisional times of 2:12.25 and 2:13.88. However, the most competitive distance event was 10k, which saw five girls under 37 minutes, led by Christina Valerio of Johns Hopkins in 36:20.90. After Valerio came three Dickinson athletes: Kimberly Powell, Catherine Campbell, and Taylor Ludman, all finishing between 36:25.05 and 36:31.46. Close behind was Haverford’s Emily Lipman in 36:43.44. The same five girls finished in the exact same order in the 5k, with Valerio posting the lone provisional mark with a 17:15.11 performance, and her two victories led Johns Hopkins to the team title. The men’s side featured a heated battle between Dickinson and Haverford, with the premier distance event being the 1500. Tim Schoch of Haverford got the win in 3:49.99, but Kent Pecora of Dickinson posted a 3:50.95 second-place and finish and helped his team to a 1-2 finish in the 5k, which ultimately proved too much for Haverford as the Red Devils claimed the team title. The only other distance provisional mark came from Haverford’s Lucas Fuentes, who ran 9:23.64 to slip under the steeple standard.

Other results of note include two solid 800 provos from Wabash half-milers Jake Waterman and Kevin McCarthy with times of 1:51.16 and 1:51.36, good for third and fourth in the nation thus far. The two should be a force to be reckoned with at outdoor nationals just like they were indoors. Brian Fuller of Springfield ran 30:53.06 to win the NEWMAC conference’s 10k by almost two minutes, though his team fell to MIT. Finally, the steeple saw some additional provos as well, with Daniel Lane of Rochester (9:12.66), Micah Aldrich of Rose-Hulman (9:21.23), and Stephen Williams of Oberlin (9:21.64) all posting personal bests this past weekend.

On the women’s side, freshman Kathleen Malloy of DePauw posted a solid 2:13.76 provisional mark, while Amy Knoblock of Keene State and Molly Carl put up provisional 1500 times of 4:34.14 and 4:37.41, respectively, though Carl’s squad came out victorious at the New England Alliance Championships. Wellesley’s Leah Clement, indoor 800 meter All-American, added the steeplechase to her repertoire with a solid 10:49.85 performance, good for tenth on this year’s performance lists. And, last but not least, Emma Lee of St. Olaf squeezed under the provisional standard in the 10k with a time of 37:22.51.

This week’s one and only shout-out goes to Catherine Street of Linfield, who improved upon her seasonal best with a vault of 4.10 meters and moved into third on the all-time lists, which puts some pressure on indoor national champ and all-time record holder Abigail Schaffer of Moravian, who slides to fourth on the outdoor all-time lists.

No interview for this week, but be sure to check back next week for a recap on all of this weekend’s action, which will feature tons of conference and regional championships—many of which will be coming down to the wire.