Another weekend of conference and regional championships brought another onslaught of provisional and automatic marks from across the nation.

We’ll start in Wisconsin, where the WIAC meet played host to just shy of one hundred new or improved national marks. David Litsheim of Steven’s Point, indoor All-American, won his trials heat with a provisional mark of 1:52.49, placing him tenth on the performance lists. However, Litsheim faded to second in the finals when freshman teammate Dan Sullivan came away with the victory and a time of 1:53.19. Sullivan continued his great weekend as he won the fast heat of the 1500 in a huge personal best of 3:54.80, but Platteville’s Patrick Klein seems to be returning to the form that saw him run 4:06 this indoor season, as he ran 3:53.44 in the slow heat to earn the victory and a provisional qualifier. Whitewater’s Brian Butzler won the 5k in a pedestrian time (for him, at least) of 14:59.71, while Nate Patesch of Platteville ran a modest personal best of 30:41.65 to lead Stout’s Tim Nelson and La Crosse’s Mark Punzenberger to provisional 10k marks. Jeremy Kieser of Eau Claire ran a steeple provo of 9:21.85, but Brain Shonat of La Crosse came away with the victory in 9:14.40, and his points proved invaluable to the nationally fourth-ranked Eagles as they attempted to win their 21st consecutive WIAC title. After a variety of other spectacular performances—highlighted by a division-leading, automatic qualifying triple jump of 15.48 meters from La Crosse’s Isaac Vasquez—the meet came down to the 4x400, La Crosse found itself down seven points to fifth-ranked Oshkosh. However, a solid second place finish and a little but of luck (Oshkosh was disqualified) proved just enough to bring the Eagles a 175-174 victory.

On the other hand, Oshkosh’s women left no doubt about the end result and got revenge for their men’s stunning defeat. That revenge came in the form of Christy Cazzola, who won the 1500 in 4:39.24 and then stormed back to win the 800 in an automatic qualifying time of 2:08.02, making her the seventh fastest 800 runner in Division 3 history. Finishing second in the 800 was indoor runner-up Ann Tank, though she cannot be disappointed with a very respectable personal best of 2:10.76. In the steeple, Eau Claire’s Ashlyn Mauer improved her provisional mark to 10:49.95 with her victory, which currently sits eleventh on the performance lists. Other results of note include a pair of autos for Oshkosh sprinter Camille Davis, including a division-leading time of 11.92 in the 100, and teammate Holly Ozanich continued her domination of the throws with the divisions top shot put throw (14.75 meters) and a victory in the hammer. If you put it all together, Cazzola, Davis, and Ozanich showed why the Titans should be considered the team to beat at nationals.

The New England Division 3 Championships saw another great team battle on the men’s side. In a loaded steeplechase where the top six finishers all ran or have run provisional qualifiers, Brandon Abasolo of Williams emerged victorious (9:14.11), holding off a strong challenge from Paul Welle of MIT (9:17.07). The team battle finished the same way, with Williams edging rival MIT by a score of 151 to 147. Freshman Michael LeDuc of Connecticut College was third in the steeple with a time of 9:18.54. The only other distance provisional marks came from the 1500, where Chris Brown of Brandeis held off steeple auto qualifier Jack Davies, 3:52.84 to 3:53.33.

The women’s team title was also undecided before the relays, with Williams attempting to come away with this title as well. However, MIT’s women avenged their men’s loss by winning the 4x400 in a time of 3:50.34, giving them a score of 141.5 to Williams’ 138. Although the relay was the decisive event, both squads put on quite a show in the distance events. The women’s 10k set the bar extremely high, with Jennifer Gossels and Annie Dear of Williams battling with Anna Holt-Gosselin of MIT. After the dust settled, cross country runner-up Gossels emerged with the victory and the division lead in the 10k (35:18.82), while Holt-Gosselin and Dear had to settle for automatic qualifying times of 35:20.72 and 35:23.83. Tina Meade of Williams and Andrea Walsh of Keene State added provisional marks of their own in 36:12.34 and 36:59.10. Gossels and Meade returned to go 1-2 in the 5k with times of 17:22.18 and 17:25.88, and their squad scored an impressive 45 points in those two events. Third place finisher Christina Argueta of Bowdoin also rolled to a provisional mark of 17:27.82. Despite these solid fields, the women’s steeple featured by far the most depth—the top seven finishers all hit the provisional standard, though Amy Wilfert of Tufts was the only runner under 11 minutes (10:54.42). Behind her came Wellesley’s Leah Clement, Williams’ Brianne Mirecki, Colby’s Greta Wells and Emma Linhard, MIT’s Martina DeGeus, and Williams’ Sarah Tory. The 800 also featured three provisional marks, with Middlebury’s Margo Cramer coming away with a 2:12.68 victory. Teammate Juliet Ryan-Davis was second in 2:13.45, and Williams’ Elizabeth Danhakl finished third in 2:14.37.

The CCIW meet was cause for less nail-biting than these two previous meets, but it provided just as many impressive performances. North Central’s men held off a strong Augustana squad by a score of 284 to 243, bolstered in large part by a 1-2-3 finish in the 10k from Neal Klein, Dan Kerley, and Mike Spain, all in 31:06. The Cardinals also went 1-2 in the steeple, with Yonatan Mascote hitting the provisional standard with a 9:22.01 clocking. Add it all up, and you get 67 points for North Central in the 5k, 10k, and the steeple. The Cardinals also welcomed an impressive performance from indoor runner-up Dan Benton in the 400, as he cruised to a personal best and automatic qualifying time of 47.06. Sophomore Parker Thompson of Wheaton also put on a show in the middle distances with a 3:52.87 victory and provisional qualifier in the 1500, and he added an 800 victory and 1:53.69 seasonal best (in the trials).

The women’s team battle was even more lopsided, with North Central cruising to a 100+ point margin of victory. Cardinal distance star Amanda Laesch was unable to repeat her triple victory from indoor, but she did take home a first, second, and third place finish in the 5k, 10k, and 1500, respectively. Though she managed to hit the provisional mark in the 1500 with a time of 4:37.71, she was unable to overtake second place finisher Jaime Orweiler of Wheaton (4:36.29) or the winner, Hannah Hottle of Augustana (4:36.21). Hottle added an 800 victory, and her 2:12.07 ranks ninth on the performance lists. North Central’s Krista Cota finished second with a provisional time of 2:13.87. Sara Greeley of Wheaton led two other women to steeple provisional marks with her 11:04.39 victory. Teammate Jaime Orwiler was second in 11:05.37, and North Central’s Alicia Zimmerman was third in 11:07.66.

The SUNYAC proved to be another tight team battle, though Fredonia’s Guarino twins and Geneseo—led by 5k All-American Lee Berube—dominated the distance events. Nick and Josh Guarino went 1-2 in the 800, with Nick posting a meet record 1:51.69. They also took him victories in their specialties, Josh in the steeple and Nick in the 1500. Finishing second in the 1500 was Berube of Geneseo, who posted a provisional mark of 3:52.37, and after him came an onslaught of teammates: Geneseo took second through seventh to total 28 points. However, they outdid themselves in the 5k, where Berube got the victory and led his team to a 1-2-4-5-6 finish, for a total of 30 points. Lost in their domination of all things distance, Geneseo’s Eddie Novaro posted a second place finish in the 10k with a provisional time of 30:55.10, while auto-qualifier Mike Heymann of Plattsburgh got the win. Also deserving mention was 400 runner Gino Bisceglia of Cortland, who reminded everyone that he is a force to be reckoned with when he crossed the line in 47.75.

The women’s half of the meet proved less exciting, as each distance race was essentially a one-horse race—there was one (and only one) provisional mark in every single mid and long distance event. Alyssa Smith of Geneseo took home 800 and 1500 victories with times of 2:13.73 and 4:37.58, while teammate Marisa Liberati matched that with victories in the 5k and steeple (17:14.42 and 11:02.54). Plattsburgh’s Stefanie Braun broke up the string of Geneseo victories as she stopped the clock at 37:13.43 to get the 10k victory, leading her teammates to a 1-2-3-5 finish.

The NJAC, MAC, NYSSCTC, and North Coast AC also had their championship meets this past weekend. Led by 2010 All-American Meryl Wimberly, (2:12.73), TCNJ dominated en route to their 19th consecutive NJAC title. Their men ran away with the victory, as well.
The MAC championships saw mile All-American Russell Speiden of Elizabethtown post a personal best in the 1500 with a 3:53.42 victory, but DeSales and Messiah took home the men’s and women’s titles, respectively.
The NYSCTC featured a solid men’s steeplechase, with division-leader Brian Lang leading teammate Daniel Lane to a solid 9:08.59 provisional. RIT’s Mike Kurvach and St. Lawrence’s Chris Funch also hit the provisional standard with times of 9:20.95 and 9:23.09.
At the North Coast AC championships, Chris Marker of Allegheny ran 31:06.41, but Wabash’s Kevin McCarthy stole the show with his 8:58.66 automatic qualifier in the steeple, making him only the second man under 9 flat this outdoor season. Not too far behind were Stephen Williams of Oberlin and Bobby Over of Allegheny, who ran 9:12.31 and 9:21.12. Oberlin’s indoor All-American Joanna Johnson posted the top result on the women’s side, as she won the 5k in a solid provisional time of 17:09.33.

The West Coast had most of their league championships last weekend, but they didn’t waste any time before starting to chase national marks. In the Oxy Invitational, Andrew Wagner of Colorado College and Georgia Dinolov of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps both ran strong 1500 provisionals of 3:50.85 and 3:50.98. Finishing ahead of these two was MIT alumnus Yermie Cohen (2010 runner-up in the 1500), who ran a very impressive 3:47.74 while representing the Santa Monica Track Club. Cross Country All-American Eric Kleinsasser of host Occidental ran 14:34.70, while miler Jackson Brainerd of Colorado College showed nice range with a 14:41.71 clocking. Jeremy Kalmus of Redlands mixed it up with some good competition in the steeple, and he came out with a third place finish and an improved provisional mark of 9:14.63. Close behind was Rafer Dannenhauer of CMS, who ran 9:19.67, just a fraction of a second off his seasonal best.

The women’s meet only had a few nationally qualifying marks in the distances, but Annie Lydens of Pomona-Pitzer made up for that in terms of quality. The sophomore ran a huge personal best of 16:53.54 and is only the second automatic qualifier in the event. Freshman Laura Savage of CMS wasn’t too far behind, as she also posted a solid personal best of 17:14.03. The only other distance provisional came in the steeple, where Emily Canales of Redlands ran 11:05.84 to take fourth in a solid field.

Another West Coast contingent made an appearance at the Oregon Twilight meet, where Willamette’s Stefan Redfield almost won the second heat of the 1500 with a time of 3:50.07, beating one of Oregon’s Mercado twins in the process. Teammate Ben Donovan posted a steeple provisional 9:16.48 clocking, right behind OTC’s Stephen Pifer, a sub-4 miler and alumnus of Colorado. The D3 women also put on a show in the 1500, with Willamette star Kimber Mattox running 4:32.47, though even with that time she finished at the back of a very talented field. Finishing towards the front of the slower heat was Tonya Turner from Whitworth, who crossed the line in 4:32.90 to move to sixth on the performance lists.

Other results of note include another twilight meet, this one in Wisconsin, where the University of Chicago’s Andrew Wells-Qu posted a solid personal best of 1:51.02. Unfortunately for Wells-Qu, Cory Zimmerman took his collegiate 800 pr from 1:55.53 down to 1:51.01. However, the winner of this race also had D3 ties, as Adam Lang, a Stevens Point alum and multi-time All-American, ran 1:50.45. NYU miler Matt Turlip soloed a 3:50.25, and Principia’s 800 All-American Drew Clark added his own 1500 provisional mark of 3:52.33. Calvin distance star Nick Kramer slightly improved his steeplechase provo, as he clocked in at 9:09.98. And last but not least, Tom Hoffman of St. John’s also ran an 800 provisional of 1:51.67 at the Meet of Saints, making him only the eleventh athlete to post an 800 provisional mark this outdoor season.
The women’s half of the division saw some other solid performances as well. We’ll start at the not-so-coincidentally named Meet of the Unsaintly, where Tara McCoy of Macalaster ran 2:13.54, and Megan Lundgren of Gustavus Adolphus also dipped under the provisional standard with a time of 2:14.22. Sandy Henin of Rhodes, Jessi Bremer of Manchester, and Dana Misterek of Whitworth also ran 800 provisionals of 2:11.19, 2:12.55, and 2:13.40, respectively. However, all were overshadowed by the versatile Carmen Graves of Roanoke, who ran 2:10.33—over six seconds faster than her personal best. Her time makes her only the third automatic qualifier this season. In the 1500, Liz Phillips of Wash U slightly improved her previous provisional mark with a 4:34.39 victory. Calvin’s Samantha Westveer ran a 10k provisional of 37:06.60, and Susquehanna’s Alycia Woodruff and Wash U’s Molly Wawrzyniak hit the steeple provo with times of 11:04.90 and 11:06.39.

This week's one and only shout-out goes to Karin Fisher, who vaulted 4 meters at D3 New England's. Though that makes her only the third highest vaulter this season, it ties her for eighth on the all-time list, and it sets up a great showdown at nationals. Keep up the good work everyone—only a few more weeks left before the big dance.