If you're looking for a preview of the nationals meet, you can find one for the men here and you can find one for the women here.

Also, before I get into a recap of last week’s results, I just want to point out that the national championship meet kicks off this Thursday at Ohio Wesleyan, just outside of Columbus. I highly recommend making the trip out there, if at all possible. If not, be sure to check back in for post-race interviews, which we should have for you after every day’s races.

As is always the case, the last chance meets played host to stellar performances and brought about some major shifts on the performance lists. However, the most important part of this weekend was the publication of the accepted entry lists—the cause for division-wide celebration (for some) and heartbreak (for many others).

There were three major meets this past week, and the first among these was North Central’s Gregory Invitational. The men’s 800 set the tone for a weekend filled with exceptional half-mile times. Indoor runner-up Jake Waterman of Wabash clocked an automatic qualifier of 1:50.74, with prior automatic qualifiers Andrew Wells-Qu of the University of Chicago and Cory Zimmerman of Ripon finishing in second and third, with Wells-Qu getting revenge for his .01 defeat last week at the hands of Zimmerman. Indoor All-American David Litsheim of Stevens Point finished further back, but he wasn’t about to risk missing a trip to nationals—we’ll see more of him at another last chance meet. The 1500 provided even more excitement, with Principia’s Drew Clark showing he is fine form with a 3:49.63 victory, his second automatic qualifier in a week (he ran 1:50.59 the previous weekend). Right behind Clark was Platteville’s Patrick Klein, who continues to round into shape in preparation for nationals. Rose-Hulman’s Derek Bischak ran a huge personal best and it couldn’t have come at a better time, as he will be headed to nationals, as will be Dan Sullivan of Stevens Point and Parker Thompson of Wheaton. Sullivan dominated the second heat while Thompson finished just behind. Shane Brandt of Ohio Wesleyan and Jackson Brainerd of Colorado College also both made attempts to better their provisional marks, but neither were able to do so. Luckily for Brainerd, his prior time (converted for altitude) was enough to get him into the nationals field, though the same cannot be said for Brandt, who unfortunately will not get a chance to compete at nationals on his home track. In the 5k, Seth Einterz of Wabash and Michael Burnstein of Wash U battled it out to the finish, with Einterz getting the win. However, both men should consider themselves victorious as they were the last two accepted entries in the 5k. The 10k saw a very solid 30:48.63 personal best from sophomore Billy Whitmore of the University of Chicago, though his bid to make nationals came up a bit short. Another talented field assembled in the steeplechase, and three men hit the provisional standard—led by Allegheny’s Bobby Over in 9:15.61—though none of them made the nationals field, either.

The women’s half of the meet provided an equal amount of excitement—Wash U’s Liz Phillips and St. Norbert’s Emily Schudrowitz both stopped the clock at 2:11.09. Phillips was declared the winner, but neither girl will be too upset at being tied for fifth on the entry list. Four other girls hit the 800 provisional standard, though North Central’s Krista Cota was the only one to make nationals with her 2:13.48 clocking. In the 1500, North Central distance star Amanda Laesch showed some dangerous wheels with a 4:35.46 provisional clocking, though Laesch did not declare in the 1500 since she will be doing the 5k/10k double. Emily Eimers of Wartburg, Tara Kilburg of Loras, and Cara DeAngelis of Ohio Wesleyan also punched their tickets to nationals with provisional qualifying times. The 5k was exceptional as well, with Heather Waterman of Franklin putting on a breakthrough performance to finish with a 16:58.60 personal best. Miler Claire Roberts was right behind in 16:58.92, and she has elected to run both the 1500 and the 5k at nationals. In addition, Lori Tlatch of Wartburg and Justine Jeroski of Case Western ran their way to nationals with solid 5k provisional marks. In the 10k, Ellie Neubauer put on a solo show, running to a 36:38.48 provisional qualifier that sufficed to get her name on the accepted entry lists. The steeplechase saw even bigger moves, with winner Alyssa Penning of Calvin leading eleven girls to provisional marks. Of those eleven, Sarah Fisher of Wash U, Sara Greeley of Wheaton, Kelsey Dudziak of Rhodes, Mary Kate Beyer of Monmouth, Christina Storlie of Luther, and Alicia Zimmerman of North Central all put together sub-11 performances, and we will see them all again at the big dance.

The other Midwestern meet was the UWL National Qualifier, and it also provided tons of national qualifiers. The men’s 800 was the highlight of the meet, with Whitewater’s Jeremie Bogard setting a huge personal best with a 1:50.00 victory, and he dragged Tom Hoffman of St. John’s and David Litsheim of Stevens Point to automatic qualifiers, securing their places in the big dance. These three autos capped off an astonishing turn of events for the 800 field—a little over two weeks ago, there were only twelve men that had even hit the provisional qualifier, whereas there have been eleven automatic qualifiers run since that point. Finishing fifth (behind Stevens Point alum Adam Lang), Luke Vance of Wheaton ran 1:52.09, and though his place was not as secure, he too will make an appearance in Columbus this upcoming weekend. The 1500 saw some strong performances as well, but Eau Claire’s Jake Zander was the only nationals qualifier with his 3:50.71 performance. St. Olaf’s Adrian Swanson made a strong bid to make nationals in the steeplechase, though his time of 9:15.60 unfortunately made him the first competitor left off the accepted entry list.

On the women’s side, Tara McCoy of Macalaster and Maria Peloquin of Eau Claire both fought their way into the nationals field with times of 2:12.45 and 2:12.84, while unfortunately Leah Korf of River Falls came up just short with a 2:13.79 provisional qualifier. In the 1500, Linda Keller of Minnesota-Morris ran just fast enough, as her time of 4:37.12 makes her tied for the last qualifier in the field.

The only other big meet on the weekend was the ECAC Division 3 Championships. The success of half milers continued here, as Sam Wagner and Jon Erickson of Vassar each won their heat and both qualified for nationals with times of 1:51.29 and 1:51.76. Frank Ramirez of Rochester ran his way into nationals and though Frank Redmond of Misericordia ran slightly slower than his seasonal best, he still made it into next week’s field, too. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for James Arkangelo of Bethany and Nate Matthews of Brockport, though both ran solid provisional marks and shouldn’t be too disappointed. Mark Streb of Geneseo led the field across the line in the 1500 with a time of 3:52.28, though neither he nor anyone else was able to run a fast enough time to make nationals. Luckily for third-place finisher Mike Garrity of Widener, his prior 3:50.86 clocking was strong enough to make the field. Steeple specialist Brian Lang of Rochester won the 5k in a provisional time of 14:43.04, and the only other distance provisional marks on the day came in the steeplechase, where freshman Michael LeDuc of Connecticut College was the only competitor lucky enough to punch his ticket to nationals with a 9:13.48 victory, though competitors Daniel Lane of Rochester and Brian Fuller of Springfield also will make nationals with their previous qualifying times.

On the women’s side, the 800 also featured some strong performances. Alyssa Smith of Geneseo posted the fastest time on the day with a 2:12.46 qualifier, and Elizabeth Danhakl of Williams and Annie Monagle of Johns Hopkins also ran their way into next week’s field. Meanwhile, fourth-place finisher Rebecca Hammond of Swarthmore also made it into nationals with her previous seasonal best. The winner of the second heat, Kelly Holmes of Vassar, ran 2:13.41 to qualify herself for nationals, but she will be unable to compete due studying abroad commitments. The 1500 was even more impressive, as ten women ran fast enough to get into the national meet, all with seasonal best times. The third-place finisher in the mile, Amy Knoblock of Keene State, won the fast heat in 4:29.37, while mile runner-up Grayce Selig of Brandeis was close behind in 4:30.62. Following that duo were Amy Wilfert of Tufts, Melissa Sullivan of Amherst, Robyn Evangelist of Stockton, Kate Leugers of Ithaca, Olivia Delia of Williams, Marisa Liberati of Geneseo, Molly Carl of Southern Maine, and Jennifer Cronin of Lebanon Valley, who all will be facing off again next weekend. Jen Rawls of Rowan won the 5k with a time of 17:17.06, making her the last accepted entry to nationals while 10k winner Stefanie Braun of Plattsburgh also made it to nationals with a 36:38.48 victory. Brianne Mirecki of Williams led five other provisional qualifiers across the line in the steeplechase, and though neither she nor third-place finisher Jenna Peacock of Rowan improved upon their seasonal bests, both will get another chance to do so next weekend. 

Unfortunately, there were no top ten all-time performances this past week, but I’m sure there will be plenty coming from nationals. The only other result of note was a 4:25.90 1500 from mile champion Randelle Boots at the New Balance Boston Twilight Meet, making the women’s 1500 field even more difficult to predict.

Good job this past weekend, and good luck to everyone competing at nationals.

Click here to continue on to the men’s preview or here to continue on to the women’s preview.