800 Meters

This race looked somewhat different a few days ago before the Oxy invite. This, for me, will go down as one of the most exciting races of the event. Neglecting the fact that we lost an Olympian (Andrew Wheating) from last year's field, the young talent that will be on the track for this event is staggering.

Recently, the only senior in the field, Cory Primm of UCLA, ran against a stacked field with a lot of guts, taking the lead with about 250m left, using a blistering move. He never relinquished it. Even with the pressure of a strong push from OTC Elite runner Tyler Mulder, he look composed and incredibly strong. But there are plenty of others in this field that you cannot count out. The Oregon duo of Elijah Greer and frosh Boru Guyota have been outstanding this outdoor season. Greer had some issues during the indoor NCAA championship and don’t be surprised if he comes out with something to prove in these last races of the season.

Charles Jock from UC Irvine was second only to Wheating at last year's Regional meet and I think it would be wrong to expect anything less then a stellar performance again from him again this year. Ryan Martin recently ran his 1:45 at the Big West Championships so he knows he is primed and ready to go. The talent in this field will provide for a completely entertaining race. Every time I look at the Preliminary Declared Athletes for this year's West Regional, I feel like I could very well pick another person to win.

My Pick: Cory Primm, UCLA

1  Charles Jock                  JR UC Irvine           1:45.19D  
2  Ryan Martin                   JR UC Santa Barbara    1:45.34D  
3  Cory Primm                    SR UCLA                1:46.20D  
4  Elijah Greer                  SO Oregon              1:47.70D  
5  Michael Preble                JR Texas A&M           1:47.71D  
6  Boru Guyota                   FR Oregon              1:47.75D  
7  Edward Kemboi                 FR Iowa State          1:47.90D  
8  Erik Sowinski                 JR Iowa                1:48.15D  
9  Joey Roberts                  JR Texas A&M           1:48.17D 
10 Joe Abbott                    JR Washington St.      1:48.23D

1500 Meters

Again, the winner of this event last year has graduated, and of the top ten, only Matthew Centrowitz from Oregon competed in the National event last year. Outside of Centrowitz, Bishop of New Mexico, Boone of Oklahoma, and Abdi Hassan of Arizona were the only others to be in the 1500m final at regionals last year. Outside of the top 10, you can find Rob Finnerty of Wisconsin, who has run 3:43 and was in the 1500m regional final as well. There's also AJ Acosta, who was apart of the Oregon 1-2-3 sweep at Nationals last year. So what does that all mean? It means there is some experience but not a great amount… which should make for an exciting race.

Centrowitz was hurt two years ago at the national meet and last year, although part of that fantastic finish, finished third. I would assume he wants a National Championship to call his own. He has the speed and talent to run around 3:36-3:38 like he did two years ago at the Payton Jordan Invite.  Don’t overlook Dorian Ulrey either. Finishing 4^th at Nationals two years ago, he has the potential to put up some fast times again, like his 3:39 from 2009 Outdoors. He redshirted last year, so it will be interesting to see what he does again on the big stage. Miles Batty, coming off of a strong outdoor season, will have plenty of competition in the race. Even though he's posted the fastest time by over 3 seconds this season, the others in this race have the potential to run just as fast.

My Pick: Matthew Centrowitz, Oregon

1  Miles Batty                   JR BYU                 3:36.25D  
2  Duncan Phillips               JR Arkansas            3:39.87D  
3  Chris O'Hare                  SO Tulsa               3:41.08D  
4  David Bishop                  SR New Mexico          3:41.12D  
5  Patrick Casey                 SO Montana State       3:41.34D  
6  Abdi Hassan                   JR Arizona             3:41.57D  
7  Matthew Centrowitz            JR Oregon              3:41.73D  
8  Jacob Boone                   SR Oklahoma            3:42.40D  
9  Raul Botezan                  SO Oklahoma State      3:42.68D 
10 Dorian Ulrey                  SR Arkansas            3:42.76D

3000 Meter Steeplechase

Steve Finley has really broken out this year. After not competing in the steeple last year at West Regional, his 1^st place at Pac-10’s helped his team win the title, and has now placed him in contention for the national title in the steeple. There are plenty of new names on this list from years prior. Johnson from Stanford hasn’t been in this event since 2009, when he finished 4^th in his heat, but won no points for his team. He was a highly touted senior out of high school and has made great contributions to the Stanford team on the cross country course, but now has an opportunity to make a new name for himself on the track. Justin Tyner and Brett Hales have both had stellar seasons. Tyner did not compete at Mountain West and Brett Hales ran almost 30 seconds slower than his PR. Both have proven themselves this season and both will have more to prove come race time.

My Pick: Brett Hales, Weber State

1  Steve Finley                  SR Oregon              8:36.98D
2  Justin Tyner                  SR Air Force           8:37.54D
3  Brett Hales                   SR Weber State         8:39.64D  
4  David Adams                   SR Nebraska            8:40.31D  
5  Hillary Bor                   SR Iowa State          8:40.83D  
6  Kyle Engnell                  JR Illinois            8:48.45D  
7  Benjamin Johnson              JR Stanford            8:48.46D  
8  Tom Wade                      JR Lamar               8:48.60D  
9  John Sullivan                 SR Stanford            8:48.82D 
10 Drew Shields                  SO Wisconsin           8:49.12D

5000 Meters

While the top names in this race are impressive, you can find Alfred Kipchuma and Trevor Dunbar of Portland, Hassan Mead of Minnesota, and Luke Puskedra of Oregon (although not having a stellar year, he can always be a threat) outside the top 10. Freshman sensation, Lawi Lalang of Arizona (out of Eldoret, Kenya had no running experience prior to attending Arizona), is definitely the most dangerous runner in the field. Still fairly untapped like his teammate Stephen Sambu, Lalang will be incredibly fun to watch. It will be interesting to see how Sambu and LaLang handle what may be a slow pace; they could be ones to push it in the end. Other noteworthy freshmen include Trevor Dunbar, Reed Connor of Wisconson, and Nick Happe of Arizona State. Connor, coming off a stellar prep career, had quite a successful freshman cross season and is looking to carry that over to the track. Expect him to run well. The Portland Duo of Kipchumba and Dunbar is always dangerous. With a season of running together under their belts and as strong top finishers for their team at Nationals in XC, these guys feed off each other.

Back to the top 10, Stanford continues to place their distance runners in the upper echelon of these events. Chris Derrick, Elliot Heath, and Jake Riley are seldom seen far apart and don’t expect that to change at all in this race. Derrick was third at this event last year, with Heath and Riley in tow. All three made it to the national meet. I do not see anything different happening this year. It was won in 2010 at just under 14:00, and I don’t expect much to be different this year. It is always fun to see these high caliber guys tow the line together. Seldom a fast race, the closing laps always separate the national contenders from the participants.

My Pick: Chris Derrick, Stanford

1 Elliott Heath                 SR Stanford           13:26.14D  
2 Thomas Farrell                SO Oklahoma State     13:26.59D  
3 Diego Estrada                 JR Northern Arizona   13:26.94D  
4 Chris Derrick                 JR Stanford           13:29.74D  
5 Stephen Sambu                 JR Arizona            13:34.19D  
6 Joe Bosshard                  SO Colorado           13:34.57D  
7 Lawi Lalang                   FR Arizona            13:34.62D  
8 Rory Fraser                   SR New Mexico         13:39.37D  
9 Jake Riley                    SR Stanford           13:39.49D 
10 George Alex                  JR Oklahoma           13:40.73D

10000 Meters

Always interesting to see who elects to go with the 10k or 5k…or both. But because I cannot read minds, I’m going to sick with what the list has given me and go from that. Again, like the 5000 meter race a big name that didn’t make the top 10 is Chris Derrick. But my gut feeling is that he will go with the 5k. Keep an eye on Parker Stinson, the top frosh in the field out of Oregon. Ending up a top runner for a shallow Oregon XC team in the fall, he is really coming into his own and has the potential to make a name for himself out there. Also, Colby Lowe, who had a huge impact on Oklahoma State’s national championship, has really stepped out of the shadow of German Fernandez as an elite runner. Expect him to place well in this race. Not much needs to be said about Sambu; 2nd at XC nationals and has at least a minute on every other runner in the field. In that back pack right around 28:50, I expect Joe Bosshard to make a push into that front group. Bosshard was 7^th last year at the West Regional, and eventually 6^th at nationals. Expect him to make a push at some point. Six of last year's top 8 finishers at Nationals were from the west region. Again, all highly dependent on what events these guys choose to run, expect the West to dominate again this season.

I expect Lowe, Kipchumba, Riley, and Bosshard to be right up front with Sambu. While there are some other contenders in the field outside of this top ten

My Pick: Stephen Sambu, Arizona

1  Stephen Sambu                 JR Arizona            27:28.64D  
2  Keith Gerrard                 SR New Mexico         28:27.03D  
3  Alfred Kipchumba              JR Portland           28:38.34D  
4  Jeff Schirmer                 SR So. Illinois       28:42.71D  
5  Elliot Krause                 SO Wisconsin          28:43.34D  
6  Colby Lowe                    JR Oklahoma State     28:45.91D  
7  Elliott Heath                 SR Stanford           28:47.69D  
8  Eric Fernandez                SO Arkansas           28:48.44D  
9  Joe Bosshard                  SO Colorado           28:52.85D 
10 Jake Riley                    SR Stanford           28:54.69D