WOMEN'S DISTANCE PREVIEW:

Women’s 10,000 Meter Run:
The first final on the track will provide minimal drama, as Lenore Moreno of La Verne comes in as the top seed by nearly two minutes. After setting the meet record in the 5k indoors, Moreno wasted little time racing to a 33:49 clocking at Stanford, the third fastest 10k performance of all-time in Division III. She is also the fastest runner in the field over 5k and 1500, so she should win comfortably no matter how the race plays out.

If anyone has hopes of pulling off an historic upset, it would be defending champion Nicole Michmerhuizen. The senior from Calvin comes in as only the third seed, but she ran 34:09 last year and always steps her game up at nationals. She has a tendency to take the race out hard, so at the very least she will hope to make Moreno work in advance of their rematch in the 5k on Saturday.

The only other returning 10k All-American in the field is Elaine McVay of MIT, the third place finisher last May. Though McVay comes in as only the eighteenth seed, she has won her only two 10k races this year and could be poised for a breakthrough at nationals.

Alana Enabit of Wartburg was the 2012 outdoor national champion in 2012 in both the 10k and the 5k, but she has been beset by injuries since then. She is moving in the right direction on the comeback trail, but she recently lost to Maggie Saenz Ruiz of Loras and probably will not be a threat to finish top three.

Fourth seeded Adrian Walsh of Hamilton was the final All-American in the 5k indoors, and she ran a great race at the NESCAC championships to punch her ticket to the big dance. Finishing right behind her was senior Shayna Barbash of Williams, running her first—and so far only—10k.

Most of the rest of the field are relative newcomers to the national stage: thirteen of the twenty-two qualifier will be running their first national track race. Headlining this group is second seed Alyssa Poremba of Elmhurst, who has improved by nearly a minute in the 5k this season.

Predictions: Moreno, Michmerhuizen, McVay

Full Field Below:

1	Lenore Moreno	SR	La Verne	33:49.0	Heavy favorite, only 8th last year
2	Alyssa Poremba	SR	Elmhurst	35:21.6	First nationals
3	Nicole Michmerhuizen	SR	Calvin	35:35.1	Runner-up in the 5k indoors
4	Adrian Walsh	SO	Hamilton	35:36.9	9th in 5k indoors
5	Shayna Barbash	SR	Williams	35:41.8	Only run one 10k
6	Sara Patterson	SR	Dickinson	35:44.3	DNF 5k indoors
7	Maggie Saenz Ruiz	SO	Loras	35:45.1	Has run 17:37
8	Lauren Rice	SR	Augsburg	35:46.4	8th in 5k indoors
9	Molly Martorella	SR	Oberlin	35:47.5	10th last year
10	Catie Campbell	JR	Mount Union	35:47.6	Has run 17:56
11	Danielle Kennedy	SR	Oneonta	35:55.8	Has run 16:58
12	Rachel Malone	JR	Brockport St	35:55.9	Has run 17:22
13	Sarah Jane Kerwin	JR	Oberlin	35:55.9	Has run 17:48
14	Sarah Danner	SR	Calvin	35:56.3	Has run 17:17
15	Lauren Taylor	SR	Oberlin	35:57.0	Has run 17:49
16	Laura Mead	JR	Wis.-La Crosse	36:00.0	Has run 17:18
17	Olivia Galano	SR	Denison	36:03.1	15th in the 5k indoors
18	Elaine McVay	JR	MIT	36:03.3	3rd last year
19	Alana Enabnit	JR	Wartburg	36:04.1	5k and 10k champ in 2012
20	Alyssa Knott	JR	Geneseo St.	36:05.5	Has not broken 18:00
21	Grace Hancock	JR	Johns Hopkins	36:06.1	Has run 17:24
22	Emily Painter	JR	George Fox	36:10.9	Has only run 10k's

Women’s 3000 Meter Steeplechase:
With all-time greats Lenore Moreno and Christy Cazzola dominating the mainstream distance and mid-distance events, the steeplechase has filled up with competitors looking for their first national title.  Top seeded Amy Cymerman opted out of the 10k, but the St. Lawrence sophomore has only run two steeplechases in her collegiate career and could falter in the face of veteran competition.

After taking a year off from outdoor track, Lucy Cheadle of Wash U returns to the steeple as the second seed. She finished just behind Cymerman in both the 5k and 3k indoors, but will be hoping to flip the script this time around. After finishing seventh as a freshman in 2012, Cheadle should be considered a co-favorite this time around.

Should the race become tactical, watch out for fourth seeded Kallie Nixon of Bates. Nixon scratched from the 1500, where she also would have been the fourth seed, and has displayed her blistering kick by winning seven of her nine individual races this outdoor season.

The only schools with multiple entrants are the spatially distant but sonorously close Williams and Willamette. Veteran senior Brianne Mirecki of Williams has raced in all three steeplechase finals while in college, but rookie teammate Hannah Cole comes in as a higher seed. Similarly, Michaela Freeby of Willamette was the fourth place finisher last year despite taking a hard fall in the final lap, but she comes in seeded behind sophomore teammate Taylor Ostrander.

Lurking dangerously toward the back of the entrants is Sammi Bruett of Wartburg. Though her senior season has not gone perfectly, Bruett was the runner-up last year and the fourth place finisher in 2012, so she could be a dark horse contender for the win. At the very least, she will be hoping to pick up some important points for Knights.

Predictions: Cymerman, Cheadle, Bruett

Full Field Below:

1	Amy Cymerman	SO	St. Lawrence	10:24.3	3rd in 5k and 6th in 3k indoors
2	Lucy Cheadle	JR	Washington U	10:29.6	4th in 5k, 7th in 3k indoors
3	Sophie Goobic	SR	Heidelberg	10:32.8	6th in 5k indoors
4	Kallie Nixon	SR	Bates	10:37.9	13th last year
5	Taylor Ostrander	SO	Willamette	10:40.9	22nd last year
6	Martina de Geus	SR	MIT	10:42.5	19th last year
7	Michaela Freeby	JR	Willamette	10:44.5	4th last year
8	Hannah Cole	FR	Williams	10:46.0	XC All-American
9	Allison Barnwell	SR	Claremont-Mudd	10:47.4	10th last year
10	Hope Rainey	SR	Haverford	10:48.2	Improving each race
11	Carey Lyons	JR	Oberlin	10:49.7	XC All-American in 2012
12	Georgia Crane	SO	Wheaton (Mass.)	10:49.9	3rd D3 runner at NEICAAA's
13	Brianne Mirecki	SR	Williams	10:50.1	3 time steeple finalists
14	Beth Gollin	JR	Coast Guard	10:50.6	5th D3 runner at NEICAAA's
15	Emily Paull	JR	Aurora	10:50.8	Undefeated in 3 steeples
16	Emily Rabenold	SO	Grove City	10:51.0	2nd to Cole at ECAC's
17	Alanna McDonough	SO	Colby	10:53.1	2nd D3 runner at NEICAAA's
18	Sammi Bruett	SR	Wartburg	10:53.9	Runner up last year in 10:26
19	Brooke Mathie	JR	Mount Union	10:54.5	Ran first steeple ever two weeks ago
20	Meredith Lorch	SR	Emory	10:55.0	Improving each race
21	Julissa Poullet	FR	Otterbein	10:56.7	One of two freshmen in the field
22	Katryna Williams	SO	Wis.-Eau Claire	10:57.9	WIAC champ

Women’s 5000 Meter Run:
The last individual final of the meet will be one of the best, as the field is almost certainly the fastest ever assembled. Headlined by the eighth and ninth fastest performers in division history, nineteen of the twenty-two entrants have broken seventeen minutes. For comparison, in 2010 only five women had broken seventeen before the national meet.

Assuming the start of the day goes as expected, all eyes will be on Christy Cazzola of UW-Oshkosh as she attempts to complete another incredible triple on the national stage. By this point, she could be a sixteen-time national champion. Cazzola is undefeated against DIII competition since 2012 outdoor nationals despite running three events at each national meet since then. However, after three consecutive nail-biting finales, her luck may finally run out this time around.

Should the race go out quickly, she will have to contend with 10k superstar Lenore Moreno of La Verne, who set a meet record in the indoor 5k, and Nicole Michmerhuizen of Calvin, who suffered a narrow defeat at the hands of Cazzola in the 2013 indoor 5k. Michmerhuizen has a penchant for fast starts, so expect her to try to make the pace hot on this warm Saturday afternoon.

Even if Cazzola sticks with the pack until the final lap, she may not be able to dominate with her patented kick. Top seeds Cara DeAngelis of Ohio Wesleyan and Melissa Skiba of Cal Lutheran are both stellar 1500 meter runners but have elected to just run the 5k in the hopes of catching Cazzola at the end of a long day. Both have come close before: DeAngelis almost held off Cazzola in the 3k indoors, despite running a mile prelim the day prior, and Skiba finished third in the 5k last outdoor season.

Though unlikely to challenge for the win, Amy Regan of Stevens Institute and Kaleigh Kenny of Williams could sneak into the top three. Regan finished fifth indoors in the 5k, while Kenny is the third returner from last year’s outdoor 5k, behind Cazzola and Skiba.

Predictions: The champ goes down! - Skiba, Moreno, Cazzola

Full Field Below:

1	Cara DeAngelis	JR	Ohio Wesleyan	16:25.3	Runner-up in 3k indoors
2	Melissa Skiba	JR	Cal Lutheran	16:26.6	3rd place last year
3	Lenore Moreno	SR	La Verne	16:28.3	10k top seed
4	Nicole Michmerhuizen	SR	Calvin	16:36.4	Defending 10k champ
5	Amy Regan	SO	Stevens Institute	16:44.7	5th in 5k indoors
6	Aubree Piepmeier	SR	Vassar	16:45.4	First appearance at track nationals
7	Maryann Gong	FR	MIT	16:45.9	17th in 3k indoors
8	Emma Lehmann	JR	Oberlin	16:46.4	11th in 5k indoors
9	Amy Cymerman	SO	St. Lawrence	16:47.7	Steeple top seed
10	Claudia Keep	JR	Bryn Mawr	16:48.1	10th in 5k indoors
11	Christy Cazzola	SR	Wis.-Oshkosh	16:48.6	14 time national champion
12	Sophia Meehan	SO	Johns Hopkins	16:49.9	Has run 4:33 in 1500
13	Molly Martorella	SR	Oberlin	16:51.9	Never been an AA in five nationals appearances
14	Sara Patterson	SR	Dickinson	16:53.9	Doubling back from 10k
15	Kimber Meyer	FR	Macalester	16:54.6	5th in 3k indoors
16	Sophie Goobic	SR	Heidelberg	16:54.8	Steeple 3rd seed
17	Kaleigh Kenny	SR	Williams	16:55.2	6th place last year
18	Alyssa Poremba	SR	Elmhurst	16:58.0	2nd seed in 10k
19	Danielle Kennedy	SR	Oneonta	16:58.5	19th in XC
20	Ashley Murphy	JR	Johns Hopkins	17:02.1	Has run 4:30 in 1500
21	Lisa Grohn	FR	St. Lawrence	17:05.1	14th in 5k indoors
22	Abby Flock	SR	Johns Hopkins	17:08.4	One of three Blue Jays in the field