WEEKEND'S RACE PREVIEWS:
UW Invite | PSU National | Armory Invite | Camel City Elite | Razorback Invite

Indoor season is heating up, and the Armory Track Invitational is no exception. With a slew of collegiate races in New York City this weekend, Saturday evening will bring world class talent to the Armory. Below are six events to watch, which you can actually watch on NBC Sports Network beginning at 3:30pm CT on Saturday.

Women's 3K, Saturday 3:16pm CT
The return of Sarah Disanza! The Wisconsin stud shocked the world (well maybe just the running world) when she dropped a 15:20 indoor 5k in December, and now she’s opening up at the Armory! What can Disanza do in this distance? Well, considering she only ran 16:24 in 2014 and has since lowered that time by over one minute, the sky is the limit! She’ll be up against Arizona’s All American Elvin Kibet, returning to the scene since her fourth-place finish in last spring’s 10k, and UConn’s Lauren Sara, who finished 35th at the NCAA XC Championships in November.

Women's 2 Mile, Saturday 3:48pm CT
If you got excited for the men’s elite entries, you probably geeked out even harder for the women’s. The two mile run features the 2014 NCAA 5k champ Marielle Hall, the 7x NCAA champ Abbey D’Agostino, as well as NOP superstars Jordan Hasey and Treniere Moser, and sub-15:00 5k runner Buze Diriba of Ethipia. For Hall and D’Agostino, this will be their first major appearance as professionals, representing Nike and New Balance, respectively. 

Men's Mile, Saturday 4:12pm CT
Rupp. Levins. O’Hare. Tommy Awad?! The men’s one mile in the city that doesn’t sleep will surely bring several men to sub-4:00 marks. The Nike Oregon Project duo headline this field that includes New Jersey/New York Track Club members Liam Boylan-Pett and Christian Gonzalez, former collegiate mile record-holder Chris O’Hare, and top collegiate milers Chartt Miller (Iona) and Awad (Penn). Everyone remember Awad’s kick from the 2014 Penn Relays Olympic Development Mile? To quote the great Alex Lohr, “I don’t know what to think of this kid!” And you may be saying the same thing after you see him challenge NOP on Saturday evening.

Women's 800m, Saturday 4:25pm CT
Be careful because the next event is the LOADED women’s 800m. USATF outdoor champion Ajee Wilson, runner-up Laura Roesler, finalist Charlene Lipsey, and 2x NCAA champion Natoya Goule bring the heat for four laps. Goule is making her first 800m appearance in her Clemson uniform after taking 2014 off from transferring from LSU. In 2013, she beat Roesler in both indoor and outdoor championships, and holds a PR of 1:59.93. But where there’s NOP in other events, there’s NOP’s Mary Cain in this field. She’ll really need to bring the heat to stay with these ladies.

Men's 2 Mile, Saturday 4:44pm CT
But wait, Galen Rupp and Cam Levins just raced the mile 30 minutes ago? Well, we aren’t kidding. These two are putting on a show at the Armory. And they’ll have plenty of challengers. NOP teammate Suguru Osako and OTC Elite’s Ben Blankenship (Fresh from a killer WOW) will be there, along with Trevor Dunbar, Lee Emanuel, and Reed Connor, to name a few. Can the fresh legs out-run the tired NOP greats?

Men's DMR, Saturday 5:17pm CT
The marquee event of the weekend is projected to be this world record attempt distance medley relay. Team USA consists of Matthew Centrowitz, Mike Berry, Erik Sowinski, and Pat Casey. Seems legit. Other factors: Team Ireland anchor Ciaran O’Lionaird, Team Kenya anchor Lawi Lalang, NJ-NYTC anchor Kyle Merber. And don’t count out teams from Ole Miss, Duke, Wisconsin, Columbia and Princeton. The Rebels showed off their distance depth last weekend at the Vanderbilt Invitational and hold five of the top-17 mile times in the NCAA.