This year's Valentine Invitational is the sleeper meet of the weekend. While most of the pro stars will be running down south at Millrose or out west at the Husky Classic, BU Valentine offers depth in every event from the sprints to distance. 80 inches of snow won't stop the BU Valentine Invite from being one of the premiere meets of the weekend.

Men’s Mile

The powerful Georgetown mid-distance crew will band together once again looking to grab a slew of sub-4’s in Boston. Three-fourths of the 9:28 Hoya DMR squad is slated to compete, that being Amos Bartelsmeyer, Cole Williams, and Ryan Manahan, who took down the powerful Penn State relay team on their home track just two weeks back. Those three will be joined by teammate Ahmed Bile, who just broke 4 at Penn State at the same meet. The Hoyas are incredibly deep, and it’s certainly possible that five or six of them could go under 4 in Boston.

 

Holding it down for the home team will be none other than Rich Peters aka Dicky P aka the collegiate record holder in the 1,000m (2:18.55). Peters has a 3:57 mile PB from 2014, but he’s a bit of a toss-up here because he’s only raced once this season, a meager 8:20.76 3k three weeks ago. It seems likely that the Boston U. All-American is coming back from an injury and will use this race to shake off some more rust. 

 

Don’t forget about the pros, as the famed New Jersey/New York Track Club will have a fine representation in Boston. 2014 breakout star and former football player Ford Palmer will run his first race since signing with Hoka OneOne, and the 3:57 miler will be searching for his first indoor sub-4. Helping him along will be his mid-distance training partners Mike Rutt (1:45/3:57), Jack Bolas (3:57), and Travis Mahoney (3:58). 

 

Women’s Mile

Florida State’s Colleen Quigley headlines this field, as the senior has earned All-American honors so many times now that we’ve lost count. Quigley ran her 4:34 mile PB in 2014, and is slowly starting to look like herself again after enduring an injury plagued outdoor track season. The Seminole ran a 4:39 three weeks ago in Kentucky. 

 

The Georgetown women are arguably just as strong in the mid-distance as the Hoya men, and they’ll roll out a powerful group that includes sub-4:40 miler Madeline Chambers. Missing from this meet is Hoya All-American Katrina Coogan, who will run the 3k at the loaded Millrose Games, but her former teammate Rachel Schneider will compete in Boston after running a 4:35 mile PB at Penn State National two weeks ago. Schneider is out of eligibility, but she showed excellent form by taking down Coogan in State College. 

 

One more name to watch will be Dartmouth’s Dana Giordano. The junior had a breakout 3k performance in Boston two weeks ago, running a 9:07 that is currently the third fastest time in the NCAA in 2015. 

 

Men’s 3,000m

Canadian national record holder Matt Hughes brings his 8:11 steeple speed to Boston to test his legs in the flat race. Hughes has only run 8:09 in the 3k, but that was in 2010, and should easily go down based on his steeple time only being two seconds slower. Hughes was a two-time NCAA champion while he was at Louisville, and finished 6th at the World Championships in 2013. 

 

Cory Leslie comes to Boston fresh off his impressive victory in the Camel City Mile on January 31st. In that race, Leslie ran 3:56.99 and took down studs Will Leer and Leo Manzano in Winston-Salem. Like Hughes, Leslie is known for his steeple prowess, having run 8:20 in 2013.

 

Two notable collegians on the entry list are Jordan Williamsz of Villanova and Martin Hehir of Syracuse. Hehir is also on the Millrose 3k start list, so we’re not entirely sure if he’s running in Boston or New York, but the senior showed excellent form by breaking 4 for the first time two weeks ago. Williamsz is a proven miler (3:36/3:56), but has yet dip under 8 minutes in the 3k. The Aussie looked really good at Penn State last month, splitting a 2:51 in the 1200m leg of the DMR. 

 

Don’t sleep on Syracuse redshirt Justyn Knight. The freshman ran unattached in the mile at Penn State, beating his fellow Orangeman Hehir and running 3:59.51, a Canadian national junior record. 

 

Women’s 800m

Brand new DMR world record holder Megan Krumpoch will look to carry that momentum into Boston against a multitude of sub-2:05 performers. Krumpoch split 2:05 in her leg of the relay at the New Balance Games, helping to smash the old record by more than 8 seconds. The former Dartmouth runner had a break out year in 2014, switching from the 400m hurdles to the 800m and promptly finishing 5th at NCAAs. Krumpoch lowered her PB by nearly four seconds from April (2:07.22) to June (2:03.82). 

 

Oiselle’s Lauren Wallace has the fastest PB in this race, her 2:02.16 set at the 2014 US Outdoor Championships. The 26-year-old opened her 2015 season by running a 4:42 mile at the Washington Invite just two weeks ago. 

 

A superstar could be in the making in the form of Georgetown’s Sabrina Southerland. The Hoya ran 2:03.59 as a senior in high school, and has run 2:43 in the 1k indoors. The sophomore ran an excellent 1200m leg on the Hoyas winning DMR squad at Penn State, and could drop a very fast time this weekend with this level of competition. Southerland has only run 2:06 thus far in 2015, but she should demolish that time this weekend.