By: Scott Rodilitz & Matt Rock

D2 PREVIEW | MEN'S D3 PREVIEW | WOMEN'S D3 PREVIEW

Women’s Team Preview

The three-time defending champions from Wartburg were able to squeak out wins the past two years by a combined five points, but expect this to be year the dynasty crumbles entirely. Despite having a stellar contingent in the 800, the Knights are hurting for entries and come in ranked only eleventh. Unfortunately for UW Oshkosh, runners-up in five of the past six years, they are not in a position to capitalize after the graduation of Christy Cazzola. Instead, it will be conference rivals UW La Crosse who will run away with the title, adding this to their 1983 and 1984 outdoor championships. The Eagles won indoors as well, albeit in nail-biting fashion, and they have both the depth and top-end talent to outperform their projected 76 points.

 

Quite a bit behind, the rest of the WIAC’s elite programs will battle for the remaining podium slots. UW Eau Claire and UW Whitewater come in with 42 and 38 projected points, respectively. The Blugolds were runner-up in the WIAC conference meet with the Warhawks a well beaten fifth, but the importance of standout performers at the national meet helps Whitewater’s chances as thrower Shelby Mahr and sprinter/jumper Lexie Sondgeroth are among the division’s best in their respective events. The 200 could prove decisive toward the end of the meet as Sondgeroth and Blugold star Carly Fehler face off as the top two seeds.

 

UW Oshkosh comes in as the fourth ranked team and will be looking to make the podium for the seventh consecutive year. The Titans have a decent number of entrants but will be relying on thrower Melanie Brickner for nearly half of their projected 29 points. A pair of podium teams from indoors will be hoping for an upset, though, as MIT and Illinois Wesleyan each need just a bit of luck to crack the podium. Even Wartburg, as far back as eleventh, has a chance to break into the top four if everything goes right on these unpredictable three days.

 

Predictions: La Crosse (84), Eau Claire (45), Whitewater (32), Illinois Wesleyan (31)

 

Women's 1500m Preview

Prelims: Thursday 3:45 PM

Finals: Saturday 1:30 PM

 

 

Like the 800m, much of this field has already seen head-to-head competition. At the NCC Final Qualifier, Brianna Hickey (U. of Chicago) led Olivia Mancl (Willamette), Erin Keikhaefer (Carnegie Mellon) and Kate Ardinger (Calvin) across the line, though less than a second separated the four of them. Hickey is the nine seed so those four will all be competing again, this time for spots in the final. 

 

Among the other contenders for spots in the final are Middlebury teammates Robin Vincent and Sarah Guth. Guth was sixth at indoor nationals this winter and Vincent will be making her individual-event nationals debut. Both were beaten by three-seed Maryann Gong (MIT) and sixth-seed Anna Harleen (Williams) at the All-New England championship last week, along with Marina Capalbo (Babson) and Sydney Smith (Tufts). Capalbo and Smith will be happy to nab All-American honors, but Harleen and Gong have their eyes aimed at the front of the pack. Gong in particular is still smarting from her third place finish in the mile at indoor nationals this winter. She’s been undefeated against DIII competition this spring and her consistency will make her very hard to beat this weekend. Harleen, a freshman, lacks nationals experience, but her recent PRs suggest that she could mix it up at the front. Second seed Rachael Shine of Oneonta will be looking to contend with that New England duo, but her skill in the 800 may be more of a hinderance than a help. Shine will run the 800 trials Friday night and has not yet proven that she can handle such an intense workload.

 

Conversely, Hannah Chappell-Dick of Eastern Mennonite elected to drop the 800, presumably to focus on winning the 1500m. She has great range (57.94 400 last weekend) and as a result is a huge threat in a tactical battle. Her surprising second place finish in the mile at indoor nationals suggests she can run with Gong, and she’s going to be hard to beat this time around as well. 

 

Ultimately, though, it is a different former runner-up that is the woman to beat: Tricia Serres of Luther. Her seed time of 4:25 sets her apart from the field, and although she missed the indoor season, she was the runner-up last year and is a five-time All-American. Her only weakness is her recent shift away from the 800 and toward the 5K. She’s got enough 800m speed to kick if it comes down to it, but leading from the gun would be a safer strategy with Chappell-Dick lurking on her shoulder.

 

Predictions: Chappell-Dick, Serres, Gong

 

Women's 3000m Steeplechase Preview

Prelims: Thursday 5:20 PM

Finals: Saturday 12:30 PM

 

Making it to the finals is going to be tough for the back half of the field - seeds 11 through 20 are separated by a mere 7 seconds.

 

Michaela Freeby of Willamette was fourth in 2013 and qualified for nationals last year but failed to make the finals. This fall she had a disappointing finish at cross country nationals, but it appears that her winter training paid off (Willamette does not compete in indoor track) as she ran the fastest qualifying time of the field. However, that was nearly six weeks ago and her more recent races suggest that she is beatable. 

 

Former high school teammates Hannah Cole and Ruth Steinke, now representing Williams and Carleton, come in as the second and third seeds. Cole, one of three returning All-Americans, was out-kicked by Alanna McDonough (Colby) at the NESCAC championships, but came back and beat her by over 30 seconds at the All-New England Championships. Steinke had a very strong cross country season, finishing 4th at the national meet, and after a disappointing indoor season is rebounding very well. She ran her qualifying mark among a pack of D1 athletes at a fast Drake Relays and recently soloed another very fast time at the MIAC championships. Both of these ladies will be looking for the win. Emily Paull from Aurora joins Cole as another top-8 finisher from last year’s final, though she hasn’t shown the same form this year.

 

Despite the pedigree of the top three seeds, the favorite is defending champ Lucy Cheadle of Wash U. Cheadle is poised to round out her impressive college career with one more national championship. She has 11 All-American finishes in cross country and track, including two national titles (3000m steeple, indoor 5K) and a second place finish at cross country nationals this fall. No one in this field has had anywhere near as much success as Cheadle, and between her championship experience and 1500m speed she’s going to be very hard to beat. 

 

Fifth seeded McKenzie Diemer qualified closely behind Cheadle, but as this is her first track national championships, she’ll need to focus on making it through the prelims and into the finals. Williams’ Lacey Serletti has run two recent PR’s, the latter of which featured a victory over McDonough and Beth Gollin (Coast Guard). Serletti and McDonough are among a pack of women who have run within a few seconds of each other, so expect to see Sarah Fowler (Ohio Wesleyan), Sanjuanita Martinez (Cornell College) and Catherine Dougherty (Rowan) nearby. If the pace lags early on, Martinez will be a real threat as she finished fourth in the mile at indoor nationals this winter. If you’re looking for a storybook ending, pay attention to hometown favorite Cassia Hameline of St.Lawrence, whose shocking eighth place finish at XC nationals in her debut season sparked an incredible senior year. After starting her collegiate career running the 60 meter hurdles, she has extended the distance fiftyfold and is undefeated in her only two steeples of the season.

 

Favorites: Cheadle, Cole, Steinke

 

Women's 800m Preview

Prelims: Friday 6:45 PM

Finals: Saturday 2:55 PM

Again, the post-Cazzola era will prove to be a fruitful one for the rest of Division III. It also makes for great drama, as this will be one of the most unpredictable events of the weekend. Returning to the track are four All-Americans from last year’s outdoor championship and five from indoor nationals this winter. With only four seconds separating the first and last qualifier this year’s field is very deep and qualifying for the finals will be tough. 

 

Six women raced last week at the UW-La Crosse qualifier and Wis.-Whitewater senior Amanda Brom came out on top, earning a massive personal best and establishing herself as the top seed. Three-seed Kayla Goeman (St. Thomas) finished just over a second behind Brom and will be seeking a second outdoor All-American certificate. Brom also beat 2014 outdoor and 2015 indoor 800m runner-up Kylee Verhasselt (Wis.-Oshkosh), whose decorated history makes her likely to contend despite coming in as only the tenth seed. Former 400 specialist Kayla Kregel of Wartburg and teammate Taylor Officer round out the qualifiers from the La Crosse final qualifier, but it is a third Knight, Taylor Moore, who is Wartburg’s biggest threat to emerge with the title. Moore is the second seed and will be looking to improve upon her fourth place finishes at outdoor nationals last year and indoor nationals this winter. She has run a few fast times this spring and her recent win at the Iowa Conference Meet indicates that she’s in good form heading into the championship season. 

 

Fourth seeded Carmen Mejia (CMS) is within a second of the top qualifiers, but she may have trouble just making finals as there is a deep group of eight women only one-and-a-half seconds behind her. Notably, 2015 indoor All-Americans Anna Murdock (Franklin) Amy Viti (Misericordia) as well as 2014 outdoor All-American Michelle Dobbs (U. Chicago) have excellent 400m speed and will be hard to beat in a race that is slow off the line. Though Murdock has failed to make the finals at outdoor nationals in the last two years, she has run nearly 2 seconds faster this spring and could definitely be a top-three finisher.  

 

Also among that group is sophomore Rachael Shine from Oneonta, who is having a breakout year. Building from the momentum of her third place finish at indoor nationals this winter, Shine has not lost to a DIII athlete this spring. However, if things go according to plan, she’ll be doubling back from the 1500m final earlier in the day and will be racing for the fourth time in three days.

 

Emily Richards (Ohio Northern), Rachel Atchsinson (Wis.-La Crosse) and Amanda White (RIT) failed to make the finals at indoor nationals this winter and are surely eager for a chance to earn All-American honors. Look out for Richards if she’s still around with a lap to go as she has impressive 400m speed. 

 

Predictions: Moore, Dobbs, Brom

 

Women's 5000m Preview

Finals: Saturday 4:05 PM

 

For eight of the top eleven qualifiers, the 5K will be the second competition of the weekend (or even third for the 1500m athletes). This makes it a great opportunity for upsets and surprises. 

 

One-seed Melissa Skiba (Cal Lutheran) is significantly faster than the nearest competitor. Since starting to race in late January, she has been in top form, running consistently fast times throughout the late winter and spring. Her victory at the Occidental Invitational last week was by a large margin and she easily beat Sara Mostatabi (CMS) and Maya Weigel (Pomona-Pitzer) at the SCIAC championships earlier in May. Given than Skiba isn’t doubling, has enough speed to qualify in the 1500, and has no Christy Cazzola to contend with, she is surely the favorite. 

 

Lucy Ramquist (Wis.-Eau Claire) and Megan Kellogg (St. Lawrence) are the other two women among the top seeds who are only running one event. Ramquist, a senior, only started competing in the 5K last winter but adjusted quickly enough to qualify for nationals indoors. With that experience under her belt, she should be well prepared at the end of the weekend’s races. Kellogg has had an impressive first year, highlighted by a top-fifteen finish at cross country nationals in the fall. Though she seemed to struggle during the indoor season, she is one of only two freshman to qualify for the 5K this spring and she dropped the 1500m to focus on this race. Expect these two women to finish in the top five. In addition, look out for indoor mile champion Alison Maxwell of Middlebury, who will also be fresh, although she has not looked as impressive during her outdoor campaign.

 

Assuming they qualify for the 1500 finals (and they are expected to) Maryann Gong (MIT) and Tricia Serres (Luther) will have raced earlier in the afternoon before the 5K. However, Gong won the 3K less than 27 hours after she was third in the mile at indoor nationals, so don’t be surprised if she comes roaring back and has a top-three finish here. Meanwhile, Serres clearly has the speed to capitalize if the race goes out slow in the heat, but her shift to the 5K just seems a bit to recent. She ran the 5K on back-to-back weekends leading up to nationals, and those are the only 5K’s Serres has ever run. Her inexperience at this distance and race fatigue could be the difference at the end of a long weekend.

 

Frances Loeb (Johns Hopkins), Laura Mead (Wis.-La Crosse) and Abrah Masterson (Cornell Coll.) will have to really work to garner All-American honors following the 10K on Thursday. In a field that features several women with dangerous 1500m speed, it will be tough to fend off late surges with tired legs.

 

Predictions: Skiba, Ramquist, Gong

 

Women's 10,000m Preview

Finals: Thursday 6:15 PM

 

Not a single All-American from last year’s 10K will be returning this spring. Adrian Walsh (Middlebury) entering as the sixteenth seed is the top returner and after missing All-American status by a single place last year, she’ll be looking to break seed to pick up a top-eight finish. Walsh beat MIT’s Nicole Zeinstra at the All-New England championship last week by a fraction of a second. Zeinstra’s teammate Elaine McVay is the only other top-ten finisher from last year. Following a twelfth place finish at cross country nationals, she struggled to return to form this winter but appears to be on a roll now with a third place finish at Larry Ellis and a win in the 5K at the NEWMAC conference championships. McVay is no stranger to turning it on during the outdoor season, as this will be her fourth and final 10K on the national stage. Her only All-American performance came in 2013, when she finished third.

 

Seven-seed Catie Campbell (Mount Union) was fifteenth last year, and though she has run in several national meets, she has failed to finish among the top women in any event and will need to have a breakout race in order to get on the podium. Sarah Danner (Calvin) also ran the 10K at nationals last spring and she too will be looking to crack the top-eight for the first time. 

 

Abrah Masterson (Cornell College) enters with the second seed and despite having run twenty seconds faster than three-seed Sara Mostatabi (CMS), she trails one-seed Frances Loeb (Johns Hopkins) by another twenty-four seconds. Masterson has solid 1500m speed and ran very well this winter (All-American in 3K and 5K indoors) meaning she’ll be able to handle both a tactical or a fast race. Loeb beat four-seed Laura Mead (Wis.-La Crosse) and six-seed Gabrielle Pepin (St. Thomas) at the Drake Relays where all three of them ran their qualifying marks. Mead’s success this year (10th at cross country nationals, 5th in 5K and 3K at indoor nationals) suggests she can compete for a top-three finish. Pepin on the other hand hasn’t raced at all since Drake, which does not bode well for her prospects this weekend. 

 

Mostatabi is competing in her first ever track national championship and will have to really work in order to hold seed given the large gap in seed-time between her and Masterson. She has some range so expect that she’ll be confident even in a race that is out fast. 

 

Bridget Gottlieb (Johns Hopkins) is the only first year in a race dominated by juniors and seniors, but she has held her own in championship races, just missing an All-American finish in cross country and snagging the last All-American spot in the indoor 5K. Expect her to work with Loeb early on in the race, though Loeb will likely run away with things. A senior with an impressive résumé, Loeb has plenty of experience. She was sixth in the 5K and seventh in the 3K at indoor nationals in addition to finishing twenty-ninth at cross country nationals this fall. With PRs of 4:31 in the 1500 and 16:39 in the 5K, Loeb is capable of competing in any kind of race and will be very hard to beat. She did struggle toward the end of the 5K indoors and could be at risk if the early pace is dangerously fast, but from what we’ve seen so far this season, no one in the field seems capable of setting that kind of pace and hanging on. 

 

Predictions: Loeb, Masterson, Mead