Men's Mile

Perhaps the most eagerly anticipated race of weekend is Drew Hunter's possible assault on the sub-4:00 barrier. Though Alan Webb predicted that his fellow Virginian would break four, both Hunter and his mother have been eager to downplay expectations. Hunter told us on the MileSplit podcast that he wasn't particularly concerned with whether or not he broke the barrier. But this is the field for Hunter to do it in. New pros Daniel Winn and Cristian Soratos are joined by veterans Mike Rutt, Chris O'Hare, Dan Lowry, Liam Boylan-Pett, and collegian Austin Mudd, all of whom have run 3:58 or faster.

Webb's high school national record is 3:59.86; no other high schooler has even broken 4:02 indoors! When Edward Cheserek graduated from high school, he was #1 on the all-time list in the 3K and #2 in the mile. If Hunter surpasses his future teammate's 4:02.21, he'll be one of two boy distance runners in the top two all-time in two indoor events. (Robby Andrews holds the national record in the indoor 800 and 1000)

At least to me, whoever wins this race is secondary. O'Hare has the best resume in the field, and Soratos was a sensation last year indoors. But the thing to watch in this race is if Hunter breaks four minutes.

Lincoln nailed Hunter's 7:59 last weekend; no word on Clairvoyant L's take for this weekend.

Women's 800m

Though the men's mile might be the most exciting race, the women's 800 has the best field. The last two women to dominate the event at the NCAA level--Laura Roesler and Natoya Goule--are in the field, as is Ajee Wilson, who might've dominated the collegiate ranks if she didn't skip them altogether. (Listen to Meg and Adam's podcast with Roesler here!) In addition to the Jamaican, Goule, and the two top Americans, 1:57 runner Lynsey Sharp of Great Britain will be in the field.

The women's 800 is one of the deepest events in the United States, and after Wilson and Roesler went 1-2 at USAs in 2014, they both had an injury-riddled 2015. Wilson finished third at the US championships but withdrew from worlds, while Roesler didn't even make it to the summer. If these two are back in form, a brutal event at the Olympic Trials gets even tougher.

Men's 3K

What an eclectic field! Arkansas alum Kemoy Campbell, Penn State's Robby Creese (who is running unattached as he only has outdoor eligibility), and Long Island's own Mikey Brannigan headline the entries. Brannigan hasn't raced since winning 1500m gold at the Paralympic World Championships this summer, and it'll be interesting to see how the 8:42 high school 3200 runner stacks up against the pros.

Men's 800m

The three big names in here are Robby Andrews, Monmouth's Dylan Capwell, and Arizona's Collins Kibet. Donavan Brazier's 1:45.93 is the NCAA-leading time by over a second; no one else has gone faster than 1:46.97. Capwell ran 1:46.70 for second at indoor NCAAs last March, and the time to watch here is 1:46.50--the world indoor championships qualifying standard. Though Capwell probably isn't gunning for world indoors--US indoors is the same weekend as NCAAs, good work everyone!--Andrews could be gunning for the standard and telegraphing his intentions for the end of his indoor season.

Women's 3K

This field is loaded with women who are on the comeback trail in 2016. Wisconsin's Sarah Disanza and the Nike Oregon Project's Jordan Hasay missed huge chunks of the 2015 outdoor season while dealing with injuries, and Oregon Track Club Elite's Sheila Reid was banged up for much of 2014. All three are healthy now and will test their fitness against Boston Athletic Association's Emma Bates, New Jersey-New York Track Club's Nicole Tully, and Boston College's Liv Westphal. No collegiate woman has broken nine minutes this year; Hasay's teammate Shannon Rowbury holds the official world lead at 8:53, though Abbey D'Agostino ran 8:51 in a mixed race in Boston. They're two of just four women who have broken 9:00 in 2016; look for that number to approximately double this weekend.

Women's Mile

The BAA's Emily Lipari and NJ*NY's Ashley Higginson are probably the co-favorites, along with NJ*NY's Nicol Trainor, but I'll be blatantly rooting for another NJ*NY runner, Erin Donohue. I have few fixed rules in sports fandom, but one of them is that any time the 2002 ACC champion in the javelin is competing in a mile in 2016, I want that person to win.

Men's 1K

Hey, look! It's the individual season debut of 2014 NCAA 800 champion Brandon McBride of Mississippi State. Less than two years ago, he looked like he was the next big thing in the event. Then Edward Kemboi beat him twice and Clayton Murphy made the world championships and Donavan Brazier ran 1:45...and McBride has kind of been forgotten. We'll see where he's at in 2016.