NCAA qualifiers and professional bragging rights will be on the line this weekend at the UW Invitational, a meet that always delivers the distance goods. FloTrack will be Live for the two-day action on Friday and Saturday, and below we’ve highlighted the top five races to watch at the Dempsey.

Watch the 2019 UW Invitational Live on FloTrack

Men’s Mile (4:20 pm PT Saturday)

Who: Neil Gourley (Nike OTC), Josh Thompson (Bowerman Track Club), Drew Piazza (Nike OTC), Grant Fisher* (Stanford), Mick Stanovsek (Washington), Alex Rogers (Texas), Kasey Knevelbaard (Southern Utah)

Analysis: Like usual, Washington has compiled a loaded men’s mile that should serve as one of the highlights of the meet. New Oregon Track Club members and former Virginia Tech teammates Neil Gourley and Drew Piazza will make their debuts in the OTC green, and each man has reason to like his chances to make it a winning opener; Gourley has a 3:35 1,500m PR, while Piazza has 1:45 800m speed plus a 3:56 mile.

Former miler turned steepler Josh Thompson of Bowerman Track Club will run his first mile race in nearly two years. His 3:56 PR comes from the Dempsey in 2017. 

Stanford’s Grant Fisher is on the startlist, but it will be somewhat surprising if he actually races considering that he’s committed to the DMR on Friday night. Fisher also has never run an indoor mile in college. Even if the NCAA champ skips this one, athletes like Mick Stanovsek (3:56 PR) and new sub-4:00 man Alex Rogers should make this one competitive for the VA Tech alums and Thompson. The sleeper in the field is Southern Utah’s Kasey Knevelbaard, who ran an altitude-converted 3:55 in 2018.

Women’s Mile (4:05 pm PT Saturday)

Who: Elise Cranny (Unattached), Sinclaire Johnson (Oklahoma State), Allie Ostrander (Boise State), Katie Rainsberger (Washington)

Analysis: Former Stanford All-American Elise Cranny, who just finished up her collegiate eligibility in the fall, is the favorite in this eclectic field that features an up-and-coming name in Oklahoma State's Sinclaire Johnson and a national champion steepler (Allie Ostrander) and everything in between. Cranny has 4:09 1,500m speed and she recently showed spectacular strength with a 15:24 5k PR in December. She ran 4:31 at the Dempsey in 2018.

Johnson could pose a serious threat to a Cranny victory. The junior may not be a household name for track fans, but she ran 4:11 last year as just a sophomore.

Men’s 3,000m (5:02 pm PT Saturday)

Who: Clayton Young (BYU), Amos Bartelsmeyer (American Distance Project), Conner Mantz (BYU), Craig Nowak (Furman Elite), Obsa Ali (Minnesota), Addison DeHaven (Boise State), Kasey Knevelbaard (Southern Utah)

Analysis: This one is wide open. Clayton Young of BYU has the fastest PR (7:49) and first-year pro Amos Bartelsmeyer is fresh off a stunning 3:55 mile opener just two weeks ago in Seattle, but it’s tough to call either a favorite against such a balanced field.

Young’s BYU teammate and top-10 NCAA XC finisher in 2018, Conner Mantz, will no doubt assert himself at the front of this race like he did all season in cross country. Considering his fearless style and rapidly improving fitness, Mantz can’t be counted out in this 3k. 

Other names to watch are former Oklahoma State All-American and current Furman Elite pro Craig Nowak (7:51 PR), 2018 NCAA steeple champ Obsa Ali, Boise State’s Addison DeHaven (7:54 PR) and Southern Utah’s Kasey Knevelbaard (7:54 PR), who is slated to double in the mile and 3k.

Women’s DMR (8:15 pm PT Friday)

Who: Boise State, Washington, Oklahoma State, Stanford, BYU

Analysis: An entertaining battle between Washington, who will feature 4:11 1,500m runner Katie Rainsberger and Oregon’s NCAA champ anchor in 2018 Lilli Burdon, Boise State and Oklahoma State will be waged in the women’s DMR. The winner will own the fastest distance medley relay time in the NCAA so far this season.

Rainsberger and Burdon make for an accomplished bookend for the Huskies on paper, but neither were at their best two weeks ago at the UW Preview. This one should come down to OSU versus Boise. The Cowgirls will have a 4:12 1,500m runner at lead-off, a 2:03 800m leg, and burgeoning star Sinclaire Johnson on the anchor, while Boise State has Alexis Fuller and Allie Ostrander, half of a team that ran a school record 10:58 in 2018.

Men’s DMR (8:30 pm PT Friday)

Who: Stanford, Washington

Analysis: Grant Fisher on Stanford’s anchor leg is the only excuse you need to watch this relay. The NCAA champ anchored the Cardinal to a fourth place finish in the NCAA DMR in 2018 (3:57 split), but on Friday he will have an entirely new Stanford trio competing with him. That leaves the door open for a team like Washington, who will be right in the hunt with 1:48 800m man Devan Kirk and 3:56 miler Mick Stanovsek running the final two legs.