WEEKEND PREVIEW: Mt. SAC Distance

NEW ORLEANS — These are the last Mt. SAC Relays being held at Hilmer Lodge Stadium; the meet is moving to a brand new stadium of the same name next year. 2016 will be the beginning of a fantastic experiment about the importance of a track surface, but for 2015, we know that this meet is going to produce a raft of regional qualifiers and all-time fast times.

Kyle has a preview of the non-distance events here; below are seven distance races to watch this weekend if you have a Flotrack Pro subscription. The five Friday night races listed are from roughly 6:30 to 8:30 Pacific time on Friday night and the 800s are back to back at 2:56 and 3:04 (again, Pacific) on Saturday afternoon.

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Women’s 1500

Friday, 6:33 Pacific/9:33 Eastern

Notable collegians: Emma Bates, Boise State; Nataljia Piliusina, Oklahoma State; Rhianwedd Price, Mississippi State, Colleen Quigley, Florida State; Dominique Scott, Arkansas (fast section); Ewa Zaboroswka, Harding; Lindsey Butterworth, Simon Fraser (slow section)

Notable pros: Stephanie Brown, Alexa Efraimson, Cory McGee

Why you should watch: Arkansas’s Dom Scott and Florida State’s Colleen Quigley are two of the most versatile athletes in the collegiate ranks. Scott has said that the 3k is her best event and most recently competed in a 10k at Stanford; Quigley’s best event is the steeple. But they’re favored to be the top two collegians here; they’re two of the most versatile athletes in the NCAA.

What to know: Brown ran a nation-leading 4:11 here last year, making her the only woman in the NCAA to break 4:12 in the 2014 regular season, per TFRRS. This regular season is shaping up to be much faster than last year, as Rhianwedd Price’s 4:11.67 would have been No. 2 on the 2014 descending order list.

The two fastest PRs in the field belong to two women that are one year out of college, on opposite ends. Cory McGee, in her first year as a pro after finishing second in the 1500 at outdoor nationals the last two years, has run 4:06. And high school senior Alexa Efraimson has run 4:07.

If you’re a Division II fan, you’ll want to keep an eye on the slower heats. Butterworth and Zaboroswka have been been rewriting the DII record books in 2015–the former is in the top ten all-time with a 4:18 1500, while the latter’s 9:23 3k is believed to be in the indoor top ten. Only three DII women have ever broken 4:16.

Men’s 1500

Friday, 6:39 PT/9:39 ET

Notable collegians: Kemoy Campbell, Arkansas; Daniel Herrera, UCLA; Chad Noelle, Oklahoma State; Vegard Olstad, Oklahoma State; Cristian Soratos, Montana State

Notable pros: Eric Avila, German Fernandez, Matt Hughes, Dan Huling, Lopez Lomong

Why you should watch: Soratos’s first sea level race of the outdoor season! That transition was kind to him this winter.

What to know: Five of the top twenty-five times on last year’s descending order list came at Mt. SAC, second only to Payton Jordan. With a reasonably fit BTC crew in the field, fast times could be in order. Ed Cheserek might be limited to a 10k/5k double at outdoor nationals–though anything is possible after his ridiculous indoor performance, a 10/5/15 triple seems onerous under the new schedule–and therefore there’s a vacancy at the top of the 1500. Soratos is the most obvious candidate to take over the event.

The top returner from the 1500 at last year’s national meet is Sam Penzenstadler; he’s entered in the 5k here and didn’t even make the mile final indoors. The two men who finished directly behind him at nationals were Peter Callahan of New Mexico and Jordy Williamsz of New Mexico. Neither has run the 15 yet outdoors, though Callahan is entered in the event at nearby Azusa Pacific this weekend.

Along with Soratos, Chad Noelle is one of two men entered in the SAC 1500 who made the final at indoor nationals. The Oklahoma State junior ran his still-PR of 3:40 here last year.

Men’s Steeple

Friday, 6:55 PT/9:55 ET

Notable collegians: Stanley Kebenei, Arkansas; Blake Theroux, Colorado (fast section); Dawson Miller, UW-Whitewater; Ryan Haebe, Western State; Meron Simon, Washington (slow sections)

Notable pros: Ben Bruce

Why you should watch: With citizenship firmly in hand, Kebenei is the future of American steeplechasing.

What to know: Three of the five fastest Division I steeples were run here last year, but the two men who have received the most digital ink this week are apparent star performer Ben Bruce and bringer of internet joy Meron Simon. They’re the rare distance runners who are actually known for something other than their PRs.

Haebe continues his comeback from a horrific brain injury suffered three years ago. His 9:24 steeple two weeks ago was probably his best race since the 2012 Olympic Trials. The DII provisional time is 9:22.53 and would be a significant landmark for Haebe.

Women’s 5k

Friday, 8:17 PT/11:17 PT

Notable collegians: Elvin Kibet, Arizona; Katy Moen, Iowa State; Mara Olson, Butler; Emily Stites, Williams & Mary; Dana Giordano, Dartmouth (fast section); Amy Cymerman and Kendra Foley, Grand Valley State, Melissa Skiba, Cal Lutheran (slow sections)

Notable pros: Christine Babcock, Addie Bracy, Liz Costello, Tara Erdmann, Neely Gracey, Laura Thweatt

Why you should watch: Eight of last year’s top 25 5ks (tied with Payton Jordan for the most of any meet) and three of the five fastest 5ks in NCAA history have come at Mt. SAC.

What to know: If you’re a DII or DIII fan, this is the race of the weekend. Cymerman (a DIII alum) was the surprise winner of the 5k at DII indoors. And Skiba is the ninth fastest DIII woman ever.

Men’s 5k

Friday, 8:35 PT/11:35 ET

Notable collegians: Colby Gilbert, Washington; Ammar Moussa, Colorado; Aaron Nelson, Washington; Morgan Pearson, Colorado; Jason Witt, BYU; Daniel Herrera, UCLA (fast section); Sam Penzenstadler, Loyola; Ahmed Bile, Georgetown; Eli Horton, Central; Johnny Guy, Southern Indiana (slow sections)

Notable pros: Andrew Colley, Diego Estrada, Shadrick Kipchirchir, Christo Landry, Sean Quigley

Why you should watch: The Colorado men dominated collegiate cross country this fall. They haven’t exactly dominated the track since. Pearson’s fifth-place 3k and Pierce Murphy’s sixth-place 5k were the only points the Buffs scored at indoor nats. Will Pearson, Moussa, and steeplechaser Blake Theroux run fast this weekend?

What to know: Mt. SAC produced nine of the twenty-five fastest 5000s on the 2014 descending order list, again tied for the most with Payton Jordan. But with the regional system, a blazing fast regular season 5k isn’t always a priority for the nation’s best. Lawi Lalang, Ed Cheserek, and Eric Jenkins went 1-3-4 at outdoor nationals without having a top ten 5k time.

Men’s 800

Saturday, 2:56 PT/5:56 ET

Notable collegians: Eliud Rutto, Middle Tennessee State; Patrick Rono, Arkansas (unattached); Clayton Murphy, Akron; Brandon McBride, Mississippi State; Collins Kibet, Arizona; Edward Kemboi, Iowa State (fast section); Chris Low, Long Beach State (slow sections)

Notable pros: Eric Avila, Brandon Johnson, Ryan Martin, Erik Sowinski

Why you should watch: This is half an NCAA final. Three of the top four men from indoor nationals (Kemboi won and Murphy and McBride went 3-4) and four of the eight finalists from outdoor nationals (where McBride won and Rono, Rutto, and Low went 4-5-7) are here.

What to know: Behind the pros here last year, McBride and Kemboi ran very fast–1:45 low for McB and 1:46 low for Kemboi. We’ve interviewed both men this year, and they have strikingly different approaches to this season. McBride mentioned that his priority for 2015 is the world championships in August, while Kemboi wants to strike while the iron is out in the collegiate season. We’ll see how their paths cross or converge this weekend.

This is Rutto’s first individual race since outdoor nationals, which were ten months ago. He ran a leg on Middle Tennessee State’s DMR at the Alabama Relays a month ago, but other than that, there’s been no indication of the junior’s fitness.

Women’s 800

Saturday, 3:04 PT/6:04 ET

Notable collegians: Savannah Camacho, Kaela Edwards, Natalja Piliusina (all Oklahoma State)

Notable pros: Geena Gall-Lara, Shannon Leinert, Molly Beckwith-Ludlow, Brenda Martinez

Why you should watch: Gall-Lara and Martinez plus Chanelle Price and Ajee Wilson made up the quartet that won the World Relays 4×800. That relay might be the toughest and most sought-after American team to make for the 2015 World Relays. Beckwith-Ludlow had the fourth fastest outdoor 800 time by American woman last year, behind Wilson, Martinez, and Bowerman winner Laura Roesler and ahead of Price and Gall-Lara.

This race lost a little intrigue when Roesler and Maggie Vessey switched from it to the 4×4, but it will still be extremely competitive with World Relays only three weeks away.

What to know: If there were a 4×800 at Division I national meets, OK State would be a heavy favorite on the women’s side. Camacho and Edwards went 2-3 at indoor nationals last year, and Edwards kept the Cowgirl runner-up tradition going in Fayetteville last month. Piliusina didn’t run fast enough indoors to make it to nationals, but she has the best credentials out of the trio: she won outdoor 1500 in 2013 and has the fastest PR at 2:02.16. Dave Smith must believe that she’s ready to recapture her old form, as–unlike Edwards and Camacho–the Lithuanian is entered in the fastest section with the pros.