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NCAA Women 800 Top 50

NCAA Women 800 Top 50

Mar 21, 2014 by Isaac Wood
NCAA Women 800 Top 50
Similarly to the Men's 800m, I did my best to figure who I feel will be the eight women that will toe the line in Eugene in the final of the Women's 800m this upcoming outdoor season. This list does seem to have several ladies that are just as good if not better 1500m runners than 800m, but their ability in the half earns them a right on the list of the best 50 in the NCAA. 

Once again, if I missed someone that obviously should be on the list, let me know!

Top 50 Women's 800m Runner

1. Laura Roesler (Oregon) - 2:00.23
Is this really even a question? A dominating performance this indoor proved that Roesler is the best in the country (I even thinks she beats Goule this year if she was running outdoors). WIth her sick combination of outstanding 400m speed and toughness, Roesler is a proven winner and is the early favorite to win the NCAA 800m Championship indoors and outdoors. 

2. Justine Fedronic (Stanford) - 2:00.97
It's only fitting that these Pac-12 foes are 1-2 in this list of the best Women's 800m runners. Fedronic proved her mettle his past summer in Europe where she busted out her current PR. Fedronic, being the more strength type, is a much different runner than Roesler, but just as talented. I'm looking forward to some awesome battles between the two, if Fedronic focuses on the 800m. 

3. Natalja Piliusina (Oklahoma State) - 2:01.59
I hope none of you forgot about the Lithuanian sensation that is the reigning NCAA 1500m champ Natalja Piliusina. I know that none of the girls on this list have forgotten her. With Piliusina having not run indoors, she should be healthy, happy, and hungry to roll this upcoming outdoor season. A former 2nd place finisher in the 800m at NCAAs in 2011, Piliusina is always dangerous late in a race and if the focus turns to this race in 2014, the incredible 800m depth in the NCAA just got a little deeper. 

4. Amy Weissenbach (Stanford) - 2:00.98
I so badly want to call Weissenbach "The Young Gun" or some cliche term for a great young talent, but she isn't a freshman anymore. She is by no means a "dark horse," either. In fact, by the end of the year, Weissenbach could be Stanford's best 800m runner.

Think about that a minute.

Weissenbach possesses great race savvy and has proven throughout her career that she is fearless in any competition. Considering she was 7th at the USA National Outdoor Championships in the 800m, there is no doubt that Weissenbach is one of the top 800 meter talents in the NCAA. 

5. Stephanie Brown (Arkansas) - 2:02.59
Not sure how much Brown will run the 800m this upcoming outdoor, but she must be in the conversation of best half-milers in the NCAA, especially considering her excellent PR and the way she ran this past indoor. There are only a few people in the country who have never lost a race to Laura Roesler and Stephanie Brown is one of them. Brown's punishing finish in the DMR at Albuquerque last week is evidence of some outstanding strength and she can be dangerous if she's in the mix with 100m to go in any race. 

6. Samantha Murphy (Oregon) - 2:02.10
Okay, so Murphy has yet to run a great race in a Duck uniform, but come on, we all watched her have an incredible outdoor last year for Illinois finishing 5th at NCAAs in Eugene.

Samantha Murphy deserves a spot in the top 8 regardless of what she did indoors.

Some athletes just struggle on a 200m track. The positioning can be tough, and if you're not a great front-runner, it is difficult to navigate those turns at just the right time to put yourself in position to win. 400m tracks are much different and we're looking for big things out of Murphy this year. 

7. Shelby Houlihan (Arizona State) - 2:02.63
Houlihan is another 800m runner who is more likely to be seen running a 1500m than an 800m, but her ability in this event merits the top 8 spot. And who knows, maybe this year Houlihan will just focus all her efforts in the half? Especially considering Houlihan ran this race at USA Outdoors last season and finished 7th in her heat, right behind none other than the World Indoor Champion Chanelle Price.

Houlihan's racing record at big-time meets has been unreal. She was 7th in the 1500m last year, 8th in cross, and finished 3rd in the mile final at indoors this past weekend. That kind of race savvy is rare and her grit always helps her close like a train. 

8. Savannah Camacho (Oklahoma State) - 2:05.41
If this ranking would be done purely off of PRs, Camacho would be a total afterthought for the top 8 and maybe he even top 25. Good thing Camacho ran an incredible 800m race at NCAA Indoors in Albuquerque last weekend, where she finished 2nd and proved the country that she is one to watch.

Honestly, if I didn't put Camacho on this list, that would be a total travesty to someone who totally deserves a spot in the outdoor final this spring. If she can place 2nd indoors off of a 2:05 PR, who knows what she is capable on the track outdoors. Camacho will be dangerous in June in Eugene. 

9. Megan Malasarte- Georgia- 2:02.06
10. Sabrina Southerland- Georgetown- 2:03.59
11. Kaela Edwards- Oklahoma State- 2:05.59
12. Ejiro Okoro- Iowa State- 2:03.91
13. Andrea Keklak- Georgetown- 2:04.64
14. Kelsey Brown- BYU- 2:03.95
15. Amanda Smith- Virginia Tech- 2:05.59
16. Nicky Akande- Villanova- 2:04.56
17. Yanique Malcolm- Alabama- 2:03.97
18. Brigitte Mania- UCONN- 2:04.40
19. Danielle Aragon- Notre Dame- 2:04.19
20. Megan Krumpoch- Dartmouth- 2:05.56
21. Chelsea Cox- Georgetown- 2:04.41
22. Jilian Smith- Michigan- 2:04.67
23. Aleena Brooks- Minnesota- 2:04.90
24. Erika Veidis- Harvard- 2:04.69
25. Kianna Ruff- Tennessee- 2:04.85
26. Olicia Williams- Baylor- 2:05.20
27. Amanda Duvendack- Illinois- 2:05.07
28. Claudia Saunders- Stanford- 2:05.07
29. Anima Banks- Duke- 2:06.82
30. Lizzie Whelan- North Carolina- 2:05.13
31. Nikita Tracey- LSU- 2:05.28
32. Angel Piccirillo- Villanova- 2:05.31
33. Frances Dowd- Virginia Tech- 2:05.18
34. Baylee Mires- Washington- 2:05.34
35. Shawnice Williams- Nebraska- 2:05.26
36. Alexis Panisse- Tennessee- 2:05.38
37. Kelsey Margey- Villanova- 2:05.43
38. Katie Borchers- Ohio State- 2:05.56
39. Lianne Farber- North Carolina- 2:05.64
40. Ashly Wright- UT- Arlington- 2:06.04
41. Allison Peare- Kentucky- 2:06.01
42. Brook Handler- Michigan- 2:06.16
43. Cecilia Barowski- Princeton- 2:06.26
44. Jaimie Phelan- Michigan- 2:06.38
45. Hannah Meier- Duke- 2:07.45
46. Ahlivia Spencer- Illinois- 2:06.22
47. Annette Eichenberger- Air Force- 2:06.53
48. Emma Keenan- Georgetown- 2:06.54
49. Clara Nichols- Oklahoma State- 2:06.56
50. Courtney Clayton- Vanderbilt- 2:07.05

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