2017 DI NCAA Indoor Championships

NCAA Mile Preview: Edward Cheserek Returning From Collegiate Record

NCAA Mile Preview: Edward Cheserek Returning From Collegiate Record

Led by a recent collegiate record, two exciting mile showdowns will take place at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Here are some of the top storylines to watch out for in the men's and women's mile this weekend in College Station, Texas.

Mar 8, 2017 by Taylor Dutch
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Led by a recent collegiate record, two exciting mile showdowns are slated to take place at this weekend's NCAA Indoor Championships. Here are some of the top storylines to watch out for in the men's and women's races in College Station, Texas.

Men's Mile

I'm sure I speak for many track fans when I say that I'm excited Oregon coach Andy Powell is finally letting Edward Cheserek loose on the collegiate records this season. For 3 1/2 years, track fans have seen Cheserek dominate the podium with 15 NCAA championships to his credit. But in a series of tactical championships and few all-out timed assaults, Cheserek never truly got the chance to break timed records, until now. 

On Feb. 26, history was made when the Oregon senior unleashed a new collegiate record in the indoor mile. With the help of a talented professional and collegiate field at the BU Last Chance Meet, Cheserek ran a stunning 3:52.01, which broke Lawi Lalang's previous record of 3:52.88 from 2014. The king of the NCAA was finally cemented into the record books. 



This weekend in College Station, Cheserek is entered in four events--the mile, 5K, distance medley relay, and 3K. Although it is unlikely that the Oregon coaches will put him in the DMR, let's take a look at the potential racing schedule for Cheserek should he compete in all four events. 

Friday
5:45 PM - Mile semifinal 
8:20 PM - 5K final
8:55 PM - DMR

Saturday
4:10 PM - Mile final
6:15 PM - 3K final

With the mile semifinal, 5K, and potentially the DMR on Friday, Cheserek won't have fresh legs heading into the mile final, but as we've seen in his doubles and triples in years past, Cheserek doesn't need fresh legs to win an NCAA title. In 2014, he doubled at the NCAA Indoor Championships with 5K and 3K victories one day apart. In 2015, he snagged wins in the DMR and mile and finished runner-up in the 3K. And in 2016, Cheserek accomplished the unimaginable--victories in the DMR, 5K, and 3K. 

When he won the mile at the 2015 championship, he was coming off of the mile semifinal and DMR the day before. Nevertheless, Cheserek threw down a stunning 3:57 to beat Cristian Soratos, who made the race anything but tactical. 

Cheserek will be hard to beat on his way to a 16th NCAA title attempt--the most of any NCAA athlete in history--but he will have many competitors yearning for that mile crown. 

Most of the fastest competitors, with the exception of Oklahoma State's Josh Thompson, are entered with altitude-converted season's bests. Ben Saarel and Zach Perrin of Colorado will put up a fight after notching altitude-converted 3:55 and 3:56 mile personal bests in Boulder, Colorado. Colorado State's Cole Rockhold finished with them in a converted 3:57. 

Thompson will also contend after throwing down a third-place finish in 3:56 against Olympians Lopez Lomong and Evan Jager at the Husky Classic. Just two years ago, before transferring to Oklahoma State, Thompson held a mile PR of 4:17. 

Jonah Koech of UTEP proved he will be a runner to watch when he ran a seemingly effortless 3:57 altitude-converted mark at the New Mexico Classic. 

Full list of entries

Women's Mile 

Returning NCAA champion Kaela Edwards will be ready to rock after notching a 4:28 sixth-place finish in the ultra-competitive Millrose Games mile. She finished behind Olympian Dominique Scott and Heather Kampf and landed a four-second improvement on her personal best from last year. She also beat her closest NCAA competitor, Elinor Purrier, who finished eighth in a season's best of 4:29. 

Prior to her Millrose Games race, Edwards showed early glimpses of her dominance when she ran the fastest 1000m in indoor collegiate history. She ran 2:40.79 in January at Nebraska, which took down the previous best set by Villanova's Angel Piccirillo. 

Last year, Edwards won the NCAA indoor mile with a lethal kick to take down Piccirillo in the final homestretch. With even faster marks heading into the meet this year, Edwards will be a strong contender to repeat as champion. 



Edwards' fastest competitor will be New Hampshire junior Purrier, who has notched personal bests in the 800m and mile distances. She ran 2:04 to win the America East Conference title and 4:29 at the Millrose Games. Last year, Purrier finished third in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships and should improve upon that showing this weekend. 

A dark horse for a title will be Penn State freshman Danae Rivers, who already finds herself in a class above the rest of her NCAA competition. This season, Rivers notched a 600m personal best of 1:29.06, an 800m personal best of 2:04.04, and a mile personal best of 4:34 (in the same meet where she split 3:18 on the 1200m leg of the DMR and 53 seconds in the 4x400m relay). Only five other women in U.S. history have indoor personal bests under 1:30/2:05/4:35, which makes Rivers part of a fast club. Those women are 1:58 800m runner Charlene Lipsey, Olympian Geena Gall, 4:04 1500m specialist Heather Kampf, 1:58 800m runner Molly Ludlow, and Olympian Morgan Uceny. In her first-ever collegiate championship, Rivers will be a formidable opponent. 

Full list of entries