2017 Hillsdale College Gina Relays

Top Four Events To Watch At The 2017 Hillsdale College Gina Relays

Top Four Events To Watch At The 2017 Hillsdale College Gina Relays

We preview the 2017 Gina Relays at Hillsdale College.

Apr 26, 2017 by Lincoln Shryack
Top Four Events To Watch At The 2017 Hillsdale College Gina Relays
For the first time ever, FloTrack will be live at the Hillsdale College "Gina" Relays, this Thursday, April 27th, through Saturday, April 29th. 2017 will mark the event's 51st year, and throughout the many iterations of the meet it has turned into a marquee DII pre-conference event. This year is no different, as many current DII stars will match up with pros and DI standouts with bragging rights, and in many cases, PRs, on the line.

Watch the 2017 Hillsdale College "Gina" Relays LIVE on FloTrack this Thursday through Saturday!

Here are the top four events to watch:

Women's 3,000m Steeplechase

Who
: Emily Oren, Molly Oren
When: 7:00 pm ET Friday
Why: Emily Oren is a legend at Hillsdale College. She won nine NCAA titles, has four school records, and in her signature event, the steeplechase, owns the DII record of 9:50.54. Fittingly, Oren-- now running professionally for Oiselle-- will make her 2017 steeple debut at the Gina Relays.

Oren's outdoor season is off to a slightly slow start, and so she just might have a tough test in the form of her sister Molly. The younger Oren, a senior at Hillsdale, owns a 10:11 PR. The two sisters went 1-2 in this event at last year's NCAA DII Outdoor Championships.

Women's 1,500m

Who
: Rebecca Tracy, Cally Macumber, Jordann McDermitt, Carise Thompson
When: 8:00 pm ET Friday
Why: Rebecca Tracy and her 4:09 PR are the class of this field. The Oiselle athlete and med student will make her 2017 debut here in a field with a fellow former DI All-American, a current DI All-American, and multiple DII stars. A couple talented Canadians will also compete, all looking to make Tracy's opener anything but a breeze.

Former Kentucky runner Cally Macumber may not have the 1500m times on paper to challenge Tracy (4:19 PR), but she did just run a 15:55 5k two weekends ago at Mt. SAC that shows she's fit. Joining Macumber as an underdog here will be Eastern Michigan's Jordann McDermitt, who hasn't shown elite 1500m speed yet either but did just finish sixth in the NCAA 5k last month and has run 9:10/15:43. And holding things down for the DII schools will be Walsh's Sarah Berger, who was runner-up in the NCAA 1500 last spring and should be in line to lower her 4:19 PR.

Carise Thompson (4:12 PR) and Katelyn Ayers (4:17) of Speed River are the top Canadians and possibly the best bet to challenge Tracy if they're on form. However, Thompson didn't break 4:15 last year a season removed from doing that on seven occasions, and Ayers has dipped under 4:20 just three times in the last two years. Even in her season debut, Thompson seems the more likely threat with her considerably faster PR and more recent success.

Men's 1,500m

Who
: Bastian Grau, Nick Hall, Caleb Gatchell
When: 8:20 pm ET Friday
Why: Three of the top six from last month's NCAA DII mile will be here, including national champion Bastian Grau of Southern Indiana. Grau ran 4:05 to win that title-- matching his PR-- which was particularly impressive considering that he split 1:56 in the final 800 to get there. He'd likely be a sub-four miler if the right race had presented itself this past indoor season. The German is also one of just five men in NCAA DII to break 14:00 this outdoor season, his 13:57 at Stanford:



Nick Hall of Ashland (3:47/4:04) and Hillsdale's Caleb Gatchell (3:48 PR) will represent Grau's best Division II competition and surely will be hunting the 3:45.65 NCAA DII auto mark. That incentive should keep this from becoming any bit tactical. Canadians Mark Patton (3:44 PR) and Nick Macmackin (4:05 mile) will join them to make this an even more entertaining race.

Men's 5,000m

Who
: Kyle Masterson, Wuoi Mach, Mitchell Klinger, Joshua Joseph
When: 8:55 pm ET Friday
Why: Could we see sub-14? Kyle Masterson of Adams State has come the closest with his 14:03 from the indoor season, and he'll have good company on Friday as this field features several men who could crack the barrier for the first time.

Masterson is the favorite as the only man with a sub-14:10, but Grand Valley State's Wuoi Mach is certainly talented enough to beat him even in his debut. His 3:45/8:11 speed combined with solid cross country numbers should allow for a smooth transition to the unfamiliar distance.

Additionally, I count four other men who have run sub-14:20 PRs this outdoor season-- Mitchell Klingler (unattached, 14:15), Joshua Joseph (Adams State, 14:15), Brady Selnar (Grand Valley State, 14:16), and Tom Goforth (Saginaw Valley, 14:18). The perfect race for one or more of these men could see someone follow Masterson and Mach to a huge performance.

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