As the Payton Jordan Invitational assembles its professional-heavy fields each year, the few collegians who are accepted must be national-caliber talents. Among this year's entries are six college athletes who are must-watch faces as the competition goes down May 5 at Stanford.

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Justyn Knight

The five-time All-American from Syracuse has only raced once this outdoor season (3:42 1500m victory at Virginia Challenge), making his Payton Jordan performance a much-anticipated event. He also returns from a most recent runner-up finish in the 3K at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Knight is entered in the 5K with fellow college rival Edward Cheserek, who is out to break the Oregon school record (13:14) and possibly the NCAA record (13:08). Knight has only beaten Cheserek once--with Patrick Tiernan at the NCAA cross country championships last fall--but he is never afraid to compete with the most decorated NCAA runner of all time.

Shea Collinsworth

BYU's middle distance star is inching closer to breaking two minutes in the 800m. During the indoor season, Collinsworth set personal bests and exhibited notable range in multiple events. In the 800m, she clocked a personal best of 2:01.42, and in the mile, she ran 4:35.76. So far this outdoor season, Collinsworth has posted an 800m best of 2:01.51, which ranks No. 3 in the NCAA.

She will face talented competition in the Payton 800m, which features Icelandic Olympian Anita Hinriksdottir, British Olympian Lynsey Sharp, and several other women who have run in the two-minute range for 800m.

Edward Cheserek

As Oregon coach Andy Powell shared in February, Cheserek will have one opportunity to go all out before the championship portion of the season. The Payton Jordan 5K will be that opportunity for the 17-time NCAA champion. The goal is to break the Oregon school record of 13:14, but depending on the pace, Cheserek also has the potential to break the NCAA record of 13:08 set by Henry Rono in 1978. Cheserek already broke the NCAA indoor mile record with a jaw-dropping 3:52 earlier this year. 



With the help of a stacked field, the Payton 5K will be Cheserek's final all-out effort before the championship portion of the season, and it could make history.

Karisa Nelson

Samford's breakthrough star will be running Payton Jordan for the first time in her career. It's a well-deserved opportunity, as Nelson won her first NCAA indoor title in the mile last March. She posted a four-second personal best of 4:31 to accomplish the feat. The victory marked a series of improvements for Nelson, who had only run 4:49 in the mile one year earlier.



Nelson faces a field of talented professionals, notably Katie Mackey and Gabe Grunewald. She has only raced twice so far this outdoor season (2:07 800m, 4:17 1500m) and should be ready to blast another improvement.

Allie Ostrander

So far this outdoor season, Allie Ostrander has had a series of exciting debuts. She opened up at the Stanford Invitational with her first-ever steeplechase, which she won in 9:55. Ostrander's mark is faster than every debut made by all of the competitors in the 2016 Olympic Trials steeplechase final.



Two weeks later at Mt. SAC Relays, she ran her first 1500m in a Boise State uniform and finished in 4:18. The time is ranked No. 34 in the NCAA.

At the Payton Jordan Invitational, Ostrander is scheduled to run her signature event. The 5K will mark her first attempt at the distance since finishing eighth at the Olympic Trials in a personal best of 15:24.

Marc Scott

Tulsa's All-American is scheduled to run his first 10K in two years against one of the best fields assembled this season. Based on his breakthrough indoor season, he'll be ready to contend.

Scott is returning from an indoor season that saw two top three finishes at the NCAA Indoor Championships and a personal best of 7:47 in the 3K. Recently, he posted a stunning 13:37 5K victory at the Mt. SAC Relays, which is just one second shy of his 5K best set in 2015. It is the same year in which Scott ran his 10K debut and still-standing 10K personal best of 28:30.

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