WOMEN'S MID-DISTANCE PREVIEW:

Women’s 1,500 Meter Run:
Top seed Christy Cazzola of UW-Oshkosh has been so dominant over her career that three of the next four fastest 1500 performers this season have opted to declare in different events. The twenty-eight year old Cazzola is the second-fastest all-time performer in DIII and should comfortably win the first of her three potential titles on Saturday.

The only real to Cazzola is Tricia Serres of Luther, who pushed her to the brink indoors in both the mile and the 3k. The sophomore Serres is the only other runner in the field to have broken 4:30, but her 800 meter seasonal best is only 2:12. Though she does tend to step up at nationals, she simply has not displayed the top end speed necessary to dethrone Cazzola—a 2:04 800 meter runner. In my mind, the only question is how hard can she make Cazzola work in advance of her next two grueling races.

Behind this leading duo comes a pack of relatively novice national competitors. Sarah Burnell of Grinnell may be a senior, but she made her first national appearance indoors. She made the most of that opportunity, using a blistering kick to make the finals and emerge with a surprising third place finish. She again comes in towards the bottom of the entry list, but I expect her to be a strong contender for top three honors.

The only other individual All-American in the field is sixth seeded Brianna Hickey of the University of Chicago. Hickey finished sixth in the mile indoors and could be willing to go with a fast early pace.

If you count preliminary heats, Katie McMenamin is the most recent DIII athlete to defeat Cazzola. The Swarthmore sophomore beat Cazzola in her prelims race in the mile indoors, but went on to finish a disappointing ninth in the finals. She will be hoping to secure her first All-American honors this time around.

Haddie Vawter of Wartburg and Colette Celichowski of Carleton are also looking to make up for missed opportunities indoors. Vawter was the first woman left out of the 800 meter final, while Celichowski finished made finals in the mile but finished tenth. Expect them both to sneak into the top eight this time around.

Predictions: Cazzola, Serres, Hickey

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Women’s 800 Meter Run:
Indoor 800 meter champion Kylee Verhasselt of UW-Oshkosh has run 2:08 this year, but she will not even be the top finisher from her school, let alone in the field, this time around. Teammate Christy Cazzola is the fastest 800 runner in DIII history and should be considered the favorite, despite doubling back from the 1500. She has been unbeatable in recent years, and Verhasselt will be content to relinquish the win so long as the Titans bring home 18 points.

The only contender to break up the Titans’ 1-2 finish is Maggie Shelton of Johns Hopkins. Shelton came up short against Verhasselt in the final stretch indoors, but she is now the eighth fastest all-time performer in the 800 as a result of her 2:07 clocking at Princeton’s Larry Ellis Invitational.

A few seconds behind this established front three come the third through sixth place finishers at the indoor national championships: Taylor Moore of Wartburg, Michelle Dobbs of the University of Chicago, Trisha King of Trine, and Amanda Brom of UW-Whitewater. Indoors, Moore took the race out hard and held on for third, but that tactic will prove devastating against this strong field in the hot outdoor sun.

If the race goes out too slow, though, look out for Dobbs and conference rival Emily Warner of Wash U. Only a freshman, Dobbs broke 58 seconds in the one lapper at a final qualifying meet. Warner may have struggled to a fifteenth place finish indoors, but she broke 56 seconds in the open 400 as a freshman and seems to have regained that dangerous speed.

Predictions: Cazzola, Verhasselt, Shelton

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