With just three weekends left until the NCAA Championships on March 11-12, there’s really no room for error for the remaining collegiate athletes hoping to punch their ticket to the big dance. Some athletes will be doubling or tripling up at the respective conference championships, so enter Alex Wilson. For years the Alex Wilson Invitational as been that “Last Chance” opportunity to run fast on an oversize track with excellent competition. Back in 2013, it literally was the last chance. The meet used to be held the weekend before the NCAA Championships, and we’ll get into that DMR fiasco later on.

The distance medley relay is the highlight of the Alex Wilson Invitational. With limited weeks of the season, there are few chances for several teams to go head to head in this event. Obviously, the Penn State National was a smashing success for several men’s and women’s programs, but where are the other teams qualifying? It will most definitely be at Alex Wilson.

On the men’s side, Virginia’s 9:32 was the #12 time entering NCAAs in 2015. Five of those qualifying teams came from times at Alex Wilson. Washington’s 9:31 was the #12 qualifier in 2014 and six teams came from Alex Wilson.

For the women, Washington’s 11:05 was the #12 time in 2015. Three teams qualified from Alex Wilson. In 2014, the North Carolina women ran 11:11 at the ACC Championships for the #12 qualifier. Interestingly enough, only one team, Notre Dame, qualified from Alex Wilson that year.

In 2013, 12 men’s teams and 5 women’s teams came from Alex Wilson. Leading up to this “last chance” competition (remember this was when the meet was held the weekend prior to NCAAs) the Texas men had held the #1 DMR spot all season. They opted out of Alex Wilson, and 14 teams ran faster. Mitch Kastoff explored whether Texas should have “held ‘em” (ha!) and it’s really an interesting look at just how significant this relay race is every year.

Men’s DMR: Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Washington Going All In

Right now, six teams sit at 9:30 or better: Penn State, Stanford, Georgetown, Mississippi, Villanova and Oregon.

Check out the 2015 NCAA Indoor Championship DMR race. Many of these teams still need to punch their tickets to Birmingham



Oklahoma State ran 9:35.35 at the Razorback Invite against Oregon. Chad Noelle is coming off a 3k PB and will likely anchor the Cowboy squad. He’s an NCAA Champion, so he’ll likely get in the zone against the other heavy hitters in this field. Matthew Fayers is coming off a win and sub-4 result at Iowa State, making this one of two teams with two sub-4 men on their team. The other squad being…

Washington will likely run Colby Gilbert and Izaic Yorks in this relay. Both have been excellent from the 1k-3k this indoor season, and Yorks stated that a DMR title is a goal of his for 2016. If Yorks is on the anchor, he’ll have plenty of competition with Noelle and Jacob Burcham of…

Oklahoma ran 9:37 in that Razorback Invite but have since seen remarkable progress by Burcham. His 3:57 mile ranks him #6 in the NCAA mile this year and he was 16th at the NCAA cross country championships this fall.

There will be two heats for the men, and the second is a bit of a mystery. It features Arkansas and Iowa State, two teams that finished in the top 8 at NCAAs last winter but have some holes to fill. Kemoy Campbell (Arkansas) and Edward Kemboi (Iowa State) were big reasons why these teams qualified and/or succeeded, but I wouldn’t discredit their potential. Two dark horses in the second section could be the teams from Northern Arizona and Air Force. NAU’s Futsum Zienasellassie is having his best indoor season thus far and Air Force has a stud in Patrick Corona. I wouldn’t be surprised if these two teams punched their tickets to Birmingham.

Women’s DMR: Two-Time Defending Champs Arkansas Need To Qualify, Consistent Players Michigan, Notre Dame Should Help

Five teams have run under the 11:05 mark so far this season: Stanford, Georgetown, Oklahoma State, Oregon and Washington

Watch Arkansas win their second consecutive NCAA DMR title in 2015 and ALMOST break the collegiate record!



The Arkansas Razorbacks won the last two NCAA DMR championships with Dominique Scott on the anchor, and last year’s time nearly breaking the collegiate record. Scott’s indoor eligibility is over, leaving two members of last year’s squad, Jessica Kamilos and Therese Haiss, as well as Oregon transfer Nikki Hiltz to step up to the plate. Hiltz ran 4:38 for the mile at the Husky Classic and will likely anchor, but that’s a far cry from Scott’s 4:28 split from last year’s championships. So who poses the biggest threat? On paper it would have to be…

Michigan has finished first, fifth and third in the DMR at the past three NCAA Championships. It’s an event coach Mike McGuire loves and has seen so much success in. Fifth-year senior Shannon Osika has been on the last two of those teams but as the 1200m leg. With her 4:34 mile from the Meyo Invite, Osika has the fastest open mile of the field. Seniors Danielle Pffeifer (800) and Maya Long (400) have been on the past three teams, and junior Jaime Phelan has run 1:29/2:05/4:41 this season. The Wolverines have run well at Alex Wilson, and could definitely push the limits running against the home team.

Notre Dame will utilize senior miler Danielle Aragon and 2x NCAA Champion Molly Seidel to qualify their team at the NCAA Championships. As reported in The Observer, Aragon will bring her DMR experience (she’s been an All American in this event for three straight years) and Seidel will just bring her win-streak to the track. Seidel’s personal best in the mile is 4:42, but when a team performance is on the line, anything can happen. Remember when Emily Lipari kicked down Laura Roesler in the 2013 Penn Relays 4x8? Who knew Lipari had the ability to run 2:02 against Roesler, one of the best half milers in the U.S. A sub 4:40 mile is definitely in Seidel’s wheelhouse if the opportunity presents itself.

The distance medley relays at Saturday’s Alex Wilson Invitational are slated to go off at 11:50am and 12:05pm ET.