What's At Stake in the Furman Elite 1500m?

What's At Stake in the Furman Elite 1500m?

The Furman Elite 1500 will kick off Saturday, June 4, at 8:00 PM ET. Here's the full breakdown of the stakes, standards and goals for every runner traveling

Jun 1, 2016 by Dennis Young
What's At Stake in the Furman Elite 1500m?
The Furman Elite 1500 will kick off Saturday, June 4, at 8:00 PM ET. Here's the full breakdown of the stakes, standards and goals for every runner traveling to Greenville, South Carolina. Hot temperatures (82 degrees at 8:00 PM) and clear skies are in the forecast.

FloTrack will be on site to live-stream all the action.

Note: All athletes below are American unless stated otherwise.

Women’s Race (Watch live, 8:00 PM ET)


Chasing the Olympic Trials Standard (4:09.50):


Stephanie Schappert
(NJNY/HOKA ONE ONE)
Sara Sutherland (Saucony)
Greta Feldman (NJNY)
Stephanie Charnigo (NJNY/Saucony)

For a professional track runner, qualifying for the Olympic Trials kind of comes in the job description. These four women have month to do it, but would rather get it done this Saturday. Sutherland, Feldman, and Schappert have all ran between 4:10 and 4:12. Charnigo has run 4:09, but not within the qualifying window. Going 4:09.50 before the Trials begin July 1 is paramount for this group.

Sutherland was third at NCAAs last year:

Chasing the Olympic Standard (4:07):


Amanda Eccleston
(Brooks)
Rebecca Addison (Saucony)
Morgan Uceny (adidas)
Heidi See (Australia/Asics Furman Elite)
Hilary Stellingwerff (Canada/New Balance)

See is the two-time defending Australian national champ, so if she runs the standard, her ticket to Rio is likely set. Out of this group, Eccleston probably has the best chance of hitting the standard—her 4:26.63 indoor mile mark from the Millrose Games in February converts to sub-4:07.

Uceny and Stellingwerff are trying to make their second-straight Olympics. You can read more about Uceny's comeback here.

We talked to Uceny after she made her 3K debut this indoor season:

Already Have the Olympic Standard:


Alexa Efraimson
(Nike)
Heather Kampf (Asics)
Rachel Schneider (Under Armour)
Nikki Hamblin (New Zealand)
Stephanie Garcia (Furman Elite/New Balance)
Nicole Sifuentes (Canada/Saucony)

This is the fun part of the field—these women are just trying to beat each other! Efraimson doesn't turn 20 until next year, so every time she races, she threatens her American junior record of 4:03.39—that's the fastest non-Uceny PR in the field. The rest of these women have gone 4:04/:05, and could finish in any order.

LISTEN TO STEPHANIE GARCIA PREVIEW THE FURMAN ELITE 1500 ON THE LATEST ON THE RUN PODCAST!


How Efraimson, Kampf, and Schneider perform against each other on Saturday will provide a good preview of the jockeying for the third spot (behind Shannon Rowbury and Jenny Simpson) on our U.S. women's 1500 squad. Schneider and Kampf were fifth and seventh, respectively, in the final last year. Efraimson didn't make it, but has been more consistent in 2016.

Garcia is an early favorite to make the U.S. steeplechase team for the second year in a row; Sifuentes is looking to make her second-straight Canadian Olympic team; Hamblin has already been named to New Zealand's Rio squad. Garcia won this race last year in 4:05.

Efraimson is starting to figure it out after a full year as a pro:

5K runner Lauren Paquette will rabbit the race.

Men's Race (Watch live, 8:20 PM ET)


Chasing the Olympic Trials Standard (3:38):

Duncan Phillips
(Brooks)
Chad Noelle
Ryan Adams (Furman)
Michael Achtoo (NJNY)
Johnny Gregorek (Asics)
Brandon Hudgins
Jack Bolas (NJNY/HOKA ONE ONE)

Bolas ran 3:35 in 2013, which was well outside the Trials qualifying window. Phillips, Achtoo, Gregorek, and Noelle have all dipped under 3:40, and Hudgins has run a 3:59.69 mile. Look for at least three of these six men to break 3:38.00 on Saturday night. Noelle won the NCAA 1500m last year.

Noelle after winning a national title on his former home track:


Chasing the Olympic Standard (3:36.20)

Ford Palmer (NJNY/HOKA ONE ONE)
Colby Alexander (NJNY)
Jeff See (Asics Furman Elite)
Daniel Winn (BAA/adidas)
Tomas Cotter (Ireland/Asics Furman Elite)
Lee Emanuel (Great Britain/HOKA ONE ONE)

Emanuel, a two-time NCAA champ at New Mexico, will look to end his frustrating standard quest here. He missed the mark by 0.15 seconds in Heusden last summer. Last month, it eluded him by 0.09 seconds at Swarthmore.

Palmer, Alexander, See, and Winn will look to make their Trials meaningful by hitting the standard. Palmer was fifth at the USATF Outdoor Championship in 2014, and former Oregon teammates Winn and Alexander were seventh and ninth last year, so this isn't some prideful exercise for them. These are guys with a real (if unlikely) shot of making the top three in Eugene, but that does nothing for you without the standard.

Cotter is the 2015 Irish steeplechase national champion with a 3:58 PB in the mile.

Palmer, a vegan and former high school football player, was recently also lifeguarding and bartending:

Already Have Olympic Standard:

Kyle Merber (NJNY/HOKA ONE ONE)
Nate Brannen (Canada/Saucony)

Last year, Merber won this race in 3:34, and retired his former Swarthmore-set PR. If he races, it will be his outdoor season debut and his first mile/1500m of 2016.

Brannen is looking to make his third-straight Olympics.

Watch last year's Furman Elite 1500:


Steeplechase/1500m stud Cory Leslie will rabbit the race.