2017 DI NCAA East Preliminary Round

NCAA East Prelims Men's Quick Takes And Picks

NCAA East Prelims Men's Quick Takes And Picks

We give an incredibly quick preview of the 2017 NCAA DI East Prelims men's events.

May 25, 2017 by Dennis Young
NCAA East Prelims Men's Quick Takes And Picks
The first round of the NCAA meet begins today with the East and West Prelims. Below we break down the men's events at the East Prelims, which are in Lexington, Kentucky. We'll have race footage, interviews, and social updates from both meets.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR OFFICIAL TOP 12 PREDICTIONS


Distance Quick Takes and Picks


There is always some mid-d chicanery here; someone you'd be sure was going to advance to Eugene will inevitably come up short in the rounds. In the 800m, the top six seeds (Isaiah Harris, Eliud Rutto, Andres Arroyo, Drew Piazza, Joe White, and Patrick Joseph) are the class of the field, and any of them not making it would be a major surprise. But Arroyo didn't make it past the second round last year, meaning he qualified through the same number of rounds at the Olympics as he did at the East Prelims.

The 1500m is a little bit more open, with only Craig Engels and Eliud Rutto as stone-cold locks. James Randon (Yale) and Rob Napolitano (Columbia) ran huge PRs of 3:37 and 3:39, respectively, at Swarthmore last week. As someone whose 1500m PR was set at Swarthmore and hasn't run within six seconds of it otherwise, I'd like everyone to know that all marks set on that track are legitimate.

The longer races are a major opportunity for less proven athletes. With no clear favorite in the steeple, and no Edward Cheserek in the 10K and 5K, those three events are wide open in Eugene. Justyn Knight (5K) and Alfred Chelanga (10K) have real shots at national titles. They just need to advance first.

Not-Distance Quick Takes and Picks


Christian Coleman of Tennessee and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of LSU had a brutal NCAA meet last year, with Coleman taking a surprise loss in the 100m final and Mitchell-Blake injuring his hamstring and not finishing the meet.

This NCAA championship could also be a coming-out party for Auburn's loaded sprint group. Nathon Allen split 43.48 on the 4x400 at the SEC meet, while Odean Skeen (100m) and Akeem Bloomfield (400m) could be sleeper NCAA contenders.