2018 USATF Indoor Championships

USATF Women's 3K Preview: BTC's Houlihan, Hall vs. Coburn

USATF Women's 3K Preview: BTC's Houlihan, Hall vs. Coburn

Bowerman Track Club's Shelby Houlihan and Marielle Hall headline the USATF women's 3K along with world steeplechase champion Emma Coburn.

Feb 15, 2018 by Johanna Gretschel
USATF Women's 3K Preview: BTC's Houlihan, Hall vs. Coburn

The Bowerman Track Club's Shelby Houlihan enters this weekend's USATF Indoor Championship as the reigning two-mile and mile champion. The distances are a bit different this year and there's a lot more competition -- both given that 2018 is a World Indoors year -- but expect the 5K Olympian to contend for the win in two distance events yet again.

Final: Saturday, 4:28 PM MT

Houlihan will be chasing history as well as the win in the 3K. In her sole race of 2018, the 25-year-old clocked 8:36.01 for 3K at the Bruce Lehane Scarlet and White Invitational at BU. That time is fastest by a U.S. woman since 2007, when Shalane Flanagan set the American record of 8:33.25. 

I wouldn't be surprised to see that record go down, especially since Houlihan has some all-star help in this field. Her BTC teammate Marielle Hall, who made the U.S. Olympic team for 10K in 2016, set a PB of 8:40.20 at the BU race.

There's also reigning steeplechase world champion Emma Coburn, who must be looked at as a bit of a darkhorse in this race. She obviously has great racing instincts, but is she capable of keeping up with flat track specialists? The 27-year-old, who trains at altitude in Colorado, has run 8:41.16 (PB) and 8:43.57 this season. She didn't win either race, but the only American she lost to was Jenny Simpson -- who is not competing at USATF Indoors.

Two more athletes have run under the world standard of 8:50 this season: Katie Mackey and Lauren Paquette of Brooks, who were fifth and sixth, respectively, at the Millrose Games. Both women set PBs in that race with times of 8:43.15 and 8:47.81.

Mackey is also slotted to double in the mile alongside Houlihan.

Prediction: 1. Shelby Houlihan 2. Emma Coburn

Jojo has a hot take for the USATF Indoor women's 3K:

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