Battle Royale: Rupp/Lagat duel leads USA Indoor Championships

Does Rupp have enough to get by the master?
(Photo: TrackAndFieldPhoto)

The USA Indoor Track and Field Championships kick off Saturday and the distance race of the meet will certainly be the showdown between Bernard Lagat and Galen Rupp. They'll close out Saturday night at 8:05pm Mountain Time in an event in which Lagat owns the American Record (7:32.43); the 3000 meters. Both should qualify for the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey from March 9-11, as the top two in each event will qualify, if they have hit the standards.

Both are fresh off breaking each other's American Records in recent weeks; with Lagat besting Rupp's 5000 Record and Rupp trumping Lagat's 2 Mile Record just hours later. It should be a two man show, but Lopez Lomong could make things interesting, as he makes his first indoor appearance in an event over 800 meters this year (where he ran 1:47).

Right before the Men take the stage, the Women will square off in another duel of sorts for 3000 meters. The favorite has to be Jenny Simpson, but Sara Hall may give her a run for her money, as she beat her to the line in Boston (after Simpson faded from going out hard). Hall also is coming off a national Cross Country title, so her confidence will be high.

On Sunday (at 2:15), the first distance event will be the Men's 800. Last year's winner, Duane Solomon, leads the field in his indoor season debut. The New York New Jersey Track Club has the next three qualifiers in Michael Rutt, Tevan Everett and Christian Gonzalez, while the unattached (sponsors take heed) Mark Wieczorek rounds out the top five. It'd be nice to see Wieczorek take the win and secure some sponsorship before his outdoor bid to make the Olympic Team. He'll have his hands full in doing so!

Sara Hall will know how to lean
this weekend if needed

30 minutes later, the Men's 1500 will go off. Leading the field is Daegu Bronze Medalist, Matt Centrowitz. Centro looked awesome in the Wannamaker Mile at the Millrose Games, but will have to execute brilliantly again to hold off Leo Manzano, Garrett Heath, Russell Brown, Jeff See (who won last year) and Galen Rupp, who will look to double up after the 3000 Saturday night.

The Women's 1500 field will hit the track next in a Jenny Simpson/Sara Hall rematch. Also, the sharp Brenda Martinez will look to continue her excellent season by facing these two mainstays. The Women's 800 will follow with Phoebe Wright looking to repeat. Erica Moore and Latavia Thomas look to be her top competition as Maggie Vessey has opted out of the event.

The event will be broadcast (via tape delay) Sunday on ESPN at 7:30pm Eastern. Also, everything that isn't on TV will be streamed live via RunnerSpace.com. Flash Results will have live results starting Saturday and here's a link to the newly re-designed USA Indoor Championships homepage. Oh, and make sure you wear the right uniform.

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Thanks to Splitcaster for sponsoring the blog this week. If you haven't used this app before, it's awesome. I used it during Aisling Cuffe's National 2 Mile Record last year and think anyone who goes to track meets will love it. Also, if you're interested in sponsoring writing about running (and other great sites like TrackFocus, Track Superfan, Paul Merca and the House of Run podcast) in the future, check out The Relay Network.

Millrose, Husky and the USA Classic lead a big weekend of Indoor Track

Rupp will chase Lagat's record in Arkansas

It's a great weekend to be a track and field fan with tons going on! Along with the USA Cross Country Championships (previewed earlier in the week), there are three big meets that highlight indoor track action across the country.

Here's a little information on each of them:

USA Track and Field Classic
Fayetteville, AR
Saturday, February 11, 5pm Central
Broadcast: Sunday, February 12, 12:30 - 2:30 on ESPN2
Entry List / Schedule
Results

The highlight of the meet will be Galen Rupp's attack on Bernard Lagat's American 2-Mile Record of 8:10.07. New Balance's Craig Miller will be pacing the affair and he'll be joined by OTC/Schumacher Group's Andrew Bumbalough, former California standout Michael Coe, Aron Rono and Stephen Pifer. Lagat set the record last year and it'll take quite the effort to break! The Women's 1500 will feature a showdown between the veteran Treniere Moser, Anna Pierce, who bounced back last week with a nice 1000, Brenda Martinez, who dominated the US Open Mile, Sara Vaughn, Ashley Higginson, Btissame Lahkuoad, who looked great last week, and YouTube sensation, Heather Dorniden. Finally, the Geoff Hollister Mile will feature an absolutely stacked field. Leo Manzano leads the American contingent that includes Jeff See and Russell Brown. Boston winner, Ciaran O'Lionard, is back with an impressive international field that includes Amine Laalou, Daniel Kipchichir Komen, Silas Kiplagat and Boston 3000 winner, Caleb Ndiku. Former Chapel Hill High standout, Jack Bolas will pace the affair. ESPN2 will show the event on tape delay Sunday.

Fast Times at "The Dempsey"

Flotrack Husky Classic
Seattle, WA
Friday, February 10, 4pm Pacific (and Saturday, Feb 11)
Broadcast: Live on Flotrack
Entry List / Schedule
Results

The Husky Classic has turned into one of the premier indoor meets in the country as athletes love the fast 309 meter track at "The Dempsey." Spiked Up, Psyched Up has a nice preview of the distance events. Flotrack will be streaming the entire event and will have a special program for the collegiate section of the meet from 6 to 9pm Eastern on Saturday.

Southern Utah's Cam Levins won't have to look
 far for competition in the Wanamaker Mile

Millrose Games
New York, NY
Saturday, February 11, 4pm Eastern
Broadcast: Youtube Live
Entry List / Schedule
Results

The Millrose Games is sold out! 5000+ will enter the Amory on Saturday to see tons of great competition. You wonder if they would have put together a similar field last year as they did this year, whether or not they could have kept it in Madison Square Garden, as it is truly stacked. Lots of great college athletes are in the fields and Let's Run has an excellent preview worth checking out. YouTube will be showing the event live, which is better than nothing!

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The USA Cross Country Championships kick off a big weekend of competition

Huddle's 2012 return starts
 in St. Louis

There are three big track meets this weekend (Husky Classic, Millrose Games and the new USA Track and Field Classic), but there's also the 2012 USA Cross Country Championships, which will be held this Saturday, February 11th, at Forest Park in St. Louis, MO. There's no World Cross this year, but five slots for the NACAC team are up for grabs. The NACAC Championships will be held on St. Patrick's Day in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Not a bad paid vacation I'd say.

The favorite on the Women's side is American 5000 meter record holder, Molly Huddle. With the recent Olympic Marathon Trials and the aforementioned track meets in play this weekend, competition will be a little lacking on the top end. Sara Hall is registered (Ryan and Desi Davila are speaking at the Friday Panel Discussion), after a nice 3000 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, where she was the top American finisher over the more heralded Shannon Rowbury and Jenny Simpson. Hall has consistently improved in the past few years and hopefully can find her way onto the Olympic team this summer in the steeple. Another podium contender this weekend will be the always strong Renee Metivier Baillie. Former high school phenom, Melody Fairchild, will be competing as well and one interesting entry is the newly pregnant, Julia Webb. Maybe she'll bring her husband and he'll run. Let the speculation begin.

Mack will aim for more
 Team USA gear

On the Men's side, the big news was that Dathan Ritzenhein was planning on bouncing back after a personally disappointing Olympic Trials Marathon and trying to keep the train rolling. That changed a few days ago when Ritz announced his decision to pull out. Some favorites on the Men's side are recent Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country Team Race runner-up (and Raleigh resident), Bobby Mack, McMillan Elite's Aaron Braun, Team USA Minnesota's Chris Rombough, road warrior Christo Landry, steepler Kyle Alcorn and USATF 10k Trail Champ, Joe Moore. A few other interesting entries are triathlete Jarrod Shoemaker and the University of Wisconsin's Elliot Krause.

Runnerspace will be broadcasting the event live at http://USARunningCircuit.com starting at 9:45 Central. Full field information (including juniors and masters races) is available here. Check out this page for Runnerspace's coverage leading up to the event.

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Battle Royale: Matt Centrowitz to make pro debut in Boston this weekend

Centro is back

There are two big indoor meets next weekend, the USA Track and Field Classic in Fayetteville, AR and the Millrose Games in New York City. It's a shame they are both held on the same day, but let's face it, that's unfortunately kind of how Track and Field operates. This week, it's all about beantown. Boston is one of my favorite cities and potentially where I'll be for the next year or so (I'll know in the next six weeks). I'll also be running the marathon again in April, if I can stay healthy of course. Cross your fingers for me.

Saturday will be the professional debut of Mr. Matt Centrowitz. After executing a near-perfect race in Daegu to gain a bronze medal in the World Championship 1500, he'll have his hands full. He's racing a stacked Men's 3000 with US Open Mile Champ and Daegu 1500 Silver Medalist, Silas Kiplagat, British miling superstar (representing New Balance), Andy Baddeley, USA Running Circuit Champ, Ben True, jack of all distances, Ben Bruce and last year’s 3000 winner (over Mo Farah), in a race he ran with only one shoe, Ethiopia’s Dejen Gebremeskel. If Centro can pull this one out, we'll know he's in top form early. Update: Southern Utah's Cam Levins will be joining the fun as well!

Matt Scherer, pacing with the stars

There are two other featured distance events at the meet; the first being the Women's 800. This will feature New Balance's Maggie Vessey, Georgetown star Maggie Infield, US Open 800 Winner, Fantu Magiso, Canada’s Nicole Sifuentes and high school star, Ajee Wilson, who will be competing against the pros for the second straight week. No telling what kind of shape Vessey is in yet, but she is the class of the field.

The final featured distance event of the night is the New Balance Men's Mile. This event is the one that's gonna put butts in the seats. American superstar and 10,000 record holder, Galen Rupp, will likely receive top billing, but the man whose name you will hear non-stop in the promotion of the London Olympic Games will be Mo Farah. Farah is coming off a career year that culminated with a Gold in the 5000 in Daegu, and will be looking to build off that in Boston. Not to be forgotten is New Englander, Russell Brown, who came to Boston last year and won in front a gathering of friends and family. Also in the field is rising star and "bullet with the mullet," Ireland's Ciaran O'Lionaird. O'Lionaird burst onto the scene last year after a slew of 1500 PR's that landed him in the World Championship final. He's now training with Farah and Rupp in Portland, with Alberto Salazar. He could surprise everyone. Just announced were Kenya's Haron Keitany and Daniel Kipchirchir Komen to further add spice. Finally, Matt Scherer will be doing the pacing, as it looks like he's trying to fill the rabbiting void that David Krummenacker has held over the past few years. No word on if Krum is retiring or just waiting for outdoors, but Scherer better be ready to stay in front of these horses!

Some highlights of the non-featured, but still very exciting events will be Tirunesh Dibaba in the Women's 2-Mile, Anna Pierce vs. Morgan Uceny in the Women's 1000 and Shannon Rowbury taking on Meseret Defar and New Balance poster girl, Jenny Simpson, in the Women's 3000. Not sure why they don't combine the 3k and 2 Mile, but that's how it goes!

All the information you could need on the event is at http://NBIndoorGrandPrix.com. The meet starts Saturday at 5pm eastern and will be shown on tape delay on ESPN2 this Sunday at 2pm eastern. Flash Results will have the live results if you don't want to wait for the broadcast.

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Battle Royale: Bernard Lagat takes on Silas Kiplagat in the inaugural US Open Men's Mile

The new "Chairman of the Boards"

Bernard Lagat will be at Madison Square Garden this Saturday for his annual mile trek around the boards, only this time, it won't be for the Wanamaker Mile. It will be for the inaugural US Open, which has stacked fields in every event, from Asafa Powell versus Justin Gatlin in the Men's 50 to the return of Lolo Jones in the Women's 50 meter hurdles.

In the Men's Mile, Lagat leads the field with Daegu Silver Medalist, Silas Kiplagat, being the top contender to try to take down one of the best indoors runners ever. Also in the field are Ethiopia's Henok Legesse, Kenya's Daniel Kipchirchir Komen and Americans, Anthony "Fam" Famiglietti and Matt Elliott.

In the Women's Mile, it's an All American showdown with Anna Pierce leading the way and Daegu-bound  steeplechaser (before injury), Stephanie Garcia, Lauren Hagans and Brenda Martinez giving chase.

High school phenom Ajee Wilson, who just committed to Florida State, leads the Women's 800 and Bershawn Jackson and Renny Quow face off in their annual dual in the 600 yard dash. 

Full start lists are available here and the event is the first of the four part Visa Championship Series, which will also include the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix next weekend in Boston, the USA Track and Field Classic, which is the following weekend in Fayetteville, AR and the USATF Indoor Championships, which will be held February 25-26 in Albuquerque, NM. Not in the Visa Championship Series, but equally exciting, the "new" Millrose Games (at the Armory), is putting together a nice field, especially in the Men's 5000. More on that next week.

The full schedule for the US Open is available here. The event will air on ESPN2 this Sunday (on tape delay), from 7-9pm eastern.

Below are the qualifying standards for the USATF Indoor Championships:

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Battle Royale: Futsum Zeinasellassie vs. Edward Cheserek at Foot Locker Nationals

Futsum won NXN, can he double back at Foot Locker?

Last year, they were both runner-ups. Edward Cheserek finished just behind Lukas Verzbicas at Nike Cross Nationals and Futsum Zeinasellassie finished just behind Verzbicas at Foot Locker, two years after finishing seventh in his freshman season. This Saturday, they'll fight for that number one spot over what could be the most competitive Foot Locker race since 2007, when Michael Fout dug deep to overtake Chris Derrick, Luke Puskedra, Colby Lowe and German Fernandez.

Cheserek has had an absolutely perfect season. Eight course records in eight tries, on difficult and storied courses, going as low as 14:20 for 5k. He also ran 14:02.33 for 5000 meters on the track this spring (in a college meet) and took home the New Balance Nationals 5000 Championship as well. He'll be ready to complete his perfect season this Saturday, but he'll have to go through the new NXN course record holder to do it.

Cheserek has one more course record in mind

Like Cheserek,  Futsum Zeinasellassie is also undefeated this season, with his most impressive win this past weekend in Portland at Nike Cross Nationals. What impressed me most about Zeinasellassie's win was his patience. This will be key Saturday at Balboa Park; a tough course whose hills will swallow those up that get too aggressive early on the first loop. If Cheserek tries to go out in 4:20 and drop Zeinasellassie, expect Zeinasellassie to reel him in by the top of the second hill. Otherwise, we'll have to wait and see what's in store!

The chase pack will be led by a nice group from the South. Expect Craig Nowak, Daniel Vertiz and Thomas Graham to make it a fast race behind the lightning duo with the Midwest's Tony Smoragieweicz looking to make a strong case for First Team All American, after his strong performance last year. Other top ten contenders will be West winner Darren Fahy, Virginia's Ahmed Bile, Washington's Nathan Weitz and anyone out of the always strong Midwest Region.

Karlie Garcia, downhill master

On the girls side, the Midwest's Molly Seidel and Julia Bos have to be the favorites, after their strong performances at the regional. The rest of the group of girls from the Midwest looks strong, as does the South team, who ran some quick times at the always fast McAlpine Park. I'm particularly fascinated to see what 1:16:58 Half Marathoner, Alana Hadley, can do in a smaller field and the ability to run a more paced race. Finally, watch out for West winner Karlie Garcia, who really broke it open on the downhill at Mt. Sac last weekend to win big. Balboa Park will play to her strengths if she uses the long downhills the same way.

Here's a link to the entire field of participants, with a little more info on their state and regional finish.

The event will be streamed live at 12:00 eastern, this Saturday, December 10th at http://footlockercc.com

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Battle Royale: 2011 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships are Monday

Tomorrow is the 2011 NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships, which are held in Terre Haute, Indiana (home course for Indiana State). The event will be broadcast at noon eastern on NCAA.com and will once again, be packed with many exciting individual and team battles.

Here's a few that stand out:

Men's Individual Contenders
-Arizona's Lawi Lalang has not lost this year. He truly hasn't been challenged. He is a freshman though, so it may not be as easy to win this one as some people think. Expect some competition from the guys below.
-Iona's Lenny Korir was fourth last year. He was four seconds behind Oregon's Luke Puskedra. He should challenge Lalang and won't be afraid to inject some speed in the pace, if it dawdles.
-Puskedra has been top five twice and has run well all year. Expect top ten at the absolute worst. Like Korir, Puskedra is not afraid to push it, if needed.
-NC State's Ryan Hill has had an excellent season and has only lost to one person. That man is Lawi Lalang. Hill finished second to Lalang at Griak and at Wisconsin, before winning ACC's and the Southeast Regional. Hill can kick with the best of them and should go top five (Disclaimer: he was my top pick in my fantasy draft. 5th overall).
-Stanford's Chris Derrick has always been consistent. Similar to Puskedra, he's seasoned and ready to go. This year, an individual title is on his mind and expect him to lay it all out there.
-BYU's Miles Batty is great over every distance. Coach Ed Eyestone has him raring to go, and like Hill, he can kick from far out.
-NAU's Diego Estrada runs excellent with a chip on his shoulder. He'll look to throw down one more good one in a field of strong competitors tomorrow and will be the dark horse of the group.

Can the Cowboys make it three in a row?

-The big enigma is Oklahoma State's German Fernandez. He's run excellent all year and a conference  title should give him the confidence to go for it. He may be conservative with a team title on the line, but you never know what's coming, which makes him intriguing.

Men's Team Contenders
-Oklahoma State has won two in a row and is primed for a third win. Fernandez has run strong all season. Colby Lowe has been excellent as usual. Tom Farrell will lead the rest of the group to a potential three peat.

-Wisconsin has looked effortless all season. Will their pack finish far enough towards the front to give the Cowboys a run for their money? Mo Ahmed will lead the way with Maverick Darling, Ryan Collins, Reed Connor and Elliot Krause all needing a strong race for the Badgers to have an honest chance.

Women's Individual Contenders

-Villanova's Sheila Reid is the favorite to repeat here, as she has looked untouchable once again this year. She may get some competition from Oregon's Jordan Hasay and North Carolina's Kendra Schaaf, but she'll be hard to beat down that last straightaway.

Who will leave smiling tomorrow?

-Hasay has beaten Reid before and can beat her again. Will she have it today? When she's on, she's one of the best. It'll likely come down to that last 500.
-Schaaf has been here before and she looks the most ready this year to make a run at the title. Unlike previous years, Schaaf has been hanging with the pack and running reverse splits from the first 3k to the second 3k, consistently. Expect her to make a move mid-race as being in a kicker's duel with Reid and Hasay won't be in her best interest (Disclaimer: she was my top pick in my fantasy draft. 3rd overall).

Women's Team Contenders
-Florida State has been dominant all year with a minimal spread. Expect Karen Harvey's women to improve on their runner-up finish last year.
-Villanova will have the benefit of getting the low stick from Reid and from the always excellent coaching from Gina Procaccio. Expect them to make Florida State work hard to take the title belt from them.
-Georgetown may be the hottest women's team right now. Have they been racing too hard? Emily Infeld will lead the Hoyas to a podium finish at minimum.

As with Cross Country, expect the unexpected. It should be a wild ride. Stars will emerge and some will buckle under pressure. Let's hope for some great weather and some honest races!

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Battle Royale: The "real" American 5000m Championship in Monaco

No Moran to pace off in Monaco (TrackAndFieldPhoto)

10 days from today, the real American 5000m championship will take place in Monaco (July 22nd). An absolutely stacked field has been put together that combines the world's best with the best Americans. Who's racing you ask? Well, for starters, we've got all the top Americans coming in fresh. Those representing the USA are Matt Tegenkamp, Chris Solinsky, Galen Rupp and Bernard Lagat. Also in the field is Rupp teammate and Portland-based, Mo Farah.

Internationally, a slew of excellent Kenyans (Chepkok, Kipchoge, Kiptoo, Soi), Ethiopians (Alamirew, T. Bekele, Kuma, Merga) will be pushing hard as usual and Spaniard Sergio Sanchez will be making his 5000m debut (this season). The continued comeback of the Big Mazungo, Craig "Buster" Mottram, will be on display as well.

Full Monaco meet information is available here

Below is the full field and here's the link to the start list:

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Battle Royale: Rosa Brothers vs. Moussa vs. Noelle at New Balance Outdoor 2-Mile

This Friday night, the brothers Rosa of New Jersey will look to channel the same energy that they brought with them last year to Greensboro, where they went 1-2 in the New Balance Outdoors Nationals 2-Mile, going 8:44 (Joe) and 8:51 (Jim), and beating some guy named Lukas handily (Verzbicas finished sixth in 8:58). They seem to be peaking at the right time, as they were both on pace for a New Jersey state record last week at the Meet of Champions before the plug was pulled at 2800 meters due to lightning.

They will have their hands full as USA World Junior Cross Country Team member and the always consistent, Ammar Moussa, will be ready to battle it out with the brothers (he finished on Joe's heels and ahead of Jim at the  Jim Ryun Dream Mile). Also in the game will be New York's Chad Noelle, who won the Millrose Games Mile earlier this year and has openly stated he's going after Josh McDougall's state 2-Mile record of 8:48.11 on Friday night. These four will continue their battle next year as well on the cross country course as the Rosas are heading to Stanford, Moussa is heading to Colorado and Noelle is heading to Oregon (with Verzbicas).

Also in the mix will be Florida's Jimmy Clark and North Carolina's Mitch Mallory, amongst a host of other well qualified athletes. The race will go off at 7:45 pm eastern on Friday night and full coverage is available at the New Balance Outdoor Nationals website. I'll be there live tweeting as well!

Here's the field:

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Battle Royale: Aisling Cuffe vs. Molly Huddle's 10:01.08 National 2-Mile Record

With all the Lukas Verzbicas fever of late, it's easy to forget the rest of the very talented high school class of 2011, including Verzbicas' female counterpart for the Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year Award. Headlining that class is indeed the Foot Locker Cross Country National Champion, Aisling Cuffe, who will be taking aim at (now 5000 meter American Record holder) Molly Huddle's National 2-Mile Record of 10:01.08 (on Friday night). Huddle set the record at the same meet nine years ago.

Cuffe's main competition Friday night should be the weather, which can tend to be hot and humid this time of year in North Carolina. Right now, the weatherman's calling for highs of 88 and lows of 67. The race goes off at 7:30, but sunset isn't until 8:30, so it may be a hot one out there.

Cuffe has run the 2-mile in 9:56.85 indoors this year, taking the New Balance Indoor title, which made her the second fastest ever indoors. She also ran a very impressive double at the New York State meet with a 9:56 3200, followed up the next day with a 4:40 1600. After this weekend, she'll begin to prep for her freshman cross country season this fall at Stanford.

Full meet coverage of the New Balance Outdoor Nationals is available here. I'll be in attendance tweeting reports as well from the distance events on Thursday and Friday.

Here's the field she's up against:

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Battle Royale: Edward Cheserek vs. 14:00 barrier at New Balance Outdoor

Star sophomore from New Jersey via Kenya, Edward Cheserek, will likely have one goal on his mind this Thursday night when he toes the line at New Balance Outdoor Nationals with the chance of a national championship on the line, busting the 14:00 barrier. The young Kenyan burst onto the U.S. High School scene this year and has already flirted with the 14:00 barrier, dropping a 14:02.33 at the Larry Ellis Memorial Invitational at Princeton University on April 22nd.

Cheserek just broke the High School sophomore mile record this past weekend, running 4:03.29 to place fourth in the Jim Ryun Dream Mile, a few seconds back from Lukas Verzbicas' 3:59.72. Unfortunately for Cheserek, he won't have quite the competition this Thursday in Greensboro that he had in New York on Saturday. That's not to say there will be no one to run with though.

The field has some tough competitors with 8:46 3200 meter man Jeremy Elkaim, who is also from Jersey, as well as North Carolinians, Mitch Mallory and Thomas Graham. Mallory recently dominated the field at the NC 4A State Championship running 9:13 and Graham, who is only a junior, ran a 9:04.14 2-mile indoors at the Brooks PR Invitational, after running Foot Locker Nationals, and then ran a strong 9:07.17 to win the Raleigh Relays 3200, before winning the state 3A independent titles at 1600 and 3200. Both look to run around 14:30 (or better).

New Balance Outdoor Nationals kick off Thursday at NC A&T in Greensboro, NC. I'll be there tweeting some live coverage. Full start lists are available here.

Here's the 5000 field:

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Battle Royale: NCAA Men's 10k, The Big 3 (Miami Heat) vs. The Field (Dallas Mavs)

Photo courtesy of TrackAndFieldPhoto

After a rainout last night, the strong men's 10k will go off today at 4pm (5pm eastern) 5:30pm (6:30 eastern). There are three heavy favorites here with NCAA record holder Sam Chelanga (27:08) leading the way, followed by Arizona's Stephen Sambu (27:28) and Iona's Leonard Korir (27:29) not far behind. Chelanga hasn't been tested lately and you wonder whether he'll take it out hard, like he's done in cross country races or sit with the pack and try to outkick someone. These three's best bet would likely be a fast pace, as their talent is similar to that of the Miami Heat when compared to the rest of the field. If they choose to hang with the pack, it opens the door for the field, many of who are quite feisty like the Dallas Mavericks.

Maybe this is a bad analogy, because also in the field are Stanford's big three from Cross Country season (Chris Derrick, Jake Riley and Elliott Heath), but their PR's are far inferior on the track to Chelanga, Sambu and Korir, so maybe they will benefit from the underdog role. Heath is especially scary with the kick he has developed and started unleashing during the indoor season where he won the NCAA Championship 3000. If it's hot out there, don't expect anyone to move before 5k. Another one to watch is Florida State's Ciaran O'Lionaird, a fierce competitor with 3:40 1500 speed and a great long, driving kick that could steal the show if it's close with 1000 meters or so to go.

Finally, you can't forget about someone like Luke Puskedra, who is known to just open up a big gap and run his own race to try and leave the field. He hasn't had a ton of success with this tactic, but has finished in the top 5 twice at NCAA Cross Country nationals, so the field must keep their eye on him as he isn't afraid to push it, even if they weather is less than ideal.

The race will be streamed live by the NCAA here and live results are here.

Men's 10k start list:

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Battle Royale: NCAA Men's 1500: Centro vs. Batty vs. Acosta vs. Ulrey

Photo courtesy of TrackAndFieldPhoto

On the eve of the start of the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships, on paper, the Men's 1500 looks like one of the strongest events. With seasoned 2009 World Championships qualifier Dorian Ulrey of Arkansas leading the way in terms of PR's (3:35.23), the men of Oregon (AJ Acosta and Matt Centrowitz) and BYU's emerging star, Indoor Mile NCAA Champion Miles Batty, will be right on his tail as the event is going to take quite a performance (or a 52 second final lap, if tactical) to win, or even make the podium.

Centrowitz has a PR of 3:36.92, has looked excellent lately and has been there before, leading up the home straight last year before being passed at the tape by his teammates Andrew Wheating and AJ Acosta; completing a podium sweep for Oregon.

Acosta hasn't looked as sharp this year, but does have a PR of 3:36.48 and his coach, Vin Lannana, has mentioned that Acosta is training for a long season that should last well into the Summer. Acosta did look great coming from way back two weeks ago at the regional, so maybe he's rounding into form at the right time. Anytime you can kick home in 53 or better, you're in an excellent position to win.

BYU's Miles Batty is the new kid on the block this year, having an excellent indoor season where he took the NCAA title in the mile and then placed third behind Russell Brown, Chris Solinksy and beat the rest of a star studded field at the Mt. Sac 1500 in a PR and 2011 collegiate leading time of 3:36.25.

At this point in the season, I'd have to give the edge to Matt Centrowitz, but it won't be easy and a strong field that includes Florida's Dumisani Hlaselo, Arkansas' Duncan Phillips, Montana State's Patrick Casey, Butler's Kris Gauson and Penn State's Ryan Foster amongst others could surprise!

The semifinals are Thursday at 6:15 Central and will be covered by Runnerspace and webcast on GoDrakeBulldogs.com. CBS and CBS Sports Network will have television coverage for many of the finals, including the 1500 Sunday at 12:18 Central. Live results are here

Below are the start lists for the semi's:

Update: Centro takes it! After a slow start, Oregon's Matt Centrowitz runs the last 1200 in a smoking 2:52 to pull away from Dorian Ulrey in the homestretch and then give a little "throat slash" to the cement his win. A little over the top? Sure, but always fun seeing people get pumped up, especially college kids. Great race and a sign of what he may have at USA's in a few weeks.

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Battle Royale: USATF High Performance Meet - Occidental 1500m

USATF will once again be hosting the High Performance Meet at Occidental College this weekend with many competitors sights set on Olympic standards. With incredible fields lined up from the 800 to the Steeple, this meet should be nothing short of spectacular. 


Many stars will be there including showdowns with:

• Maggie Vessey, Jenny (Barringer) Simpson and Alice Schmidt in the Womens 800
• David Torrence, Tyler Mulder, Duane Solomon and Russell Brown in the Mens 800
• Shannon Rowbury vs. a strong field in the Womens 1500 that includes Phoebe Wright, Katie Follett and former Tar Heel Brie Felnagle

But the main attraction will definitely be the Mens 1500 which has the new star and Olympian over 800 meters, Andrew Wheating, who ripped a 3:30.9 last year, taking on Olympians Lopez Lomong (1500), Nick Symmonds (800), Matt Tegenkamp (5000) and Leo Manzano (1500) as well as two of Canada's finest in Nate Brannen and Taylor Milne, as well as the always fast Mr. Mustache himself,  Will Leer, and the Beijing 1500 Silver Medalist Nick Willis doing the pacing. Sure to be a scorcher! 

Flotrack will be covering the meet and Flash Results West will have live results here

Here's the start list for the Championship heat of the Mens 1500:

• Will Leer
• Lopez Lomong
• Tommy Schmitz
• Matt Tegenkamp
• Leo Manzano
• Nick Symmonds
• Nathan Brannen
• Taylor Milne
• Andrew Wheating
• Kyle Miller
• Andrew Bumbalough
• Evan Jager
• Nick Willis (Pacing)

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Battle Royale: Prefontaine Classic 2-Mile

Look for an epic showdown on Saturday, June 4th at Hayward Field as Tom Jordan has assembled an incredible field for what looks to be the marquee event of the Prefontaine Classic; the Mens 2-Mile. Look for the field to take a run at Craig Mottram's meet record of 8:03.50 (and possibly Daniel Komen's world record of 7:58 if the pacing's hot). Also, Matt Tegenkamp's US record of 8:07.07 will be up for grabs as well as Lagat, Teg, Rupp and Solinsky will all be gunning for it. Look for Lukas Verzbicas to make a serious run at German Fernandez's high school record of 8:34.40 as well. The event will be broadcast on NBC, hopefully in it's entirety, without commercial. Here's a link to a blast from the past, the 2006 Prefontaine Classic 2-mile where Adam Goucher and Daniel Lincoln put a serious effort in against the Kenyans. 2011 should be even better!

Here's the official field:

• Bernard Lagat, USA.  
• Eliud Kipchoge, Kenya
• Tariku Bekele, Ethiopia
• Alamirew Yenew, Ethiopia
• Edwin Soi, Kenya
• Matt Tegenkamp, USA
• David Bett, Kenya.
• Chris Solinsky, USA.
• Galen Rupp, USA
• Mo Farah, Great Britain
• Mark Kiptoo, Kenya
• Collis Birmingham, Australia
• Isaiah Kiplangat Koech, Kenya
• Chris Thompson, Great Britain
• Lukas Verzbicas, USA

And check out the pick'em that Runnerspace is hosting on Facebook as well to place your bet on who will triumph!

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