Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to our preseason NAIA individual cross country rankings! bit concerning, but it's hard to forget that Martin was also the 2023 Crossroads League cross country individual missed her last year, but for those who need a reminder of her fantastic resume, she has also won two individual Sage Martin, Senior, College of Idaho It feels like Sage Martin should be the clear favorite for the individual Pairing those accolades with four individual wins last fall makes this Mustang star plenty deserving

Written by Donny Speas & Nick Lieggi, additional edits & commentary by Garrett Zatlin Click here for final predictions Outside of the 3200 meter races, which event do you think will produce the biggest headlines this weekend? Nick: I think there will be a whole lot of fireworks in the invitational girl's mile on Saturday. Sadie Engelhardt is the clear headliner in that field, but this is a talented group across the board that is loaded with upper-tier firepower. This race seems to be headed towards an incredibly tight finish with a number of girls challenging for podium positions. If Engelhardt takes this race out fast, and we imagine that she will, then we’re going to see a whole lot of other girls challenging to go under 4:45 -- or even 4:40! I'll also be interested to see how close Engelhardt can get to her freshman year form. She’s run in the low 4:40s this season, but this would be a big opportunity for her to get back to that 4:35 mark that posted last spring -- and I don't think that's completely out of the conversation. Donny: I was originally going to say the women’s mile, but after looking over the men’s 800 meter field, I have to go with that group of entrants. Almost every one of those guys looks like they could be a factor in this race. In my opinion, Aaron Sahlman is a bit of a wildcard here and how he performs could shape how this race plays out. There are a lot of moving pieces and plenty of athletes who could mix things up, but I don’t want to completely give away the answer to one of our next questions where we go a little bit more in depth. Which athlete from a non-invitational section do you think is likely to have a breakthrough race? Nick: I want to highlight what looks to be an interesting rising-star mile field on the boy's side. Will Hauser is the one guy in these entries who stands out the most to me. I feel like he's poised to throw down a big mile effort. The Menlo School standout hasn’t contested this distance so far this season, opting to run a pair of 3200 meter races, an 800 meter race and a few relay legs. However, his improvements across those events suggests to me that he’s primed for some kind of breakthrough over a mile. Hauser has shaved two seconds off of his 800 meter personal best this season and nearly a full minute off of his 3200 meter PR! He dropped a 4:23 mile mark on the indoor oval this past winter, but with a fairly talented field assembled here, he’s someone who I could totally see dropping below the 4:15 mark. And by doing so, he would really cement himself among the upper-echelons when it comes to top-tier names in the Class of 2025. Donny: I’m going to say that the most likely breakout candidate in this field is Matthew Thomas of Blackfoot (ID) who is entered in the seeded section of the mile...but truthfully, he may not be considered a "breakout" name anymore given his recent success. Thomas was a state champion in cross country this past fall, but didn’t go to any postseason meets on the grass. During the indoor track season, he had a quiet, but strong, winter campaign, placing among the top-eight in both the mile and the two mile at Nike Indoor Nationals. He's got a lot of sneaky-good momentum right now and could be incredibly dangerous if his competitors aren't careful. William Horne is another name to watch. He’s in the third section of the boy's open 3200 meter field and so far this season, he has run 1:56 (800), 4:14 (1600) and 9:08 (3200) -- all of which came at altitude. You can count me as surprised if this Weber State signee doesn’t get close to (or possibly go under) the nine-minute barrier this weekend. He's due for a marquee result like that. On the girl's side, I think Lauren Soobrain (our TSR #48 recruit) got a little bit undervalued by not being place in the invitational section of the girl's mile. She does, after all, hold a 4:51 PR in the event. Sure, we'll admit, she hasn’t run under the five-minute barrier yet this season, but I fully expect that to change this weekend. In a stacked girl's 800 meter field, a number of athletes find themselves with outdoor personal bests just above the 2:10 mark. Who is the most likely to crack into the sub-2:10 club this weekend? Nick: I definitely think this race could be among the more interesting ones of the weekend. We’ll see a few leaders in the field expected to run in the mid-to-low 2:00 range followed by groups around 2:08 and 2:11. Two or three girls in that latter contingent might be able to add themselves to the sub-2:10 club. In my eyes, I think Georgia Jeanneret and Hillary Studdert are the favorites to do so. One other really interesting candidate for me in this race is Samira Kennedy. Her 800 meter strength hasn’t really shown this season, running just 2:18.31 as her seasonal best. However, that time came at the Stanford Invitational where she ran a brutal triple 800/3200/DMR triple. And during that loaded meet schedule, the Harvard signee ended up shaving roughly 67 seconds off of her 3200 meters personal best. Kennedy is only entered in the 800 meters here. And with her newfound endurance-based strength, she’s someone who I could see attacking that 2:10 barrier with all of her energy focused on it -- and I could see her having a new 2:09 PR next to her name after this weekend. Donny: Nick seems to be a bit higher on this field than I am, but I definitely agree that Georgia Jeanneret is the most likely to go sub-2:10 over 800 meters this weekend. I would also keep an eye on Ali Ince. Not necessarily as someone to dip under 2:10 for this distance (she already destroyed that barrier), but as someone who will control the pace and make the race race. She has not run an open 800 meter race this year, but she holds an extremely impressive PR of 2:03 and is my pick to win this event. And because of her, I think we could see more than just one or two others dipping under the 2:10 barrier stemming from an incredibly quick pace. It will certainly be interesting to see which athletes can double most effectively as nine out of the 13 runners in this field are also entered in at least one other event (mostly playing key roles on their school’s relays). Our TSR #5 recruit, Aaron Sahlman, enters this boy's 800 meter race this weekend without having broken the 1:50 barrier since earning a 1:48.91 personal best at Azusa Pacific over a year ago. Is this the field to finally push him back below 1:50? Nick: Aaron Sahlman has taken some hits recently on both the outdoor and indoor ovals. He ended his indoor track season by placing 3rd at New Balance Indoor Nationals in the mile and was never able to go under 4:05 at that distance during the winter months. The Northern Arizona commit has picked his races carefully this outdoor track season, running one 400 meter race, one 1600 meter race and a pair of 800 meter races (so far). However, outside of his 50.05 effort over the one-lap event, none of his races have been particularly impressive. It’ll be interesting to see how he races this weekend, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the one setting the pace. I see Carter Cutting, the 2022 Arcadia champion in this event, as his most credible challenger. I think Sahlman might be vulnerable to the BYU commit unless he chooses to push the pace from the gun. It only took Cutting a 1:51.55 to win the boy's 800 meter at this meet last year, but I see Sahlman speeding that up a bit, bouncing back from quiet start to the season. I see him taking Cutting with him and having these two guys both finish around 1:49. Donny: We know that Sahlman is capable of going under 1:50 for 800 meters and he may certainly be in that shape right now. However, we’ve not seen him at his best so far this year. And after a (slightly) disappointing performance at New Balance Indoor Nationals, I’ll pick Carter Cutting to repeat as the Arcadia half-mile champion in time of 1:49 mid with Sahlman right behind him in ether 1:49 high or 1:50 low. Also, don’t be surprised if you see Drew Reginar towards the front of the pack. He arguably has the fastest foot-speed in this field and comes into this race with a 1:49 (800) PR after a monster performance on the indoor oval this past winter. If Reginar wins this race, I won’t be surprised. Some other notable athletes in the field are the West Virginia indoor state record holder, Justin Gottlieb, as well as Tyler Matthews of Arizona who has run 48.9 (400) and 1:51.14 (800) this season. Sadie Engelhardt, the only girl in this field to dip under 4:40 in the mile, seems to be the favorite in the invitational girl's mile. Does anyone follow her and go below 4:40? Nick: Allura Markow is by far the most likely candidate to join Engelhardt under that 4:40 mile mark. I feel like Markow is probably going to have to lead this race if Engelhardt is content to sit and kick as she tries to win the race. Of course, that assumes that Engelhardt is going to try to take it hard from the gun in an effort to inch near her PR and make a statement. Outside of those top-two, there’s a bevy of girls who are looking to get below 4:50 or challenge the 4:45 mile mark. A crowded group including Anna Callahan, Ashlyn Boothby, Annie Ivarsson and Maya Baechler have all gone sub-4:50 before and will be looking for a fast pace by that aforementioned top pair to carry them below 4:45. Landen LeBlond is one girl who has made some huge steps forward this outdoor season, dropping her 1600 meter personal best from a 5:05.87 to a 4:50.79. I’m not sure she’ll be able to step up to that 4:45 mark, but she’s in contention to break 4:50 for the first time given her incredible momentum. She's on a huge hot streak right now. The lone freshman in the field, Chiara Dailey, has a seasonal mile best around 4:52 and is also looking to be a candidate to break 4:50 this weekend. Her youth-based upside could result in her earning a significant PR. Donny: I’m with you on this Nick, Allura Markow seems like the most likely candidate to follow Sadie Engelhardt under the 4:40 mile barrier. She's not doubling in any other events (as far as I can tell from the entries), has strong momentum and just recently ran an impressive PR of 4:44 in this event. After her, things gets a little complicated. There's a large group with personal bests sitting in the high 4:40s to low 4:50s range. And even if nobody else makes that next step, a solid/slightly improved performance should be a good confidence booster for these girls over the rest of the season. I won't make it any secret that I tend to favor altitude-based athletes who are coming down to sea level. And for that reason, my pick for the "next girl up" is sophomore Jane Hendegren from Timpview (UT). She holds a mile PR of 4:50.91 (contested at altitude). And with the exception of losing to current BYU DMR All-American Taylor Rohatinsky, we've seen Hendegren put together an undefeated streak at the 1600 meter and 3200 meter distances since this meet last year. The girl's 3200 meter looks loaded. Irene Riggs seems to be the favorite for gold, but the real question is who follows her in going sub-10:00? Nick: There’s plenty of candidates in this packed field who will make sure that Irene Riggs isn’t lonely athlete below the 10:00 barrier. I feel pretty confident in picking Tatum David to land as the runner-up finisher. The Virginia commit and our TSR #4 recruit owns a 10:04.02 (3200) personal best from last year. And during the winter months, it seems like she made a lot of improvement, shaving time off of both of her mile and 800 meter personal bests. There’s a cluster of girls between the 10:00 and 10:30 range for 3200 meters, but I see Mia Prok as being the most likely to take bronze. That said, I don’t see her or anyone else besides David and Riggs as someone who is likely to go below 10:00. Prok probably enters the Arcadia Invite with some confidence, having earned her 10:22.92 (3200) and 4:53.75 (mile) personal bests at this meet last year. She'll also benefit by having a pair of Niwot teammates, Addison Ritzenhein and Olivia Alessandrini, in this race. In theory, that familiarity could work in Prok’s favor as she looks to snag the last medal position. Donny: I would 100% agree with Nick’s pick of Tatum David for the silver medal spot. She is just so dang consistent. I feel like Riggs, David and maybe a few other girls will separate themselves relatively early-on from the field in an attempt to go sub-10:00 for 3200 meters. It will be interesting to see if/how team tactics are used in this race as the women from Niwot are fielding three runners while Buchanan super duo of Grace Hutchinson and Sydney Sundgren will also be on the starting line. The Buchanan girls both ran their respective 3200 meter PRs at this meet last year, so they know how to run in deep elite fields like this one. In fact, I actually Hutchinson’s odds of going sub-10:00 a little bit more than I would a few weeks ago. That's because she recently ran a 4:45 mile PR at the APU Meet of Champions. A couple of other names to monitor in this field are Nike Indoor Nationals champion Brooke Wilson, 4:44 miler Payton Godsey and NXN Championship 5th placer, Grace Schager. Goodness, this is an impressive boy's 3200 meter field. Who's the overall favorite? How fast will these boys run? How many guys sub-9:00? Nick: This is probably the toughest question heading into this meet. This field has both a ton of top-end talent and a truly jaw-dropping level of depth that seems unparalleled in the other events this weekend. My favorite for this race has to be Connor Burns, our TSR #6 recruit. Burns’ credentials are unmatched in this field, holding an outdoor 3200 meter PR of 8:48.76 in this event. He is also coming off of a win over two miles at New Balance Nationals Indoor where he ran an other-worldly time of 8:43.24. As you'll see below, I’m a bit less bullish on the speed of the field here than Donny is, so I’ll probably venture a guess that Burns will stop the clock somewhere in the low 8:50s while nine or 10 guys go under the 9:00 barrier. Rocky Hansen and Daniel Simmons are two other guys who might be able to press Burns for the win. I would maybe even add Devan Kipyego into that mix given that he is coming off of an indoor track season where he shaved over six seconds from his mile personal best. I also like that Jacob Nenow will probably be involved with this top group. Donny: I’m gonna go with 12 to 15 guys running under 9:00 for 3200 meters on Saturday. This field is just loaded up and down with top-tier talent. It may be the best track race since the famed 2017 race over 3200 meters at this same meet. Going with that optimism, I’m saying that the race will be won in a time of 8:44 (3200). Rocky Hansen is my pick to win, but if Connor Burns, Simeon Birnbuam, Sam Hansen, Devan Kipeygo or Daniel Simmons win, I won’t be surprised at all. I’d also be remiss to not mention the fantastic group of athletes from Utah who always seem to do well when coming to this meet. Jojo Jourdan has been very hot this season, picking up impressive wins at the Pine View Invitational. Meanwhile, Liam Heninger always finds his way into the top portion of important races and I wouldn’t be surprised if he snags a top-five placement. Tayson Echohawk has been working back from an injury, but this is the meet where he ran his mile PR last year, so this is a great opportunity for a return to glory. Here's one last mind boggling stat: Out of the 35 entrants in this 3200 meter field, 16 of them are found in our top-50 recruit rankings! And remember, only seniors are eligible for that list. If you haven’t already, make sure you set a reminder for 8:52pm (PST). You won’t want to miss this race. FINAL PREDICTIONS Girl's 800 Meters Nick's predictions Ali Ince (2:03) Hannah Riggins (2:05) Samira Kennedy (2:07) Georgia Jeanneret (2:07) Cate Peters (2:09) Donny's predictions Ali Ince (2:04) Hannah Riggins (2:07) Maddison Shults (2:07) Georgia Jeanneret (2:08) Hillary Studdert (2:09) Boy's 800 Meters Nick's predictions Aaron Sahlman (1:49) Carter Cutting (1:49) Drew Reginar (1:50) Ambodai Ligons (1:50) Justin Gottlieb (1:50) Donny's predictions Carter Cutting (1:48) Aaron Sahlman (1:49) Drew Reginar (1:49) Justin Gottlieb (1:50) Tyler Matthews (1:52) Girl's Mile Nick's predictions Sadie Engelhardt (4:33) Allura Markow (4:37) Maya Baechler (4:42) Anna Callahan (4:43) Annie Ivarrson (4:45) Donny's predictions Sadie Engelhardt (4:35) Allura Markow (4:39) Jane Hedengren (4:41) Maya Baechler (4:41) Sierra Cornet (4:45) Boy's Mile Nick's predictions Ryan Thomas (4:08) Justin Pretre (4:08) Christian Groendyk (4:09) William Horne (4:09) Mateo Malko-Allen (4:10) Donny's predictions Noah Ray (4:07) Christian Groendyk (4:08) William Horne (4:09) Jacob Bach (4:10) Connor Whatcott (4:10) Girl's 3200 Meters Nick's predictions Irene Riggs (9:41) Tatum David (9:45) Mia Prok (10:03) Brooke Wilson (10:03) Sydney Sundgren (10:05) Donny's predictions Irene Riggs (9:43) Tatum David (9:49) Grace Schager (9:53) Brooke Wilson (9:53) Grace Hutchinson (9:55) Boy's 3200 Meters Nick's predictions Connor Burns (8:51) Devan Kipyego (8:52) Rocky Hansen (8:52) Daniel Simmons (8:53) Jacob Nenow (8:54) Donny's predictions Rocky Hansen (8:44) Connor Burns (8:44) Simeon Birnbaum (8:45) Danny Simmons (8:46) Devan Kipyego (8:46)

NOTE: Our preview is based on the team entries shown for the Griak Invitational's box assignments . We do not have specific entries regarding which individuals will be racing. Colorado State Rams Youngstown State Penguins South Dakota State Jackrabbits Utah Valley Wolverines Men's Individual Wolverines Ohio State Buckeyes Colorado State Rams Minnesota Golden Gophers Wyoming Cowgirls Women's Individual

top-level programs, I'm implementing our "three sentences or less" rule that we use for our national meet previews In order to get this preview out at a reasonable time, this felt like the most effective method to utilize Click here for entries Men's Preview Air Force Falcons A massive result at the Virginia Invitational Harvard Crimson Maia Ramsden will contend for a top-five finish, individually, and that should give this Syracuse Orange Notre Dame Fighting Irish Air Force Falcons California Baptist Lancers Women's Predictions Individuals

Yes, there are individual/open events, but the priority for this weekend is the distance medley relay However, on the other hand, Wisconsin's pre-race preview on their athletics website says the following Now, admittedly, just because their preview says that they return three legs from last year's DMR lineup FINAL PREDICTIONS *Denotes that a collegiate is also entered in another individual event.

off late surges from Sydney Thorvaldson and Taylor Ewert to become the first female to win three NXN individual The MSHSL individual champion (3A) was also able to cement herself at the top of the high school hierarchy But with the way that they’re running, it looks like an individual title could be in the mix as well. His brother, Nico Young, was the last individual winner of this meet in 2019. After a test run of the Heartland NXR Championship course earlier in the year during the Nike Heartland Preview