Additional analysis by Garrett Zatlin One of the United States’ premier indoor track and field meets , collegiately, in either the mile or the 5000 meters, so it’s possible that Wayment could blow her previous

I've taken a gander at some predictions for the distance events along with some previews. The PAC-12 duo are incredibly experienced athletes with each individual boasting personal bests of 1: Both individuals are coming off of indoor seasons where they finished as All-Americans and both boast breakout indoor season included PR’s of 7:49 and 13:45 and he is certainly one of the more talented individuals Alfred Chelanga (Alabama) #gzatlin #preview #predictions #stanfordinvite #ncaa

Additional contributions by Garrett Zatlin As the indoor track season gets fully underway, we should be prepared to see numerous big-time performances and thrilling battles in the weeks ahead. Luckily for us and other distance running fans around the country, the Cyclone Open in Ames, Iowa will surely contribute to that come Saturday. Based on the entries, this meet skews toward the middle distance events. As such, several top talents are moving down in distance for tune-up races in an effort to refine their speed. A few of the best distance programs in the midwest will converge this Saturday at the Lied Recreation Center as Iowa State plays host to Minnesota, Missouri, Drake, Bradley and others. Here are the distance races that you need to know about... How many Big-Name Distance Runners Can Fogg & Basten Pull to First-Time Sub-Four Miles? Drake’s Adam Fogg and Isaac Basten, two sub-four milers and established middle distance stars, aren’t even the biggest stars in this field...which is a wild thought. The Bulldog duo are the only sub-4:00 milers entered in this race, but it also wouldn't be a shock if neither of them won. With that being said, Adam Fogg, who was an indoor All-American at this distance last year, should be considered the favorite with his monster 3:57 personal best. Of course, seeing whether or not he can replicate that mark in mid-to-late January is the real question that we'll be eager to have answered. Meanwhile, teammate Isaac Basten may need to run faster than his impressive 3:58.88 mark from December to fully guarantee that he will qualify for the indoor national meet. Luckily for him, this race will provide him a good chance of doing exactly that if the pace is setup properly. The challengers to Fogg and Basten are a hoard of superstars, many of whom are coming up and down in distance to compete in the mile this Saturday. As talented as this Drake duo is, it's the rest of this field that could contribute to a potential plethora of fast times. Festus Lagat is an 800 meter specialist who is returning to ISU as a newly-signed professional runner for the Under Armour while training with District Track Club. He’s run 4:00 for the mile, though his 1500 meter personal best sits at 3:39 which seems to give him the credentials to keep pace with Fogg and Basten in this race. Lagat’s professional teammate, Jonah Koech, is a familiar face in the BIG 12 when you consider that he previously attended Texas Tech. He’s also an established 800 meter guy and has a mile PR of 4:00 (although he has an altitude conversion that is much faster than that). However, as far as collegiate athletes are concerned, we need to mention current Cyclone and national champion Wesley Kiptoo who is once again a title contender in the 5000 meters this winter (and maybe the 3k as well). The aggressive front-running superstar will spend his weekend hunting a fast mile time instead of attacking the longer distances. Kiptoo has never run quicker than 4:04 in the mile, although his 3000 meter PR of 7:48 and his elite-level 5000 meter fitness, which recently produced a personal best of 13:14, implies that the Iowa State superstar is more than fit enough to go under the 4:00 barrier. Remember, this Iowa State star ran his 4:04 PR during his JUCO days. Since then, Kiptoo has amplified his talent significantly, making him a fairly reasonable candidate to dip under four minutes. Of course, the real uncertainty is just how fast Kiptoo will run a mile this weekend. This field will be conducive to a fast time, but does that mean Kiptoo will run 3:59? 3:58? 3:57? Dare we say 3:56? Regardless, his race will certainly be one to monitor. A handful of other top talents will also be gunning for a trip under the four minute mile barrier. Martin Prodanov of Missouri has come the closest to doing so with a 4:02 mark. He's a consistent veteran with sneaky-good speed via his 1:49 personal best for 800 meters. Bradley's Max Dieterich is a freshman by eligibility, but has posted some solid results so far in his still-early collegiate career. He is seeded with a time of 4:04, although he has never actually run that fast in the mile. Dieterich does, however, own a 1500 meter PR of 3:47, a time which roughly translates to the 4:04 and 4:05 range. Don't be surprised if the Bradley youngster is able to replicate that kind of performance this weekend. Iowa State's Nehemia Too is another key name to watch in this field, although we should mention that Too is also entered in the 800 meters and the 1000 meters this weekend. With three middle distance events on his schedule, it's likely that he will act as a pacer in one or two of these races. If he's not a pacer in the mile, then Too's 1500 meter personal best of 3:44 could translate to a very quick time and a new PR. The Cyclone standout just ran 1:49 for 800 meters earlier this season, signaling that his fitness is near the best it has ever been. As for teammate Chad Johnson, he is a long distance-oriented runner, but ran 4:04 in the mile last year. He's an accomplished veteran who is more than capable of having surges of success. In a field like this, one of those surges could be coming this Saturday. Overall, this field is going to be crazy fast. There are numerous sleeper picks in this event who could be due for a breakout performance while other established superstars will look to further solidify themselves as NCAA elites. Six Sub-2:10 Entries Meet in the Women's 800 Meters The top of the women’s 800 meter field at the Cyclone Open is comprised of women who can only be categorized as rising stars. Bradley’s Tiana LoStracco and Julia Nielsen as well as Minnesota's Erin Reidy all have freshmen eligibility and a personal best of 2:06 for the half-mile distance. This is a trio of women who we could see as repeat national qualifiers in the coming years, and that trend could start at this meet with potential personal bests on tap for these women. But...how big could these personal bests be? While certainly a lofty goal, the current nation-leading mark of 2:04.7 is within range if one of these women have a special race. However, it’s important to note that each of these midwest middle distance talents achieved their PR on the outdoor oval, so matching that in one of their first indoor races of the season is far from a guarantee. At the same time, if these women are going to match, or even better, their past personal bests in the 800 meters, then they'll likely be able to do it on this 300 meter track against a field that mimics their skill level. Adding depth to the race is another trio of Golden Gopher veterans who all have personal bests of 2:08 or 2:09. Those Minnesota standouts are Sophie Schmitz, Molly Roach and Libby Halbmaier. Based strictly on times, we should expect to see some combination of LoStracco, Nielsen and Reidy battling for a career-defining win with a slew of Golden Gophers finishing behind them. Of course, all of these women are close enough in talent that truly any one of them could win. With so many women holding similar times all in the same race, we should expect to see multiple personal bests come out of the top heat if the pace is fast enough from the start. Established Stars Come Down in Distance for Women’s Mile This meet is serving as a tune-up race for several of the top women’s distance talents across the midwest region. Four cross country All-Americans from this past fall will be racing the mile. Three of those women happen to be Minnesota Golden Gophers. Bethany Hasz is a four-time All-American and more of a 5000 meter specialist, but she has the fastest mile PR in this field with a 4:38 personal best. Her sister, Megan Hasz, is even more distance-oriented and has a PR of 4:47, although she is due for an improved mark. Teammate Abby Kohut-Jackson is a steeplechaser on the outdoor oval, but owns a solid mile time of 4:41. She is quietly very consistent and is fairly strong in a variety of distances. In theory, she may be best suited to come down to the mile relative to her success in other events. The biggest wild card in this field is Iowa State’s Cailie Logue who is the definition of a long distance veteran. The senior finished 4th at the NCAA XC Championships this past fall and prefers the 10,000 meters during outdoors. Her mile best of 4:48 is relatively modest given her stature as a long distance elite, but her personal best of 4:18 for 1500 meters implies that she can run something closer to the 4:40 barrier. With the Minnesota women primed to offer major competition, Logue could certainly be pulled to a substantial PR, especially if Bethany Hasz repeats her 4:38 personal best this weekend. Another steeplechaser by trade, Missouri’s Melissa Menghini provides a fifth runner in this field with a personal best under 4:50, boasting a time of 4:49. It will likely take a performance that is a few seconds under the 4:40 barrier to qualify for the national meet in the mile this year. Admittedly, most of the top women in this field won’t seriously pursue the mile this season, but a national qualifying time is still in the cards given the strength at the top of this field. Bethany Hasz is probably the woman to beat, but she’ll likely be battling with Kohut-Jackson and Logue for the win. Given these women’s statuses as distance-first athletes, this likely won’t be a sit-and-kick affair. Instead, we could see an assertive pace from the gun and an aggressive early move to keep things honest. Cyclones Abound in a Deep Men’s 800 Field The men’s 800 meters is probably the deepest distance field in this meet, which is fairly crazy considering some of the fields that we have already spoken about. Unlike the women’s 800 meters, the men's half-mile field is filled with representatives from the host school. Six Cyclones in this race hold personal bests under 1:50 for the distance. Foremost among them is Jason Gomez, an indoor All-American at this distance last year. Gomez has run 1:47 before, having a breakout race in this exact distance at this exact meet last winter. Despite a surprisingly rough outing in his first 800 meter race of the season back in December, Gomez has proven his fitness with a quick 1000 meter time of 2:21 this winter. In our eyes, a strong time and a top finish in this field would be huge for Gomez as he attempts to build himself back up from that previously mentioned 800 meter performance back in December. Considering that this was the race that put him on the national scene, we think it's possible that he repeats his magic yet again come Saturday. However, the fastest time in this field actually belongs to Under Armour District Track Club’s Alex Amankwah who holds the Ghanian record in this event and ran 1:46 on the indoor oval last year. If Gomez can rediscover his peak form, he can challenge him for the win, but at the very least, Amankwah should be positioned to lead Gomez to another top mark this weekend. Despite the depth on Gomez's own team, his biggest competitor (collegiately) actually comes from Missouri’s Christopher Conrad. As one of the 10 fastest returners in this year's indoor 800 meter field, this may finally be the season that Conrad earns All-American honors. Conrad's fastest 800 meter mark on the indoor oval sits at 1:48.45. However, his outdoor personal best of 1:47.45 needs to be considered for Saturday's race. The Missouri star peaked at the right time last spring, running under 1:48 three-straight times before falling short of a trip to the outdoor national meet. Even so, Conrad had a great start to his 2021 indoor track season and was incredibly impressive at the end of his 2021 outdoor track season. If he is able to carry over his momentum from last spring and open up this season like he did last year, then Conrad could be the guy who pulls off the upset this weekend. As for the rest of the Iowa State contingent, the Buckeyes-turned-Cyclones Alex Lomong and Frank Hayes have both run 1:47 during their careers, although both have struggled on the indoor oval compared to the outdoor scene. They each have the talent to be major factors in this field, it's just a matter of whether or not their best races will come on Saturday. Meanwhile, Cebastian Gentil, Nehemia Too and Darius Kipyego all join those two as Cyclones who have run under 1:50 this year. Lomong, Too and Kipyego also ran 2:21 marks for 1000 meters (alongside Gomez) back in December. Kipyego, a true freshman, actually ran a personal best of 1:48 for 800 meters in 2020 as a high schooler. In a field as fast as this and a proven ability to to post top marks as a rookie, this could be the perfect race for the Rhode Island native to establish himself as an NCAA superstar this season. Other contenders who have a chance to breakout and dip under the 1:50 barrier in this race are Will Smith of Bradley, who has run 1:50 for this distance, and Rivaldo Marshall of Indian Hills Community College, one of the top JUCO talents in the nation. Buckle up, this could be (and likely will be) a wicked fast race. Logue Takes On Minnesota Contingent in 1000 Meters Before she steps foot in the mile, Cailie Logue is expected to refine her speed even further with an attempt at the 1000 meters. Joining her from the mile field are Minnesota's Megan Hasz and Abby Kohut-Jackson. Despite the distance firepower amongst that group, the favorite is someone else entirely. Minnesota’s Anastasia Korzenowski has run 4:42 for the mile, just one second short of Kohut-Jackson’s personal best best. However, Korzenowski is actually the best 800 meter runner on her squad. With a 2:05 personal best, Korzenowski has the lethal speed and proven mile strength to make her a perfect match for a race like the 1000 meters. In theory, her credentials lean in her favor for distance. Be sure to also keep an eye on Iowa State's Madelynn Hill. She has run 2:55 for 1000 meters before and had a nice cross country season where she made some respectable improvements. If Hill can carry that momentum from the grass to the indoor oval, then she may be able to shave a second or two off of her PR in this field. At the end of the day, this race will be more of a supplement for the traditional distance races and give us yet another great collegiate matchup.

Cavan is also joined by Nick Dahl, a previous Ivy League who is quietly one of the better milers on this