IN WHAT HAS BECOME DMR WEEKEND, many of the distance powerhouses attacked the distance medley over the weekend to get their Nationals qualifiers…
Keystone State Faceoff
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, February 20 — Villanova stayed local for its distance medley qualifier, burning a 9:16.10 on the Penn track at the Philly Metro meet. Sean Donoghue (2:50.02), Ethan Walls (47.45), Dan Watcke (1:47.88) and Marco Langon (3:50.75) came from behind to beat Penn State’s 9:18.58 in a race that was set up (complete with a rabbit for the first 800) so that the two schools could get their Q’s.
Langon passed Penn State’s Nick Sloff (3:54.75) with 400 left to claim the win.
Reina Anchor Turns Back Razorbacks
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS, February 20 — A lively distance medley at the Arkansas Qualifier saw Washington cruise the No. 6 collegiate race of all time with its 9:17.03, and Arkansas run 9:17.30 for No. 10 on the collegiate ATL. The difference came from Reuben Reina, the former Razorback now running for the Huskies, whose 3:52.16 anchor sealed the win for his current team.
Oregon had originally finished in 3rd at 9:18.55 but was disqualified because one of its runners fell onto the track in premature celebration as the leaders passed the bell, causing Washington to be bumped. Oklahoma, 4th in 9:19.09, also was DQed for an earlier lane violation.
In the women’s race, Oklahoma State came from behind with a big anchor from Billah Jepkirui (4:23.86) to take the win in the No. 2 collegiate time ever, 10:43.10. Arkansas ran 10:44.09 with an all-American squad to move to No. 6 on the U.S. ATL and No. 5 among college teams. Iowa State, nipped at the line by 0.02, moved to No. 6 with its 10:44.11.
Michigan Cranks A Monster Time
NOTRE DAME, INDIANA, February 21 — Michigan showed that it will be a factor in the medley at Nationals with a stunning 9:14.80 performance at the Wilson Invitational. That’s the No. 1 U.S. indoor performance on any size track and is No. 3 on the collegiate all-conditions list. Soph Brendan Herger led off at 2:50.9, followed by Miles Brown (45.0), Camden Law (1:45.9) and Seth McFarland (3:53.0). Wisconsin took 2nd in 9:18.44.
While the Michigan mark is faster than the current listed outdoor (or “long track”) World Record per World Athletics, it is slower than the 9:14.58 American Record that the Brooks Beasts ran at the Oregon Relays in ’24, a mark still listed as “pending” by WA.
The Wolverines also won the women’s medley at 10:55.03, ahead of Notre Dame (10:55.27) and Minnesota (10:55.64). Notre Dame alum Sophie Novak took the mile in 4:26.09.
Wolfpack Women Howl
WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA, February 21—The NC State women busted a solid 10:46.00 medley at the Asics Last Chance to move to No. 10 on the U.S. all-time list while becoming the No. 9 school ever. The squad of Bethany Michalak (3:20.80), Brooke Rauber (57.79), Angelina Napoleon (2:03.86) and Sadie Engelhardt (4:23.55) edged the 10:46.42 that North Carolina ran in 2nd, with South Carolina 3rd in 10:48.42. On anchor, past T&FN HS Girls Athlete Of The Year Engelhardt closed a c7-second deficit to claim victory.
Second Time’s A Charm For Duck DMR
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, February 22 — Oregon bounced back in its second DMR of the weekend, with the foursome of Simeon Birnbaum (2:48.54), Fuad Omer (46.69), Elliott Cook (1:47.07) and Tomas Palfrey (3:52.58) combining for a 9:14.88, the No. 2 collegiate performance ever. That edged Virginia Tech’s 9:15.05, which moves to No. 3 on the list.
Virginia, using an all-U.S. squad, is in line to get American Record honors with its 9:16.75, breaking the old record of 9:17.17 that North Carolina set last year. The Cavaliers move to No. 8 in collegiate history with the squad of Nathan Mountain (2:49.63), Anders Felts (47.18), Tyler Edson (1:47.13) and Gary Martin (3:52.81).
Parker Wolfe won the 5000 in a largely solo effort of 12:59.09 to move to No. 7 American all-time. Harvard’s Sophia Gorriaran highlighted the women’s action, her 2:37.72 in the 1000 taking down the Collegiate Record of 2:38.45 that Penn State’s Hayley Kitching set earlier this season.
After Heather MacLean won her 800 section in 1:59.59, Providence’s Maeve O’Neill moved to No. 9 on the collegiate ATL with her 2:00.33.
And two notable races for U.S. fans came on foreign roads…
Another Kelati Half-Mar AR
BARCELONA, SPAIN, February 15 — For the third year in a row, Weini Kelati has broken the American Record for the half-marathon, this time with a 66:04. Kelati’s old record was 66:09, set at Houston last year. She finished in the runner-up spot behind winner Loice Chemnung of Kenya, who ran 64:01 after pulling away near the 5K mark. Taylor Roe came in 4th in 66:52.
“I went for it from the start and I thought I was going to run much faster as we hit some fast pace most of the race but it didn’t happen,” Kelati posted.
Veteran Hagos Gebrhiwet took the men’s race in 58:05, his time 1:21 faster than Switzerland’s runner-up, Dominic Lobalu, who placed 4th to the Ethiopian’s 5th in the Paris Olympic 5000.
Ethan Who? Surprise Reemergence In Japan
OSAKA, JAPAN, February 22—A runner named Ethan Shuley ran 2:07:14 at the Osaka Marathon to become the No. 6 American ever… and you’re forgiven if you don’t know the name. Shuley, 27, won 5 Kentucky state titles in high school in 2014–15, but since then disappeared from the running news. He only ran one race in an undistinguished collegiate career at BYU and then gave up competitive efforts.
Now living in Japan, he has taken it up seriously again. Last year he ran PRs of 2:18:13 and 2:11:30. In January a 61:02 half-marathon preceded his 26.2M breakthrough, which was good for 14th place. He is, as you might guess, unsponsored.
Ibrahim Hassan was the race winner in 2:05:20. His time cut down by more than 3:00 a Djiboutian NR that had stood since the ’85 Chicago Marathon when Djama Robleh placed 2nd in 2:08:08, at the time the No. 4 AT performance. □
