NCAA D1 Indoor Championships 2014Mar 22, 2014 by Mitch Kastoff
How fast* was NCAA Indoors?
How fast* was NCAA Indoors?
While the outdoor season is right around the corner, we wanted to take one last look at the incredible winter season in the NCAA. Mainly, the NCAA Indoor Championships.
There was some clamor discussion about the championship meet being held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For the uninitiated, ABQ sits about 5,100 feet above sea level.
Now, that’s not quite ideal for fast middle-distance or distance running. “Would the races become tactical,” some asked. Yes, probably, since it was a championship meet after all. But the main query was whether the athletes could still run fast.
In a sense, yes, they could.
New Mexico’s Sports Information Director Michael Mulcahy did some conversions for the men’s and women’s middle-distance and distance races and sent them over to us. Again, thanks to ABQ and New Mexico for hosting two fantastic championships (USAs and NCAAs) this season.
The adjusted results, when compared to the NCAA Indoor meet records, are impressive. But before we continue with the hype, let me point out a few caveats.
1) I didn’t convert any past marks that were run at altitude. This was mainly due to lack of resources and partly due to laziness.
1) I didn’t convert any past marks that were run at altitude. This was mainly due to lack of resources and partly due to laziness.
2) Before 1981, the distance medley relay was run in yards, not meters. I did convert any all 1500m and two-mile times to their respective mile and 3,000-meters marks, but I ain’t got time for the imperial system right now.
3) The women’s NCAA Indoor Championship wasn’t established until 1983, so, of course, some of these marks will be skewed because the meet simply hasn't been around for too long.
That being said, the men’s NCAA Indoor Championship was created in 1965, and here’s how this year’s [adjusted] meet stacks up against history. Who says you can’t run fast* at altitude?
You can view the all-time men's and women's list here and here, respectively.
You can view the all-time men's and women's list here and here, respectively.
| Event | Winner | Winning Time | Altitude Adjusted Time | All-Time Rank |
| Men’s 800m | Brandon McBride | 1:48.17 | 1:47.57 | 16th |
| Men’s Mile | Anthony Rotich | 4:02.54 | 3:57.26 | 5th |
| Men’s 3k | Edward Cheserek | 8:11.59 | 7:59.49 | 31st |
| Men’s 5k | Edward Cheserek | 13:46.67 | 13:24.81 | 1st |
| Men’s DMR | Stanford | 9:37.63 | 9:28.89 | 3rd |
| Women’s 800m | Laura Roesler | 2:03.85 | 2:03.16 | 9th |
| Women’s Mile | Emily Lipari | 4:38.82 | 4:32.75 | 7th |
| Women’s 3k | Abbey D’Agostino | 9:14.47 | 9:00.82 | 9th |
| Women’s 5k | Abbey D’Agostino | 16:20.39 | 15:54.46 | 18th |
| Women’s DMR | Arkansas | 11:05.83 | 10:55.76 | 3rd |
We had to double check, but the men's mile, men's DMR, women's DMR, and especially the men's 5k would have been among the meet's all-time best marks, if the championship had been run at sea level.
Last note before we list Mulcahy's data. In the men's mile semifinal, Oregon's Mac Fleet made it through in 4:04.13. When that's adjusted, it's worth 3:58.82. Is that the fastest time ever recorded in a men's mile preliminary? This isn't a rhetorical question, I'm just wondering.
The Raw Data
Last note before we list Mulcahy's data. In the men's mile semifinal, Oregon's Mac Fleet made it through in 4:04.13. When that's adjusted, it's worth 3:58.82. Is that the fastest time ever recorded in a men's mile preliminary? This isn't a rhetorical question, I'm just wondering.
The Raw Data
MEN'S 800 FINALS RAW ADJ. McBride, Brandon 1:48.17 1:47.57 Kemboi, Edward 1:48.54 1:47.94 Rono, Patrick 1:49.04 1:48.43 Squella, Tomas 1:49.23 1:48.62 Schnulle, Ryan 1:49.31 1:48.70 Ellison, Samuel 1:50.13 1:49.52 Watkins, Za'Von 1:50.25 1:49.64 Jorgensen, Jesse 1:50.33 1:49.72 PRELIMS RAW ADJ. Kemboi, Edward 1:48.37 1:47.77 Schnulle, Ryan 1:51.36 1:50.74 McBride, Brandon 1:48.71 1:48.11 Watkins, Za'Von 1:51.82 1:51.20 Squella, Tomas 1:49.00 1:48.40 Rono, Patrick 1:51.97 1:51.35 Ellison, Samuel 1:49.53 1:48.92 Jorgensen, Jesse 1:50.79 1:50.18 Chav ez, Alvaro 1:50.83 1:50.21 Arroyo, Andres 1:51.17 1:50.55 Obinwa, Sean 1:51.36 1:50.74 Rutto, Eliud 1:51.98 1:51.36 Kidder, Brannon 1:52.02 1:51.40 Lahbi, Jacopo 1:56.07 1:55.43 Ledder, Billy 1:56.44 1:55.79 Smith, Andrew 1:58.06 1:57.40 MEN'S MILE FINALS RAW ADJ. Rotich, Anthony 4:02.54 3:57.26 Lalang, Lawi 4:02.81 3:57.52 Fleet, Mac 4:02.96 3:57.67 Peters, Rich 4:03.49 3:58.19 Geoghegan, Will 4:04.17 3:58.86 Gregorek, John 4:04.68 3:59.35 Penzenstadler, Sam 4:04.77 3:59.44 Williamsz, Jordan 4:04.79 3:59.46 Rae, Jeremy 4:05.07 3:59.74 Hillenbrand, Matt 4:08.01 4:02.61 PRELIMS RAW ADJ. Fleet, Mac 4:04.13 3:58.82 Lalang, Lawi 4:04.27 3:58.95 Gregorek, John 4:04.36 3:59.04 Rae, Jeremy 4:04.37 3:59.05 Hillenbrand, Matt 4:04.67 3:59.34 Penzenstadler, Sam 4:04.86 3:59.53 Presson, Isaac 4:04.93 3:59.60 Engholm, Elmar 4:05.04 3:59.71 Peters, Rich 4:09.65 4:04.22 Geoghegan, Will 4:09.94 4:04.50 Rotich, Anthony 4:10.09 4:04.65 Williamsz, Jordan 4:10.18 4:04.73 Mangan, Steve 4:10.22 4:04.77 Williams, Michael 4:13.07 4:07.56 Yorks, Izaic 4:13.17 4:07.66 Gillespie, Matthew 4:13.69 4:08.17 MEN'S 3000 FINALS RAW ADJ. Cheserek, Edward 8:11.59 7:59.49 Erassa, Kirubel 8:13.08 8:00.94 Saarel, Ben 8:13.45 8:01.30 Ward, Jared 8:13.73 8:01.57 Dunbar, Trevor 8:14.13 8:01.96 Simons, John 8:14.40 8:02.23 Olson, Erik 8:14.77 8:02.59 Shrader, Brian 8:14.84 8:02.65 Connor, Reed 8:15.17 8:02.98 Gillespie, Matthew 8:15.38 8:03.18 Stinson, Parker 8:15.81 8:03.60 Hurysz, Jake 8:18.57 8:06.29 Rhynard, Caleb 8:19.80 8:07.49 Korolev , Maksim 8:28.55 8:16.03 MEN'S 5000 FINALS RAW ADJ. Cheserek, Edward 13:46.67 13:24.81 Lalang, Lawi 13:52.83 13:30.81 Stinson, Parker 13:54.46 13:32.39 Ward, Jared 13:54.93 13:32.85 Rosa, Joe 13:55.84 13:33.74 Caldwell, Luke 13:56.66 13:34.54 Tiernan, Patrick 14:00.83 13:38.60 Connor, Reed 14:09.20 13:46.74 Bitchell, Adam 14:10.36 13:47.87 Pearson, Morgan 14:15.78 13:53.15 Shrader, Brian 14:21.11 13:58.34 Olson, Erik 14:34.40 14:11.28 Korolev , Maksim 14:34.41 14:11.29 Ahmed, Mohammed 14:50.11 14:26.57 Parrish, Mark 14:54.99 14:31.32 MEN'S DMR FINALS RAW ADJ. Stanford 9:37.63 9:28.89 Oregon 9:40.47 9:31.69 Indiana 9:41.23 9:32.44 Notre Dame 9:41.90 9:33.10 Columbia 9:42.48 9:33.67 Virginia Tech 9:42.82 9:34.00 Arkansas 9:43.19 9:34.37 Washington 9:44.75 9:35.91 Villanova 9:51.63 9:42.68 Georgetown 9:57.85 9:48.81 Penn State 9:57.88 9:48.84 Oklahoma State 10:01.56 9:52.46