WOMEN'S MID-DISTANCE PREVIEW:

Women’s 1,500 Meter Run:
Top seed Christy Cazzola of UW-Oshkosh has been so dominant over her career that three of the next four fastest 1500 performers this season have opted to declare in different events. The twenty-eight year old Cazzola is the second-fastest all-time performer in DIII and should comfortably win the first of her three potential titles on Saturday.

The only real to Cazzola is Tricia Serres of Luther, who pushed her to the brink indoors in both the mile and the 3k. The sophomore Serres is the only other runner in the field to have broken 4:30, but her 800 meter seasonal best is only 2:12. Though she does tend to step up at nationals, she simply has not displayed the top end speed necessary to dethrone Cazzola—a 2:04 800 meter runner. In my mind, the only question is how hard can she make Cazzola work in advance of her next two grueling races.

Behind this leading duo comes a pack of relatively novice national competitors. Sarah Burnell of Grinnell may be a senior, but she made her first national appearance indoors. She made the most of that opportunity, using a blistering kick to make the finals and emerge with a surprising third place finish. She again comes in towards the bottom of the entry list, but I expect her to be a strong contender for top three honors.

The only other individual All-American in the field is sixth seeded Brianna Hickey of the University of Chicago. Hickey finished sixth in the mile indoors and could be willing to go with a fast early pace.

If you count preliminary heats, Katie McMenamin is the most recent DIII athlete to defeat Cazzola. The Swarthmore sophomore beat Cazzola in her prelims race in the mile indoors, but went on to finish a disappointing ninth in the finals. She will be hoping to secure her first All-American honors this time around.

Haddie Vawter of Wartburg and Colette Celichowski of Carleton are also looking to make up for missed opportunities indoors. Vawter was the first woman left out of the 800 meter final, while Celichowski finished made finals in the mile but finished tenth. Expect them both to sneak into the top eight this time around.

Predictions: Cazzola, Serres, Hickey

Full Field Below:

Christy Cazzola	SR	Wis.-Oshkosh	4:20.80	14 time national champ
Tricia Serres	SO	Luther	4:28.80	Lost by 0.5 in the mile indoors
Ashley Murphy	JR	Johns Hopkins	4:30.09	Big PR at Swarthmore to qualify
Emily Cousens	JR	NYU	4:30.74	16th in 3k
Sheri McCormack	SR	Hope	4:31.82	14th last year
Brianna Hickey	SO	U. of Chicago	4:32.43	6th in the mile
Nora Ferguson	SR	North Central	4:32.81	16th in the mile
Abbey Warth	SO	Ohio Wesleyan	4:33.38	Breakthrough season
Jessica McClelland	SR	Christopher Newport	4:33.40	Breakthrough season
Katie McMenamin	SO	Swarthmore	4:33.97	9th in the mile
Amelia Lundkvist	SR	Brandeis	4:34.07	12th in the mile
Tess Meehan	FR	Johns Hopkins	4:34.21	Anchored 4th place DMR
Jessica Bacon	JR	Augustana (Ill.)	4:34.36	10th last year
Kaila Cramer	SR	Otterbein	4:34.37	Ran 4:45 and 4:58 last two races
Marina Capalbo	JR	Babson	4:34.48	17th last year
Sarah Burnell	JR	Grinnell	4:34.65	Surprise 3rd indoors
Colette Celichowski	JR	Carleton	4:35.12	10th in the mile, 3rd at MIACs
Emily Gapinski	SO	St. Thomas (Minn.)	4:35.13	MIAC champ
Haddie Vawter	SR	Wartburg	4:35.17	9th in 800 indoors
Manon Gammon-Deering	JR	St. Benedict	4:35.90	2nd at MIACs
Caitlin Huber	JR	Ohio Northern	4:36.18	Has not broken 2:20 outdoors
Sarah Nielsen	SO	Swarthmore	4:36.35	37th on performance lists

Women’s 800 Meter Run:
Indoor 800 meter champion Kylee Verhasselt of UW-Oshkosh has run 2:08 this year, but she will not even be the top finisher from her school, let alone in the field, this time around. Teammate Christy Cazzola is the fastest 800 runner in DIII history and should be considered the favorite, despite doubling back from the 1500. She has been unbeatable in recent years, and Verhasselt will be content to relinquish the win so long as the Titans bring home 18 points.

The only contender to break up the Titans’ 1-2 finish is Maggie Shelton of Johns Hopkins. Shelton came up short against Verhasselt in the final stretch indoors, but she is now the eighth fastest all-time performer in the 800 as a result of her 2:07 clocking at Princeton’s Larry Ellis Invitational.

A few seconds behind this established front three come the third through sixth place finishers at the indoor national championships: Taylor Moore of Wartburg, Michelle Dobbs of the University of Chicago, Trisha King of Trine, and Amanda Brom of UW-Whitewater. Indoors, Moore took the race out hard and held on for third, but that tactic will prove devastating against this strong field in the hot outdoor sun.

If the race goes out too slow, though, look out for Dobbs and conference rival Emily Warner of Wash U. Only a freshman, Dobbs broke 58 seconds in the one lapper at a final qualifying meet. Warner may have struggled to a fifteenth place finish indoors, but she broke 56 seconds in the open 400 as a freshman and seems to have regained that dangerous speed.

Predictions: Cazzola, Verhasselt, Shelton

Full Field Below:

Christy Cazzola	SR	Wis.-Oshkosh	2:05.68	Defending outdoor champ
Maggie Shelton	SR	Johns Hopkins	2:07.29	2nd indoors
Kylee Verhasselt	JR	Wis.-Oshkosh	2:08.18	Won indoors
Emily Warner	SO	Washington U	2:10.13	15th indoors, has broken 56 in the open 400
Michelle Dobbs	FR	U. of Chicago	2:10.45	4th indoors
Taylor Moore	JR	Wartburg	2:11.12	3rd indoors
Haddie Vawter	SR	Wartburg	2:11.46	9th indoors, also in 1500
Trisha King	SR	Trine	2:11.64	5th indoors
Anna Murdock	JR	Franklin	2:11.84	17th last year
Hannah Chappell-Dick	SO	Eastern Mennonite	2:11.89	Just missed qualifying last year
Tricia Serres	SO	Luther	2:12.12	Second seed in 1500
Cynthia Adams	SR	Lebanon Valley	2:12.28	Five time individual qualifier
Kayla Goeman	JR	St. Thomas (Minn.)	2:12.40	MIAC champ
Cindy Huang	JR	MIT	2:12.40	Member of the 2nd place DMR
Amanda Rothbauer	SR	Wis.-River Falls	2:12.48	10th indoors
Amanda Brom	JR	Wis.-Whitewater	2:12.75	6th indoors
Alyssa Luker	SR	Wis.-La Crosse	2:12.76	Member of the 3rd place DMR
Katie Spade	SR	PSU-Behrend	2:12.87	Breakthrough season
Isabella Franz	FR	Conn College	2:12.87	Member of the 10th place DMR
Allison Kosobud	FR	St. Benedict	2:12.91	14th indoors
Logan Harrington	FR	Christopher Newport	2:12.92	Big PR at last chance meet
Katie Bott	SR	Oswego State	2:12.95	17th indoors