The 108th edition of the Millrose Games return to the Armory this weekend in New York City, with the Big Apple once again hosting the top indoor meet in the United States. The distance events will draw tremendous attention from the famously raucous crowds, and the crowning jewel will be the legendary Wanamaker Mile, with 40-year-old Bernard Lagat returning to an event which he won 8 titles between 2001-2010. Olympic gold medalists Ashton Eaton and Sanya Richards-Ross will be in NYC, giving the sprint action equal sway among the elite distance races on Saturday night. The city famous for its sleeplessness won’t want to snooze on the field events either, as indoor pole vault world record holder and Olympic gold medalist Jenn Suhr is slated to jump to the rafters this weekend. Here are the events that you can’t afford to miss: 

 

Men’s Wanamaker Mile

Where do we even start? Two World medalists, three Olympic medalists and three national record holders. Not to mention the former and current NCAA mile record holder, and the best collegiate runner in the nation. The men’s mile on Saturday night in NYC is going to be epic, and it seems almost certain that the 3:51.21 meet record will fall based on the form shown by the favorites. 

 

Three names stand out: defending champion Will Leer, New Zealand NR holder Nick Willis, and NOP’s Matthew Centrowitz will be tough outs in the latter stages of this fast-from-the-gun effort. Leer took down Willis in last year’s epic battle in a PB of 3:52.47, but his Kiwi training partner is as fit as ever based on his 3:51.61 win at last weekend’s New Balance GP. Centro won this race back in 2012, and very nearly broke the 1k American record in Boston last Saturday, running a 2.5 second PB of 2:17.00 to just miss David Torrence’s 2:16.76. A challenger looking to break up this trifecta should be prepared to run under 3:51.5. 

Watch Will Leer and Nick Willis is this week's WOW!

Challengers there are though, and it’s a testament to the depth of this field that we have yet to mention a man that has won the Wanamaker trophy a record eight times in his career. 40-year-old Bernard Lagat returns to a race that he helped make famous for the first time since 2011, and he cannot be ruled out even though he has crossed the Masters bridge. Lagat still has wheels, as shown by his 7:48 3k last weekend in Boston, and says that he feels “no pressure” anymore as his career has long outlived the expiration date. A confident Kip is a scary Kip. 

 

We could go on and on, but there are a few other names that cannot be omitted. Lawi Lalang set the NCAA record at Millrose last year, and most recently split a 3:52 in the Armory DMR as part of Team Kenya. Lalang trains with the elder statesmen Lagat, and seems to be reaping the benefits quite nicely in his first year as a pro. 

 

A big dark horse on Saturday night will be Pat Casey, who anchored Team USA to a DMR world record in that same race, and just ran a tidy 2:18.30 1k at the New Balance Games. Casey had a huge 2014 that saw him lower his 1500m PB by more than four seconds. 

 

Finally, Edward Cheserek will try to break Lalang’s 3:52.88 NCAA record, which if successful would mark the fourth straight year that the NCAA record has gone down in the Wanamaker Mile. Cheserek has never officially broken 4 minutes in the mile, but his 3:36 1500m from 2014 proves that the 5-time NCAA champion has the wheels to keep the streak alive. 

 

PREDICTION: 1. Matthew Centrowitz, 3:50.92. 2. Nick Willis, 3:51.05. 3. Lawi Lalang, 3:51.15. 4. Will Leer, 3:51.50. 5. Pat Casey, 3:52.10.

 

Women’s Wanamaker Mile

The entire Nike Oregon Project women’s squad (Cain, Hasay, Moser, Rowbury) will line up in the women’s mile, with the youngest of the four looking to repeat her title from 2014. The problem is that Shannon Rowbury is on an entirely different level than Mary Cain, or anyone else in this field, for that matter. 

 

Cain outdistanced teammate Treniere Moser by more than a second in 2014, but the 18-year-old will face a tougher challenge this go around as Rowbury appears to be in mid-season form after running 4:22.66 two weekend’s ago in North Carolina. That time was the fifth fastest ever, and if repeated at Millrose, would make Rowbury unbeatable in NYC. 

 

The 30-year-old opened her season with a 2:40 1k/ 4:27 mile double at UW in the span of one hour, and looked as cool as a cucumber in doing so. A week later Rowbury conquered that Camel City Mile by more than 8 seconds, setting the stage for the big race this weekend. With Rowbury looking so on point, Mary Slaney’s 4:20.5 indoor American record is not out of the question, especially since her 4:22 in Winston-Salem was on a flat-track. Throw in those handy-dandy NCAA conversions, and Rowbury’s effort nears a 4:20-flat. Hey, Jenny Simpson, two can play at that American record game. 

 

The race behind Rowbury appears to be up for grabs, as anyone among Cain, Hasay, Moser, and Nicole Tully could finish 2nd. Moser beat her teenage teammate in the 1k at Boston, flashing her wheels by running a new PB of 2:37.86. Jordan Hasay is preparing for the 10k this spring, but showed that she can still fly in the shorter races by winning the Armory 2-mile two weekend’s ago in 9:38. Tully broke out in a big way in the women’s DMR in Boston, very nearly beating Brenda Martinez in the anchor leg before settling for 2nd. Tully still split an impressive 4:28.14 in her leg, and helped the NY All-Stars run 10:42.79.

 

One other name to watch is Arizona State’s Shelby Houlihan. The senior is the defending NCAA 1500m champion, and has said that she will go after Jenny Simpson’s 4:25.91 NCAA record. That may be too tall of a task for the 4:33 miler, but Houlihan has certainly picked the right race to give it a go. 

 

PREDICTION: 1. Shannon Rowbury, 4:19.98*. 2. Treniere Moser, 4:24.50. 3. Mary Cain, 4:25.10. 4. Nicole Tully, 4:26.90. 5. Jordan Hasay, 4:27.50. 

*Time would break the current American record
 

Men’s Paavo Nurmi 5,000m

Cam Levins returns to the site of his unbelievable 3:54/8:15 double two weeks ago, and now he will be tasked with taking down a strong Bowerman Track Club contingent, as well as Sam Chelanga in the 5k. Levins’ NOP teammate Galen Rupp was originally scheduled to be the headliner in this event, but the American record holder was forced to end his indoor season due to a virus. 

 

Lopez Lomong and Chelanga represent the biggest threats to another Levins victory in the Big Apple. Lomong ran 13:07 on this very track two years ago, a new American record at the time. It’s anyone’s guess whether or not Lomong is in good 5k shape, as he has only run an open 800m and a 400m leg of a DMR, but nothing surprises us anymore with Lomong. He has the tendency to disappear in certain races, and he could run anything from 13:10 to 13:30 on Saturday. 

 

Chelanga has the fastest PB of the bunch, his 13:04.35 from last January that he earned while chasing Rupp to his American record. Chelanga recently started training with Bernard Lagat and Co. in Tucson, which should have him prepared nicely to go against Lomong and Levins.

 

A name not widely publicized is 23-year-old Suguru Osako of Japan. Osako has been training with NOP, and while not officially a member of the super-group yet, he is reaping the benefits, having placed 2nd behind Levins in the Armory Invite two-mile in 8:16.47. Even though we learned later that Rupp was dealing with an illness, Osako took down the silver medalist in that race. A lot more eyes will be watching Osako this time around.

 

Levins looked so good in his last outing that it would seem unwise to pick against him here. The 25-year-old will be targeting his own 13:19.16 Canadian record, and should have no problem smashing that mark with this group to bring him along.

 

PREDICTION: 1. Cam Levins, 13:14. 2. Lopez Lomong, 13:18. 3. Sam Chelanga, 13:20. 4. Suguru Osako, 13:22. 5. Ryan Hill, 13:25. 

 

Men’s 3,000m

Oregon’s Eric Jenkins will face some of his NCAA counterparts, including his Ducks’ teammates Parker Stinson and Will Geoghegan. Jenkins ran 7:46 in 2013 while still at Northeastern, but that mark was thrown out as Jenkins was DQ’d after the race. The senior is fitter than he was back then, but he won’t go sub-7:46 without someone to help him out. 

 

PREDICTION: 1. Eric Jenkins, 7:47.9. 2. Parker Stinson, 7:52.50. 3. Will Geoghegan, 7:54.00. 4. Andy Bayer, 7:55.20. 5. Tommy Awad, 7:56.10. 

 

Women’s 3,000m

Olympic and World silver medalist Sally Kipyego leads a talented field that includes 2012 NCAA XC champion Betsy Saina and 2014 NCAA XC champion Kate Avery. Kipyego won three NCAA cross country titles herself from 2006-2008, and she owns the fastest indoor 3k PB in the field with her 8:44.69 from last February. Saina and Kipyego should duke it out for the victory, but there will be a good battle behind them between Avery and Emily Sisson of Providence. Avery ran her 8:56.20 PB in this race last year, while Sisson showed top notch form by dropping a 15:21 5k in December. Whoever wins between the two will be favored in this event at the NCAA Championships in March. 

 

PREDICTION: 1. Sally Kipyego, 8:45.8. 2. Betsy Saina, 8:51.5. 3. Kate Avery, 8:58.10. 4. Emily Sisson, 8:59.5. 5. Marielle Hall, 9:00. 

 

Men’s 1,000m

American mid-distance stars Duane Solomon, Erik Sowinski, and Robby Andrews will take a shot at the 2:16.76 American record, while 1500m World champion Abdelaati Iguider of Morocco will try to spoil their fun in what promises to be a very entertaining race in the least. 

 

Andrews ran 2:17.90 two years ago, but has been very inconsistent since then. Solomon last raced the 1k distance back in 2010, running 2:17.84 outdoors at the Pre Classic. He will make his 2015 debut. 

 

Sowinski will run his second 1k in as many weeks this Saturday, looking to improve on his 2:19.12 finish in Boston. 

 

Iguider has outstanding prowess in the 1500m. The 27-year-old has three World indoor medals in the distance, most notably his gold in 2012. This race will be the shortest he has run since he set his 1k PB of 2:19.14 back in 2007. 

 

PREDICTION: 1. Erik Sowinski, 2:18.75. 2. Abdelaati Iguider, 2:19.05. 3. Duane Solomon, 2:19.5. 4. Robby Andrews, 2:19.6. 5. Liam Boylan-Pett, 2:20.00.