The Reigning Queen 

 

There are few events where a clear favorites emerges, but in the case of the women’s 1500m, the defending champion is poised to remain dominant, and that runner is Shelby Houlihan. 

 

Few runners have exhibited the same poise that the Arizona State senior has shown over the past four years. Multiple All American honors in events ranging from the 800m up to cross country, including a dominant NCAA title in 2014 against Florida’s World Championships qualifier Cory McGee, make Houlihan one of the most versatile athletes in Division 1 track and field. 2015 has been just as successful on the track for Houlihan, who recently defended her Pac-12 Conference Championship titles in the 1500m and 5K, setting a meet record in the 1500m with a winning time of 4:11. 

 

Two weeks ago, Houlihan claimed a win in the 1500m and an automatic qualifying spot in the 5K at the NCAA West Preliminaries, marking the first time Houlihan will attempt to complete the 1500m/5K double at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. In her senior season and as a seasoned veteran in the event, Houlihan is in perfect position to finish off her final race as a Sun Devil on a good note. 
 

The Fearless Rookies

 

Some young up and comers have emerged this season, mixing things up with the experienced runners and shaking up the layout of the women’s 1500m landscape. Rhianwedd Price, Marta Freitas, and Elise Cranny headline that list of standout youngsters looking to make a statement in their first NCAA Outdoor Championship. 

 

Mississippi State’s international duo of Price and Freitas came on strong this year at different moments, but with equal amounts of gusto. Price burst onto the outdoor scene at the Florida Relays, where she clocked a then-personal best of 4:11 in the 1500m. More recently, she led her teammate Freitas to a huge personal best in the 1500m at the NCAA East Preliminaries for a 4:10, 4:13 1-2 punch at the finish line. 

 

Stanford’s Elise Cranny should also not be overlooked as the freshman continues to edge her way out of the preliminaries and into perfect position to make finals. She has yet to run close to her personal best of 4:10 from 2014, but she continues to put herself in dangerous position to contend as seen from her fourth-place Pac-12 finish and auto spot at NCAA West Preliminaries. 
 

The Veterans

 

After a long year of injury, Oklahoma State NCAA Champion Natalja Piliusina is back and ready to rock in her final college race. Track fans all remember her dominant victory at the 2013 NCAA Championships where she clocked 4:13 to take the win over Cory McGee, Amanda Mergaert and Rebecca Tracy. Since being left out of the running from injury, Piliusina is shaping into form at the perfect time as seen from her Big 12 Conference win and her victory in heat two of the NCAA West Preliminaries. 

 

Texas Longhorn turned Colorado Buffalo Sara Sutherland has been growing into her own with the 1500m distance. Primarily a 5K runner in the past, Sutherland has emerged as a real threat in the 1500m after capturing a huge personal best and runner-up finish in 4:13 at the Pac-12 Championships. She ran tactically sound races at the NCAA West Preliminaries, even tying her personal best in the last round to earn a spot on the line in Eugene. 

 

Georgetown’s All American Katrina Coogan has also had vast improvements this season, starting with a fourth-place finish in the 3K at the NCAA Indoor Championships, which led into an outdoor season filled with personal bests at nearly every distance. A personal best of 2:07 in the 800m and a personal best of 4:13.13 at the Payton Jordan Invitational set Coogan up perfectly heading into the NCAA Outdoor Finals.