NCAA Championship Preview: 1500-meters
6/6/2016 10:42:00 AM | Track and Field
Palamar set to kick off the action for SU
The men's 1500-meters will be the first event of the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships that will see a member of the Orange compete in, with Adam Palamar set to be a factor to score in the event.
Palamar will be the first to race of SU's seven competitors making the trip to Eugene for the NCAA Championships. The 1500-meters will consist of two 12-competitor semifinal heats, with the top five from each heat and the next-two fastest times advancing to Friday's championship race.
The Syracuse junior is seeded 21st entering the race, however that's the cause of earning an automatic berth to Eugene in a slower-paced quarterfinal race. Palamar owns the 11th-fastest time nationally this season in the event, and ninth-fastest among those competing in Eugene this week. Eight of the top-10 seed times based on prelims came from the west regional. After day-one of the event was cancelled due to weather, the format was four heats to qualify rather than the east's two-round qualifying system.
A native of Ottawa, Ontario, Palamar has raced in five different 1500s this season, finishing in the top-five of each and already squaring off against some of this weekend's competitors. It's also a similar field to the men's mile championship from the indoor campaign, where Palamar took eighth and earned USTFCCCA First Team All-America honors.
Washington's Izaic Yorks enters as the top-seed and owns the nation's best time in the event so far this season (3:37.14) after setting the mark at the Payton Jordan Invitational in May. Yorks finished 12th last year at the NCAA Championships and has yet to go head-to-head with Palamar in any event this season.
Virginia's Henry Wynne, who won the NCAA Indoor Championship in the mile this season has the second-fastest time on the year and has been a familiar foe of Palamar this season. In the outdoor season alone, the two have raced at the Virginia Challenge, ACC Championships and NCAA East Prelims most recently. Wynne edged Palamar by 0.42 seconds in their most recent meeting as the duo went one-two in their NCAA Quarterfinal heat to both qualify automatically to Eugene.
Craig Engles of Ole Miss is another competitor at the top of the qualifying list, with the third-fastest time nationally (16th seed following quarterfinals). The SEC Champion in the event, Engles and Palamar have gone against each other in the same race once this year, with Engles edging Palamar by 0.08 seconds at the Virginia Challenge in the first outdoor meet of the season for Palamar.
The Orange's Justyn Knight has the fourth-best time nationally this season in the 1500, which he set at the Virginia Challenge, but the 'Cuse sophomore will be competing in the 5k this week instead on Friday evening.
An Oregon duo has the fifth and sixth best times on the year, with Sam Prakel and Brannon Kidder owning fifth and sixth respectively, which they both set at the Pac-12 Championships in second and third place finishes. Neither has raced head-to-head with Palamar this season.
Penn State's Brannon Kidder had a regional qualifying time which tied Prakel on the national list for sixth this season. The only time he and Palamar have been at the same site this indoor and outdoor season was the NCAA East Prelims and NCAA Indoor Championships, where they raced in different heats and different events, respectively, thus yet having to race on the year.
The last qualifier into Eugene based on quarterfinal seed time, Yale's James Randon is seeded well below his national qualifying time. The Bulldogs' junior has the eighth-fastest time in the country this season, which he set at the Virginia Challenge, beating out Palamar by 0.34 seconds. However, Palamar got him back in their second meeting of the season last week, when he beat head-to-head in both the preliminary and quarterfinal heats.
Oregon's Blake Haney has only competed in the 1500 in four events on the outdoor season after finishing second in the mile in the indoor season. The 2015 bronze medalist at the NCAA Championships is the highest finisher from last year returning to the meet this season and has only competed four times on the season, but owns the 10th-best time on the year.
Villanova's Jordan Williamsz is the only other competitor to return from a top-five performance at last year's Championship. Owner of the 50th best time in the country (3:43.46), Williamsz is seeded 23rd on the weekend.
Virginia Tech's Neil Gourley is another top-40 competitor who Palamar is very familiar with. The pair have squared off at the ACC Championships where Gourley took second, besting Palamar, but Palamar edged him by under 0.2 seconds at the East Prelim.
Outside of the top-10 seed times, other competitors who could factor in are Ole Miss' Robert Domanic was the fifth-fastest qualifier out of the East and owner of the 15th-best time in the nation. He's seeded 11th coming into the meet and has already performed well at a high level this season, taking silver at the SEC Championships, while doubling in the 5k.
Josh Kerr from New Mexico, who has the 22nd-best time nationally (3:42.09), which he set in April. He's seeded ninth overall entering the meet.
Cornell's James Gowans turned in a time of 3:43.91 to get to Eugene, which was the seventh-best time at the East Prelims. He enters the weekend with the 30th-best time nationally this season.
Washington's Blake Nelson was the 12th qualifier from the west, taking fourth in his heat to advance. He entered ranked 46th before the prelims.
David Elliott of Boise State could also factor, entering with a top-40 seed time after winning the Mountain West Championship in May. He's only run the 1500 on three occasions this season, but enters coming off a top-five finish in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.
A number of competitors are also entering while peaking at the right time. Dillon Maggard from Utah State, who took the second overall seed time from prelims (3:43.37). The time was a season-best for Maggard. Akron's Clayton Murphy also posted his season-best time at the prelims (3:43.43) and was the top finisher at the East Prelim. The two entered the prelims ranked 68th and 73rd in the nation respectively.
Northern Arizona's Andy Trouard, who entered the prelims without a time in the top-100 nationally, has also posted one of the best prelim times, shaving six seconds off his personal best at the prelims (3:43.61) to advance to Eugene. The Big Sky Champion finished fifth at the West Prelim.
Alex Rodgers of Texas took Bronze at the Big 12 Championships in May and followed it up with a personal-best time of 3:43.77. He's seeded 10th this week.
BYU's Chase Horrocks also falls into the category of setting a PR at the regional meet. His 3:44.06 was good for the 11th qualifying time out of the west after entering with a previous PR of 3:44.25, which was the 77th best time on the year.
Ben Malone was another to set a PR, but the only one to do it at the East Regional. He set his in the preliminary round after entering ranked 94th. He set his time of 3:43.28 and followed it up with a 3:44.15 to earn the ninth spot out of the east.
Air Force's Matt Dorsey is looking to go back-to-back on the podium in the 1500 at the NCAA Championships for the Falcons after his teammate Zach Perkins took second at the event last season. Dorsey was another competitor to set a PR at the regional meet (3:43.65) to advance as the No. 8 seed in Wednesday's semifinals after entering with the 69th-best time.
Indiana State's David Timlin set his season-best mark to qualify 20th in the event overall after entering ranked 87th.
The race gets underway at 7:46 p.m. eastern and will be televised live on ESPN2.
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Palamar will be the first to race of SU's seven competitors making the trip to Eugene for the NCAA Championships. The 1500-meters will consist of two 12-competitor semifinal heats, with the top five from each heat and the next-two fastest times advancing to Friday's championship race.
The Syracuse junior is seeded 21st entering the race, however that's the cause of earning an automatic berth to Eugene in a slower-paced quarterfinal race. Palamar owns the 11th-fastest time nationally this season in the event, and ninth-fastest among those competing in Eugene this week. Eight of the top-10 seed times based on prelims came from the west regional. After day-one of the event was cancelled due to weather, the format was four heats to qualify rather than the east's two-round qualifying system.
A native of Ottawa, Ontario, Palamar has raced in five different 1500s this season, finishing in the top-five of each and already squaring off against some of this weekend's competitors. It's also a similar field to the men's mile championship from the indoor campaign, where Palamar took eighth and earned USTFCCCA First Team All-America honors.
Washington's Izaic Yorks enters as the top-seed and owns the nation's best time in the event so far this season (3:37.14) after setting the mark at the Payton Jordan Invitational in May. Yorks finished 12th last year at the NCAA Championships and has yet to go head-to-head with Palamar in any event this season.
Virginia's Henry Wynne, who won the NCAA Indoor Championship in the mile this season has the second-fastest time on the year and has been a familiar foe of Palamar this season. In the outdoor season alone, the two have raced at the Virginia Challenge, ACC Championships and NCAA East Prelims most recently. Wynne edged Palamar by 0.42 seconds in their most recent meeting as the duo went one-two in their NCAA Quarterfinal heat to both qualify automatically to Eugene.
Craig Engles of Ole Miss is another competitor at the top of the qualifying list, with the third-fastest time nationally (16th seed following quarterfinals). The SEC Champion in the event, Engles and Palamar have gone against each other in the same race once this year, with Engles edging Palamar by 0.08 seconds at the Virginia Challenge in the first outdoor meet of the season for Palamar.
The Orange's Justyn Knight has the fourth-best time nationally this season in the 1500, which he set at the Virginia Challenge, but the 'Cuse sophomore will be competing in the 5k this week instead on Friday evening.
An Oregon duo has the fifth and sixth best times on the year, with Sam Prakel and Brannon Kidder owning fifth and sixth respectively, which they both set at the Pac-12 Championships in second and third place finishes. Neither has raced head-to-head with Palamar this season.
Penn State's Brannon Kidder had a regional qualifying time which tied Prakel on the national list for sixth this season. The only time he and Palamar have been at the same site this indoor and outdoor season was the NCAA East Prelims and NCAA Indoor Championships, where they raced in different heats and different events, respectively, thus yet having to race on the year.
The last qualifier into Eugene based on quarterfinal seed time, Yale's James Randon is seeded well below his national qualifying time. The Bulldogs' junior has the eighth-fastest time in the country this season, which he set at the Virginia Challenge, beating out Palamar by 0.34 seconds. However, Palamar got him back in their second meeting of the season last week, when he beat head-to-head in both the preliminary and quarterfinal heats.
Oregon's Blake Haney has only competed in the 1500 in four events on the outdoor season after finishing second in the mile in the indoor season. The 2015 bronze medalist at the NCAA Championships is the highest finisher from last year returning to the meet this season and has only competed four times on the season, but owns the 10th-best time on the year.
Villanova's Jordan Williamsz is the only other competitor to return from a top-five performance at last year's Championship. Owner of the 50th best time in the country (3:43.46), Williamsz is seeded 23rd on the weekend.
Virginia Tech's Neil Gourley is another top-40 competitor who Palamar is very familiar with. The pair have squared off at the ACC Championships where Gourley took second, besting Palamar, but Palamar edged him by under 0.2 seconds at the East Prelim.
Outside of the top-10 seed times, other competitors who could factor in are Ole Miss' Robert Domanic was the fifth-fastest qualifier out of the East and owner of the 15th-best time in the nation. He's seeded 11th coming into the meet and has already performed well at a high level this season, taking silver at the SEC Championships, while doubling in the 5k.
Josh Kerr from New Mexico, who has the 22nd-best time nationally (3:42.09), which he set in April. He's seeded ninth overall entering the meet.
Cornell's James Gowans turned in a time of 3:43.91 to get to Eugene, which was the seventh-best time at the East Prelims. He enters the weekend with the 30th-best time nationally this season.
Washington's Blake Nelson was the 12th qualifier from the west, taking fourth in his heat to advance. He entered ranked 46th before the prelims.
David Elliott of Boise State could also factor, entering with a top-40 seed time after winning the Mountain West Championship in May. He's only run the 1500 on three occasions this season, but enters coming off a top-five finish in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.
A number of competitors are also entering while peaking at the right time. Dillon Maggard from Utah State, who took the second overall seed time from prelims (3:43.37). The time was a season-best for Maggard. Akron's Clayton Murphy also posted his season-best time at the prelims (3:43.43) and was the top finisher at the East Prelim. The two entered the prelims ranked 68th and 73rd in the nation respectively.
Northern Arizona's Andy Trouard, who entered the prelims without a time in the top-100 nationally, has also posted one of the best prelim times, shaving six seconds off his personal best at the prelims (3:43.61) to advance to Eugene. The Big Sky Champion finished fifth at the West Prelim.
Alex Rodgers of Texas took Bronze at the Big 12 Championships in May and followed it up with a personal-best time of 3:43.77. He's seeded 10th this week.
BYU's Chase Horrocks also falls into the category of setting a PR at the regional meet. His 3:44.06 was good for the 11th qualifying time out of the west after entering with a previous PR of 3:44.25, which was the 77th best time on the year.
Ben Malone was another to set a PR, but the only one to do it at the East Regional. He set his in the preliminary round after entering ranked 94th. He set his time of 3:43.28 and followed it up with a 3:44.15 to earn the ninth spot out of the east.
Air Force's Matt Dorsey is looking to go back-to-back on the podium in the 1500 at the NCAA Championships for the Falcons after his teammate Zach Perkins took second at the event last season. Dorsey was another competitor to set a PR at the regional meet (3:43.65) to advance as the No. 8 seed in Wednesday's semifinals after entering with the 69th-best time.
Indiana State's David Timlin set his season-best mark to qualify 20th in the event overall after entering ranked 87th.
The race gets underway at 7:46 p.m. eastern and will be televised live on ESPN2.
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Players Mentioned
D
/ Track and Field
/ Track and Field
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Benne Anderson NCAA Mile Semifinals
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