NCAA REGIONAL EVENT PREVIEW - 800M
By Chris Lotsbom
(c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
The NCAA Division I Regional meets will be held this weekend. For the first time, there will be just two regions (instead of four): East and West. Here is a preview of the men's and women's 800m events:
MEN -
800m EASTERN REGIONAL -
In the 800m, it is the year of the freshmen. More than any other year,
freshmen have seemed to dominate the half mile distance this season,
and it all starts with Virginia's Robby Andrews. Andrews, originally
from New Jersey, has proven he has the racing skills needed to take
home an outdoor national title. At the NCAA Indoor Championship,
Andrews outkicked Oregon star Andrew Wheating to win by .01 of a
second, earning his first national title. Then, at the Penn Relays,
Andrews proved that his kick was indeed not a fluke, running a 1:47.78
split to help his team win the 4 x 800m Championship of America race
and, again, just getting Wheating at the line. Coached by Jason
Vigilante, Andrews has run 1:47.73 outdoors, placing him sixth on the
all-time list at Virginia. Although he does not have the fastest time
coming into the meet (he is seventh-fastest), he will certainly be the
one to watch.
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| Photo: Casimir Loxsom en route to his win at Payton Jordan in Stanford. |
Penn State's Cas Loxsom, also a freshman, owns the fastest time of the
field and is one of only two runners in the East to go under 1:47.
Running 1:46.74, Loxsom's season has included wins at the Big Ten
Championship and at Stanford's Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational.
Joining him from Penn State will be juniors Ryan Foster (1:47.78),
Owen Dawson (1:48.85), and Lionel Williams (1:49.07). Foster, an
Australian, has focused mainly on the 1500m this spring, but did place
third in the 800m at the NCAA Indoor Championship. Other athletes in
the field to watch out for are LSU's Richard Jones (1:46.81) and Notre
Dame's Jack Howard (1:49.52), both of whom placed in the top-seven at
NCAA Indoor Nationals this year.
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| Photo: Andrew Wheating led the Ducks to a DMR win at Penn Relays. |
800m WESTERN REGIONAL -
The West's 800m field is highlighted by Olympian and defending NCAA
Outdoor Champion Andrew Wheating of Oregon. Wheating is coming off
impressive performances at the Penn Relays and PAC-10 Championships.
At Penn, he anchored Oregon's winning distance medley relay team
running 3:59.84, and got edged at the line in the 4 x 800 by Virginia's
Robby Andrews, despite running a 1:47.78 split. Wheating is the
fourth-fastest in the field, with a time of 1:47.71, though his
personal best outdoors is 1:45.03. Wheating should easily advance to
the NCAA Championships, barring a disaster. Two men in the West have
ran sub 1:47- UCLA's Cory Primm (1:46.93) and Irvine's Charles Jock
(1:46.93). The top returner from last year's National Championship
aside from Wheating is Chris Gowell, a Senior at Baylor who placed
fourth in 2009.
WOMEN
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| Photo: The crowd stood and roared as workhorse Phoebe Wright outdueled LaTavia Thomas on the anchor of the 4x800 at Penn Relays. |
800m EASTERN REGIONAL -
A group of three seniors headline the 800m in the Eastern Regional.
LaTavia Thomas of LSU is the fastest in the field, and the top returner
from last year's NCAA Championship. Thomas's time of 2:01.41 was
achieved early in the season at LSU's Alumni Gold meet; recently she
placed second at the SEC Championships. Thomas will aim to fend off
Tennessee's Phoebe Wright, who was the NCAA Champion indoors. Recently
named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Wright has succeeded both on
and off the track. On the oval, she has helped the Lady Vols earn wins
in the 4 x 800m, 4 x 1500m, and DMR at Penn Relays. The conference
champion in the 800m, Wright is looking to make it two-for-two at
National Championships this year. Third fastest in the field is
Indiana's Molly Beckwith. The Big Ten Conference champion, Beckwith is
looking to improve upon her Nationals appearance of one year ago, where
she was disqualified. Also returning from last year's top ten at the
NCAA Championships are juniors Brittany Hall (LSU, 2:03.76) and
Dominique Jackson (UNC, 2:06.16).
800m WESTERN REGIONAL -
Although on paper it seems like the Eastern Region has all of the 800m
leaders, the West has some big names looking to take the top spots at
Nationals. Leading the group is BYU sophomore Lacey Cramer. Boasting
a season best of 2:03.89, Cramer has won the Mountain West Conference
title, and placed second at the Stanford Invitational. Alongside
Cramer all season has been BYU teammate Angela Wagner. Wagner, a
senior from South Africa, placed second to Cramer at the Conference
Championships, and is seeded with a time of 2:04.16. Returning from a
sixth place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championship will be Stephanie
Brown of Arkansas. Often overshadowed in the SEC by bigger names like
Thomas and Wright, this freshman has the ability to get on the podium.
Also in contention will be a slew of Oregon Ducks, led by freshman
Anne Kesselring. Kesselring, from Germany, has won the Pac-10
Championship and Pepsi Team Challenge this year already, and is looking
to add a national championship to her accomplishments. Joining her
will be freshman Becca Friday and Chloe Steinbeck.
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