2013 Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships: Men’s Mid-D & Distance Preview
*LRC Additional NCAA Conference Previews Here
*MB: LetsRun.com’s 2013 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Conference Championship Previews Are Now Live – Discuss them here
by Isaac Wood for LetsRun.com
February 20, 2013
800m
Reigning champion Ricky West has transferred to Penn State and Joey Roberts of Texas A&M has graduated which leaves Kyle Thompson of Texas as the top returner in the Big 12 for 800m. Thompson has yet to run anything of note this season with a mediocre (for him) SB of 1:52.71. He is the top returner though, and is a savvy racer which will help him at the conference meet. Let there be no doubt, Edward Kemboi is the favorite by a large margin having the fastest 800m in the conference this season by nearly three seconds (1:47.43, #2 in NCAA). He has finished 5th ath the last two NCAA champs outdoors.
Frezer Legesse of Oklahoma has the #2 ranked time in the Big 12 having run 1:50.01 this season. Brandon Soucie of Kansas made the 800m final at Big 12’s in 2012, but has only run 1:52.88 so far in 2013. Kyle Merber of Texas (Columbia transfer), who is mostly known as a miler (3:35 1500m), has the #3 ranked time in the Big 12 (1:50.25). This race seems more like a team race for points and 2-8 because Edward Kemboi has this race all, but wrapped up and the race has not even been run yet.
Predicted Place and Time
1. Edward Kemboi – Iowa State- 1:48.03
2. Kyle Thompson- Texas- 1:48.51
3. Frezer Legesse-Oklahoma- 1:49.00
4. Kyle Merber- Texas- 1:49.22
5. Raul Botezan- Oklahoma State- 1:49.79
LRC Comment #1: Come on Big 12, what’s up? Only one sub-1:50 on the year? Penn State has five all by themselves. No way the times are that fast.
LRC Comment #2: What’s up with Kyle Merber? It sucks to see him struggling a bit. Merber never ran an 800 at Heps. He ain’t running one here. A 3:35 1,500 man belongs in the mile. He was unbeatable in tactical races at Heps. Hopefully a tactical race at Big 12s results in him getting his mojo back. He still has his mojo on twitter.
1000m
Edward Kemboi is once again the favorite in this event and has already ran 2:21.89 this season. The 1000m is an interesting event and just adds more opportunities for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to show off their unreal distance crew (especially milers). Frezer Legesse and Kevin Schwab of Oklahoma are #2 and #3 in the Big 12 going into conference having run 2:22.76 and 2:23.88, respectively. Patrick MacGregor of Texas has run 2:25.09 (4:01.06 mile SB). Raul Botezan (2:23.90 PR) and Justin Vilhauer of Oklahoma State will also be in the mix with their solid SBs of 2:25.09 and 2:25.25, respectively. Brandon Soucie of Kansas will once again be a solid competitor in this field and Kyle Merber of Texas as well (might not run because of his mile chances).
Predicted Place and Time
1. Edward Kemboi-Iowa State- 2:23.12
2. Kevin Schwab-Oklahoma-2:24.04
3. Frezer Legesse- Oklahoma-2:24.26
4. Justin Vilhauer- Oklahoma State-2:24.89
5. Patrick MacGregor- Texas- 2:25.31
Mile
The reigning champion Rico Loy of Iowa State has done nothing of note this season and will most likely not be keeping his crown as top miler in the Big 12 another season. The Big 12 has nine athletes who have run sub-4 and seven of them come from either Oklahoma or Oklahoma State. This will make for the most competitive race of the championship. Patrick Casey of Oklahoma has the #1 time going into conference with a 3:56.28 (#4 in the NCAA). Oklahoma State’s runners in this list go like this: Raul Botezan (3:57.79 #2 Big 12 and #7 NCAA), Tom Farrell (3:58.20 #3 Big 12 and #10 NCAA, top returner from 2012), Kirubel Erassa (3:58.24 #4 Big 12 and #11 NCAA), Fabian Clarkson (3:59.47 #6 Big 12 and #17 NCAA), and Shane Moskowitz (3:59.48 #7 Big 12 and #18 NCAA). Texas has Joe Stilin (3:58.66 #5 Big 12 and #14 NCAA), Patrick MacGregor (4:01.06 #10 Big 12 and #43 NCAA), and Kyle Merber (4:02.49 #11 Big 12). Frezer Legesse of Oklahoma has also run sub-4 (3:59.83).Then factor in Kennedy Kithuka who has already run 3:59.33, 7:50.26 (3000m), and 13:26.65 (5000m by himself). This field is unreal loaded and predicting a top five will prove quite difficult.
A lot will depend on what the runners and coaches decide to race this weekend so some of these places for the next few races could be way off because of the decisions they’ll have to make.
Predicted Place and Time
1. Patrick Casey- Oklahoma-4:03.48
2. Tom Farrell- Oklahoma State-4:03.92
3. Kennedy Kithuka- Texas Tech- 4:04.01
4. Joe Stilin- Texas-4:04.19
5. Kirubel Erassa- Oklahoma State-4:05.31
LRC Comment #1: .Last year, it was a 4:06 race. If it’s slow like that, watch out for Merber. Stilin is an incredible runner but we don’t think he’s really a tactical miler. He’s incredibly strong and great at running fast in the mile, but is this really his event? He’ll be hoping this is fast.
LRC Comment #2: If this was our preview, we’d never pick Casey to win as we don’t favor college athletes acting like free agents and leaving for the highest bidder like he did at Montana State.
LRC Comment #3: 9 sub-4:00 guys in a single conference? We guess they are making up for the SEC having zero. Are you kidding us? And 8 sub-8s. The Big 12 is crazy.
But five on a single team? We bow down to Dave Smith. We don’t care how he assembled the team. Mega kudos: MB: How about some praise for the fact that Oklahoma State has 5 guys who have gone sub-4 in the mile this year?
2 Botezan, Raul SR-4 Oklahoma State 3:57.79
3 Farrell, Thomas SR-4 Oklahoma State 3:58.20
4 Erassa, Kirubel JR-3 Oklahoma State 3:58.24
6 Clarkson, Fabian FR-1 Oklahoma State 3:59.47
7 Moskowitz, Shane JR-3 Oklahoma State 3:59.48
3000m
With the graduation of George Alex of Oklahoma, there is another crown up for grabs in the 3000m. Kirubel Erassa of OSU is the top returner having run 8:02.98 in 2012. The Big 12 is very loaded in the 3000m as well as the mile was with eight sub-8 3k guys. The majority of them most of the names from the mile list. From Oklahoma State they have: Kirubel Erassa (7:50.92 #2 Big 12, #6 NCAA), Tom Farrell (7:51.77 #3 3000m, #9 NCAA), and Fabian Clarkson (7:53.92 #5 Big 12, #15 NCAA). Oklahoma has: Patrick Casey (7:52.80 #4 Big 12, #11 NCAA) and Kevin Williams (7:57.92 #7 Big 12, #22 NCAA). Williams won the loaded 5000m at the Husky Classic and is a very strong competitor and race savvy. Patrick Casey has not had a lot of success winning the big races, but has been looking good all season long and should be in the mix. Once again the big name to keep an eye on is Texas Tech’s Kennedy Kithuka who has the leading time in the conference having run 7:50.26. There are so many solid runners in the 3000m that once again predicting this field will be really tough.
Predicted Place and Time
1. Kennedy Kithuka- Texas Tech- 7:59.51
2. Tom Farrell – Oklahoma State- 8:00.98
3. Kevin Williams- Oklahoma- 8:01.44
4. Patrick Casey- Oklahoma- 8:01.89
5. Kirubel Erassa- Oklahoma State- 8:03.10
5000m
There is no doubt who is the obvious favorite in this race. At the Tyson Invitational Kennedy Kithuka won the 5000m by over a minute and ran 13:26.65. This is his best distance and is absolutely untouchable. The only thing that could stand in his way is from being exhausted from all of the races he will most likely be running. Shadrack Kipchirchir of Oklahoma State (returning champion) tied with Kevin Williams of Oklahoma at the Husky Classic in running 13:38.57. Ryan Dohner and Joe Stilin of Texas have run good times in the 5000m as well this season having run 13:52.85 and 13:59.23, respectively. Kipchirchir is the returning champion, but teammate Girma Mecheso has yet to be a factor this season, but is most definitely a contender if he does run at Big 12’s. Bill Kogel was fourth last year and has not had the greatest indoor season (could be hurt or sick), but could also be in the mix.
Predicted Place and Time
1. Kennedy Kithuka- Texas Tech-13:40.22
2. Shadrack Kipchirchir- Oklahoma State-13:45.61
3. Girma Mecheso- Oklahoma State- 13:46.20
4. Kevin Williams- Oklahoma- 13:46.85
5. Ryan Dohner- Texas- 13:49.42
LRC Comment: 13:48 is #16 on the NCAA list. Get your NCAA qualifier now so you can avoid the last chance meets.
DMR
Word on the street is that most of these Big 12 schools are loading up for the DMRs which will prove to be very exciting. Texas has the nation leading time with 9:31.82 and that time probably will be good enough to get them into nationals, but I could see them wanting to run even faster to solidify the time and get a conference championship. Oklahoma State is obviously loaded, the only thing holding them back is a good 400m runner, but they have got to have someone who can run at least 48.5 that will not blow it. Therefore, Botezan, Vilhauer, Erassa, Farrell, Clarkson, Moskowitz, etc can run great other legs to help them run fast time. Oklahoma is also loaded with good mid-distance guys, Legesse, Casey, Malcolm Wankel (1:51.51 800m SB), Jamel Wood is a good 400m option for OU (47.51 SB. 46.35 PR). Texas will have the same guys that got them 9:31 (MacGregor, Bilderback, Thompson, and Stilin. If Kithuka is still available he will really help anchor Texas Tech (SB of 9:40).
Prediction
1. Oklahoma
2. Texas
3. Oklahoma State
4. Texas Tech
5. Kansas
LRC Comment #1: 12th on the NCAA list last year was 9:31.91. Texas is the only team in the country at 9:31.82 that has beaten that this year but that will change at the last chance meets. So they likely can’t be 100% confident that will hold up.
LRC Comment #2: We’re not so sure about Oklahoma State having a 48.5 guy, which is embarrassing. Their best 200/400 guy has run 23.13/51.37.
We guess we should understand it at some level as we were Econ majors and thus have studied the allocation of scare resources. There are only so many scholarships to go around and it takes a lot to produce five sub-4 milers.
But 51.3? Take the football coach out to lunch and borrow a player or two for this weekend. There have to be a ton of guys on the football team who can walk in off the street and break 50 in the 400.
A five-minute google search reveals that 3-year starting cornerback, Broderick Brown, ran 39.90 for 300 hurdles in 10th grade in 2006. But maybe he’s got to get ready for the NFL draft. Find a graduating senior who has no NFL prospects.
More: *LRC Additional NCAA Conference Previews Here
*MB: LetsRun.com’s 2013 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Conference Championship Previews Are Now Live – Discuss them here