Realized I was thinking of Atkin not Dever. I’d agree for Dever but not really McDonald unless the injury affects him.
Dever has better PBs for both 5k and 10k than McDonald. They were around the same level last year. Who the hell knows what Atkin could do in the HM. Maybe 59, highly likely he'd DNF. I'll look out for his usual tear-up on the BU track this year before he fails to finish a race outdoors later in the season
Yeah Dever is low-key legit, to a degree that it wouldn’t be shocking for him to run 59:40s. 13:04 and 27:08 last year gives him track PRs distinctly better than Mantz’s. And it’s not as if he has no pedigree:
Yimer can run under 59s. Kotut probably could too, he just ran 2:03:22. Don't know what spring Marathon he'll be running though. Ditto Geay though his 2024 was rough.
Mantz and the debutantes McDonald/Klecker/Dever likely all targeting mid-59s, should be exciting.