NAIA 2023

All distance athletes are staying at Goshen. Track athletes are leaving bc their last hc lied to them. Bryan is staying at SAU. All of Tabor's good distance runners are going to Montreat.

Not Burke, take a look at Grand Canyon's coaching staff.

I was also told that the middle and long distance runners from Cumberlands in particular were arrogant and treated the other athletes at their conference.

Things like that, including the fact that apparently (I was told) Luca Madeo, the freshman did a workout on the road by the track after his 5k and 10k double, showed that he was bored.

Does anyone know if Dennis Kipkurui, Youseff Asslouj and Luca Madeo will stay next year? They all looked very bored at the conference... If they were to leave, it would be a major setback for Cumberlands, because Gustav Bendsen and Luca Sanrorum are also leaving.

I’d imagine Asslouj has to be out. His 3k 5k and 1500 times (along with being apart of that 7:25 4x8) show a lot of range making him more useful to teams at higher levels. He could easily slide into any event in the lineup for a conference meet and contribute in cross country. He also could run a good DMR leg during indoor. He provides a lot of value in different ways.

Kipkurui and Madeo may or may not be out, I doubt they’re as attractive to D1s especially Madeo.

Kipkurui’s PRs from the past are stellar but his performances this season put him behind quite a few freshmen, so it depends on if the teams value his past times highly. He also doesn’t have nearly as much range as the other three. Kipkurui would still by all means be a major contributor for a lot of division 1s.

Madeo is a lot of the same story as Kipkurui just not as fast. 29:57/14:31 is phenomenal for a freshman especially in NAIA. At d1 he’s a dime a dozen though. Madeo would most likely be limited to a mid to low level d1 if he wants a big scholarship. At the d2 level he would be one of the top flight freshmen though and could likely receive close to a full ride from many competitive schools.

That conference isn't very good so imagine anyone who's decent would be bored.

Friends University distance/xc coach Sam Perks announced his resignation yesterday.

The official entries for nationals have been released and some pretty big surprises.
Like some people predicted Evert Silva is attempting to triple the 1500, 5k, and 10k. He’s also listed as a 4x8 option but considering how close the 4x8 prelim is to the 1500 prelim and 10k, and how close the 4x8 final is to the 5k prelim, I doubt he will run in it.

Payton Mauldin is not even listed as an option for Dordt’s 4x8, neither is Zevenbergen. It looks like they’ll both be attempting to run the 400, 4x1, and 4x4 triple along with Levi Schelhaas. This might mean we won’t see Dordt making a 4x8 final for the first time in recent memory.

Skoog surprisingly decided on the 5k over the 1500. I think this actually might have been a smart decision as it looks like a good number of the 5k runners are going to be doubling with other events and this will be once of the last events of the meet meaning they’ll all be fatigued.

I’d want to watch what both Milligan and Cumberlands do with their 4x8s as well. Milligan seems to be bringing four alternates meaning we might see them run a B team at some point. Last year they qualified for the final and then decided to run a B team then but this was likely due to Woodall and Stockley having the 5k prelim shortly after. This year neither are running the 5k but they still might want to remain fresh for their individual events. Cumberlands ran a B team 4x8 indoor and also is bringing four alternates this time around. Bendsen and Asslouj will be running the 5k prelim shortly after the 4x8 final so they might not attempt to run both. Cumberlands will likely want to try to let their top athletes run their individual events all out and fresh to give them their best chance at beating Silva.

I’m expecting the Cumberlands athletes to try and run their prelims hard if they’re only running one event to try and tire out Silva.

On the women’s side it looks like Ana Pineda will be attempting to double the 1500 and 5k, this could be a tough double and I’m surprised she did not choose one or the other after she underperformed attempting to double indoor.

Kiana Gibson will be running both the 5k and steeple. This isn’t a huge shock as she could likely jog the steeple prelim and finals based on her season's bests.

British Columbia will win the women's side by a large margin.

Here's a few big day 1 predictions/hot takes...

1. Keitany will not make the steeple final. Keitany is definitely one of the best fourteen steeple runners, but he is in a really tough first heat with Uhrich, Stockley, and Nichols. Since it's the first heat it'll likely go out slower making it tougher for athletes to qualify outside of the top four. Keitany also will be running the 4x8 about an hour before so he'll be less than 100%
2. Aaron Jones is going to earn a top three finish in the 10k. His 29:47 and recent 14:12 5k were very impressive. I think he's going to find a way to beat at least one of Kipkurui and Davies to get a top three finish.
3. The 4x8 prelim is going to be a shocker with who does and doesn't make it. It looks like Cumberlands, Milligan, and Dordt aren't going to run A-teams and they're all in the first heat. This could open up a spot for a team like Benedictine, William Woods, or St. Mary to possibly get in especially if it comes down to an anchor with how good each of those squads' anchors look. Grace, IWU, and OKC should all also be teams right on the bubble of qualifying. I'd be ready for a big prelim out of Dakota State as well.
4. The 1500 prelim is going to be a complete jog. Considering the Cumberlands guys and Silva are all running 2+ races I wouldn't doubt that we see a race like the first mile heat at indoor nationals. Look for some of the athletes on the bubble of qualifying with more leg speed like Evans Pololet, Craig Becker, or Mehdi Nait-Hamoud to beat out some of the guys ahead of them to get to the final.
5. The 200 is a complete roll of the dice after the top few guys. Some of the top athletes from the indoor championships just haven't looked the same and I wouldn't be surprised to see some guys we hardly know of making the final.

I'll post some other predictions for day 2 and day 3 later today or tomorrow morning.

they need to make 4x800 a finals only race (either put the top 8 in last heat or balance it out) but one way or the other do it.

they are ruining this race by having a semifinal

same goes for the DMR

Let’s already been discussed on here and I don’t think there’s much of a way to do that.

More than any other event the leaderboard for the 4x8 doesn’t give a good indication of who’s going to finish high. It’s just teams who go to Drake relays or are in crossroads that finish the regular season with the top seeds. Last year only 2 of the top 10 seeds made it to the nine team final.

Going straight to a timed final would completely ruin the 4x8. I’d rather have to deal with some teams battling fatigue due to a prelim than potentially see some of the top teams not even have have a shot because of the heat they’re in.

I made finals. what you got now? 4x8 and steeple!

Hope he had a good time with that workout because coming 5th isn't going to get you to the SEC

Also mid-distance threat Andrew Yeary out in the prelims of the 4x8 after ot making it in an individual event

Let’s talk quick about the Men’s 10k.

Evert Silva looks phenomenal, smooth and almost untouchable. Davies was also strong. I was surprised that Kipkurui from Cumberlands slacked off so much at the end. Jones and Pohl were strong. Aiden Kammler, more of a shadow of his former self.

We have to keep in mind, that for example Luca Madeo from Cumberlands is still freshmen and he got 5th and looks also relaxed, but in the end he needs more speed. I would say that he is one of the best, if not the best long-distance runner of the freshmen this year in the NAIA if you add everything up. Cross Country he came 40th, was All-American and was named 8th best freshmen. Indoors he was the best freshmen and 3rd place overall in the 5000m. Now outdoors in the 10k he became 5th and was also named the best freshmen. We can look forward to seeing what happens to him in the next few years and how he develops (if he doesn't transfers ).

I am excited to see what Cumberlands will do over the 1500m and 5k, the next days, and if they are able to stop Silva.

Biggest surprises and disappointments from day one?

1: Dordt's 4x1? Using Mauldin in it and not having two big dogs for their 4x8 final. I actually love they confidence the coaches have in their athletes on this stage, so can't really say its a disappointment. Actually shows the tremendous depth they have. 2: Open distain for Silva while competing. Not every day you hear people booing at a college track meet. 3. Harding in men's steeple. Admittedly, did not see much of this race but 40+ off PR? I hope he didn't get hurt. 4. Prelims for 200's were moving. Racing the top of the turn clearly helped but it was fun to watch. 5. 4x8's continued the tradition of unexpected results but not sure if there were any major surprises. OKC now the favorite with Silva, the villain?

It seems like Silva is doing too much at this meet. The 10k, 5K, and the 1500. That's a lot.

Hopefully he does well. Like him or not, he does have some potential and hopefully he is maturing and getting his life in order. He didn't finish his studies in the seminary but perhaps his short dalliance with the priesthood straightened him out a bit.

He is definitely not maturing dude has been a super douche at the end of every race. He is significantly better then everyone in the field so he'll win all 3.

Cumberlands has absolutely bombed in the distance events. We'll see if their studs can save the meet for them but it looks like a UBC victory

Agreed. Complete jack#$$. It's not even arrogance and he has evil in his eyes