Did this after World Indoors and I liked it so I'm doing it again now
A Category:
- Hobbs Kessler - A+ | 6 races in 10 days, brought his PBs down from 1:45/3:32 to 1:43/3:31 in the finals to become the first guy since the 70s to make the 800 and 1500 teams, all at age 21. Biggest talent we've had since Jim Ryun. His tactics were questionable coming into this year, but between leading the 1500m at World Indoors for 1490m to get bronze and making Olympic teams in 2 events, I think he's proven himself. His 3:31 with a 53 last lap points to 3:29 fitness, and his 1:43.6 PB in his 6th race in 10 days shows at least 1:43 low shape, if not dipping into the 1:42s. Could see something Murphyesque at the Olympics (though he'll have the 1500s in his legs).
- Cole Hocker - A+ | Won the Olympic Trials for the 2nd time in a row, and he did it by running 3:30 with a 52 last lap. Actually wild. He's probably tied for 3rd best guy in the world right now with Nuguse. The 1500 had a ton of hype and absolutely didn't disappoint.
- Yared Nuguse - A+ | Yes he was only 2nd, but he ran 3:30 with a 53 last lap, and he did all the work for it. If Cole Hocker wasn't in the race we'd be talking about how Nuguse was a medal favorite and would be challenging for Gold. It was a performance at least as good as Hocker's, and at the Olympics, Yared won't have to be the pacemaker for Cole.
- Grant Fisher - A- | Absolutely smashed the 10k field, then absolutely tore apart the 5k field in the last 1400 where he fought to the line with Nur. I think people underestimate Nur a bit. If the 5k at Worlds had come down to a fast last 1k instead of a fast last 400, I think he'd have placed higher. Still, Fisher didn't really prove he was a step up from previous years, and he'll be judged ultimately based on how he does at the Olympics.
- Bryce Hoppel - A+ | 1:42.7 is crazy. Joining VNTC seems to have helped Kessler and Hoppel a lot. Very happy to see them both running so well, and Hoppel should challenge for Gold in Paris (silver is more likely though).
- James Corrigan - A+ | One of the best stories of the Trials. Ran the race of his life to get 3rd, then proved it wasn't a fluke by flying across the country to nab the standard. I didn't care a ton about it but then I watched a news story about it that got linked in the thread and I instantly became a fan. Also BYU going crazy locking up 2 steeple and 2 marathon spots.
- Elle St. Pierre - A+ | Ok yeah she was only 3rd, but she ran 3:55(!!!!), took it out hard and led like 8 people to PBs. She also won the 5k, outkicking Cranny, the reigning 5k/10k champ who was also in 3:57 shape.
- Nikki Hiltz - A+ | 3:55.33? In a US final? A+ right there, but also I rewatched the race this morning and the way they pulled away the last 50 was nuts. Great performance, idk if it's good enough for a medal if Sifan, Tsegay, and Kipyegon all show up, but it's at least good enough to be competing at the end.
- Parker Valby - A+ | 2nd in the 10k showcasing a kick for the first time against the best in the US, really impressive, and it looks like it was enough to get her world ranking high enough. 4th in the 5k, but she led most of the race going fast, did enough to finally just get under the standard, and it looks like St Pierre is going to drop the 5k, so Valby will be on the 5k team too. How can she not get an A+ after being the only person with the guts to chase the Olympic Standard in a distance event, and actually pulling it off and making the team for it?
- Drew Hunter - A+ | Insanely gutsy performance from Drew. You could see it on his face the whole race. He's struggled with injuries for so many years, finally put together some healthy training, shows up with a PB 30-60s slower than the top guys with no results suggesting he'd be competitive, and he fought tooth and nail until the last step. Did he get beaten by a college kid? Yes, but that college kid is #3 all time in the US. Hopefully he can get in a few fast races this summer because he can certainly drop his PBs by a lot.
- Parker Wolfe - A+ | I think I was underrating how good his NCAA race was because I didn't think he'd be 3rd here. He had a great last lap (55?) and was only like 1s behind Nur and Fisher. And he's only 20. He's got a great shot at breaking 13 next year (if he doesn't do it this year), and I'm praying he makes it to the Olympics.
- Graham Blanks - A+ | I didn't expect 4th from him here after he was 4th or 5th at NCAAs. He really gutted it out, and I'm really happy he's returned to the form he was in indoors. Sounded like his training was super tough and I was worried he'd get stuck in the injury cycle, but it looks like things are going well for him.
- Emily Mackay - A+ | 3:55 in the final for 2nd, one of the best US performances ever, and she's been on fire this year. I'd also like to give most of the top 8 women in the race As because they ran great races that would have made probably every other US team ever. It just wasn't good enough in a race where the top were all ran 3:55. Johnson with a 3:56 but off the team is particularly rough.
B Category
- Tinoda Matsatsa - B+ | True freshman in college and did way better at the Trials than Brazier or Sumner after their breakout freshman seasons. Last in the final, but still not bad. Also a sub-4 high schooler, I'm excited to see what he does the next couple years.
- Abdi Nur - Made the team, but was 2nd after being US champ last year. Not shocking, but still a good race. Hoping he can improve on his result from Worlds last year.
- Nico Young - B | Great run from Nico to make his first team, but nothing shocking. He went in as the 3rd best guy, and he came 3rd.
C Category
- Woody Kincaid - Good job at making the 10k team, not really close in the 5k. Didn't try to cover Fisher's move in the 10k. Nothing shocking, hoping he runs well at the Olympics.
D Category
- Sean McGorty - Made 2 teams either last year or the year before, but wasn't close in the 5k this year.
- Clayton Murphy - I don't know how much you can ask from him. Getting pretty old and he still ran 1:44 in the final, but I was still hoping he'd pop off a 1:43 like he did last trials.
- Morgan Beadlescomb - Idk why I just expected him to be way more competitive. Is he still with VNTC?
- Addy Wiley - I like Wiley so I was sad to see her not make the 800 final and then not even be close in the 1500 final. Last year she ran so well, and indoors she made the world team, so I was hoping she'd be peaking this summer. I guess we'll see if she comes on later this summer.
F Category
- Cooper Teare - F | Really disappointed to see Teare do so badly after being 4th as a collegiate in 2021. He's 4th all time in the 5k in the US now, and has a 3:32 1500 pb. I hope to see him compete a good bit this summer. He's good enough to compete in the DL, I don't know why he was so far out of it this week.
- Athing Mu - F | Reigning Olympic champ doesn't even make it to the Olympics. Brutal to be tripped, but she tried moving into where there wasn't space for her, so she kinda did it to herself. I might have had more sympathy for her, but she seems to not even enjoy running, so at this point I'm kinda rooting for her to retire. She's young and shouldn't be doing something she hates during her 20s when she doesn't need to. I get that there's money involved, but if money was an issue, she should just race a ton for 2-3 years and get a ton of appearance fees and prize money, then retire.