2024 NCAA Women’s Indoor Preview: Parker Valby and Olivia Markezich To Clash
Can Valby remain unbeatable at the NCAA level or will Markezich win her first indoor crown in the 3,000?
By Robert Johnson
The 2024 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships will take place at a sold-out The TRACK at New Balance in Boston on Friday and Saturday. Below we preview the women’s mid-d and distance events for you as well as the team battle in the order that they occur. Our men’s preview is here: 2024 NCAA Men’s Indoor Preview: Nico Young Looks For NCAA Titles #1 & 2 & Can Anyone Stop The UW Milers?
*Schedule & Heat Sheets *TV & Streaming
8:20 PM ET Friday – Women’s 5,000 – Valby looks for her first indoor title
Event 23 Women 5,000 Meter Run
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Name Year School Seed
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1 153 Parker Valby JR Florida 14:56.11
2 13 Doris Lemngole FR Alabama 15:04.71
3 474 Amy Bunnage FR Stanford 15:11.68
4 377 Taylor Roe SR OK State 15:12.71
5 14 Hilda Olemomoi JR Alabama 15:17.44
6 373 Molly Born SR OK State 15:23.31
7 176 Chloe Scrimgeour SO Georgetown 15:24.36
8 316 Samantha Bush SR NC State 15:25.59
9 132 Ella Baran SR Colorado 15:26.66
10 137 Phoebe Anderson JR Columbia 15:26.87
11 578 Kenzie Doyle SR UMass Lowell 15:27.42
12 317 Grace Hartman SO NC State 15:29.92
13 106 Jenna Hutchins SO BYU 15:30.99
14 103 Lexy Halladay-Lowry JR BYU 15:31.03
15 102 Aubrey Frentheway SR BYU 15:31.69
16 477 Lucy Jenks JR Stanford 15:33.98
Photo courtesy James B Daves/NCAA
Florida’s Parker Valby missed last year’s NCAA indoor meet with injury but she’s been unbeatable since as she won the NCAA outdoor 5,000 crown as well as cross country. With her old rival Katelyn Tuohy having gone pro after the XC season, one might assume there is no way Valby loses in 2024.
Valby, the first collegian to break 15:00 in the 5,000, certainly deserves to be the heavy favorite but the NCAA is always full of talent and nothing is guaranteed. The #2 seed Doris Lemngole of Alabama ran a 14:40 road 5k last year. That being said, Lemngole lost to Valby at NCAA XC (Lemngole was 2nd but gaining on Valby late), the BU 5,000 in December, and then at SECs in the 3,000. At SECs, they were in different heats but Valby won by 24 seconds.
If there is an upset, my pick for the win would be Oklahoma State’s Taylor Roe. The 2022 NCAA indoor 3,000 champ is undefeated on the year and has been killing everyone she races. When she ran 8:51 this year, second place was 9:12. When she ran 15:12, she lapped everyone in the field as second was 15:51.
#3 seed Amy Bunnage of Stanford is from Australia. She won Pac-12s in XC but was only 59th at NCAAs.
Rojo’s Pick: Valby FTW.
Who wins the women's 5000?
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9:00 PM ET Friday – Women’s DMR
Event 26 Women Distance Medley
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School Seed
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1 Washington 10:43.39
2 Providence 10:44.07
3 Notre Dame 10:44.62
4 BYU 10:44.67
5 Stanford 10:47.03
6 Oklahoma State 10:47.20
7 Oregon 10:47.50
8 Penn State 10:49.05
9 Arkansas 10:49.41
10 Boston College 10:50.00
11 Virginia 10:50.58
12 Florida 10:52.06
Seed times don’t necessarily mean a ton in the DMR as many of the legs might end up being run by people who are tired from their individual events. But in this race, I know one of the best runners will be fresh on the anchor. Notre Dame’s Olivia Markezich, the 2023 NCAA steeplechase champ and 3,000 runner-up, will be fresh as she’s running the 3,000 individually on Saturday night.
I called a top NCAA coach of another team and asked him for his take on this race and he said, “Notre Dame. If Markevich is anywhere near the front when she gets the stick they will win.” That makes sense as Markezich will be fresh and is a 4:27 miler. He also thought Oregon and BYU would do well. They too will have fresh legs. Oregon has five milers under 4:35 this year — only two of which are in the individual mile. BYU has four milers under 4:34 on the year — only one of which is in the individual mile.
Rojo’s Pick: Notre Dame FTW.
Who wins the women's DMR?
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7 PM ET Saturday – Women’s Mile: Can Ramsden stay on top as she comes back from World Indoors?
Event 21 Women 1 Mile Run Prelims
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Name Year School Seed
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1 200 Maia Ramsden JR Harvard 4:24.83
2 145 Flomena Asekol SR Florida 4:26.47
3 440 Kimberley May JR Providence 4:27.85
4 637 Chloe Foerster SO Washington 4:28.14
5 376 Billah Jepkirui SO OK State 4:29.64
6 343 Maggi Congdon SR No. Arizona 4:30.16
7 661 Ceili McCabe JR West Virginia 4:30.24
8 404 Klaudia Kazimierska SO Oregon 4:30.33
9 396 Silan Ayyildiz SO Oregon 4:30.38
10 175 Melissa Riggins JR Georgetown 4:30.73
11 437 Shannon Flockhart JR Providence 4:30.83
12 607 Margot Appleton JR Virginia 4:30.87
13 433 Laura Pellicoro JR Portland 4:31.39
14 614 Anna Workman JR Virginia 4:31.91
15 424 Kileigh Kane SR Penn State 4:32.97
Defending champ Olivia Howell has left Illinois for Texas and didn’t make the meet so we will have a new champ in 2024. The #1 seed is Kiwi Maia Ramsden of Harvard, who is the reigning outdoor 1500 champ. Last weekend, Ramsden was in Glasgow at World Indoors where she turned in her senior thesis and ran 4:06 for 1,500 twice. While she made the final, she left Glasgow maybe a little disappointed as she finished 10th and you needed to finish 8th to pick up bonus points for the World Athletics Rankings used to get into the Olympics.
Based on those back-to-back 4:06s, Ramsden is in good shape as that means she can run 4:26 consistently, which few women in this field can do. But what if the pace is slow? I imagine some of you think Ramsden would be really vulnerable as she has a 2:09 800 PR whereas the #2, #3 and #5 seeds in Flomena Asekol of Florida, Kimberley May of Providence, and Billah Jepkirui of Oklahoma State have all run 2:04. That would be a mistake. I talked to two NCAA coaches who both described Ramsden as a “closer” and she closed great in both races at NCAA outdoors. Harvard coach Alex Gibby thinks she could probably run 2:01-2 in the 800 if it was a priority.
Rojo’s Pick: Asekol and Jepkirui also have good endurance for milers as they were 6th and 7th in cross country (Ramsden was 10th). May is the most improved woman in the race as she had a 4:37 PR to start the year (4:13 for 1500). Ramsden’s had a lot on her plate recently. This goes one of two ways. Ramsden, freed from her thesis obligations and being at home in Boston, crushes it … or Ramsden, a bit tired from World Indoors gets beaten. I’m going with the former. Ramsden FTW.
Who wins the women's mile?
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7:3o PM ET Saturday – Women’s 800: Does Michaela Rose Get NCAA Title #2?
Event 20 Women 800 Meter Run Prelims
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Name Year School Seed
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1 284 Michaela Rose JR LSU 1:59.25
2 481 Juliette Whittaker SO Stanford 2:00.09
3 207 Kelly-Ann Beckford SR Houston 2:00.65
4 374 Gabija Galvydyte SR OK State 2:00.73
5 644 Carley Thomas SR Washington 2:00.95
6 199 Sophia Gorriaran FR Harvard 2:01.68
7 45 Sanu Jallow SO Arkansas 2:01.77
8 425 Hayley Kitching SO Penn State 2:01.77
9 122 Gladys Chepngetich FR Clemson 2:01.83
10 482 Roisin Willis SO Stanford 2:01.99
11 105 Meghan Hunter SR BYU 2:02.17
12 343 Maggi Congdon SR No. Arizona 2:02.20
13 640 Wilma Nielsen SR Washington 2:02.26
14 39 Ainsley Erzen SO Arkansas 2:02.46
15 575 Kate Jendrezak SR UCLA 2:02.64
16 623 Lindsey Butler SR VA Tech 2:02.86
Last year, Stanford freshmen Roisin Wilis and Juliette Whittaker went 1-2 as LSU’s Michaela Rose was third. Outdoors, Rose got the win and she enters as the #1 seed and favorite. #4 seed Gabija Galvydyte of Oklahoma State was third outdoors last year but she was beaten by #3 seed Kelly-Anne Beckford of Houston at Big 12s.
Rojo’s Pick: Rose is seemingly better than ever and there is no chance she’ll be tired from DMR duty the night before like Willis and Whittaker. Rose adds an indoor crown to her outdoor.
Who wins the women's 800?
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8:00 PM ET Saturday – Women’s 3,000: Valby vs. Markezich
Event 22 Women 3,000 Meter Run
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Name Year School Seed
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1 359 Olivia Markezich SR Notre Dame 8:40.42
2 153 Parker Valby JR Florida 8:42.29
3 200 Maia Ramsden JR Harvard 8:46.84
4 141 Amina Maatoug JR Duke 8:46.89
5 376 Billah Jepkirui SO OK State 8:49.08
6 14 Hilda Olemomoi JR Alabama 8:50.07
7 400 Maddy Elmore SO Oregon 8:50.43
8 176 Chloe Scrimgeour SO Georgetown 8:50.97
9 103 Lexy Halladay-Lowry JR BYU 8:51.00
10 412 Kaylee Mitchell SR OR State 8:51.06
11 100 Riley Chamberlain SO BYU 8:51.21
12 377 Taylor Roe SR OK State 8:51.60
13 145 Flomena Asekol SR Florida 8:52.57
14 175 Melissa Riggins JR Georgetown 8:52.82
15 13 Doris Lemngole FR Alabama 8:53.10
16 108 Sadie Sargent SR BYU 8:54.12
This one could be really interesting if Markezich and Valby star on day 1. By all accounts this appears to be a two-woman affair. Valby, the only sub-15 woman in NCAA history, versus Markezich, who has run 4:27 in the mile this year.
Rojo’s Pick: Markezich. When I asked a top NCAA coach who he gave the edge to, he said Markezich. He said, “Valby needs to run 8:35 to be able to drop her.”
Who wins the women's 3000?
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Only one woman in NCAA history has broken 8:40.
Top 5 Indoor 3,000 Women In NCAA History Per TFN
8:35.20 Katelyn Tuohy (NC State) 2/11/23
8:40.42 Olivia Markezich (Notre Dame) 12/02/23
8:41.60 Karissa Schweizer (Missouri) 2/03/18
8:42.03 Jenny Simpson (Colorado) 3/14/09
8:42.29 Parker Valby (Florida) 2/24/24
Team Battle – Arkansas Continues To Roll
Looking at the USTFCCCA’s computer rankings, it looks like the Arkansas Razorbacks aren’t missing a beat after the retirement of longtime coach Lance Harter. The Hogs are the heavy favorites to repeat this year in their first year under Chris Johnson. It would mean the Hogs have won 4 out of the last 5 NCAAs as well. If you score the accepted entries list like I did below, they are projected to outscore Florida 66 to 47.
Arkansas – 66 points
200 – 19 points
2 Rosey Effiong SR Arkansas 22.51
3 Amber Anning SR Arkansas 22.60
5 47 Nickisha Pryce JR Arkansas 22.62
8 44 Shawnti Jackson FR Arkansas 22.77
400 – 28 points
1 Amber Anning SR Arkansas 50.43
2 Kaylyn Brown FR Arkansas 50.83
3 Nickisha Pryce JR Arkansas 50.83
4 Rosey Effiong SR Arkansas 51.00
800 – 2 points
7 Sanu Jallow SO Arkansas 2:01.77
4 x 400 – 10 points
1 Arkansas 3:25.59
High Jump – 6 points
3 Rachel Glenn SO Arkansas 1.94m
Long Jump – 1 point
8 Nia Robinson JR Arkansas 6.51m
Florida – 47 points
Mile – 8 points
2 Flomena Asekol SR Florida 4:26.47
3,000 – 8 points
2 Parker Valby JR Florida 8:42.29
5,000 – 10 points
1 Parker Valby JR Florida 14:56.11
60H – 8 points
2 Grace Stark SR Florida 7.90
Long Jump – 8 points
2 Claire Bryant SR Florida 6.72m
Shot – 5 points
4 Alida Van Daalen SO Florida 18.59m
More: 2024 NCAA Men’s Indoor Preview: Nico Young Looks For NCAA Titles #1 & 2 & Can Anyone Stop The UW Milers? Will Nico Young arrive as a collegiate track star like Katelyn Tuohy last year or will Ky Robinson continue to dominate? Can anyone stop the UW milers? And who has the edge in the team battle?
