Blink & You'll Miss It
Racing picks up, league bests fall, and outdoor possibilities loom large
It has been a hectic few weeks for club running. Or, at least, it has been for me - the knucklehead who decided he'd be the one to keep up with it all, attempt to make some sense of it, and report it back to you all. There is no central location where club running statistics are posted (except, of course, this very publication). As a result, I've basically been flying by the seat of my split shorts for the last month, doing my best to track down race results in a timely manner and reaching out to as many clubs as possible. Some of those results have been easier to dig up than others, and when I wrote my first league report two weeks ago, I had yet to come across several key races. Now, two weeks of research later, I'm considerably better informed about recent indoor meets and their results.
First and foremost, I'd like to extend a sincere thanks to everyone who's decided to follow along, either here on Substack or via the Reasonably Speedy Instagram page. I'd be writing this no matter how many subscribers I had accumulated — I'm no stranger to single-digit audiences — but to reach so many of you so early on has made this whole thing that much more fun. If nothing else, it has confirmed what I already knew all along: people care about club running.
Secondly, thank you to every club and every athlete who has already pitched in to assist me with this. I've had several people reach out with race results, photos, videos, and tips as to who's running where (and when). Not only has this helped me immensely in my research, but it's allowed me to step up our visual content considerably. Â
There, that's all the sincerity for this edition out of the way up front.  Now, on to the stats! Â
Here Be Wolverines
The University of Michigan Running Club has wasted no time in establishing itself as one of the most well-rounded and dangerous distance squads in the country. From the 800m up, Michigan has been knocking down club records left and right, racing every weekend and uninterested in losing. Â
The carnage began on the weekend of January 28-29 at the SVSU Jet's Pizza Invitational. There were several Michigan club runners competing in essentially every event, but highlights included Rickey Shackelford's 2:00.41 finish in the 800m (his teammate, Owen Rennich, finished not far behind in 2:03.20), and Lincoln Johnston's 4:21 mile. In the women's mile, Anna Nagelhout ran 5:13 in the mile before, as if that wasn't enough, stepping back out onto the track to knock out a 10:18 3000m for second overall. Thea Johnson ran 18:39 to take first place in the women's 5000m, and Bo Shepherd finished the men's 3000m with a new league best of 8:35, followed closely by Lincoln Johnston (remember Lincoln from earlier?) in 8:38.
Two weeks later, Nagelhout and Shepherd were back, now with their sights set on the 5000m. Anna Nagelhout smashed the 2022 league best in the distance (set by her teammate Thea Johnson) with a 17:37 finish. Not to be outdone, Bo Shepherd set a leading time of his own, running 14:56 and proving himself to be one of the most dominant male distance runners in the league. In doing this Shepherd became the second club athlete to break 15 minutes in the 5000m this year, preceded only by.....
The North Coast Lets Loose
.....Nicky Alexander of the University of Cincinnati, who ran 14:59.71 on February 5 to outright win the Jud Logan Invitational by nearly 7 seconds. Alexander did this a mere week after doubling at the Tiffin Classic with a 4:22 mile and an 8:58 3000m. Though Alexander has demonstrated himself to be one of the fastest all-rounders in the club distance world, his prowess in individual events has not gone unchallenged, especially in the Midwest. After his performances were announced, Casey Manos and Andrew Ye of Ohio State — who had until then held the official club leads in the mile and the 5000m, respectively — made it clear that they had their sights set on Alexander's marks.
On February 11, Manos and Ye competed with the OSU Run Club at the Ohio Wesleyan Open, where each ran both the 800m and the mile. Ye ran 2:12.33 in the 800m and 4:42 in the mile, while Manos lowered his season-best in the 800m to 2:04.93, also running 4:54 in the mile. As a result, Alexander's times still stand in the state of Ohio. Times, however, only tell half the story. In a few months, teams around the country will take to the outdoor track, and — more and more frequently — find themselves head-to-head with one another, rather than being scattered, unattached, across various open NCAA indoor races. We're still early in the season, but if I were assembling a dream race in the men's mile, Alexander, Manos, and Ye (not to mention Johnston and Shepherd from Michigan) would all be toeing the line.
A few doors down, in the great state of Illinois, league bests are falling faster than ever. Eldon Warner of the Illinois Track Club, returning from his runner-up finish at cross country nationals, just became the first club athlete to break 4:20 in the mile in 2022 last Saturday, winning the Gerry England Invitational in 4:19.43.Â
Meanwhile, another club runner from the University of Illinois has been running faster and faster every weekend, and dropping league bests as she does it! Ninawa Odicho has wheels and has been consistently lowering her times in everything from the 60m dash up to the 400m. At the end of January, Odicho ran 8.36 for 1st overall in the 60m, 27.40 in the 200m (taking 3rd overall), and a 1:03.63 opening leg for the Illinois women's 4x400m. Apparently unsatisfied, she returned to the track the very next weekend, running 8.35, 27.33, and 1:01.75 - an improvement in every event. The next weekend? 8.32, 27.29, and a third-place finish in the 400m with 1:02.52. Oh, and did I mention she's a freshman?
Odicho may be NIRCA's fastest-rising star in the world of sprinting, but she's by no means the only name to watch. I was already keeping an eye out for Claire Biegalski, a sprinter for the University of Wisconsin Track Club, after she ran 8.23 in an unofficial 60m time trial. Last Saturday, the Ripon Dick Hendricks Invitational saw her first official performances of 2022, and make no mistake — Biegalski is out for blood. After placing first in the 60m hurdles with a 9.28 qualifier, she won the final in a casual 9.35. Not done yet, Biegalski stepped back on the line for the 400m (which, of course, she also won), running 1:01.78 - just .03 seconds behind Odicho's leading time! I'll be the first to admit, I still have a great deal to learn about the realm of competitive sprinting, but I know this for certain: I'd pay good money to see Biegalski and Odicho go head-to-head in a 60m final. Let's throw in OSU's Jessica Wrenn for good measure, who won the Ohio Wesleyan 60m in 8.45 and took third place in the 200m with 29.35. And, lest we forget, ECU's Madison Mack won the Happy Valley Invitational in 8.40 - let's get her in here too. Â
Biegalski wasn't the only Wisco Cow to win her events, however! Jacob Stugelmeyer of the WTC took first in both the prelims and the finals of the men's 60m hurdles in 8.60 and 8.56, respectively. Meanwhile, Jordan Ranum won the 60m dash prelims in 7.18 - placing third in the finals with a 7.20 - before coming back to win the 400m in a commanding 51.12 - the second-fastest time run by a club athlete this year. Â
Indiana University also sent club runners to the Gerry England Invitational, where Lauren Murphy won a competitive 800m final in 2:18.06 - the first female club runner to dip below 2:20 this year. Not finished yet, she then took second in the women's mile with a 5:08 finishing time - breaking Anna Nagelhout's league best by 5 seconds. Since we're talking dream races, any mile featuring Murphy and Nagelhout head-to-head would warrant a megaphone, a big foam finger, and a bucket of popcorn.
The Men's 800m Heats Up
As tight as the rankings for the men's mile are becoming, the men's 800m may well be even tighter. 5 men have already broken 2 minutes this year, and nearly 20 have run under 2:05. With so many athletes dropping fast times this early in the season, one has to ask: how get will they get by the time nationals rolls around? I, for one, can't wait to see who's first to break 1:55, because I'm certain it's coming soon.
Below are the 10 fastest 800m times run by club athletes in 2022:
Jordan Foreman (Florida) - 1:58.26
John Burns (Illinois) - 1:58.52
Christian Geils (South Carolina) - 1:58.61
Patrick Fasick (Wisconsin) - 1:58.92
Lincoln Johnston (Michigan) - 1:59.86
Rickey Shackelford (Michigan) - 2:00.41
Jeffrey Hesselbein (Illinois) - 2:00.57
Spencer Nelson (Illinois) - 2:02.06
Michael Anderson (Delaware) - 2:02.20
Caleb Cummings (Ohio State) - 2:02.56
Short Shorts
UCONN runner Jaden Astle set a new league best in the 400m with 51.06 - and he did it without blocks!
Sabina Dayal of Wisconsin won the Dick Hendrick’s Invitation Long Jump in 5.36m
Adam Wiatr of the Purdue Running Club broke 7 seconds for the first time in the club’s history, running 6.94 in the 60m dash. Wiatr is the only club athlete to run a sub-7 60m so far this year.
Anthony Petrillo of Penn State set a new meet record on his own home turf, running 8:47.98 in the 3000m at the Happy Valley Invitational.
Patrick Smith of Team Blitz (W&M) ran 2:03.68 all by himself in a solo (outdoor) time trial last Tuesday
Matthew Miller of Wisconsin won the Dick Hendricks Mile in 4:29.24, and his teammate Patrick Fasick won the 3000m in 9:16.75
The UT-Knoxville Running Club swept the Hot for Chocolate 5k this weekend. Scott Greves won the men's race in 15:56, and Rachel McGovern took first on the women's side with 19:31.
UCONN Club Track made waves at the Happy Valley Invitational, taking first and second as a team for the men and women, respectively.