Who’s Coming – Distance

Highlighting the top New Balance Nationals Indoor commitments leading up to the championships on March 13 - 15

By Doug Binder of DyeStat | Watch #NBNationals LIVE March 13 - 15

Leo Daschbach - Something Left To Prove

After cutting his terrific cross country season short after the Arizona state meet to heal an injury, Leo Daschbach took a little time off to rest and then began training again on Dec. 1. With few opportunities to race on an indoor oval, he traveled to the Dempsey Indoor in Seattle to race a mile in the UW Last Chance Meet on Feb. 21 and ran US#2 4:05.96 against older competition. “It took a few weeks for the injury to go away entirely, but now it’s gone,” he said.

With a victory over Cole Sprout at the Desert Twilight, and close second-place finish to Nico Young at the Clovis Invitational, Daschbach cemented himself as one of the elite runner in the country, and one of the best of all-time in Arizona, during the fall. The Gilbert, Ariz. (Highland) senior will make his New Balance Nationals debut and also run for the first time on a banked 200-meter track when he comes to New York with an eye on winning the mile.  

Marlee Starliper - Looks To Shine Bright

Marlee Starliper of Wellsville, Pa. (Northern) has a chance to leave a final mark on indoor track in a stacked 2-mile race that promises to go fast. Starliper’s senior year has been nothing short of sensational and she has only continued to build through the winter after a runner-up finish at the Foot Locker Cross Country Finals in December. She ran No. 4 all-time 9:07.14 at the BU Valentine meet and No. 4 all-time 4:37.76 in the mile when she won the NYRR Millrose Games high school event.

Last year at NBNI, she was part of an unbelievably close finish with Pennsylvania rival Taryn Parks in the championship mile final. Both runners crashed to the track after fighting to reach the finish line first, with Parks edging Starliper by virtue of a photo finish in one of the fastest indoor miles ever – both were timed in 4:39.05. Starliper has raised her game since then and appears to be the 2-mile favorite in a field that includes Sydney Thorvaldson, Katelynne Hart and Taylor Ewert.

Cole Sprout - Another All-Timer Pursuing A NBNI Title

Cole Sprout has been making headlines since his sophomore year and has produced a body of work that stacks up with nearly any prep distance runner in history. One thing the Stanford recruit doesn’t have yet is a national championship and he’s making his second attempt to grab one at New Balance Nationals Indoor in the mile.

Last year, Sprout, of Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Valor Christian) was knocked out of rhythm with 200 meters to go by contact from Matthew Payamps of St. Anthony’s NY, who was DQ’d for cutting him off. Sprout recovered down the backstretch and made a late push that brought him to second place. He ran 4:06.68 and was beaten to the tape by Jake Renfree, who won it in 4:06.39. So far this winter, Sprout has demonstrated his fitness by running 3:54.23 in the 1,500 meters at the International Games in Reykjavik, Iceland with the NSAF team, and by running 8:37.23 for 3,000 meters at altitude in Colorado Springs on Feb. 21. 

Sydney Thorvaldson - Fierce Attitude at Altitude

The junior from Rawlins, Wyo. has settled any debate about best-ever in her home state and she is rapidly becoming a major player in the hunt for national titles. She lowered her own Simplot Games meet record in the 3,200 meters twice in three days last month. In the finals, she gave a thrilling effort while trying to dip under the 10-minute barrier at 4,450 feet elevation in Pocatello, Idaho – clocking 10:06.58. That effort may have been worth low 9:50s at sea level.  

Sydney Thorvaldson has already been part of some dramatic finishes on big national stages. Last year, she ran 10:01.52 for third place in the 2-mile behind Katelyn Tuohy (9:51.05) and Katelynne Hart (9:58.32). Then in cross country, she placed third at NXN in Portland after winning her second straight regional title. This time, she’ll tangle with Marlee Starliper and Hart, among others, in what figures to be an epic girls 2-mile final.

Gavin Sherry - Running At A Level Beyond His Years

The sophomore from West Hartford, Ct. (Conard) is nearing the conclusion of a sensational sophomore indoor campaign that has brought state titles and a New England Championship in the 2-mile. Gavin Sherry ran 8:53.25 for a US#1 last weekend at New Englands at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. A week before that, he ran 8:54.47 for 3,200 meters for the CIAC State Open Championships. Those performances make him one of the fastest sophomores of all-time.

In New York, Sherry will try to win a national championship against a handful of seniors that aren’t going to yield easily. Evan Bishop from East Grand Rapids, Mich., Caleb Brown from Shelby, Ohio (third at NXN), Matthew Farrell from Glastonbury, Ct., and Liam Murphy from Allentown, N.J. are among an elite handful of boys with eyes on the 2-mile title.

Katelynne Hart - Another Chance At a Championship

Katelynne Hart of Glen Ellyn, Ill. (Glenbard West) has done just about everything a prep runner can do over the course of four illustrious years in Illinois, and she'd love to win another national championship race. Hart finished second in the 2018 Foot Locker Cross Country final, and she was second to Katelyn Tuohy in last year’s NBNI 2-mile final at The Armory. She did, however, win the mile at the 2018 NBNI.

Hart may have the perfect opportunity to check that box again and stand on the top of the podium at NBNI with the 5,000 meters on Friday afternoon. She is also entered in the 2-mile, which means she’ll have two opportunities to win. The 5,000 meters race had been the stage for national records for seven straight years (2011-17). With a big effort, Hart could become the third high school girl to go sub-16 minutes. This week, Hart lost a race in Illinois for the first time in her career, an 800 meters showdown with Marianne Mihas of Chicago Latin, at the North Central College Cardinal Indoor Classic (2:11.48 to 2:12.20). Even in defeat, Hart showed the speed that could benefit her over longer distances in New York.

Caleb Brown - Suddenly On The Radar

Caleb Brown of Shelby, Ohio (Shelby Senior) upset the form chart when he made the podium at NXN with a third-place finish behind Nico Young and Josh Methner. The Ohio Division 2 state champion showed that he belonged on a short list with the best distance runners in the country. His indoor season demonstrated that his performance wasn’t a fluke. He won the mile at the VA Showcase on Jan. 19, running 4:15.19 and he ran 8:54.86 for 3,200 meters on Feb. 9 at the SPIRE Scholastic Showcase.

Brown's name first rose up nationally when he won the 2-mile last June at NBNO in Greensboro in a somewhat unheralded field, winning in 9:04.18. He is entered in the 2-mile and 5,000 meters at New Balance Nationals Indoor, where he will have a chance to cement his reputation and standing as one of the best runners in the Class of 2020. The Wisconsin signee has a chance to win either event.  

Sophia Gorriaran, Juliette Whittaker & Roisin Willis - Young Trio Set For Epic 800

Within a span of 24 hours last week, two sophomores and a freshman turned in sub-2:04 performances in the 800 meters that boosted them near the top of the all-time prep list. All three of them are expected to lineup at New Balance Nationals Indoor in what could be one of the headlining events of the weekend. Sophomore Juliette Whittaker of Laurel, Md. (Mount de Sales), sophomore defending champion Roisin Willis of Stevens Point, Wis., and freshman Sophia Gorriaran of Providence, R.I. (Moses Brown) bring youth and big-time talent to this year’s meet.

At the Boston University Last Chance Meet last week, Willis won the second-fastest section, against older athletes, in 2:03.05. But as a US#1, that was short-lived. On the same day at Ocean Breeze on Staten Island, Whittaker went even faster, clocking 2:03.01. And somewhat overlooked, perhaps, was Gorriaran, who finished fifth in Willis’ race in 2:03.98 for a PR of nearly three seconds.

Willis’ victory over presumed favorite Athing Mu in the 2019 NBNI final was one of the shockers of the meet. She ran 2:05.70 that day, which was fast enough to break the freshman class national record. (A record that now has been broken by Gorriaran).