Something to ponder as you're watching the 3000 & 5000s at this weekend's Husky Classic...

Both Edward Cheserek of Oregon and
Colby Gilbert of Washington got to
the 2017 NCAA indoor champs after
setting marks at the Dempsey
(Paul Merca photo)

Some quick notes before heading to the Dempsey for the start of the Husky Classic:

A little research from last year’s final NCAA Division I indoor rankings show the following stats about the top 16 marks in the men’s and women’s 3000 and 5000:

M 3000—8 of top 16 came from Dempsey

W 3000—8 of top 16 came from Dempsey 

M 5000—7 of top 15 came from Dempsey

W 5000—6 of top 15 came from Dempsey

Those meets were either the UW Invitational, the Husky Classic or the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation championship meets.

The other major meet that produced a high number of qualifying times (top 16 times) is the Iowa State Classic that produced 4 qualifiers in the men’s 3000, 1 in the women’s 3000, 7 in the men’s 5000, and 2 in the women’s 5000.

The Iowa State Classic also happens to be this weekend, so athletes, coaches and fans of collegiate distance running will be keeping tabs of both meets. We've provided a link to live stats from the meet if you're tracking it.

Incidentally the link to live stats for the Husky Classic is right here.

Something to keep in mind as you’re watching the distance races Friday and Saturday, or for that matter, the MPSF meet in two weeks.

On the professional circuit, Brannon Kidder of the Brooks Beasts is in Boston for Friday’s David Hemery Valentine Invitational, where he’ll run the invitational mile, where Oregon grad Edward Cheserek is looking to run sub 3:50.

The next day, Garrett Heath of the Beasts is entered in the men’s 1500 at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix meet, as he sharpens up for next week’s USATF Indoor championships in Albuquerque.