How To Win An NCAA 1500 Final

A Four-Year Study in Marginal Gains, Misfires, and Masterplans

In the NCAA 1500m, the final isn’t won simply by the fittest in the field. It’s won by the one who understands how to run. When to wait, when to move, and when to do absolutely nothing.

Over the past four years, we’ve seen national titles won by athletes who placed 7th in their heats. We’ve seen heat winners fade to 11th. And we’ve seen programs like Washington quietly rewrite the rulebook on how to race this event.

We pulled every 1500m finalist from 2021 to 2024, tracked their prelim and final performance, and scored the schools using a simple points system. What emerged wasn’t just stats — it was a blueprint for winning.

Big Picture Stats (2021–2024)

• 6 of 8 heat winners made the podium

• Heat winners averaged 3.75th in the final

• Finals were 3.92 seconds slower on average — due to tactics, not fatigue

• Heat 2 athletes outperformed Heat 1: 5.75 avg finish vs. 7.25

• Washington placed 9 men in the final, scoring 100 points — more than double any other team

These numbers don’t lie: advancing is about clarity, not chaos. The smartest runners treat the prelim like a checkpoint, not a race. And those who do? They’re the ones lifting trophies.

2024: Timing Over Position

Joe Waskom understood the assignment better than anyone. He placed 7th in Heat 2, running 3:37.93 (which was faster than the winner of Heat 1). He didn’t panic. He didn’t sprint into top 5. He simply held his line, trusted the clock, and saved his kick.

Two days later, Waskom ran a poised final. He stayed patient through a messy middle 800m, stuck with the lead until about 200 to go, and surged to a title in 3:39.48. Not dominant, smart.

Right behind him, Elliott Cook (Oregon) backed up his heat win with a silver medal. His 3:37.25 in the prelim was clean and controlled, and his 3:39.57 in the final showed he still had something left. Adam Spencer (Wisconsin) followed the same formula. 2nd in his heat, 3rd in the final. Neither of them overreached early.

Colin Sahlman (Northern Arizona), just a sophomore, ran one of the sharpest races of the meet. After a confident 3rd-place finish in the prelim, he threaded the needle in a tactical final to finish 4th in 3:39.92.

Rounding out the top six were Damien Dilcher (Iona) and Wes Porter (Virginia) — two guys who didn’t win their heats, didn’t draw headlines, but raced with maturity and intent.

The flip side? Liam Murphy (Villanova), winner of the slower Heat 1, finished 11th. The effort it took to win that prelim didn’t translate when the real race began.

2023: The Washington Clinic

Washington didn’t just win the race in 2023, they ran the table.

Nathan Green placed 5th in Heat 2 in 3:39.69. It wasn’t aggressive, but it was smart. He ran his own race, knowing a fast heat would likely bring him through. In the final, he was fresh, decisive, and fearless — taking the national title in 3:42.78.

Joe Waskom, ever the tactician, finished 2nd. After a 3:39.45 prelim, he let others burn energy before working through the field late. Together, Green and Waskom went 1–2.

Luke Houser, their teammate, finished 8th. All three Washington athletes made the final. All three executed well.

Adam Spencer (Wisconsin) claimed his second straight NCAA bronze, another perfectly managed set of races. He's become an underrated force at snagging these NCAA medals, not talked about enough.

Isaac Basten (Drake), a standout from a smaller program, quietly executed one of the best performances of the meet. He ran 3:39.72 in the prelim to qualify, then placed 5th in the final, beating more well-known names. His ability to stay out of traffic and surge late was textbook.

Anass Essayi (South Carolina) was another highlight, finishing 4th with a strong, well-timed close. He didn’t force the race. He waited for his moment. That’s a theme you’ll keep seeing.

🗓 2022: The Chess Match

The 2022 final was slow. The winning time? 3:45.58, more than 10 seconds slower than 2021. But that’s what made it hard. It was crowded, surgy, tense. It took guts and timing to win.

Joe Waskom (Washington) did exactly that. He took his heat in 3:39.50, but didn’t run scared. In the final, he waited — and when everyone else hesitated, he didn’t. His late burst carried him to the title.

Mario Garcia Romo (Ole Miss), a powerhouse tactician, nearly caught him, finishing 2nd in 3:45.69.
Adam Spencer placed 3rd, again proving he could handle both rounds.

Sam Ellis of Princeton put together an incredibly sound race to snag 3rd in the wide open field, staying composed despite heavy traffic and a spike to the shin. Thomas Vanoppen (Wake Forest) grabbed 4th, working his way through traffic in the last lap.

These weren’t flashy performances. They were calculated, composed, and brutally effective in a race that punished anyone who got antsy too soon.

2021: Firepower vs. Patience

This was the outlier year. Cole Hocker (Oregon) and Yared Nuguse (Notre Dame) turned the final into an elite-level race.

Hocker ran 3:38.34 in his prelim — clean and decisive — then dropped 3:35.35 in the final. His last 800m? The last lap? 55-flat. That’s professional-level closing.

Nuguse pushed him but ultimately settled for silver.

Waleed Suliman (Ole Miss), with a measured 3:38.92 in his heat, closed hard to take bronze.

Eliud Kipsang 4th, Mario Garcia Romo 5th, and Jack Salisbury (Georgetown) 6th — all of them ran even splits, avoided the front early, and pounced late.

Sam Ellis (Princeton) also made the final and ran a tough race — placing 7th. His prelim was sharp, and he backed it up.

In a race where fireworks stole the headlines, the top 8 still followed a familiar script: don’t overdo the prelim, position well, and kick like hell.

Scoring the Programs: The Washington Blueprint

We used a scoring system to see the best teams in the 1500 post Covid, prioritizing winning and podium finishes to a high extent (25–15–10–7–5—3—2—1), here’s the total across 2021–2024:

Washington isn’t just qualifying guys, they’re executing. Their system doesn’t rely on one star. They bring depth, trust tactics, and build runners who can get it done twice in one weekend. Yet, Oregon and Ole Miss find themselves with strong title contenders every year. And the ever so consistent Adam Spencer continues to bring home hardware for his squad back in Madison.

Final Takeaways

• Don’t win the heat unless you must — time qualifiers and 4th–7th place finishers often podium

• Heat 2 is often faster, and more forgiving for smart racers with the addition of little "q"s when it's fast

• Washington is the gold standard in strategic execution and squad depth

• Adam Spencer was criminally underrated: 3 straight top 8s, 2 medals, always in control

• The final isn’t about running fast — it’s about composure, space, and knowing when to and when not to move

• If you’re winning on Friday, you are by no means guaranteed a fruitful Sunday

• Every contender wants to conserve in the prelim, it's about who does it best