Payton Jordan Preview

The Payton Jordan Invitational is finally here! The 21 year old meet in Palo Alto, California has become known for incredible distance running, and this year looks to be no exception. We've got a stacked field and we're going to have one incredible day of running when it all goes down. To get you ready for the race, we're going to preview the three biggest races of the day. Ready? Let's get going.

Men's 1500-4:19 pm Pacific

Contenders: Lopez Lomang, Evan Jager, Blake Haney, Dan Huling ,Henrik Ingebrigtsen, Ford Palmer, and Izaic Yorks.

Evan Jager usually runs the steeplechase, but he's got the speed and is the favorite heading into this race. While Jager is the favorite, he's got stiff competition from Olympian Lopez Lomang and college phenom Izaic Yorks from Washington. Yorks ran the fastest indoor NCAA mile with a time of 3:53.89 and is going to get a good test against the pros.

Stride Nation prediction: Jager, Ingebrigtsen, Yorks.

Men's 5,000-6:31 pm Pacific

Contenders: Donn Cabral, Kemoy Campbell, Chris Derrick, Garrett Heath, Grant Fisher, Justyn Knight, Leonard Korir, Patrick Tiernan, and David Torrence.

This 5,000 meter race has a stacked field and has a very interesting combination of pros and NCAA superstars. The pros will no doubt be ready for the speed, which is necessary considering last year 50 runners run under 13 in this race. Syracuse's Justyn Knight and Villanova's Patrick Tiernan have had standout college careers so we can expect them to be in the mix, but the wild card here is Stanford's Grant Fisher. The Freshman from Michigan has not ran a college 5,000 on the track, so will he be bold or will he fade?

Stride Nation prediction: Derrick, Heath, Cabral

Women's 10,000-9:12 pm Pacific

Contenders: Erin Finn, Marielle Hall, Jordan Hasay, Dominique Scott, Molly Seidel, Kim Smith, Kellyn Taylor, Carrie Dimoff, and Alexi Pappas,

Molly Seidel of Notre Dame is absolutely on fire right now. The college superstar won the  NCAA XC championship last fall and the 5,000 meter indoor championship. Her momentum is huge, but will it be hot enough to take down the pros? Jordan Hasay ran a 10k PR here in 2013, and she will no doubt be looking to contend along with Arkansas' Dominique Scott. Meanwhile, Michigan's Erin Finn is going to be here again to challenge Seidel, and Kellyn Taylor is turning her focus to qualifying for Rio on the track. Don't miss a moment of the 10k.

Stride Nation prediction: Hasay, Taylor, Seidel.