CRAIG NOWAK and his quest for SUB-4!

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heir to the throne wrote:

The MIleSplit article

http://www.milesplit.com/articles/83556-2012-track-chats-craig-nowak

Thanks for the link. Yes, I think Montaya and/or Nowak can break 4 minutes for the mile this year.

That's too bad that Nowak is going to OSU though.

Why the dislike for okst? Because of GF? The kid is injury prone and doesn't listen.

Oh Wow, another Sub-4 highschool thread...

Don't get me wrong, he's a great runner. He won't break 4:05 though.

Easy tiger wrote:

Why the dislike for okst? Because of GF? The kid is injury prone and doesn't listen.

Because OSU screwed up GF, and with all the talent they have gotten, no one has run that well.

German got worse and worse the more he listened to Smith.

Also because Smith tries to blame his problems on German, instead of considering what he's been doing wrong and making adjustments to help the runners instead of destroying them.

Craig didn't go to Texas because he wasn't offered a hefty scholarship and his dad was especially mad about the situation. Shame too because UT has some stellar in state recruits.

That is a bunch of crap about German getting worse from listening to Smith. Get your facts straight. Dave Smith is a very good coach. Get over it.

It is getting tiresome seeing athletes or coaches with an axe to grind getting on here to blast a very good coach. It is obvious that it is out of fear or jealousy. Some athlete failed in his program and now wants someone other than themselves to blame. Some small school coach or hs coach that has no clue about what happens when you bring a ton of egoes together and try to keep everyone happy. It is NOT the same as coaching someone to 9:00 in the 3200m.

It is find to ask the questions and to hold people accountable but just because someone has "talent" does not mean they will be successful in college. A coach cannot control everything.

another coach wrote:

Some athlete failed in his program and now wants someone other than themselves to blame.

Right, don't give the blame where it belongs, to the coach. Pass it on to the runners.

But hey, look now, after they graduate from your program, they all run much faster then. Whoops! What happened??? Apparently they were just failures when doing what you told them to do.

Those darned runners, why didn't they just listen to you.

He's a great runner, but not the sub 4 type of kid. He has a lot of endurance, but he I'm mot sure he has the speed. The only kids in the U.S. who I think are capable of breaking 4 this year or next year are Cheserek, Burcham, and Malone.

What would make you think he doesn't have enough speed?? He is known for finishing strong and ran 4:08 last year the same weekend he ran 9:15. sounds like he's more on the speed side of things to me...

You obviously know nothing, although sub four may not be a guarantee the kid is a shoe in for sub 4:05 after an 8:49 at arcadia... a shoe in!

is he in?

His last 800 was a 2:01. I'd say he faired pretty well.

jeramy elkaim closed in 2:00 to beat Joe Rosa in a 3200 two years ago. His time for that race was even faster (8:46). Elkaim was no where close to a sub 4 guy either. Lets remember he only ran a 4:08 last year. Those are a big 9 seconds to improve by in one year.

Andres Arroyo will beat Nowak.

Hope they have the chance to race.

The kid is very talented, but is not sub 4 material in high school. To tell you the truth I doubt he gets below 4:04 for the mile. He seems to have great speed and great endurance, but not quite enough of either. I'm rooting for him to do it and prove me wrong, but I don't see it happening.

Indiana is right. Nowak has very good endurance and very good speed, but not pro-level in either yet.

Nowak is very talented and is one of the top distance HS athletes in the US this year. What exactly would one consider "pro-level" speed or something worth noting as prospective elite status. Will he go sub 4? Time will tell, looking at the big meets this year that the Big Dogs went to, he faired pretty well in both the 3200 and the mile/1600. I say, lets let the next few weeks tell the tale for all of these guys. I am sure most have decent coaches in that they are not peaking yet or close to doing so. Many of them just have to go through the rounds to get to their state meets and have yet to run their best quite yet. I am sure we will see some great things in the next month or so from all of the top guys.

Just how many Pro distance runners in the US had Pro-Level speed in HS? That is Nuts! They are in HS and not at the Prime of their game just quite yet. Remembering back to Leo's (Manzano) days in HS, he had less speed than Nowak! And look at him now.