does leo have a chance to make the oly team?

Vigilante is a smart coach. I doubt he's actually 'peaking' Leo. My guess is that he's running really fast off strength type work, which is no different than speed workouts for Leo.

Also, it could be argued that Leo making an Olympic Team would do better for the Texas program than all the Penn Relay medals you could fit in a dump truck. So hopefully the Olympics are the priority.

In a Trials-type situation, his kick could be lethal. I don't see him as a favorite for the team (yet), but could easily see him sliding into a spot.

Whether he could then do anything worthwhile at the OG themselves--that's a different story. Still, making the team is a huge accomplishment.

i think it will be close between leo and lopez, but if i were forced to choose, i would go with lopez

Webb won't even make the finals. Lagat, Lomong, and in a huge upset......GABE!

I love how nobody even mentions lukezic in these posts. He has the second best pb in the nation (3.34 I think from last year). Granted he hasnt performed lately.

Given that the non-Webb/Lagat guys are not running really fast right now it is going to be difficult for them to match the sort of finish that Lomong and Leo have. Rankin has shown good promise and Lukezic has had more than promise, but it will be difficult because LLL&W all have good closing speed. Still, it is a race and there are some good runners out there. I doubt Gabe has the finish to match those four and others. And, of course, there are now a ton of current sub-4 guys, but many of them just barely.

It will be an amazing race at the trials. Can't wait to watch it from my living room. Hopefully they will actually show it!

One more thing - it will come down to a tight finish - Webb and Lagat 1-2. Then Manzano, Lomong, Lukezic, Myers, Rankin, Russel Brown, Jennings will all be in the hunt. It could be any one of them. Who am I missing? I know I have left 1 or 2 out but it is midnight and I am tired.

lukezic's run 3:33.

Oink wrote:

Who am I missing? I know I have left 1 or 2 out but it is midnight and I am tired.

Stember, Goucher, Hyaint

Not trying to hijack the thread, but I'll repeat: Webb doesn't make the 1500 squad.

If I'm wrong (and I hope I am), I'll admit it right away.

Oink wrote:

Then Manzano, Lomong, Lukezic, Myers, Rankin, Russel Brown, Jennings will all be in the hunt.

Those of you who think Gabe Jennings will make it, or even reasonably be in the hunt are nuts. Did you see this weekend's Oregon Relays 1500? He got totally owned by CU's Steven Piffer, who led pretty much the whole race.

Admittedly, Piffer's probably a little sharper, but if you can't kick down a guy who's already led for more than half the race, you need to go back to the drawing board.

noo wrote:I love how nobody even mentions lukezic in these posts. He has the second best pb in the nation (3.34 I think from last year). Granted he hasnt performed lately.

Yeah, he's a contender for sure . . . but he hasn't really earned a spot in this conversation. I'm not sure he's ever beaten Lagat, Manzano, or Lomong. And he's never beaten Webb when Webb has been running within 5 seconds of his best times.

It's also been a long time since he's beaten Myers. Evan Fam and Teg (and possibly several others) have run faster than all but his two fastest times, I think. And faster than anything he's done since 2005.

I don't think Webb is going to make it either, and it's going to be a sad day. Lomong is looking good right now, I'd say he's ready to roll come Trials time. Lagat is Lagat, and while he may or may not win, he'll be on the team. Manzano is my pick for 3rd.

That being said, if Webb gets out of his funk and runs like he did last year he'll win. It seems like he's on one of his mental 'downswings' right now. To my knowledge he's never turned it around after he's started a season poorly. Remember the year he ran 27:34 or whatever? The rest of the season was trash as he couldn't recover.

Killa Mike wrote:

I don't think Webb is going to make it either, and it's going to be a sad day. Lomong is looking good right now, I'd say he's ready to roll come Trials time. Lagat is Lagat, and while he may or may not win, he'll be on the team. Manzano is my pick for 3rd.

That being said, if Webb gets out of his funk and runs like he did last year he'll win. It seems like he's on one of his mental 'downswings' right now. To my knowledge he's never turned it around after he's started a season poorly. Remember the year he ran 27:34 or whatever? The rest of the season was trash as he couldn't recover.

I don't get why you use that season as an example because that's an example of a season that he started well

I think that Russel Brown, Lukezic, Myers, Lomong and Rankin will challenge for the 3rd spot behind Lagat and Webb. Webb will be fine. I am pretty confident about that. Remember Lagat last year? No one - and I mean no one, would have called for Lagat to win the world championships. Just because Lomong seems to be running well now (and we'll see on Saturday) does not mean he will run well in early July. He is likely running a lot of fast stuff. He will not last! He will be toast in July. Mark my word.

and Manzano will also be a very strong challenger. I think he takes that spot. Sorry I missed that!

all the arguing is about these guys at their best.

what about the original question?

can manzano do it after 6 months of racing? i don't think he can.

he's a great talent, but there's no way he sustains this level of racing that long.

I will be shocked if the three Olympians come from anyone outside of Webb, Lagat, Manzano, Lomong, or Rankin.

That being said, I would not be surprised if any of those three make it on the team it would not be a surprise.

There are a slew of guys who will figure in after that, but they cannot compete with those top five.