WHAT IS WRONG WITH YALE T&F?

They need to bring back Bob Giegengack from the grave.

Need to hire wejo to restore the program to greatness.

Maybe because they haven't had a decent distance coach in the last half century.

Yeah, what self-respecting distance coach would ever want to work at that dump?

As I understand it, the school's leadership (we're talking the very highest levels) has decided to cut back on the number of "athletic admits": kids with the smarts to be successful at Yale, but not necessarily the numbers to match the average/median of the student body.

This decision makes it painfully difficult for the affected sports to compete with the talent levels at other Ivies of roughly similar size (*cough* Princeton *cough*), and the discrepancy is exacerbated by other Ivies' t&f/xc teams' moving to a nationally-competitive level. H and P, in particular, have national-level talent these days.

That said, I've actually gotten the impression that Yale *is* putting a more competitive/representative t&f team out there, compared to recent years. They've had some good individual and relay performances this season.

Ivyguy wrote:

That said, I've actually gotten the impression that Yale *is* putting a more competitive/representative t&f team out there, compared to recent years. They've had some good individual and relay performances this season.

I agree - Yale is seeming to have a more well-rounded team at the moment due to having a strong sprinter (Alexander), distance (Shirvell and Dooney), vaulters (Sullivan and Chandler I believe), and 4x400 relay. From my understanding, they're all young (i.e. not seniors). But it is not enough to really compete in large-scale team competitions, including Heps. They need some more people to step up or just get more talent.

Also, I was a little surprised on how close the meet was between Yale and Princeton women this past weekend. Last year, the Princeton women managed to win the HYP tri-meet and then Harvard turning around to win Heps. The Yale women do have a strong pole vaulter (Urucioli), multi-eventer (Snadjer), distance runner (Garry), and 400m runner (Cable) but I cannot really recall anyone else who could really score for them at Heps in 2 weeks.

It's never been the same since Frank Shorter's era.

If Yale can accept hockey dumb@sses to have a team that won the entire thing last year then I don't how much of the issue is something to do with a limited number of athletic admits.

what ever happened to the female distance running twins they had about a decade ago? they were both quite good.

a female POV wrote:

what ever happened to the female distance running twins they had about a decade ago? they were both quite good.

They graduated...

Kate transitioned up to the marathon but seems to be focused now with an online venture called "runcoach", per her wikipedia page.

Laura continued to run for a bit, placed 6th at the 2005 USATF National Champs in the 10k. Not really sure where she is now.

It was the winter of 1963-64 and I was a junior at Cheshire Academy, located just outside of New Haven. I and several of my teammates were given the privilege of working out several times a week at Yale’s Coxe Cage with Bob Giegengack’s middle-distance runners. Coach Giegengack never addressed me personally. I recall him sitting on a chair by the side of the then 220 yard cinder track, directing us as an aggregate to run some combination of intervals at such-and-such a speed.

By early May of ’64, I was laid up in a New Haven ICU unit after having been struck by a car going 45 mph, smashing my right femur. Once I was out of traction and a body cast was removed, I dedicated myself to making a comeback, thereby proving physicians’ dire prognoses wrong.

While leaning on a crutch, I watched Frank Shorter win the 1964 preparatory school New England x-country competition which inspired me to, probably prematurely, begin running again. When winter rolled around, it was back to Coxe Cage. As I jogged around the outside of the track to warm up, Coach Giegengack addressed me directly for the first and last time. “Get the hell off the track!” he demanded, his loud voice bouncing off the walls of the facility. It seems that the Soviets were using the Cage to prepare for a meet in NYC and I had unwittingly gotten in their way. By the way, I did get to speak to Valeriy Brumel that day as he was awaiting a cab. “Hello, Valeriy,” I said, to which he looked at me quizzingly.

Frank Shorter and wejo and Kate Grace have graduated

Thank you Ray. A gem.

After having just been at Yale recently, I'd say you haven't been there in a while. New roof and ventilation system at the Cage, outdoor track is decent enough. New weight/drills room. Pool training available. We were impressed. They are building up from a bottom about 3 years ago it seems. They have recommitted to compete at the top of D1, not just top half of the Ivy League.

They care to much about academics to be good at athletics. That is all.

When you say "new ventilation system" are you referring to the fact that every fifth windows is smashed in? That must be a new technique for airing the place out...