Seyta wrote:
details wrote:I'm not a huge follower of college running, but haven't Oregon's distance runners excelled at track the last few years? Why can't they get top 3 in xc? Do they hold out good runners?Do they just excel at track due to mid distance and sprints? Just wondering
A portion of their scholarships is handed out to sprinters/field athletes, which is part of the reason for their excellent performance on the track each year.
Yes, the Oregon mid-distance/distance runners also do well on the track, but a great 800m-1500m doesn't always translate to a great XC runner.
This is pretty close to the mark. Oregon is a full service program, for lack of a better description, in that they want to do well in all three championships (XC, indoor, outdoor). In order to accomplish that they have to split scholarships among all the t&f disciplines. Whatever number is allotted to mid-dist/dist. will usually go to 1500 types, rather than 10,000 types. They probably figure that 1500 types have more flexibility. Some will exhibit a distance range beyond just the 1500, while others can do well at the 800. A runner who is primarily a distance specialist may also do well at the 5K, whereas a 1500 recruit can possibly move to the 5K and even the steeple. Also, they've been heading to the Penn Relays over the last few years, and with the dist. medley, 4 X 1500 (or mile), 4 X 800, etc., having depth in the mid. distances is critical. Oregon recruits nationally, and always manages to attract some East Coast athletes, so having a good showing at Penn helps their branding and recruiting.