Most successful distance runner to attend a "sprint" school and succeed

Tim Broe Alabama. Kenyans at Texas A&M.

UCLA when Keflezighi was there

Natasha Rogers won the NCAA 10k and placed high in the 5k (2nd maybe?) while at A&M.

Lelei was 2nd in steeple a couple of times.

I think Melissa Gulli Cook was 2nd in the 5k.

Baylor puts a lot of money into distance, so that isn't a good comparison. They signed something like 3-4 sub-4:50 1600 girls last year.

The answer to your question is yes - traditional sprint/jump/throw schools have had distance runners win on the big stage. A better question would be how many of them are good at cross country as a team - that is where the lack of scholarship money is likely to show up.

jsquire wrote:

UCLA when Keflezighi was there

This

Tiffany McWilliams at Mississippi State.

Marielle Hall won the NCAA 5,000m as a senior at University of Texas.

Women's program especially sprint-focused

I'm sure someone who went to Tennessee would qualify. Phoebe Wright?

Mariel Hall is a great answer tho.

When Tim Broe went to Alabama, it was a distance school.

Best Current example may be Barraza at Houston.

One of the best sprint schools in the country and top notch distance athlete.

agip wrote:

I'm sure someone who went to Tennessee would qualify. Phoebe Wright?

Mariel Hall is a great answer tho.

Tennessee was a good distance school once.

Do you know who Houstons distance coach is?

Rup at Origon. /EOT

A kid I know ran 4:08 as a senior and was denied walking on at USC even though they got in on academics. There's a ton of sub 9:20 kids on that campus that just stop running after HS. The current coach was just taking over and was at least honest telling the kid they don't want any distance runners on their team and he could walk on if he ran a 3:45 for 1500.

Coaches be dumb.

Thornton and Elliot at LSU circa 1986-1988. Helped them win back to back NCAA Outdoor titles I believe. Both ran in the 13:30's and 28:30's I think. Not even sure who the distance coach was at LSU back then, or if they even had one and just did training from their coaches back home.

idontknow wrote:

Has a talented high schooler ever selected a school for a reason unrelated to their distance running stocks, and proceeded to be successful in the NCAA within a program best known for sprints/throws/jumps etc (such as an LSU or Baylor, for example)

Billy Konchellah at San Diego State (a sprint and throws program). Not much NCAA success, so he had to settle for 4th place in the 84 Olympic 800m final behind Joachim Cruz, Seb Coe and Earl Jones. He won World 800m titles in 87 and 91.

Obviousduhhhh wrote:

Rup at Origon. /EOT

Folks - millennial showing his texting skills, and how he never learned any grammar, or needed any . Signs of this country's future. Get ready.

Anyone remember Tommy Fulton from Texas Southern?

There's more to the USC story than that, but maybe with a new AD the coach will be outed for what she is. Look at the roster and figure it out.