uw-lax runners and the hardships they've had to overcome

Such as...

Well, one hardship I can think of is that not everybody in DIII automatically recognizes their overwhelming superiority, so they any DIII messageboard thread is full of constant reminders that (insert any good performance by a non-WIAC runner here) wouldn't even score points in the WIAC.

Williams ran a 10:53 DMR? Pfft, the WIAC literally, no exaggeration, has twelve teams faster, regardless of what the performance list says. Kosgei and Wager, both New Yorkers, are the top two seeds in the mile? Well, they wouldn't even be scorers in the WIAC mile. O'Brien would be a JV kid in the WIAC. Yuot had to transfer to Widener because he wasn't good enough to make it at a WIAC school. Leer and Symmonds both went to other conferences because they couldn't handle the level of competition.

Another hardship I can think of is that their best runners are very respectful and friendly. How can the rest of DIII recognize their overwhelming abilities if their studs like Zdroik, etc don't constantly post on letsrun? Instead, they waste their time being "humble" and "cool," leaving the posting to the WIAC kids who, seriously, could be like. . . top man, probably, in any other conference.

How about the fact that they can't receive scholarships at their DIII University that has an enrollment of nearly 10,000 people? Maybe its the straight face they have to keep when they say they compete in DIII while boasting this DI like enrollment.

anotherone wrote:

How about the fact that they can't receive scholarships at their DIII University that has an enrollment of nearly 10,000 people? Maybe its the straight face they have to keep when they say they compete in DIII while boasting this DI like enrollment.

Enrollment has nothing to do with division.

well if williams ran a 10:53, than every team in the WIAC could beat them....9:53, and watch them not win at nationals.

P.S. We only have 9 teams, and i love how everyone is exaggerating about this. You guys are just MIAC guys who can't handle not being as strong as our conference.

When Willy Kaul, Tyler Sigl, and the UW-Lax DMR win Nats it will only prove what people say about it.

Well Idiot, since Kaul and Sigl are in the same event it would be hard for them to both win.

Must be that Wiac state school education.

As they say, you get what you pay for.

Stolen Bikes Ride Faster wrote:

anotherone wrote:

How about the fact that they can't receive scholarships at their DIII University that has an enrollment of nearly 10,000 people? Maybe its the straight face they have to keep when they say they compete in DIII while boasting this DI like enrollment.

Enrollment has nothing to do with division.

It does have to do with funding for facilities...which are very good recruiting tools.

And to those discrediting the MIAC, its much easier to get recruits at public universities that cost 1/2 to 1/4 the amount of the private schools in the MIAC. It takes a forward -looking kid to choose a school that will give him/her a better education, than a run of the mill UW-X degree and 4 years of binge drinking.

Here we go again... call up the wham-bulance on the pussy patrol.

anotherone wrote:

It takes a forward -looking kid to choose a school that will give him/her a better education, than a run of the mill UW-X degree and 4 years of binge drinking.

So what your saying is that forward looking kids who choose education over athletics just aren't as fast as people who go to the WIAC, but you deserve better than getting your ass kicked on the track because you paid more for school....hmmmm sounds like a logical argument to me.

How about this? We'll slow down in the races so you guys can do a little better, and in return, you have to dummy down your resume when we go to a job interview, so I don't look as stupid... deal?

You picked your school for a reason, live with it, or just keep the jealousy, I'm sure it burns...

Oh, yea a hangover is definitely a hardship. Morons.

Did one of them fall in the river and drown?

That happens a lot up there, you know.

If I was from the WIAC I would be very glad we have people like you to represent the conference with posts like this.

Has anyone ever actual gone to BOTH a MIAC and a WIAC school before? If you haven't how would you know that one school is better, in terms of academics, than the other one?

As a former UWL runner, I'd like to say the OP is full of crap. We had no more hardships than other teams at other universities. We all had to deal with Title IX, shrinking budgets, injuries, bad coaching decisions, shitty weather, and a plethora of other circumstances.

Can't we all just sit in a circle, hold hands, and sing Kumbayah? :-D

PS The enrollment argument is fantastic. You should look up the number of Olympic medals Stanford University has won in the last few summer games. Then compare it to the European nations. How many people go to Stanford? Is it ~ 10,000 or 100,000,000?

RM wrote:

If I was from the WIAC I would be very glad we have people like you to represent the conference with posts like this.

If you were from the WIAC, you'd realize brain size and tuition cost have little to do with running straight and turning left. You can't outsmart a clock, and I didn't have to go thousands of dollars in debt to figure that one out chief.

Everyone brings up great examples of non WIAC guys who kick ass, and they do, but then turn around and say how unfair it is... explain it to me so my simple mind can understand.

Better facilities? IT'S RUNNING...what facilities do you need other than the ground.

Scholarships? yea, we don't get them either.

Enrollment? Have you looked at the roster size of public universities... we can't have over 24 guys, and almost all of them have been recruited to run for their respective university, and 95% are homegrown wisconsin, so they don't even take away from most of your private school recruiting pools.

Cost of Tuition? What does paying 8 grand a year compared to someone paying 25 grand have anything to do with how fast you run a 5k.

I guess my point to this whole rant is this... People who run in the WIAC do so because they want the balance between a good education coupled with exceptional running and coaching. They made a choice, the same as you did, to select a school that provided them with the experience they thought fit them best. How on earth, when you could have decided to go to any school you wanted, including the WIAC, call it unfair?

This is a somewhat funny argument simply because of the fact that a vast majority of the people who actually score for these teams are probably not even involved in it.

I know for a fact that most UW-L guys (and from what I've seen, WIAC guys also) don't give a crap about this conf. vs. conf. debate or anything on any message boards for that matter. They are far too concerned with enjoying life, making friends, growing mustaches, and getting an education to give a crap about petty discussions such as this...

I'm pretty sure if anybody that is seriously pissed about this all actually talked to anyone from the other conference, they'd realize really really quick that they are exactly the same. Why not just enjoy life and be friends?

Also, BW brings up a great point about the size vs division debate. It's complete bs.

How about the fact that they are in LaCrosse?

You can't name one WIAC school located in a city I'd spend more than 10 minutes in.

And not many private schools are blessed with the endowment the size of stanford's. Enrollment is definitely an issue.

So from what I have learned here:

Quality of education is directly proportional to how much money one spends on it

WIAC schools have better facilities than the new state-of-the-art field houses being built at private colleges all over the state of Minnesota.

Schools like Lincoln (enrollment 1,800) and Calvin (4,200) should not be competitive

All 10,000 students enrolled at each WIAC school try out for the track team