Newbury Park (& Colin Sahlman) Plans

The question was "Has Colin ever won a state title?" Since the only time California has had a state meet during Colin's time in high school was his freshman year, my point was that he wasn't fast enough to be California state champion his freshman year.

I wasn't saying he was slow as a freshman, just not fast enough to be state champ. And to be California state champ you have to be super fast.

But Colin at least did win a state cross country championship, so there's that.

After you've won the national cross country championship in the fastest 5k cross country time in history, and then run sub 4 indoors, then a state title in track doesn't mean as much as it would to most of us.

Pretty insane how Colin, one of the fastest HS runners ever, said that his most difficult race was RunningLane where he got pushed to the limit and almost beat by his own teammates. Just crazy 😳

I am super disappointed in this. I had hoped Brosnan would try to get a state title with just distance runners. That would have been epic and if I was his AD, I would be uber pissed at him. They should have a salary bonus for winning the state title like college coaches do for NCAA. I guess Leo not being able to get back in time for the state series made that a bridge too far. Cali discriminates against distance teams by not having a 4X800.

Why pissed at Brosnan? He didn't order Colin and Lex to forego the state meet. It was their decision. And as you correctly point out once Leo was ill there chances of winning state were remote.

Instead of RunningLane, I would have liked to see Colin and the other Newbury Park boys pushing each other the last 400 at Eastbay national cross country after going up the big hill at Balboa Park the second time. That would be really difficult!

So my takeaway from the interview was that all 4 of Newbury top runners are trying to duck out of being sent home devastated by Cade Flatt

Agreed! NXN is great and all but there's of a race against history at Eastbay. Would have been cool to see what they can run at Balboa. Hopefully Leo Lex and Aaron race it next year somehow.

That probably won't happen. In XC Brosnan is committed to racing against the best teams, not individuals. That means NXN, assuming they're back, or if not, Running Lane.

You're right but they really don't have anything to prove teamwise. They already know there will be no one close to their level. Kinda like skipping the CA state meet, I'd rather see them go after the individual titles.

Correct me if I'm wrong? Didn't the league Newbury Park runs in completely change their league meat schedule to allow the Newberry Park boys to compete at Penn? Then they don't go to Penn then only one of them shows up at the rescheduled league meet?

That's BS, if am at another school in that league's AD I'm pissed.

I'd like to see if Lex and Leo can break the Balboa Park course record of 14:36 from 1985 by Ruben Reina. If they could break that record it would be pretty historic.

Lukas Verzbicas had a shot at breaking that course record but he jogged the last 100 meters of the race. I bet Lex and Leo wouldn't jog.

They did not change the schedule. It was the original schedule

You are wrong. Colin, Lex and Aaron all ran at the league meet and all 3 won league titles.

Yeah, at running lane colin got pushed to his limit the entire last mile all downhill. The whole team better than once in a generation talent such as Ritz.

Colin talking about the new kid was hilarious.

The Balboa Park course isn't what it was back in 1985. Long stretches of smooth grass have been replaced with sh!tty, rutted, sandy trail. Makes sense why nobody has come particularly close to Reina's record despite many, many people running faster times on the track than him.

That's true, which is why it would take a very, very fast runner to break that Balboa Park course record. In the fall of 2010, Lukas Verzbicas was the last runner who was fast enough to have a shot at the record but he ran just to win. Later that school year he ran an outdoor 2 mile in 8:29.

I think that Lex and Leo have a shot at running a 2 mile in 8:29 next spring, which means they would have a shot at the Balboa Park course record this fall. I'm not saying that they would get the record for sure, but they would at least have a shot. I would certainly like to see them try.

A couple of early morning thoughts on this matter:

1. The State of California High School Athletics, nor Newbury Park, will not forget Colin Sahlman if he does not run the State Meet. When you are the national record holder in Cross Country and a sub-4:00 Miler with the #5 performance of all-time and the #3 performance of all time over 3200m... your place in history is secure.

2. What Brosnan is doing is typical American privilege. What started out as nice boys working hard, has slowly turned into some sort of power, control, totalitarianism. He has lost his way with what a high school program truly is and is now playing the role of agent, promoter, and dictator. I understand he knows he has this lightning in a bottle and needs to capitalize for him and the boys, I just wish him well as he is in uncharted waters.