but 28sec behind the leader of 1 of 8 regional qualifying races isn't "ratcheting up the quality of the field" of a final race. 5 indv qualified from the west region, which is more than all other regions except one. and it's likely the only region (except also maybe the great lakes) to produce a top10 finisher. those ratcheting up the quality are going
but 28sec behind the leader of 1 of 8 regional qualifying races isn't "ratcheting up the quality of the field" of a final race. 5 indv qualified from the west region, which is more than all other regions except one. and it's likely the only region (except also maybe the great lakes) to produce a top10 finisher. those ratcheting up the quality are going
4 per region, 2 at large ( the 2 5ths closest to the 4ths)
sorry that was poorly expressed. i was trying to say that out of all those who individually qualified i only see two competing for top10 finishes at nationals. just a remark about the general competitiveness OP mentioned with regard to the athlete they're trying to present a case for
ncaa appears to be a team event at the time of racing, but once athletes go pro they are only referred to as individual champions or all-americans and are rarely talked about as being part of a winning team .
I thought perhaps it was just my perception ? but Princess Fiona observed the same thing.
Anyway if you want to race "real cross-country" I'll set my home course up for you . 21mm spikes are compulsory !!!
Same for every sport even though they don't have individual qualifiers. When George Kittle makes a catch, the announcers talk about his college stats. They don't talk about Iowa winning a bowl game or winning the B10 West.
Remember Valby was an individual qualifier last year! Respect the individual!
Imagine if these individual qualifiers could form a team?!? Imagine the possibilities of free market individuals if they could form a team just for championships! (Always a thought in regards to NXN!)
A professional athlete version:
The US "team" of individuals in the 1983 IAAF World xc Championships included: Pat Porter, Alberto Salazar, Ed Eyestone, Craig Virgin, Thom Hunt. ...they got Silver that year beating Kenya but came up short vs Ethiopia!
Really stupid argument. Less teams and more individuals is absurd.
Absurd seems a bit strong. Running is inherently more individual than almost any sport. Ill hear an argument that fast people on slow teams get to go to nationals. It is not football after all. It not like you are eliminating all the teams. Top 10 might be too selective for running.
Unless your athlete is going to win the race, they have no place in the race. If you can’t even be a top 4 individual in your region you won’t win at nationals. Sure it’s great to go chase All American status but at the end of the day it’s a team sport and individuals shouldn’t matter, all they do is mess up team tactics by having nothing to lose
It will take another 50 yrs to convince me of "team tactics" in XC. If you cant conceptualize just running your best maybe you shouldn't be a runner. It's an individual sport with a team score as well. Is KT or PV going to drop back and help out?
Most of the best men's teams will pack run. Nobody needs to convince you because the top coaches will continue doing what they have been doing. Regardless if you understand team tactics, that doesn't change the fact that college cross country is a team sport. Look at any website that tracks the sport amd you will see that 99% of the focus is on the teams and which ones qualified and kolas points amd which teams were left out. Talk about history and the focus is on teams also.
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