If you think NAU is going down fast now, just wait until Jarred Cornfield puts NAU into a DII level program. It’s not like they have academics to brag about and no one wants to run for a long time van driver
where is all this Cornfield/NAU hate coming from? Isn't Smith still the head coach and he's helping Cornfield transition to the position? They have 1 cross country season in 10 years where they finish like 5th, and a post-championship race in December, and suddenly it's over? Can we at least give them like, an indoor and an outdoor season before writing the obituaries?
This is like the people trashing Oregon literally the first semester Jerry was there, but even worse. Back then I said we should wait a year before assessing his results, but now we're at like, -9 months before Cornfield is actually head coach, and somehow assessing that NAU will never competitive again?
If you think NAU is going down fast now, just wait until Jarred Cornfield puts NAU into a DII level program. It’s not like they have academics to brag about and no one wants to run for a long time van driver
where is all this Cornfield/NAU hate coming from? Isn't Smith still the head coach and he's helping Cornfield transition to the position? They have 1 cross country season in 10 years where they finish like 5th, and a post-championship race in December, and suddenly it's over? Can we at least give them like, an indoor and an outdoor season before writing the obituaries?
This is like the people trashing Oregon literally the first semester Jerry was there, but even worse. Back then I said we should wait a year before assessing his results, but now we're at like, -9 months before Cornfield is actually head coach, and somehow assessing that NAU will never competitive again?
I’ve heard they have a hard time getting people to commit to Cornfield next year. It will be very difficult for sure, but give him a shot
where is all this Cornfield/NAU hate coming from? Isn't Smith still the head coach and he's helping Cornfield transition to the position? They have 1 cross country season in 10 years where they finish like 5th, and a post-championship race in December, and suddenly it's over? Can we at least give them like, an indoor and an outdoor season before writing the obituaries?
I don't think it's "hate" it's just REALITY. They were 5th this year and they graduate their top 3. Their top returner is Sahlman at 67th.
The team that Cornfield is inheriting is SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE than the team that Smith inherited years ago. They had a really bad year, their young athletes are not doing well, and their recruiting classes are bad too.
No disrespect to Cornfield, but nobody thinks he is as good as Smith. He's not a bad coach, but my point is that a coach of lower caliber than Smith is taking over a team that's much worse than what Smith started with. There's nothing that points to success in the short term. They are 4+ years away from having a chance to win NCAAs again, nobody on their team is talented enough to get them back to the top.
Again, that's not to be mean or disrespectful, it's just the reality of NAU heading into 2025 under Cornfield. He has an EXTREMELY challenging task ahead of him.
where is all this Cornfield/NAU hate coming from? Isn't Smith still the head coach and he's helping Cornfield transition to the position? They have 1 cross country season in 10 years where they finish like 5th, and a post-championship race in December, and suddenly it's over? Can we at least give them like, an indoor and an outdoor season before writing the obituaries?
I don't think it's "hate" it's just REALITY. They were 5th this year and they graduate their top 3. Their top returner is Sahlman at 67th.
The team that Cornfield is inheriting is SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE than the team that Smith inherited years ago. They had a really bad year, their young athletes are not doing well, and their recruiting classes are bad too.
No disrespect to Cornfield, but nobody thinks he is as good as Smith. He's not a bad coach, but my point is that a coach of lower caliber than Smith is taking over a team that's much worse than what Smith started with. There's nothing that points to success in the short term. They are 4+ years away from having a chance to win NCAAs again, nobody on their team is talented enough to get them back to the top.
Again, that's not to be mean or disrespectful, it's just the reality of NAU heading into 2025 under Cornfield. He has an EXTREMELY challenging task ahead of him.
they had some bad luck this year in cross country. when healthy, Cael Grotenhouis should be up there with Malarkey but he got a stress fracture in October and wasn't 100% at nats and finished way back. if he's healthy and runs the way he should they probably podium. and because they graduated so many last season they weren't as deep as usual. but despite all that Smith still got then 5th at nationals.
and if you call 5th place at XC nationals with a banged up squad and a bunch of newbies "bad" I'm curious what would you call Oklahoma State with basically the same team as last year finishing 8th?
but I have faith if anyone can get them back its Cornfield. people will want to run for him when they realize the training and culture are exactly the way Smith had it.
and they're future is bright. Clay Shively and Manny Perez look like the real deal. and every season they get a top transfer who immediatley helps. this year Mallarkey, last year Las Heras.
what Smith did during his tenure raised the bar to a level that's totally out of the reach of any new coach, let alone Cornfield. 6 XC titles and NCAA records in the 3000, 5000, and 10000. its such a high standard that finishing 5th at nationals is considered a major tragedy by some. yesterday Ali Upshaw breaks the school and Big Sky record in the 5000 and nobody even mentions it.
so lighten up on Cornfield. He probably won't go back to back to back at XC or recruit the ghost of Prefontaine, but give the guy a few years before calling for his public execution.
I don't think it's "hate" it's just REALITY. They were 5th this year and they graduate their top 3. Their top returner is Sahlman at 67th.
The team that Cornfield is inheriting is SIGNIFICANTLY WORSE than the team that Smith inherited years ago. They had a really bad year, their young athletes are not doing well, and their recruiting classes are bad too.
No disrespect to Cornfield, but nobody thinks he is as good as Smith. He's not a bad coach, but my point is that a coach of lower caliber than Smith is taking over a team that's much worse than what Smith started with. There's nothing that points to success in the short term. They are 4+ years away from having a chance to win NCAAs again, nobody on their team is talented enough to get them back to the top.
Again, that's not to be mean or disrespectful, it's just the reality of NAU heading into 2025 under Cornfield. He has an EXTREMELY challenging task ahead of him.
they had some bad luck this year in cross country. when healthy, Cael Grotenhouis should be up there with Malarkey but he got a stress fracture in October and wasn't 100% at nats and finished way back. if he's healthy and runs the way he should they probably podium. and because they graduated so many last season they weren't as deep as usual. but despite all that Smith still got then 5th at nationals.
and if you call 5th place at XC nationals with a banged up squad and a bunch of newbies "bad" I'm curious what would you call Oklahoma State with basically the same team as last year finishing 8th?
but I have faith if anyone can get them back its Cornfield. people will want to run for him when they realize the training and culture are exactly the way Smith had it.
and they're future is bright. Clay Shively and Manny Perez look like the real deal. and every season they get a top transfer who immediatley helps. this year Mallarkey, last year Las Heras.
what Smith did during his tenure raised the bar to a level that's totally out of the reach of any new coach, let alone Cornfield. 6 XC titles and NCAA records in the 3000, 5000, and 10000. its such a high standard that finishing 5th at nationals is considered a major tragedy by some. yesterday Ali Upshaw breaks the school and Big Sky record in the 5000 and nobody even mentions it.
so lighten up on Cornfield. He probably won't go back to back to back at XC or recruit the ghost of Prefontaine, but give the guy a few years before calling for his public execution.
Has Letsrun never heard of a rebuilding year? They have had 1 off year after winning 6 of the last like 9 NCAA titles. Just give them a couple years so they can develop guys some more.
I agree that the criticism is overwrought, but they have underperformed on both sides a bit the last two years, with some obvious notable exceptions. My pet theory is that their relative decline has coincided with their adoption of double threshold training. I’m not anti DT, but my understanding is they do it mostly according to Daniels pacing, rather than testing. For a stud like Nico, that’s probably fine. Makes him super strong. But if your actual threshold is slower than Daniels suggests, that training would often be counterproductive. Occasionally, very counterproductive. That’s my theory for why their results have been so inconsistent the last few years. Totally speculative, I admit.
Has Letsrun never heard of a rebuilding year? They have had 1 off year after winning 6 of the last like 9 NCAA titles. Just give them a couple years so they can develop guys some more.
I agree that the criticism is overwrought, but they have underperformed on both sides a bit the last two years, with some obvious notable exceptions. My pet theory is that their relative decline has coincided with their adoption of double threshold training. I’m not anti DT, but my understanding is they do it mostly according to Daniels pacing, rather than testing. For a stud like Nico, that’s probably fine. Makes him super strong. But if your actual threshold is slower than Daniels suggests, that training would often be counterproductive. Occasionally, very counterproductive. That’s my theory for why their results have been so inconsistent the last few years. Totally speculative, I admit.
Mike Smith has cooked his women. They choked at NCAA’s last year and this year. And lots of serious injury’s in top women.
I mean one bad year isn’t all that bad. For the athletes that lined up this year I thought they ran well and performed where they should have.
I equate XC to college basketball. Same number of blue bloods dominate the elite 8 and final 4 every year.
If Duke loses a close one to miss the final 4 is that a bad year? A sweet 16 can make a coaches career in basketball and on this message board someone will doo doo a coach for being 12th!
They dominated for a long time, I think they got a little too mid distance if I say so myself but they are going to have a great year on the track
I agree that the criticism is overwrought, but they have underperformed on both sides a bit the last two years, with some obvious notable exceptions. My pet theory is that their relative decline has coincided with their adoption of double threshold training. I’m not anti DT, but my understanding is they do it mostly according to Daniels pacing, rather than testing. For a stud like Nico, that’s probably fine. Makes him super strong. But if your actual threshold is slower than Daniels suggests, that training would often be counterproductive. Occasionally, very counterproductive. That’s my theory for why their results have been so inconsistent the last few years. Totally speculative, I admit.
Mike Smith has cooked his women. They choked at NCAA’s last year and this year. And lots of serious injury’s in top women.
What serious injuries? Besides a girl being hit by a car and another that has non running related health issue? There’s some serious haters on here that like to just completely make sht up. And if losing to NCST powerhouse by one point last year and making the podium this year is bombing then you and I have way different opinions about the definition of bombing. They were ranked 3rd going in and got 4th. Oregon women were favorites to win and got 5th? Colorado who is loaded with big names didn’t make the meet! Go take your hate for NAU somewhere else it’s getting pretty tired.
Mike Smith has cooked his women. They choked at NCAA’s last year and this year. And lots of serious injury’s in top women.
What serious injuries? Besides a girl being hit by a car and another that has non running related health issue? There’s some serious haters on here that like to just completely make sht up. And if losing to NCST powerhouse by one point last year and making the podium this year is bombing then you and I have way different opinions about the definition of bombing. They were ranked 3rd going in and got 4th. Oregon women were favorites to win and got 5th? Colorado who is loaded with big names didn’t make the meet! Go take your hate for NAU somewhere else it’s getting pretty tired.
Most of the haters on here have never raced a NCAA D1 National championship.
We get it, you were stressed for your turkey trot or CIM debut. Toeing the line beside future olympians with the hopes of beating them while also being aware if you don’t get out aggressive enough you’ll waste your entire season/ career, is terrifying. Your body is in a state of shock before that gun goes off.
Besides, it’s not like Cornfield has coached any Olympians. Only NCAA team and individual champions.
Oh wait…
Now… there are a select few “haters” that are straight up teammates/ friends trolling each other, not sure if most people here realize that.
I would find it hilarious picturing Smith and Cornfield laughing in their office together while compiling a letsrun post roasting themselves.
Mike Smith has cooked his women. They choked at NCAA’s last year and this year. And lots of serious injury’s in top women.
What serious injuries? Besides a girl being hit by a car and another that has non running related health issue? There’s some serious haters on here that like to just completely make sht up. And if losing to NCST powerhouse by one point last year and making the podium this year is bombing then you and I have way different opinions about the definition of bombing. They were ranked 3rd going in and got 4th. Oregon women were favorites to win and got 5th? Colorado who is loaded with big names didn’t make the meet! Go take your hate for NAU somewhere else it’s getting pretty tired.
NC State women were 8th this year and had 2 in the top 10. With what they have coming back and coming in they’ll be one of the top teams in the country next year. They’re definitely headed in the right direction.
Mike Smith has cooked his women. They choked at NCAA’s last year and this year. And lots of serious injury’s in top women.
What serious injuries? Besides a girl being hit by a car and another that has non running related health issue? There’s some serious haters on here that like to just completely make sht up. And if losing to NCST powerhouse by one point last year and making the podium this year is bombing then you and I have way different opinions about the definition of bombing. They were ranked 3rd going in and got 4th. Oregon women were favorites to win and got 5th? Colorado who is loaded with big names didn’t make the meet! Go take your hate for NAU somewhere else it’s getting pretty tired.
Yeah but the women were ranked #1st before the season started. They were ranked #1 in weeks 2 and 3.
Lots of other injuries besides the 2 you cherrypicked. They were extremely injury prone last track season too.
Doesn't Cornfield coach Elise Cranny? Didn't she just break the outdoor American 3k record with his training? Literally has been Mike Smith's gopher for 4 years probably doing all the heavy lifting, grunt work , attention to detail work , leading the every day, the things that anybody that's been a success senior manger looking for an opportunity, in any industry know sometimes it's just opportunity to lead.
The man's CV shows he can flat out coach, he just hasn't had the spot light like Mike Smith. It's exciting to see the next wave of the young exciting coaches to take over the sport. We should be celebrating these next brilliant young track coaches that are being handed great opportunities .
Oregon with Dan Lanning and Arizona State with Kenny Dilingham probably in their wildest dreams didn't think they'd be this great this quick, but they did hire them cause they thought they'd could be the next great coaches. Cornfield's got a shot.
Doesn't Cornfield coach Elise Cranny? Didn't she just break the outdoor American 3k record with his training? Literally has been Mike Smith's gopher for 4 years probably doing all the heavy lifting, grunt work , attention to detail work , leading the every day, the things that anybody that's been a success senior manger looking for an opportunity, in any industry know sometimes it's just opportunity to lead.
The man's CV shows he can flat out coach, he just hasn't had the spot light like Mike Smith. It's exciting to see the next wave of the young exciting coaches to take over the sport. We should be celebrating these next brilliant young track coaches that are being handed great opportunities .
Oregon with Dan Lanning and Arizona State with Kenny Dilingham probably in their wildest dreams didn't think they'd be this great this quick, but they did hire them cause they thought they'd could be the next great coaches. Cornfield's got a shot.
She lives Colorado and doesn’t train with him at all. So no
He had almost no talent this year outside of David Mullarkey and managed to finish 5th.
It's his fault he didn't have any talent! It's his job to bring in talent.
Every recruit in the world would answer an NAU phone call. If they have a lack of talent it's because they were horrible recruiters.
Or because they aren't developing guys like Puffer.
That's the rebuilding. Took first 3 years in a row. Then second and then repeat that. They took a place outside top 2 for the first time in like a decade it's not in any way his fault.