Without Brosnan and Newbury Park, things just haven't been the same. The lack of excitement and the absence of that killer instinct and guts on the track is noticeable.
Bro that was so dumb. 5 guys under 4 in the race and they can’t get arguably the weakest highschool record.
That’s the trouble when you get a bunch of fast guys in a race together. They all wait for the other to make a move, nobody does and then it just ends up being a big sprint for the finish.
Maybe we need Sean Brosan back coaching. He would’ve never let that happen. He had some balls and so did his guys.
Funny you mention Sean Brosnan. I was at the Arcadia tonight and saw Sean Brosnan and went up to him. Never met him before, but he couldn’t have been nicer. I asked him what he thought of the boys 3200m. He said, “it’s loaded, but worried it won’t be really fast.” When I asked him what he meant, he said, “too many fast guys and no one will take the lead,I hope I’m wrong though.” It turns out he was exactly right. He actually said, “someone will have to run a 4:10 last mile and close in 55 seconds.” Owen Powell actually closed in 4:10 and ran 54 in his last lap. I was astonished how accurate he ended up being.
A huge disappointment for the boys and even the girls 3200m’s. Jane totally rocked it, lolling around like a professional. None of the other girls were able to break the 10-minute mark.
A huge disappointment for the boys and even the girls 3200m’s. Jane totally rocked it, lolling around like a professional. None of the other girls were able to break the 10-minute mark.
the girls race was great when you consider that most of them pr'ed and by a lot. The difference is the guys 3200 pulls the best talent in the country
Arcadia racer here, very disappointed, traveled far for a supposedly fast race and went out so slow, didn’t even end up getting a pr.
So you travelled far, and you knew the pace was really slow, so why didn't go to the front and make sure the pace was near your goal? Yeah, it is nice if you can get pulled along, but don't expect your big goals to be handed to you. Expect that you might have to react and make it happen yourself. I hope you learned that much from this disappointment. In a situation where your main goal is time, and you refuse to push the pace, this will continue to happen occasionally. The other guys don't sign up to be your pacer.
Bro that was so dumb. 5 guys under 4 in the race and they can’t get arguably the weakest highschool record.
Agree 100%. For the disrance races, other than the 800m, everyone else was a wimp. What 's the point of coming to Arcadia if you don' push yourself. Jane Hedengren is AMAZING. A fan for life.
the worst part was that the weather was so good there was literally no wind and it was 60 degrees and dry. it's a bummer for us fans but what can i say
It’s frustrating given that Arcadia has always been known as the place to chase times in basically perfect conditions. Save the various natties in May and June for worrying enough about winning to go tactical, particularly with a field of this caliber. I think they legitimately could’ve threatened having multiple boys under 8:30 if the race had played out differently (Although kudos to Powell, a “tactical” 8:39 with a 54 close is crazy stuff).
Maybe we need Sean Brosan back coaching. He would’ve never let that happen. He had some balls and so did his guys.
If he had coached milers it’s likely it wouldn’t have been any different. The kids want to win the race or at least place. Drew Griffith would have been the perfect guy to run from the front.
Well it was just so bunched up because of how it went out and there being 40 people in one race. I did end up moving up after the slow start but had to move into lane 4-5 to do so. I kept anticipating a speed up but it didn’t come. Definitely learned from it.
I just posted this on the Arcadia live thread before seeing this thread.
“Why would these kids let Arcadia go slow??”
First off, 4:28/4:29 at 1600 isn’t like some snail’s pace, and based on the splits I think basically everyone capable of running sub-9 in the invitational race cleared that barrier.
But the class of the field, the guys who would have been capable of confidently leading through in 4:20 without risk of shooting themselves in the foot, were more concerned with trying to win, which is understandable in a competitive foot race. Sure, there’s no “national title” ascribed to the race, but when it’s the most competitive 3200 of the year and the list of recent winners includes Sahlman-Birnbaum-Simmons, the stakes and prestige assign themselves. None of the sub-4 guys wanted to lead 2400m and then finish 5th in 8:36 in a race that would be remembered as the time 4 kids broke 8:35.
Most of the other guys in the race wanted a ride to a fast time, which again is understandable. They wanted to hitch themselves to the magical Arcadia peloton, stay as relaxed as possible and hopefully move up in the last 800 and set a big PR. Without spending too much time looking into it, I’m sure a lot of them did run PRs, albeit maybe not the big rewrites they were dreaming of. One guy who did not PR is Manny Putz, who ran 9:05 (he ran 9:08 at Arcadia last year, 8:56y at NON ‘24, 9:00y at NIN ‘25), and he was the only guy who tried taking it on in the first 3 laps and then went from 1st to 36th place between 1200 and 2000m. This is largely because running PR pace from the front is hard, physically and mentally (as is falling from 1st to 36th place).
I think people are crapping on this race too much. It’s not really fair to work yourself into a tizzy expecting a national record winning time and dozens of crazy PRs from the comfort of your chair, since no meet can exceed expectations year after year, and there’s no actual magic at Arcadia. We still got 23 kids at 8:54 or faster, 12 sub-8:50, and a winner running 8:39 with a 54 last 400, which I believe is a historical first (correct me if I’m wrong…maybe Hunter and Kessler came close). Much of the last lap was exciting as it looked possible for Tostenson or Ruthe to close down on Powell if he tired. It was a more entertaining race than 3 years ago when Sahlman ran 8:34.99, Leo Young 8:35.72, and those two finished 60 meters clear of third place—only 8 broke 8:50 that year, by the way.
Bro that was so dumb. 5 guys under 4 in the race and they can’t get arguably the weakest highschool record.
That’s the trouble when you get a bunch of fast guys in a race together. They all wait for the other to make a move, nobody does and then it just ends up being a big sprint for the finish.
Typical comment here. Let's go back to NXN last fall and watch a non-favorite beat the field on a not ideal conditions day. GREAT RACE and all the best were there, right? No record but who cares, best man on the day wins and everybody complains about the conditions vs recognize the effort it takes to overcome the field. Back to Arcadia....perfect conditions albeit too many runners on the track getting in each others way, they dont feel like going balls to the wall and everybody complains. Oh, and 800 isnt a distance race.