He is growing into a very dangerous runner. The older guys best be paying attention
I don’t quite agree with this. Colin ran 13:23 a couple weeks ago and placed 5th. So he is now a 1:44.42 and 13:23 runner, so how is he “very dangerous?” He will be 23 in October. Colin is intriguing because he has the tools to be a solid 1500m runner, but he hasn’t yet shown how this separates him from his peers, many of whom have better 5000m ability.
1:44 (even split no less) and 7:36 are great 1500m indicators. Nick Willis ran 3:29 with 7:36 and 1:45 PR’s (albeit when it was much more rare)
Sahlman doesn’t have a long-term future at 800 as far as making US teams. I just can’t see that. Not sure why he’d punt on the 1500 this year when he has all the tools and talent to win it and become competitive as a pro. It’s cool that he is good at the 800 and the 400, but it’s time to put it together in the 1500. He could also be good in slow 5,000s but his tactical issues in the 1500 are all pretty solvable. He’s a skinny dude and needs to be crafty at holding position late and not spend all race making moves only to be kicking from close to DFL. The 3K was progress and I suspect his 1500 will look a lot better but McFarlands kick is tough.
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Yeah Salvitore’s post was reasonable, unless you think he was off base in suggesting Colin should have run faster by now at 1500m. Pretty much anyone with a brain can see that. Colin is probably in 3:32 shape now, and maybe he can even run 3:31 this year. I don’t have a strong opinion on what event he should contest at NCAAs. I think he can be competitive from 800m to 5000m, although the order I would choose is 1)1500 2)800 and 3)5000, but Salvitore’s point about the rounds favoring Colin at 800 is true.
Sahlman doesn’t have a long-term future at 800 as far as making US teams. I just can’t see that. Not sure why he’d punt on the 1500 this year when he has all the tools and talent to win it and become competitive as a pro. It’s cool that he is good at the 800 and the 400, but it’s time to put it together in the 1500. He could also be good in slow 5,000s but his tactical issues in the 1500 are all pretty solvable. He’s a skinny dude and needs to be crafty at holding position late and not spend all race making moves only to be kicking from close to DFL. The 3K was progress and I suspect his 1500 will look a lot better but McFarlands kick is tough.
With Birnbaum at 3:31 today, it looks like we’ll have a real gunfight on our hands.
Vanilla wrote: TheRealScotty wrote: Great job by Sahlman. The phenomenal HSer has turned into truly great collegian.
He is good but he is not great. In the age of bicarbonate, 1:44 ain’t all that.
Guess we will disagree. The guy runs 1:44.7i (CR) and 1:44.4 outdoors in what is really not his best event. Also wins NCAA 3k in March after anchoring the DMR victory.
I'd say he was a great college runner.
This post was edited 5 minutes after it was posted.
I'm excited to see Sahlmans further 1500m potential after this. He is one of the most impressive runners I've seen IMO with his range and capabilities to be elite across so many distances.
He is growing into a very dangerous runner. The older guys best be paying attention
I don’t quite agree with this. Colin ran 13:23 a couple weeks ago and placed 5th. So he is now a 1:44.42 and 13:23 runner, so how is he “very dangerous?” He will be 23 in October. Colin is intriguing because he has the tools to be a solid 1500m runner, but he hasn’t yet shown how this separates him from his peers, many of whom have better 5000m ability.
With 13:23 endurance to handle rounds and 1:44 speed for a tactical race he's really dangerous in a championship 1500 this season.
He ran 3:36.0 today the day after his 1:44 so I think he's good for 3:32 fresh at minimum (current PR is 3:33.9 from 2024)
His 800/5K combo indicates he could go faster but he may just not be an amazing time-trialer.
How the hell is Sahlman not running 3:31-3:32 by now? How is he not the one who has the NCAA record?
How did he get beaten by Gilman who a far slower 800M PB than him? (which, granted, is from 2019)
Sahlman is a 13:23 5k guy now and Gilman has run 13:15, so they are close in that event.
But Sahlman is running a sub-48 400m and a 1:44-mid 800m by this point, the man should be running 3:30 and breaking 3:50 in the mile by now for Christ's sake, and not getting outkicked in a 3:34 race.
Like some others here are saying, yeah it's cool he has range and can run fast in the 800m and even 400m, but it's time to stop playing games and start racing some more serious 1500s/miles.
He is NOT a 1:42 man and those who think otherwise are ridiculous. I think 1:44 flat is the fastest he goes over 800. I think he is way more capable of sub 3:30 and sub 13:10
How the hell is Sahlman not running 3:31-3:32 by now? How is he not the one who has the NCAA record?
.......
He is NOT a 1:42 man and those who think otherwise are ridiculous. I think 1:44 flat is the fastest he goes over 800. I think he is way more capable of sub 3:30 and sub 13:10
2 points:
1) you clearly didn't watch the race bc there is not way you can think he's is maxed out at 800 the way he won (DFL 150m+ in, put the hammer to everyone the last 250m, even split 52s). Noone runs their FASTEST 800m that way.
2) The entire post reeks of the Letsrun mantra of "if you don't PR or win or BOTH every race out, you are a chump". Literally no one at any level races or trains to set up seasons like that. The guy & his coaches have executed *when it counts* at NCAA XC this year, and at NCAA indoors x2 this spring. The times will come with the right competition & circumstance (and not bc some message board poster thinks you SHOULD be lighting the world on fire in April 2mos out from NCAA champs,).
Yeah Salvitore’s post was reasonable, unless you think he was off base in suggesting Colin should have run faster by now at 1500m. Pretty much anyone with a brain can see that. Colin is probably in 3:32 shape now, and maybe he can even run 3:31 this year. I don’t have a strong opinion on what event he should contest at NCAAs. I think he can be competitive from 800m to 5000m, although the order I would choose is 1)1500 2)800 and 3)5000, but Salvitore’s point about the rounds favoring Colin at 800 is true.
Well I'm not sure what people think they are seeing because last time I checked, he's gone 0/2 in NCAA 1500m finals that were run in ways you would think suited a guy with great 800m speed. Even in 2024 he'd run 1.45.63 which was by far the fastest 800m time in that field (won by Waskom) and he was 4th. Last year he was in sub 1.45 shape - 7th.
Last year in the 800m an injured Sam Whitmarsh won quite convincingly in 1.45.86 - I would almost guarantee you Sahlman would have placed better in the 800m than he did in the 1500m.
Clearly the disapproval is coming from not understanding the difference between an NCAA championship race and a straight out time-trial "race". Yeah it may be true that if you put Sahlman in a Diamond League 800, 1500 and 5000m that he runs his best performance in the 1500m. But that is not what the NCAAs are about - they are about winning. And a 1.44.4 guy with epic endurance can absolutely win the 800m at the NCAA championships.
Btw - we all so high on his 1500m prospects after watching what Birnbaum did last night running 3.31.69 with a 53.6 last lap? Some of you guys make me laugh.
Sahlman is clearly better at the 800. Not sure why everyone here thinks he needs to move up. Posters here have this weird idea that if you take someone fast and put them in a longer race they will dominate.
Sahlman is clearly better at the 800. Not sure why everyone here thinks he needs to move up. Posters here have this weird idea that if you take someone fast and put them in a longer race they will dominate.
Even if he is more positioned to succeed at the 800 right now (because the ncaa is weak there), that doesn’t mean he’s *better* at it in any real sense. He ran way better at NCAAs in both the 3K and DMR leg, so I think it’s more of a matter of time in the 1500. Is there a real precedent of an athlete good at 800/3000-5000 but bad at 1500? Don’t really think so.
He ran 3:34 two years ago so he is 100% a 3:32/3:33 guy now based on huge 3000, 800 and XC improvements. I’d say what is mystifying is that he hasn’t run low 3:30s and hasn’t been able to put it together in championship 1500s yet.
I agree with these two quoted posters here. The ratio on Salvitore is dumb
Sahlman has completely dropped the ball on 1500s and there is absolutely NO REASON a guy running sub-48, all the way to a 13:23 5k should be preforming this poorly over 1500m. It has to be something beyond "well the 1500 just isn't his best event." That makes zero sense.
As I said previously, Sahlman should be the one with the NCAA record in 3:31 by now, not Birnbaum. Birnbaum is nowhere near as fast as Sahlman over 400/800 and his 5k is only four seconds faster than Sahlman's.
So, how is Sahlman STILL getting outkicked in 3:34 races?? Makes no sense at all
In terms of showing range, fast times, etc., Sahlman is great. But his championship races are very poor. People here are saying he is a "1:42 man" but got DFL at USA's in August... makes zero sense. Sahlman would still be getting absolutely humbled over world class 800 runners and has no chance of ever making a team for it.
Also he did not make it out of the 1500m heats earlier in June (that entire race was a tactical nightmare)
Sahlman has potential to be the next Alan Webb with the kind of range he has, but I am tired of seeing people pretend he has so much upside in the 800 and remaining completely oblivious to all the signs that clearly point that he can achieve even more over the 1500/mile.