Is Rohatinsky the first person over 30 years old to win NCAAs?

I heard he's going to take a couple of years off and then start his pro career in his mid 30's..........

What a great reason, where can I sign up?

I've got a great story to tell my grandkids now, though. In my first ever 10k, in the artic conditions of iowa, I out-kicked an ncaa champion. It has a nice ring to it.

he beat some fast boys, so congratulations to him. but it's no coincidence that over-aged guys like himself so often do well. most runners improve into their mid-20s if they're still training seriously.

A take on the "mormon rules" No...I'm not mormon, but living in Utah I do know and have a large number of friends who have been on missions and therefore, more knowledge than most about this situation...In no way do I claim to be an expert or have all the answers. What I have listed below is factual in MOST situations and based on info. from former missionaries who have no particular connection with BYU or like/dislike for BYU.

Rohatinsky deserves the title! He's a phenomenal runner with a ton of talent and trains very hard. I can live with 25, Bybee at 26 with the 3K steeple title is starting to push the limits...it's called NAIA. Let them go on missions, but don't give them a red shirt year. As it currently is, it's like they get a redshirt, plus a medical hardship anyway...six years for four seasons of eligibility is plenty. They CAN and DO train on missions...in some cases, not all, but some. Notice I didn't use 'many" or "most", but "some". As long as their partner is with them they have about 90min a day (most days) to get some running in. I'm not saying all that time is running, but even 30-40min, 3-4 days of the week would be enough time to get some work in and stay in decent shape. You can't tell me that it's pure luck or mere coincidence when two guys/gals get set up together who are runners or one is runner and the other agrees to ride a bike along side them. There work is admirable, but why does the NCAA have special rules for one group based on religion? We can't have our kids recite the Pledge of Allegiance in school due to the name "God" being used, but we can create an exception for a private religious school. Yes, in some ways that might be apples vs oranges, but it still involves religion and school which should be kept separate so we don't "offend" any particular group(s). Overall, I think there is some advantage being gained...my only question is how the rest of us haven't figured how to manipulate the NCAA based on our own religious beliefs?! Take this as you will...agree/disagree...I don't really care. I'm not here to start a "holy" war. It's not a personal attack against mormons, it's simply some generalized facts that apply in some cases that don't really seem consistent with the NCAA's mission.

It's a pretty good bet that Josh didn't do much training on his mission. When he got back, there was an article in the paper about the Rohatinsky family and his younger brother Jared was able to "kill him" in a 3k or something they raced together right after he got back. Jared was in high school, and isn't even as good at his level as Josh is at his.

So if you really think being 25 is an advantage when you lose two whole years of training, whatever, but I certainly don't.

Where did he lose two years of training? He's had the same amount of time to train (if not more) than anyone else who's been in school as long as he has.

having done a mission for this church here's the rule on the working out thing (this is just the basic guideline, some countries change it from in the morning to in the night time). From 6:30-7 am you have THIRTY MINUTES of scheduled exercise time. Since 6:30 is exactly when you are supposed to get up, the majority of missionaries dont get in a full thirty, let alone much of a workout at all. Believe me, I went to Italy, went from running 70+ mpw at home to close to maybe 8 mpw and gained about thirty pounds in the two years. You also don't get paired up with the same person for two years. Every 6 weeks there is the potential of having a new companion. Most companionships will stay together for less than 6 months total. (i had a new one every three or four months). Believe me, the only thing that could possibly give you an advantage during those two years would be the sprints you do to try to catch public transportation.

30-40 wrote:

Where did he lose two years of training? He's had the same amount of time to train (if not more) than anyone else who's been in school as long as he has.

Look-- there is nothing stopping anyone from taking 2-3 years after high school to do anything, and then going to college and competing in NCAA athletics in their mid-20's. For example, there was a 27 year old on the George Mason hoops team a few years back-- he started college after a stint in the military.

Why don't more people do this? Probably for a variety of reasons. For example, it delays the start of your career and it sounds a little flaky to say that you valued something (sports, free time, the opportunity to travel, whatever) more than completing you education, even if only for a couple of years.

Bitching about BYU and the Mormons essentially amounts to bitching about a group of people who support their 20 year olds in an endeavor other than education.

4runner wrote:

Bitching about BYU and the Mormons essentially amounts to bitching about a group of people who support their 20 year olds in an endeavor other than education.

What, their values make them immune to critical discussion about a potential athletic advantage? Please.

Although, the religious thing also hurts them as far as recruiting. Not a lot of non-Mormons are going to want to go there.

Socks got it right. That was how my mission was, exept for I had companions that hated to run, didn't want to work out, would let me work out while they watched me. I got nothing in. And if you did get a comp that thought it was cool you ran and wanted to run, it lasted one day only because they got too sore, I got sore too but loved it because I got to run for the first time in a year, but that was the end of that. Between socks story and mine covers about 99% of LDS missions.

The only LDS missionary I have ever heard of training on his mission was Gardner Means former HS McDonalds All-American in basket ball, for the last six weeks of his mission he got pared with a BYU football player going home too. Look how much that helped Mr Means, never reached the potential after his mission as he had in high school, you probly never have heard of him either.

30-40 wrote:

What, their values make them immune to critical discussion about a potential athletic advantage? Please.

No. My point is that the potential athletic advantage is open to everyone- not just Mormons. AJ Acosta could've lived at home, pumped gas for two years, and then gone to college and competed.

If you choose not to exploit this advantage, that is your own damn choice. You have to live with it. Running in the NCAA's in your mid 20's is just not valuable enough for you when compared to the advantages of going straight to school. No big deal.

People make the sort of decisions that cost them athletic advantages all the time. They skip a morning run, spend a couple extra hours with the girlfriend at night, don't eat their vegetables. It is their personal choice and no big deal. However, they are not entitled to whine about the people who make the morning run as having an "unfair" advantage.

in this old interview he says he didn't run at all on his mission and also he talks about how he doesn't run on sundays.

http://www.mensracing.com/athletes/interviews/joshrohatinsky.html

He has a point your clock does not start until you enter college. You could work and save for college for four years and then enter school as a freshman. Rup did that for a year. George town had a guy a couple of years back that went to a college prep accademy after high school for one year and then went to college, he ran in the top ten his freshman year, and he still had a red shirt left. Does anyone remember his name?

Flordia State had a quarter back that was in mid to late 20's, he played minor baseball and then decided to go to college.

As far as I know two things will stop your clock after you have entered college full time, Religious reasons (mission fall under this) and military service. If you wanted to you could do these and then get done with the mission/military train for a year before entering school and then still have your clok OK. I have yet to hear anyone do that yet, but if you wanted the extra time you could.

Exactly. People and their family priorities have nothing to do with this.

30-40 wrote:

Exactly. People and their family priorities have nothing to do with this.

Please explain. I don't understand.

When Josh went on his mission, old mission rules were in effect when there wasn't a specified time for working out. We had to run before morning study or on "P" day. Josh also served in Spain or something like that, where he had a majority of companions who were Latin American. We all know how active they are! Anyways, this is exciting. I am wondering if that kid from SUU went on a mission as well? Anyone know?

So what? They still end up competing with two more years of physical maturity than their typical peers.