michael aish

come on, dude. if that is really what he said then you know what he was implying...that western has a shot to be competitive with us only because they are race-ready while we are only in our first race...if this isn't what he was saying, then why in the hell did he mention it in the first place? i guarantee you can't answer that one.

I see some of Western's top 10 in results from their home meet that was 2 weeks before the Shootout. And a time trial of 40 guys trying to make 9 roster spots is much more of a race than 12 trying to make 9 spots, no matter how slowly the first set went out. Looks like 4 races before the Shootout for those counting (Time Trial, Adams State, CSU, WSC Open) for WSC XC. And I doubt Wetmore has enough free time on his hands to keep track of just how many races WSC has run or decide who in those results will be WSC's top 10 for the Shootout. His point, since so many of you missed it, was that WSC came into the Shootout very race-seasoned race-ready compared to his own squad. Bottom line.

And you know that a big D1 school can't be shown up by a school with only about 2500 students.

Maybe Wetmore was implying that, maybe he wasn't. You and I don't know what the reporter asked. If a reporter asked him, "Western has run a few races this season and has done real well. How do you feel about your team opening up the season against them?" Look, he could have been implying something or he might have been giving an honest answer.

I'm not sure but I think that Vandenbusche has won more National Championships than Wetmore.

Money has little impact on coaching technique or how the runners actually train and race. From the looks of the schedules posted on their respective websites, WSC actually travels to a lot more meets than CU does. And enough of this "they pay their own way" myth, WSC has a booster system that provides them with money for equipment and travel. It would not surprise me if WSC's budget is actually larger than CU's, despite the differences in enrollment. WSC and their coach have been aching to beat CU for years in this meet like a 30 year-old virgin aches for a cock-enabled orgasm. I suppose Craig Ehlo feels quite proud of his efforts to stop Michael Jordan, too, and may even go around telling people that he succeeded in doing so, despite what both the scoreboard and the box score indicate.

A few more but against much weaker competition.

Both my sons attend Western, you're right about the support system. It's called parents. So where do you get your information?

I heard a minimum of 10 boosters per runner, I don't know any kid who has 10 parents, no matter how rich they are. Just wanted to put an end to the "poor little WSC" shtick because it's overdone and does nothing to erase the facts. You can bet that even poorer programs have whalloped WSC over the years, too. The community supports CU running as much as anything else. I have little doubt that it would have taken WSC less time to replace their track than it has CU. XC/T&F are not big budget item at ANY school, no matter what the division, so quibbling over who does more with less is utterly ridiculous. It's all about being ready to go when it counts, period. You clearly know quite a bit about Western and Vandenbusche, much more than I, but you appear to know little, if anything, about CU or Wetmore. Probably yet another one who has read "Running With the Buffaloes" and now fancies himself to have expert insight on Wetmore and his program.

"it's called parents"....exactly....so let's stop hearing the "These kids pay their own way" BS....as if they run 100+ mpw, work 40 hours/wk, and attend classes.

I have not read the book, nor do I consider myself an expert on CU.

I do post my own name. So at least you know where I come from. It would be nice if you would post yours so I could see where you come from as well.

You guys are a real hoot. I put my name down, big deal. It makes no difference if you know someones name who you probably never heard of before. I can see your sense of honor by posting your name but it will get you nowhere here on the message boards.

Just who in the hell are you. Sounds like you are nothing but a has been, never was, or just a plain hater. Find somthing better to post about than doging on world class athletes that you couldn't hold a candle to.

"I bet that Wetmore wishes he would have looked down the street in his own state and recruited some of the guys who beat his guys. CU sure could sure use some of Westerns runners come Nationals."

This comment was made by you, no? Sure looks like you think you know what you're talking about there. Wetmore would laugh at such foolishness, so I should probably just do the same. Or was that a round-about way of saying you wish your boys were recruited by Wetmore?

It doesn't matter to me what name you want to use for posting, I wouldn't know "Steve Nagelkerke" from any other random stranger (if you want to wear a "Hi! I'm Steve Nagelkerke" tag out in public in the interest of telling the world "where I come from," that's your business) and the same would be true of any name I posted, so no, knowing a "name" doesn't tell me a damn thing about "where you come from." I'm not even sure that "Steve Nagelkerke" is your real name, but I'm sure I don't care. Don't tell me you're convinced that Ellen Degeneres, Joe Falcon, Reuben Reina, and Pat Porter all actually post on this site. You can't be serious.

Shallow Pockets-

In response to your claims about western runners having 10 boosters each, I can say as a person who has run for western that this is not true. What is true is that each runner must go out and solicit businesses and friends to sponsor them to help pay for travel to meets, shoes, etc... There is no huge budget for the xc/track teams here, and the athletes pay for the majority of stuff out of their pockets. Nobody on this team "has it made," and works hard just to make it to meets.

J-Jammer: I don't claim anything except what I heard from someone who's currently a part of the program. They are asked to solicit a minimum of 10 sponsors. So which is the case, do the solicited sponsors pay for most or all of the expenses or do the athletes themselves? If it comes from the pockets of boosters, then how are the athletes paying "for the majority of stuff out of their pockets"? Quit making martyrs of WSC runners, nobody on any XC or T&F team "has it made," if you ran D1 you'd know it's true at most places, even at CU where football money (including Nike backing) keeps rolling into the athletic department even when that team's crappy and yet nonrevenue sports like T&F and XC see nary a cent of it. They can resod Folsom and the practice field, but heaven forbid they should try to get some grass on the XC course. Who knows what Wetmore is giving up in his budget so that his athletes can finally have a long-overdue new track.

10 boosters to shallow pockets is 10 sponsors in a "run-a-thon" type set-up. The athletes have to go door to door asking for "boosters" to sponsor them. I don't know many major DI's that do this.

You're all retarded. Shallow, quit trying to make it sound like CU has it SOOOOO tough. They don't. Neither does WSC. They're both great running programs. Can't you fools just leave it at that? Let the insecurities go, everyone, deep breath, in with the good, out with the bad.

Well that's just life, isn't it? They all knew what was expected of them when they first went to WSC, they accepted it willingly. It's their choice, but it's not as if they are any more virtuous than anyone else for making that choice. It's a price they have to pay to run for Vandenbusche at WSC, just like runners who go to Arkansas, Stanford, NAU, Notre Dame, Villanova, Colorado, Michigan, etc. all have a price to pay (academic standards/stature (or a lack thereof), liberty to talk smack on internet running message boards, demands on time and self, etc.) to be a part of their respective team. Leave it to Team Letsrun to nitpick petty details and try to make a big deal out of this.