With spring ball and coach's egos, it is basically impossible to get other sport athletes out for track and field. These coaches laugh at track athletes. They only see the benefit of doing their sport year round.
With spring ball and coach's egos, it is basically impossible to get other sport athletes out for track and field. These coaches laugh at track athletes. They only see the benefit of doing their sport year round.
JCU\\\'s strength and focus are in the distance events, however they are fairly well rounded. They had athletes in the finals in nearly all the men\\\'s events. You can\\\'t get 2nd with just distance athletes.
On the mens side, Mount's distance side (800 to 5k, dmr) has been criticized for "slacking" as far as putting up points for their team and winning conference without any contribution. The numbers say otherwise-
1. Mount Union- 50
2. Marietta- 47
3. Otterbein- 44
4. John Carroll- 42
5. Ohio Northern- 32
6. Wilmington- 11
7. Capital- 3
7. Heidelberg- 3
9. Muskingum- 1
Although there were only 3-4 scorers for Otterbein, does anyone see their program making somewhat of a comeback?? Northern needs more middle distance guys, you can only score so many points in the 3k/5k... however jcu did score 19 in that 3k. Also, note that Mount is returning every single distance guy. That is all.
mount got a whopping 1 point out of the 3k & 5k combined. anyone else see jcu put 6 guys under 15:25 in charlotte this weekend?
but... wrote:
mount got a whopping 1 point out of the 3k & 5k combined. anyone else see jcu put 6 guys under 15:25 in charlotte this weekend?
That was pretty impressive. Mount also showed some depth in the 800 with 7 guys under 2.
It is very easy to be critical and analyze other programs, but you need to understand what our the goals and wants from the coaching staff. In DIII you don't exactly get to pick and choose the athletes you get. Recruiting at the DIII level is a very tedious process and you can't get picky. You mass recruit and at the end of the day you take what you an get. Therefore, in distance events if you so happen to get more 2 milers than 800 runners you will obviously be stronger in the longer stuff. I would assume it is the goal of every program to be as balanced as possible from 800m-10k. However, that is easier said than done. Also it tends to go in cycles as well. Your strengths and weaknesses shift in certain event groups.
Right now Mount is strong in MD and JCU in Distance. ONU is fairly balanced although does not have the depth. They do have 2 best Steepler's though.
xcg wrote:
It is very easy to be critical and analyze other programs, but you need to understand what our the goals and wants from the coaching staff. In DIII you don't exactly get to pick and choose the athletes you get. Recruiting at the DIII level is a very tedious process and you can't get picky. You mass recruit and at the end of the day you take what you an get. Therefore, in distance events if you so happen to get more 2 milers than 800 runners you will obviously be stronger in the longer stuff. I would assume it is the goal of every program to be as balanced as possible from 800m-10k. However, that is easier said than done. Also it tends to go in cycles as well. Your strengths and weaknesses shift in certain event groups.
Agreed, overall. But what events each athletes runs over the course of his career depends on the whims of the coach. If you take a guy who ran 2-flat for the 800 in HS, some coaches would take that kid, put him on 30-50 mpw, work on his speed, and maybe turn him into a 1:55 or 1:56ish guy by the end of his career. On the way there he's probably able to score in the 400-1k and be part of a decent DMR or 4x800. A more distance-oriented coach would take that same kid, make him run 60-90 mpw (progressing over his career) and turn him into a 1500-5k guy. Obviously there are factors like HS 400 and 1600 times that a coach will take into account, but the decision is partially up to the coach's personal preferences.
without all the distance events being watered down like they are indoor with all the extra events 500/1k how are things going to go? mount cant keep running fresh guys at the conference from the 500-1k and jcu cant bank on the 3k-5k doubles with the 10k being a shot in the dark for most people outside of muller and ellis maybe simmons.
Mount still dominates at middle distance and JCU dominates 5k and 10k. Any guy who can run a 15:20 5k can break 32 in the 10k, so it's not really a "shot in the dark."
In the distance events, right now the conference consists of Muller, Ellis, Simmons, Boyer (or whatever Mount guy runs well that day), one Otterbein guy, and 7 JCU guys who's names I don't even know. I'd be shocked if anyone outside those 13 runs much under 15:30 this year.
I dont think Muller is as invincible as everyone thinks he is, he did just get beat pretty bad last weekend. which is embarrassing if you're him.
I also don't think Simmons will be much of a threat for top three in any event (even steeple).
I'd like to see Mantel put on his big boy shoes and move up to a 5k and pull and dan smith and sit and kick on some chumps. Thats all this conference has really come to in events over the 1500. Pretty pathetic.
And how is Ellis being mentioned? Uhh.. he only ran 15:31 this weekend? Denny from ONU and Smith from Muskingum, both ran that time this weekend, and Smith ran it at Ohio if I'm not mistaken. So how could you not throw their names in there with everyone else?
Mule from JCU beat Smith fair easily and he is there 7th guy. Also, no body in the OAC can beat Mueller
It'll definetely be interesting to see how these races shake out.
But I am horrifically disappointed at the lack of discussion of who will receive the prestigious "Best Hair in the OAC" award. So far there are two front runners, the mane of JCU's John Cameron or the long flowing locks of ONU's Micheal Simmons. UMU's Matt Marron had a commanding lead with the fusion of an untamed flow masterpiece and goatee until he got them trimmed at the conclusion of indoor.
but wait a minute. wrote:
I dont think Muller is as invincible as everyone thinks he is, he did just get beat pretty bad last weekend. which is embarrassing if you're him.
I also don't think Simmons will be much of a threat for top three in any event (even steeple).
I'd like to see Mantel put on his big boy shoes and move up to a 5k and pull and dan smith and sit and kick on some chumps. Thats all this conference has really come to in events over the 1500. Pretty pathetic.
And how is Ellis being mentioned? Uhh.. he only ran 15:31 this weekend? Denny from ONU and Smith from Muskingum, both ran that time this weekend, and Smith ran it at Ohio if I'm not mistaken. So how could you not throw their names in there with everyone else?
Muller 30:14 10000 this weekend. Almost 2.5 minutes faster than anyone in the conference who matters. Also the week before beat mantell who is the best miler other than muller in the conference. Unless hes sick or injured hes unbeatable.
As for the sit and kick races. Thats how conference meets go. You just see D1 conference meets where guys run 30:30 for 10ks and think thats fast. Those were tactical races. Championships>fast times.
Predictions for outdoor conference? Can muller win all 3 events ?
Predictions for outdoor conference? Can muller win all 3 events ?
The real question is- will mueller hop on the 4x8 after his 10k tempo run. If only he could hurdle...
Muller will probably win the 5k,10k, and 1500, and be on the 4x4.
This league meet is awful. Only 6 and 7 teams running the 4x8s. Very small fields in most of the prelims. What's up with the OAC? Plus, when will Marietta and muskingum drop out and move to eastern conferences and Wilmington back to the HCAC? Who will the conference bring in or will it fold?
Team scores from 800-10k, inc. steeple & 4x8:
Marietta: 7, 10, 10, 10, 1, 10 = 48
ONU: 5, 3, 9, 8, 18, 4 = 47
JCU: 0, 11, 6, 18, 6, 5 = 46
Otterbein: 13, 0, 8, 0, 0, 3 = 24
Mount: 2, 3, 6, 1, 3, 8 = 23
Wilmington: 4, 8, 0, 0, 0, 6 = 18
Capital: 8, 4, 0, 0, 5, 0 = 17
Muskingum: 0, 0, 0, 2, 4, 2 = 8
Heidelberg: 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0 = 2