Alexa Efraimson 1000 HSR

She certainly put on the combat boots that last 200. Good to see her healthy again and hopefully leaving the 5K collapses behind for good.

And lrc had get written off just a few weeks ago.

If they have to attend class and do the work and pass, they should be eligible for records.

And lrc had get written off just a few weeks ago.

sierra rocks wrote:

under 20 is Junior.

This fascination with HS records is bizarre. Perhaps the whole Mary/Alexa thing shows how silly it is, especially (like Verzbikas) when people are also concerned with HS ages anyway.

Go by age group records ONLY - starting at Youth, since I don't believe that younger ages should even allow record-keeping since it just encourages over-the-top parents and coaches to push their kids too much.

I sort of agree.

I think it's great for high schools to keep All Time lists for their program, their state, whatever. That's fine, both overall and for what class they are in.

The more important records should be the age group records. I'd go one step further than your suggestion, though: only track U-16 ("Intermediate" by former USATF definitions), U-18 ("Young"), U-20 ("Junior"), and Overall (and older age groups for Masters athletes). Younger than 15/16 is really too early to be concerned with how they compare - that's a time when kids should be doing a whole bunch of sports, and not focused in on one event within one sport and doing significant training loads to reach their potential early on.

pros in the olympics wrote:

Since they allowed pros in the Olympics, they should allow pros to set records at whatever age group or situation they are in.

She is allowed to set records at her age group....Pros can set Junior records. They just cant set HIGH SCHOOL records. Pros can't set college records either.

M.C. Confusing wrote:

pros in the olympics wrote:

Since they allowed pros in the Olympics, they should allow pros to set records at whatever age group or situation they are in.

She is allowed to set records at her age group....Pros can set Junior records. They just cant set HIGH SCHOOL records. Pros can't set college records either.

You're entitled to that opinion but it's not as though it's etched in stone. Track and Field News could easily have reached a different decision and, if it had, then professionals could set American high school records that would be generally recognized.

A great many high school records have been set in professional competition and, in a number of cases, by athletes who were not competing for their high school teams (and had private coaches). So the "fairness" argument for excluding high schoolers who have formally "turned pro" is far from airtight.

There's no Federal Bureau of Track Records handing down laws on these things.

Professionals (you know ... the people that get paid like you do at your job?) cannot compete in HS or college competition. If you want to offer your opinion on that or argue with it, go ahead.

Therefore, they cannot set HS or college records. You can imagine what advantages a professional has over a regular HS or college student right?

I realize that HSers set HS records in Open competition and it happens often. The difference is that they compete for their HS and they are not being paid to do it. Therefore their records set amongst non-peers are recognized.

The distinction is not so much that they must compete for their school, but that they must NOT have moved on to a level where they are paid. Also, you are right there are no LAWS about these things, but their are rules and there are different sets of rules and different organizations or governing bodies recognize different marks as records.

None of them recognize marks achieved by professionals.

The Overexplainer wrote:

I realize that HSers set HS records in Open competition and it happens often. The difference is that they compete for their HS . .

.

No, that's not the difference; they don't have to compete for their HS. And they can have their own private coaches.. And T&FN News would still recognize their marks.

Any specific additional competitive advantage that a high schooler derives from being paid is not at all obvious.

The practical fact is that T&FN is the only organization that matters when it comes to recognizing overall American HS records. Many of the marks it recognizes are not recognized by any HS federation. If T&FN were to bump the line on this particular issue and recognize marks that Cain/Efraimson (and others in the future) set after turning pro, the decision would not stand out as anything all that different in character.

I do not happen to feel strongly about this issue one way or the other. I just have a nit to pick with people who say "the record is this or that" without acknowledging the possibility of alternative plausible conclusions by a record-recognizing body.

Yes, all of you who hate 17 year olds really must be pissed that Alexa didn't cry and stop running when you were talking s*^+ about her in November. Maybe that is because she doesn't care what some guy who runs for Brooks or only buys Adidas thinks. Keep it classy Lake Oswego! I do still think she should be running for Camas HS.

Wayne's World wrote:

Yes, all of you who hate 17 year olds really must be pissed that Alexa didn't cry and stop running when you were talking s*^+ about her in November. Maybe that is because she doesn't care what some guy who runs for Brooks or only buys Adidas thinks. Keep it classy Lake Oswego! I do still think she should be running for Camas HS.

Good post. I think going pro is ok, but your post is on the money.

Why can't these losers just stop the hating and talk about the sport?

There is another pro who I knew in high school- about 7 years ago.

She had an offer to go pro (for a larger sum of money than most letsrunners think pro's make). Her coach and I thought she should take it and strike while the iron is hot (so to speak).

She took a college offer instead, had a good college career, and is now a pro making less money than the offer and is NOT sponsored by the company who made the offer.

Believe me or not, I don't care and I won't say her name for obvious reasons.

Wayne's World wrote:

Yes, all of you who hate 17 year olds really must be pissed that Alexa didn't cry and stop running when you were talking s*^+ about her in November. Maybe that is because she doesn't care what some guy who runs for Brooks or only buys Adidas thinks. Keep it classy Lake Oswego! I do still think she should be running for Camas HS.

Respectfully disagree, Wayne's World. Running for Camas this year would be pointless. It wouldn't benefit her development, and it would just make her "competition" look silly.

For those of you who saw Maria Matolla run, can relate to this post. That girl (I mean 28 year old, who I hope had to pass gender tests) was ridiculous. I don't remember is she ran 1:58 in HS, but it sure seemed like it. This year at the world junior championships in Eugene, I had the same thought. Has that girl from Kenya passed a gender test and the iaaf has got to get these ages verified. Success breeds confidence and belief. Efraimson is 18, attending HS, and female. Can't wait to see Cain and efraimson race, my thought is Cain still has an edge. Ajee might beat them all, 5 years from now, my money is on Efraimson.

Well, thank you for your permission to argue with you (Governing Bodies: White Haired Men/Women with Control Issues). Let's see how this goes.

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.

Abraham Lincoln

1. Professionals (you know ... the people that get paid like you do at your job?) cannot compete in HS or college competition.

-So, if a kid has a job, then they cannot compete in HS athletics. There may advantages, because they can afford shoes and nice clothes.

-There are already seperate records kept, which identify HS records run against only HS athletes and HS Records run in any competition (HS Athletes, College Athletes, Professionals). Enough said!!!

2. You can imagine what advantages a professional has over a regular HS or college student right?

-What advantages do you think Alexa or Mary have right now? Are they taking those magic Pro Pills? Alexa traveled less this winter that ever before, which sucks, because she amazes me every time she runs on the track.

3. The difference is that they compete for their HS and they are not being paid to do it.

-This reminds me of the fight that Prefontaine and all of those in the 1960's used to fight. The white hairs in control want to keep all the money for themselves. Didn't Nike just give USATF like 500 million. I'm sure that will go to the lady who just overturned the member vote (communism).

-If you are not going to count the record of the girl who attends a high school, then you should not allow any high school athlete into a field with a college or pro athlete.

-These waters are muddy!

4. The distinction is not so much that they must compete for their school.

-Well, we both know that this is not true. HS records count during the off season, when athletes may be competing for a club and then into the summer.

5. There are no LAWS about these things, but their are RULES and there are different sets of rules and different organizations or governing bodies recognize different marks as records.

-These groups are self serving.

At the end of this discussion, who gives a shit. I love that those white hairs sit around worrying about how they will keep someone down. In America, talent rises to the top.

Examples of Greatness: Steve Prefontaine, Mary Slaney, Leo Monzano, Mike Tyson, Suzey Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.

Abraham Lincoln

Do not look where you fell, but where you slipped.

African proverb