Huffins out at Cal

Reality-Check wrote:

I call BS on this post.

How many D-1 programs out there build a program on "walk-ons"?

Get real.

This is D-1 we are talking about!

Not D2, not D3.

you can call BS, and i'll call DS on your post.

look at all the top xc programs in the country. of each team's seven guys, how many, on average, are on scholarship?

now tell me that good programs don't depend on their walk-ons?

as for others that think some of us "in the know" are bitter. not at all. i'm happy with how i developed at cal, and i'm thankful to tony for that. but i also know that i could have run much faster than i did, and in hindsight ask myself (and teammates) "why didn't he have us do this or that?". at it really is frustrating to see the same thing happening over and over, especially when such a huge amount of talent is there. every year is supposed to be "the year" for the xc program. yet still no nationals.

i want the cal guys to do good, which is why i cheer for them at meets. i mean, sh!t, who doesn't want their school to do good? but i also ask, "man, what could he have run if he went elsewhere?" when you think that someone's not reaching their full potential, you begin to question their coaching. and i don't know if tony is oblivious to all of this, or he really just doesn't give a sh!t and is set in his ways.

probably not fair to blame Sikiric washing out on Tony. Smokin' and drinkin' is just more important than running to some people. Most teams have at least one good athlete at some point that decides that they'd just rather do other things.

midwaste wrote:

probably not fair to blame Sikiric washing out on Tony. Smokin' and drinkin' is just more important than running to some people. Most teams have at least one good athlete at some point that decides that they'd just rather do other things.

Well it appears that the athlete might be able to do something that is out of the coach's control after all.

So if the people on this board maintain that an athlete can do things that a coach has no influence--no bearing on the outcome in this case--then one can hardly praise Sandoval for an athlete who does well without conceding that the athlete might be training or have potential that allows them to excel despite Sandoval's mediocre (if that is the stance one is taking) efforts.

One cannot be selective in their arguments. If a Johnson, Davis, or Torrence are products of Sandoval's, then so are the Sikirics (there are more than one, but you get the gist) and the transfers.

Yeah, talk about flawed argumentation.

If a Cal athlete does well, the Cal backers give Sandoval all the credit, yet if an athlete does poorly or doesn't develop, (according to the backers) it's not Sandoval's fault but rather the athlete's.

I suppose that's one way of insisting you're right no matter the situation. I could use the same argumentation to make ANY college coach look "great". Although I'd be hard pressed to find a D1 distance coach worse than Sandoval.

Face it: Sandoval is mediocre at best. The few athletes on his distance team that made it to NCAAs are not doing so well (except for Davis). I'd expect more from the West region's "top distance coach of the year". Ha. And some of you compare him to the likes of John McDonnell. GIVE. ME. A. BREAK.

At least the McClary twins figured out who is the better coach.

Wake me up when Cal's XC team makes it to nationals. I thought this would be the year after hearing all the trash talking on this board from Cal's "Extreme G" in the fall.

coach k wrote:

It's a joke that these Cal people keep defending "coach" Sandoval. As a former coach of an athlete in the Cal program it's frustrating to see development stagnate and others that he dominated in high school go to other programs and thrive. It's not the athletes fault, it's the fact that Sandoval either can't or doesn't care to develop distance runners.

No, you are the joke for coming onto a tabloid message board and chiming in with the rest of the monkeys.

Coaches with CLASS do not post on message boards.

And how many Cal meets have you been to this season?

Were you at the MPSF Meet up in Seattle? How about the NCAA Indoors in Fayetteville? Pac-10's down the road in Palo Alto? How about the Big Meet down on the Farm? NCAA Regionals in Eugene? How about this week up in Sacramento at the NCAA's?

You present yourself as a passionate track and field fan, yet I am curious as to how many meets you have actually been to this season.

bearinsider wrote:

Track dude's day one NCAA Cal report:

http://california.scout.com/2/649882.html

Seems a little one-sided (pro-Cal) and "homerish", but he did get some great quotes from Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour. Is Sandy in attendance up in Sacramento?

Nice info Track Dude!

Thank you.

But I might take exception to your "homerish" comment. I sincerely tried to provide a much more balanced presentation than our dear friend, John Crumpacker at the SF Chronicle.

:)

It was nice to have Sandy Barbour return my phone call while she was at the Annual Pac-10 AD Conference down South. I look forward to chatting with her further at some point in Sacramento, as well as the rest of the coaching staff. It's been a great NCAA Championship so far, with more to come. I sincerely encourage all of you to make the trip up to Sacramento for tomorrow's competition, and Saturday's finals as well.

We already know that CBS won't do this meet justice, so don't even think about watching it on the tube if you are anywhere in Northern California. The competition is deeper than ever this year, across the board!

Hey Track Dude, didn't mean to criticize your article. It is quite good, and includes tons of relevant info on many topics. Looking forward to reading more of your reports.

How about the weather so far? Pretty cool for Sacramento = almost too pleasant to be true. I can't believe the NCAA/USATF is leaving this environment, Hornet Stadium "sightlines" be damned.

Can't wait to see the steeple tomorrow night with Kevin Davis. Should be an awesome race to watch.

bearinsider wrote:

Hey Track Dude, didn't mean to criticize your article. It is quite good, and includes tons of relevant info on many topics. Looking forward to reading more of your reports.

How about the weather so far? Pretty cool for Sacramento = almost too pleasant to be true. I can't believe the NCAA/USATF is leaving this environment, Hornet Stadium "sightlines" be damned.

Can't wait to see the steeple tomorrow night with Kevin Davis. Should be an awesome race to watch.

Yeah, the weather has been a bit on the mild side for now although yesterday afternoon was quite a bit warmer than on Wednesday when the skies had a little overcast to them. Definitely had to use sunscreen yesterday because it got up to 85 degrees or so. But it doesn't really get super hot till July/August in Sac. It's a win/win for the sprinters during the day, and the distance guys in the evening. It just sucks that the NCAA "sold-out" to CBS and is holding the finals of this meet on Saturday at 10am. This didn't happen last year with CBS. As I recall, the track events started at 1pm last year.

I was chatting with some of my Stanford friends from the Stanford coaching staff yesterday and we can't believe that the NCAA would want to move this meet away from Sacto, either.

It's easily accessible, has tons of parking, airport nearby, the actual stadium has some decent concessions and restroom facilities, great seating capacity, a warm-up track and spacious training table area etc. - - - and Old Town Sacramento has some really good dining and places for sponsors to give parties. In fact, MONDO threw a little party at The Rio City Cafe last night in Oldtown Sac.

Very nice.

I can understand that the NCAA wants to give tribute to John McDonnell who will be retiring soon, hence the upcoming championship in Fayetteville. But leaving Hornet Stadium and Sacto doesn't make any sense to me. Besides, the coaches all love it.

Kevin Davis looked good in his semi-final, but that Steeple Final is gonna be crazy fast, with everyone under 8:42 - - - Alysia Johnson literally "jogged" her way to a high 2:02 in her semi and looks about as relaxed as I have ever seen her run; and unfortunately David Torrence ran into a "box" with 300m to go in his semi yesterday and wound-up not qualifying for the 1500m final by 0.09!

Also heard around the track . . . a rumor from credible D1 "sources" that UCLA hurdler David Klech is leaving and heading to another Pac-10 school. (Quack, Quack)

Meanwhile, it was reported the other day that Craddock ( who had been rumored to have allegedly been given a release by UCLA after Regionals ) has in fact decided to stay a Bruin and continue training under coach Tony Veney.

Reportedly, both sets of parents have not been "happy campers" with the way that their two elite athletes have been training down in Westwood this past season and have been "overly involved" . . .

And some of you wonder why "walk-ons" have it rough and don't get much attention in D1.

:)

Men's 1500M Semis

Heat 1

1 Lopez Lomong SO Northern Arizona 3:42.00Q

2 Garrett Heath SO Stanford 3:44.30Q

3 Pablo Solares SR Rice 3:44.42Q

4 Max Smith JR Providence 3:44.54Q

5 Peter vanderWesthuizen JR Nebraska 3:45.05

6 Dorian Ulrey FR Northern Iowa 3:45.06

7 Ricky Barnes SR Irvine 3:45.37

8 Michael McGrath JR Oregon 3:46.18

9 Andrew Acosta FR Oregon 3:46.83

10 Sam Bair JR Pittsburgh 3:47.25

11 Billy Berlin SO Virginia Tech 3:47.50

12 Darren Brown JR Texas 3:47.62

13 Mike Woods JR Michigan 3:51.41

14 John Richardson JR Kentucky 3:58.75

Heat 2

1 Vincent Rono SR South Alabama 3:41.77Q

2 Russell Brown JR Stanford 3:42.01Q

3 Leonel Manzano JR Texas 3:42.13Q

4 Stephen Pifer SR Colorado 3:42.29Q

5 Ben True JR Dartmouth 3:42.68q

6 Craig Miller FR Wisconsin 3:42.78q

7 Erik Stanley JR Texas 3:43.30q

8 Kurt Benninger SR Notre Dame 3:43.34q

9 David Torrence JR California 3:43.43

10 Justin Switzer SO Michigan 3:44.24

11 Phillip Reid SR Cal Poly-SLO 3:46.81

12 Andrew Bumbalough SO Georgetown 3:47.54

13 Michael Kerrigan SR Villanova 3:50.85

================================================================

bearinsider and track(kissass)dude. one in the same ... boy does this homer love to make himself feel special.

Track Dude wrote:

I was chatting with some of my Stanford friends from the Stanford coaching staff yesterday..."

You have friends from Stanford? From the Stanford coaching staff?

Can you do that and really be a Cal fan? I'm going to have to check the handbook. You might get your Golden Bear status revoked. :-) Oski may kick you in your butt with one of those size 18 shoes next time he sees you.

Did you actually attend Cal? Compete for Cal? Seriously. Did you?

:-)

If Cal is your favorite school/team, then your second favorite team is whoever is playing Stanford. Pac-10 loyalty is only extended to the other eight schools, not the farm. :-) You certainly shouldn't be telling us you have "friends" on their staff.

Cal Runner wrote:

bearinsider and track(kissass)dude. one in the same ... boy does this homer love to make himself feel special.

It's really unfortunate that people like yourself continue to feel so insecure that they constantly have to make personal "attacks" against someone that is passionate about the sport of track and field and someone that you have obviously never met in person.

If you feel a need to do so, feel free to contact Weldon Johnson and ask him if the IP address of myself is the same as the poster "Bearinsider".

Otherwise, I would suggest that you do some growing up and get a life.

The amount of negative energy that you continually expend on these message boards (and this thread) shows just how insecure you are. Perhaps you should seek some professional psychiatric help. Your obsession is not healthy.

+ wrote:

Track Dude wrote:

I was chatting with some of my Stanford friends from the Stanford coaching staff yesterday..."

You have friends from Stanford? From the Stanford coaching staff?

Can you do that and really be a Cal fan? I'm going to have to check the handbook. You might get your Golden Bear status revoked. :-) Oski may kick you in your butt with one of those size 18 shoes next time he sees you.

Did you actually attend Cal? Compete for Cal? Seriously. Did you?

If Cal is your favorite school/team, then your second favorite team is whoever is playing Stanford. Pac-10 loyalty is only extended to the other eight schools, not the farm. :-) You certainly shouldn't be telling us you have "friends" on their staff.

I understand where you are coming from.

:)

Yes, I did attend and graduate from Cal.

And for what it's worth, I was a "walk-on" during the Erv Hunt era. As for "friends" at Stanford I count former alum and All-American Julia Stamps-Mallon as a good friend, along with former school record holder in the 10,000m (for 23 years), Kim Schnurpfeil-Griffin who ran down on Da Farm with Patti-Sue Plummer and CeCe Hopp, now St. Geme.

Believe it or not, Alysia Johnson is very good friends with fellow Canyon Country alum, Lauren Fleshman. AJ has learned a lot from Lauren and will be the first one to tell you that.

To me, track and field is one big family.

Kind of like the way that the pole-vault community is.

Perhaps that's just because track and field is much more of an individual sport (to me atleast) than a TEAM sport.

Other sports, like Football, Baseball, Basketball, etc. obviously have much more of that Cal vs Stanford rivalry thing that you allude to. So I am definitely on the same page as you in that regard.

At the NCAA Championships, I root for the entire Pac-10.

:)

By the way, the atmosphere up at Hornet Stadium is downright magical. It's very positive and encouraging to see so many great performances across the board. Hope that you are able to attend and see some of the meet!

Direct quote from

http://california.scout.com/2/649882.html

"The Cal throwing contingent at the NCAA's of Emilee Strot, Kelechi Anyanwu, and hammer thrower Carrie Johnson also were able to qualify for the finals in their respective events. Strot placed fifth in the women's shot-put with a mark of 49-7.75 while Anyanwu was eighth with a toss of 48-09. Johnson placed 5th in her flight of the hammer with a throw of 203-09, seeding her seventh overall heading into the finals on Friday."

According to results posted on NCAA site Strot's distance was 49' 6.25" for 10th in her flight and 19th overall qualifier, she was 24th qualifier in the discus with 153-07.

Kelechi Anyanwu placed 4th in the discus qualifying with 174-06. Was she even entered in the shot? I couldn't find any reference to her being entered in both events in the Cal press releases! Carrie Johnson did in fact qualify 7th overall in the hammer.

Track Dude what meet are you reporting on?

That's a healthy and evolved perspective to have.

I competed for Cal, as a walk on, under Coach Hunt as well.

I consider myself fortunate to have competed in four big meets against Stanford. It was my impression then that both teams took the team score at these meets very very seriously. People doubled and tripled and competed in any event they could if it would help the team. Guys steepled who couldn't hurdle. High jumpers tried the triple jump. Guys threw the javelin who practically hadn't picked one up until that week. Football players on both sides 'appeared' to run the 100 or 200. We won all four of these meets, extending the streak of men's dual meet victories against them. It was a big big rivalry that got very heated at each big meet. There was pushing and shoving and verbal confrontations at times. We didn't like each other, and I realize that this dislike is somewhat arbitrary, but it did make for very intense competition. If Johnson and Fleshman are friends and help each other that's great. More power to them. It's not a zero sum game. On the other hand I think there are some interesting underlying sociological factors in the make up and mission of each institution that do contribute to the rivalry for me.

I respect the success Stanford has had, and I respect competitive spirit of some of the Stanford guys I competed against. I've become friends and teammates on other teams with guys who went to Stanford. But I won't be rooting for Stanford... ever. As I've become more 'evolved' I can be indifferent about their success or failure rather than being a 'hater,' but no, I won't be rooting for Stanford.

Glad you are enjoying your week in Sacramento. Best wishes to everyone up there.

+

Great post!

I can appreciate your perspective and welcome your sentiment as well. I completely understand your having "evolved" to the point of feeling indiffent. I am pretty much at that same place as well. But every now and then someone introduces themselves to me ( like Jonathan Pierce ) and I can't help but walk away from our conversation and remark to myself what a intelligent, polite, and respectful young man he is.

I can recall a couple of years ago there was a Big Meet in Berkeley were there was a number of elbows and practically downright fights in some of the mens distance races. However, I think that this year's DMR race at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville may have "mellowed" the tone between both schools. Also, Brown and Torrence ran together at World Juniors as well. I think that it is safe to say that there is a lot of mutual respect for both programs. It's still one of the great rivalries of college sport.

And again, I hope everyone gets a chance to attend the NCAA's today and tomorrow. Good luck to all indeed!

Old Blue wrote:

"The Cal throwing contingent at the NCAA's of Emilee Strot, Kelechi Anyanwu, and hammer thrower Carrie Johnson also were able to qualify for the finals in their respective events. Strot placed fifth in the women's shot-put with a mark of 49-7.75 while Anyanwu was eighth with a toss of 48-09. Johnson placed 5th in her flight of the hammer with a throw of 203-09, seeding her seventh overall heading into the finals on Friday."

The marks in the shot-put were obviously taken from the NCAA Regionals and were mistakenly reported in this article covering the NCAA opening day of competition.

As we all know, the shot-put prelims for the women did not even begin until Day 2 (yesterday).

In regards to Kelechi, I believe that the 48-09 throw by Kelechi Anywanwu was good enough for scoring 1 point and 8th place at Regionals. But only the top 5 are automatic qualifiers out of the Regionals to NCAA's, then they go to the at-large list. She did not make it on the at-large basis, but as you know, she qualified for the discus.

Currently, (as I write) the Women's Hammer competition is underway and Carrie Johnson is in 8th place.

"I sincerely tried to provide a much more balanced presentation than our dear friend, John Crumpacker at the SF Chronicle." Your response to Bearinsider yesterday.

Yes, I knew that the shot-put prelims were held on the second day and that only one Cal athlete had qualified! But evidently you didn't.Thus I was amused to read your glowing report of both qualifying on the first day!

I bet that Crumpacker checks his facts a little more carefully. I sense that you are a real track fan and sincerely hope that you enjoy the meet, both real and imagined!