TUOHY SCRATCHES 5000

Slo-Jo wrote:

Cowardly wrote:

EXACTLY. Now it comes out that she's been "off for weeks". Ok coach, then why did you sign her up for the double!?! Also, why did you then tell her to run a 64 first lap if she's been "off" and went into that race not feeling her best? Extremely poor decisions if you knew your athlete has not been her best for several weeks. Should have ran her more conservatively then, that's a no brainier. I'm not buying it, it really looks like it's just an excuse now after the fact....it really looks more like both of them were overconfident, didn't plan good tactics, Tuohy couldn't handle the competition and back to back to back races when other runners could. Which means she's not as good at championship racing as the other runners who showed up. Then, when it became apparent that she couldn't handle the rounds and the fast/tough competition, she quit to save face and now is coming up with this "mysterious" excuse that's she's been "off". I think the scratch was psychological. Look at her face the last 100m of that 1500, she literally puts her head down at one point.

This is my impression too. I think Henes is trying to save face as much for herself as anything. Not only has her team deteriorated this season, but Katelyn Tuohy just had the worst showing in her entire career on Hene's watch.

onaceion wrote:

Troll patrol wrote:

Yeah, just keep kicking people when they are down. That’s not a “good look” either btw.

no, I think these opinions are totally valid.

I'm not big on Tuohy bashing or even Henes bashing in general. Henes is a great coach, who can get the best out of most of her athletes. She coached a prodigy through pressure and back from injury to become a 4X NCAA winner, and has done a wonderful job with many many others. there are always going to be some that struggle in a program. That doesn't make her a bad coach.

But she messed up here. If Tuohy was "off for weeks" then they should have assessed the NCAA final better rather than going for the double. They also should have strategized better. Henes is a great strategist (see NCAA cross final), but this was poor.

Henes needs to own that she let Tuohy down and Tuohy had a bad performance. That doesn't mean she's burned out and done, but she ran poorly.

Toughen Up wrote:

Slo-Jo wrote:

I completely agree with this.

I have been one of the down voters of every "woulda coulda" post that astro has made about the 5000. It is completely inappropriate. Parker Valby won that race. 15:30 in that heat was a fast time. She is the legitimate winner. Parker went all-in on the 5K. Touhy made a different decision, and that decision rendered her a no-show. That is what actually happened yesterday, and Parker Valby deserves 100% credit for running a great race and winning her first NCAA championship. She toed the line after a season of injury against a talented field and she made it happen. I enjoyed watching her win. She was totally deserving. Astro, I usually enjoy your comments, but injecting a Tuohy fantasy into Parker's moment is just flat tacky. Just stop, please. Tuohy didn't show so it doesn't matter what she might have done. She didn't. Parker did. End of story.

Mia Ramsden ran a superb race. She executed that 1500 pretty perfectly, and she gained from Tuohy's foolishness. Tuohy should have known from Wake Forest how starting out that fast would end for her. She flew too close to the sun this time. It happens. But Mia Ramsden deserves a lot of credit for winning big against that stacked field.

I am finding myself perplexed by the events yesterday. Everything that happened was 100% predictable by this armchair fan, so it should have been apparent to Tuohy and Henes. When she declared for both events I assumed she was sitting on something truly special. They knew the 1500 field was loaded. They knew the race was in Austin in June. They knew she would have to run fast in the 1500 to have any chance. All of this was apparent from the onset. She made this decision. It turned out to be a poor decision. This 1500 played out very similar to her 1500 at Wake Forest. She knew how starting too fast would end for her. I just don't understand the decision making here. Henes now has the distinction as the first coach to take a talent like Tuohy and produce an incredibly poor result. What she is doing with that very talented team does not seem to be working.

I think less of Tuohy for not showing up for the 5000. She put this out there. She knew the conditions. There was nothing wrong with her. She was butt-hurt and did not want to lose to Parker. Showing up and giving her best and seeing her commitment through would have been the classy thing to do. Instead, she basically gets credit as a ghost runner from rabid fans and takes away the spotlight from the deserving winner. Declaring this double was a bad decision, but it was her decision and she had all of the facts going in and she had an obligation to see the thing through.

The woman who lost a spot because of this (13th at regionals) was Savannah Shaw, her teammate and a senior. I think that really sucks.

I am still a fan, but I would have had some serious respect for her showing up and not dodging the loss. Parker Valby crushed it. She ran that race on pure heart and she deserves all of the credit due for winning an NCAA championship. Parker was the one who showed up at 9:55 ready to go, and Tuohy didn't through her own decisions. Britton Wilson showed up. She saw her commitment through. That is class.

Post of the year. I’d give it a 100 likes if I could. Part of being a great champion is knowing how to lose with grace and dignity when it’s not your day.