AIDAN MFing RYAN 3:56 Mile as a D3 Runner!!!!!

Hell of a run - a new D3 indoor mile record and undoubtedly faster en route 1500 than current D3 indoor 1500 record of 3:46.67 by Karl Paranya of Haverford in 1997 (both per USTFCCCA)

Clam Evans wrote:

Low-medium income families will pay less than a quarter of tuition at Williams. Only wealthy families are paying full price

And his family is loaded. Spent a year chilling out in Boulder just training and went to a super expensive prep school in NYC.

The replies on this are hilarious. Why do so many people feel the urge to spring in and bring down accomplishments of others? It’s like y’all are always trying to find something to complain about, and I see this on nearly every thread. Glass half empty type sh**. I hope I don’t ever become as miserable and pessimistic as some of these people.

You just insulted most of the posters. Your comments are worse than what most of the posters wrote. I suggest you take an introspective look at yourself. I see nothing in this thread that is insulting other than your post.

From this thread I learned you can be a good D3 runner, but not a great one- because if you are too fast, then you prove that you are simply a D1 runner who is in the wrong division . At least that’s better than being a D3 runner in the wrong division (D1).

A 3:56 is a great time, but seeing as this is about a D3 runner doing it, I'd like to add the following commentary.

1. Aidan Ryan is a 5th year senior. Yes, in D1 most runners redshirt their freshman year, but this is rare in D3. So he is a year older than most are when they graduate. If covid hadn't hit, he would be well out of school and working some desk job somewhere as opposed to breaking this record.

2. He took a year off due to covid and moved to Boulder and trained with a semi pro team for a year. This has nothing to do with how rich his parents are (honestly who cares) but I'm only saying that most D3 runners don't get to decide their last year in college to hit the pause button and then train their butts off in the running mecca of the world with Pros and then come back to school to give the record a shot. Can you say unfair advantage?

3. Boston is basically the "Running Lane" of indoor tracks. I'm sure its a legit 200M, but come on, people go there to inflate their egos with super fast times that they can't get elsewhere.

4. He had help. Let's not forget that as amazing as his time was, he came in 4th in his heat! He had 3 pro runners (who were all sub 4 already) pacing him around the track and all he had to do was latch on to the back and hang on for dear life. Thats absolutely no easy task, but this was set up to be the perfect conditions to run a fast time.

And my final point is more about D3 in general. When did it become all about searching for that fast time? We are seeing all the elite D3 runners basically leave their team at some no name meet on a flat track so they can travel half way across the country to go for some individual glory. I thought this sport was about teamwork and camaraderie. Especially at D3. Maybe the basketball and football teams should send their best players to the NFL and NBA to play a game or two without their teammates. Because that is basically what Ryan and Phillip are doing. Running against professionals for some time instead of being the supposed "captains" they claim to be by supporting their teams at the meet they left them all at. Yes a 3:56 is amazing, but the way you earn the time says more than the actual numbers.

Pomona Rules wrote:

Maybe the basketball and football teams should send their best players to the NFL and NBA to play a game or two without their teammates. Because that is basically what Ryan and Phillip are doing. Running against professionals for some time instead of being the supposed "captains" they claim to be by supporting their teams at the meet they left them all at. Yes a 3:56 is amazing, but the way you earn the time says more than the actual numbers.

BRO THIS IS AN INDIVIDUAL SPORT!

PEOPLE GO TO FAST RACES TO RUN FAST

aidanryanD1 wrote:

FYI Williams has another guy sub 14 in the 5K and another 5 pretty close to that, so realistically they should be a D1 team but that's never gonna change for obvious reasons

(rolls eyes)

There are certainly some good D1 programs that also have good academics. But Williams (and Pomona, which dominated D3 XC, and MIT, etc.) are great schools. Maybe Aidan had some D1 or D2 offers, but thought Williams was a better option - run well and get a great degree? Case in point, we're debating this on a site founded by Ivy League athletes? (Which AFAIK don't have athletic scholarships.)

This isn't that new. Karl Paranya ran 3:57.6 outdoors in 1997. There are some talented runners who go to D3 schools.

Stanford and Notre Dame have way more name recognition and would run circles around Williams.

If you delete the last sentence of each point, and omit the part where running is now like the NBA, and trying to run fast on your own is bad, I agree. But those additions go too far for me.

Congrats to any runner at any level who trains hard and travels to find a fast race.

Wow, that’s a dumb post. Name recognition? What’s the value of that? You mean among the “Rudy” crowd? Williams as an undergraduate college is every bit as good or better than Stanford and is far ahead of ND. There are NO undergraduate schools substantially better than Williams, Pomona and of course MIT, the top 3 in D3 xc this year, by any metric you care to choose to compare.

So does the 3:56 not count? I just want to celebrate my d3 dude. But the h8… ooh. So mean. Like he slipped into yo girls DMs

everyone's dad wrote:

Stanford and Notre Dame have way more name recognition and would run circles around Williams.

You are correct, Stanford and Notre Dame would run circles around the Williams XC team and track teams. But I also don't think either of those schools would have been looking at Ryan out of high school with his times. Which is why I think so many people are impressed. Ryan entered as a 4:17 guy and somehow managed to leave as a 3:56 guy. That is an amazing accomplishment.

As for "name recognition", I would also agree with you that the average person on Main Street USA wouldn't have a clue what Williams is, or where it's even located. But thats the funny thing about schools like Williams- They don't really care about that. Those that need to know... know, and that is what makes these colleges so successful. With countless US congressman, 7 US senators, and even a US president as Alumni, Williams might be small, but it puts people in power, wether that be on Wall Street or K Street. Williams was founded back in 1793 making it one of the oldest colleges in America, and it also boasts the very first alumni network. Over 50% of this group donates annually to the school (think about that statistic). But even more than donating money, they donate time and resources to help the next generation of Ephs succeed. The Williams "network" is one of the most valuable in the country and what makes the $320k admission worth it. Which is why the college consistently ranks so high in ROI and average salaries in spite of not having a STEM or engineering focus.

Yes, Stanford and Notre Dame students are successful as well, and they have great runners. But in the end, I think most Williams graduates are pretty happy about their choice, and in the case of Ryan, it certainly doesn't seem to be hampering his ability to run fast.

How many congressmen and senators attended Notre Dame?

everyone's dad wrote:

How many congressmen and senators attended Notre Dame?

LOL- really? Thats whats important here? But since you asked, there have been 20 congressman and 3 US senators from Notre Dame. There have also been 10 Governors, but no US presidents.

Oh yeah. Williams can also count 2 crown princes in its list of alumni:-)

Williams is much easier to be admitted to than a bunch of colleges. And the average test scores are lower than ND and a bunch of other schools.

Do you have some sort of vendetta against Williams or something? This post was about Ryan running a 3:56 mile. Does it matter what school he is at? Williams is a great school by any metric. So are Stanford, Notre Dame, and countless others. No one is disputing that. The idea that a D3 runner who enters college as a 4:17 guy and is able to break the D3 national record and post a 3:56 is something that should be commended. What point are you trying to make?

"There are certainly some good D1 programs that also have good academics. But Williams (and Pomona, which dominated D3 XC, and MIT, etc.) are great schools."

No. Williams is a great school but this post was the one that started the discussion. There are many great D1 schools. In fact, many are harder to be admitted to than Williams and have higher average test scores.

So you are upset that "Williams Alum" said that there are "good D1 schools with good academics", and then referred to Williams, Pomona, and MIT as "great schools"?

Seems kind of trivial doesn't it?

And I wouldn't put much stock into the US News rankings. The schools have figured out how to "game" the system a long time ago. Before covid, some schools were already test optional which meant that only the best scores were sent in, thus increasing the numbers. Others no longer require any extra essays, and removed the application fees to make it easier to apply thus lowering acceptance rates. It's all semantics. Notre Dame is a great school with a great running program. Williams is a great school with a great D3 running program, and apparently some pretty fast runners. Can't we just appreciate that instead of trying to make this about one school being better than another?