Colin Sahlman conference 1500m champ

Lmao you're really putting a lot of effort into trying to bring down an 18/19 year old freshman who's run 1:46/3:38/13:42, won twice at his conference meet, and stayed humble through it all

Honestly it’s more about the conference than Colin. I don’t have anything against the kid. I just don’t like people making a big deal about minor accomplishments. Colin has tremendous talent. To whom much is given much is expected. He SHOULD win championships in a lower tier conference. It would be more noteworthy if he DIDN’T win Big Sky races. That’s why I’m more interested in how he stacks up against the big boys.

Colin’s times are awesome and he has a long list of impressive accomplishments. The BS Double is not one of them, at least not for a runner of his caliber. Let’s hope for bigger and better things from him.

I agree with you. I like Colin. Great young runner.

His year has progressed very well

Late February Indoor Conference - 800m Gold

Mid March - get outdoors and run a 1500m race (accomplished)

1 April - put down a great 5K time (accomplished)

Mid April - go for a great 1500m time (goal to run fast - accomplished)

Late April - go for a great 800m time (goal to run fast - accomplished)

Mid-May Conference - Won two golds (goal to win - accomplished)

Colin ran a lot faster but if a runner could win conference titles running 2 flat in the 800m and 4 flat in the 1500 that's fine. The goal at Conference is to win. That is all.

Similar to an 800m qualifier heat where top two automatically advance. The goal is to automatically qualify and if you can do it running 2 flat - great. Colin went to Conference - ran the double and won both races. He accomplished the goal of competing at Conference and winning. Awesome freshman. Lots of potential in the sport.

Yes Colin accomplished his goal of winning his conference races. Do you think that’s a goal worth celebrating and creating a thread about for a runner of Colin’s caliber? Using your analogy of an 800 qualifier heat, would we celebrate peak Rudisha finishing top 2 in his qualifying heat? Or would our attitude be ho-hum that’s expected of him because he’s such a great runner? I could see celebrating a runner making it to the final if he was only the 14th ranked guy in the final. For that guy, advancing to the final is the best he can possibly do so therefore it’s worthy of celebration. But Rudisha in his prime? It’s expected.

Back to Liam Bracken who set a big PB to win the 400 in 46.90. Winning Big Sky is a huge accomplishment for HIM because that’s the best he can possibly do. I hope he celebrated! But Colin? It’s expected.

Sure, but I think I'll celebrate his accomplishments anyway, even if you don't deem them worthy.

"Yes Colin accomplished his goal of winning his conference races. Do you think that’s a goal worth celebrating and creating a thread about for a runner of Colin’s caliber?"

Yes it's a great accomplishment to win two conference titles as a freshman. In the context of the bigger picture which has the end goal of winning NCAAs he accomplished the intermediate goal of winning his conference races. The times he won with were good and he clearly was running to win the titles and not to set records.

Closed like a boss tonight to punch his ticket to Austin.

The Big Sky qualifies 10 athletes to the Big Dance so far, including the fastest time in the world this year in the steeple. But somehow it’s a division 2 conference? Lol

Thanks for tracking this. A couple of follow-up questions: How many of those are from NAU? How does the number of BS qualifiers compare to the Power 5 conferences?

3 of those 10 are from NAU. Nico, Colin and David Dunlap in the 200.