Great start for Hansen, but the challenge for freshmen always is to not burnout halfway through the season from college training and racing intensity. We'll see which freshman are looking strong in late November.
LOL, he'll run maybe 5 more meets total, if that. If you aren't trained well enough to handle that, pick another sport.
2x national champion indoors (mile and 2mi), 1x national champion outdoor (mile), anchored penn relays DMR championship team. Owns 9x NC state records, 10x state champion, nationally #3 all time at 3200m, # 5 all time at 2mi, 18th kid to break 4min in the mile. Also valedictorian fwiw. Definitely one of the best HS runners of all time. No need to keep wringing your hands, it’s ok to accept that he’s an all time great. But he has no social media presence (see: valedictorian) so he never got any hype, so it does make sense that he was overlooked by so many, including the people posting on this thread.
2x national champion indoors (mile and 2mi), 1x national champion outdoor (mile), anchored penn relays DMR championship team. Owns 9x NC state records, 10x state champion, nationally #3 all time at 3200m, # 5 all time at 2mi, 18th kid to break 4min in the mile. Also valedictorian fwiw. Definitely one of the best HS runners of all time. No need to keep wringing your hands, it’s ok to accept that he’s an all time great. But he has no social media presence (see: valedictorian) so he never got any hype, so it does make sense that he was overlooked by so many, including the people posting on this thread.
Not a bad take there. I could look this up, but which Nats did he win, I saw the Penn race impressive in the rain I believe, and who did he beat in his Nats wins..big factor
Both were his Junior year. He beat Lex Young in the 2022 Runninglane Mile outdoors and won the 2022 NB outdoors 2 mile over a strong field but it wasn't any of the other top guys in his grade.
It's only September..can we please wait until nationals or at the very least late October (when the TRUE racing starts) before we decide a best freshman? Most teams have only run 1 or 2 races so far
It was a really impressive debut. He handed it to a bunch of really good young runners. Hopefully he will not have peaked too early. But he looks like a real contender for top 10 as a freshman which is more of a rarity than you might think.
It was a really impressive debut. He handed it to a bunch of really good young runners. Hopefully he will not have peaked too early. But he looks like a real contender for top 10 as a freshman which is more of a rarity than you might think.
Last time i checked breaking 4 in the mile as a high schooler is an instant qualifier.
Not anymore. With faster tracks and super shoes, multiple boys per year are breaking 4 minutes. That is still a fast time, but it doesn't automatically make someone a goat.
"One of the high school goats"? You've got to be joking. What big races did he win? What national records did he set? Please list them here.
I'm still waiting for someone to list all of the big races that Rocky won. I don't remember any. I remember him getting outkicked a number of times. I remember him running out of gas and falling down at Champs/Footlocker nationals.
Surely Rocky won something really important in order for you to think he is one of the goats? Please let us know what big races he won.
The amount of high school kids breaking 4 is not a monster list. It is a huge deal that deserves tons of credit. Rocky is a stud and it isn’t a surprise he transitioned so well. Looking forward to seeing him more this season. Job well done!!!!!
Rocky Hansen, a freshman at Wake Forest, finished fifth in the men's 8-kilometer race in 23:30.9 at the Virginia Invitational at the Panorama Farms course in Earlysville, Va. Hansen, making his collegiate debut, helped Wake F...
This is a surprise? a sub 4 type and probably could have run 8:30's? I thought he did, but says 8:46 on IAAF site
Not so much a surprise. I thought he was going to be the best of last years group
Do you realize the quality and depth of the competition in this race? The 4 guys who beat Hansen have 5k PBs of 13:13, 13:19, 13:11, and 13:29. This is very impressive for his first collegiate race.
The college depth is getting insane. It must be extremely hard for a guy from a small school to break out now. There were only 3 guys who broke 13:30 10 years ago in the NCAA outdoors, only 1 indoors. 19 guys broke 13:30 indoors this past season. Charlie Hicks the xc champion had the 11th best 5k with a 13:22 lol this is crazy
It was a really impressive debut. He handed it to a bunch of really good young runners. Hopefully he will not have peaked too early. But he looks like a real contender for top 10 as a freshman which is more of a rarity than you might think.
Dude. He is not placing top 10 at xc nationals this year over 10k. Yes he is a good runner, but stop overhyping. Top 35 would be an outstanding race for him.
