Why is Bauhs better than Rupp??? I'm not sure that he is yet. Maybe in the next 6-12 months that question will sort itself out. He is still progressing and growing as a runner. The past 8 years has seen him grown by leaps and bounds. I learned early that putting any limits on him by predicting a time will not work. Heading into the state meet for the 3200 his senior year no one really considered him a factor, except for a few of us and Scott himself. He placed 2nd and surprised many. Did coaching have anything to do with that? Probably a little, but it all came down to Scott and what he was willing to do during that race. He is willing to hurt to get the job done. When that gun goes off he becomes a different person than who he is in training. So many times athletes that I coached became timid and unsure before and during a race. Not Scott, he was very confident.
Even now Scott talks about a goal that seems far above what he can achieve, but heads out there and does it. Run a fast 1/2 marathon, make the US CC team for Worlds, run the A Standard for the 10k. None of those seemed possible just a year ago, but now they are reality. Scott wanted to do it and did the training to make it happen.
Even now he is making new goals for the next several months and beyond. I'm sure that he will do whatever it takes to get to the starting line healthy and ready. Then once the gun goes off he will make it happen.
He is a fun runner to watch, just as is Rupp. They both want to run fast, not just faster than the rest of the Americans, but faster than everyone else. They are different runners with the same goal.