German Fernandez intending to NOT RUN USA Senior Nationals

J.R. wrote:

Worlds > usa outdoors > ncaa outdoors > an indoor meet

Have you ever thought that maybe both German and Dave Smith have different priorities than you, J.R., an anonymous and misinformed message board poster?

The more you post the more you stupefy.

Derrick was amazing this year. Consistently amazing. Maybe you are too young to remember but there was a frosh who was 4th in NCAA CC (won the team title), 3rd in the 5k at NCAA indoor, placed 24th at WCCC for Seniors, then was 4th in the 5k at NCAA outdoor. He also ran 13:27 for 5k -- the fastest ever for a US-born freshman.

His name is Dathan!

someone writing Hernandez instead of Fernandez is no big deal. get over it. Anyone who thinks mentally of German as pronounced "Herman" will be prone to changing the F to an H.

German obviously does think that he needs world competition now, which is why he went to world jr xc this year (also a chance to redeem himself after having to drop out of ncaa xc).

The criticism of Smith for having German double at conference indoors was warranted in advance and in hindsight, because it was risky to do and did in fact result in that injury that German got prior to World XC. But all's well that ends well. A guy whose hs coach said had no speed went wire to wire as a freshman in the NCAA 1500m final, winning on his kick, against a field of 3:37 guys. This guy has a world of potential. More than the second coming of Bob Kennedy here.

The 5k field, excluding the already qualified Lagat, seems to have two sure-fire qualifiers in Teg and Solinsky, and one spot ripe for the picking for Fernandez, assuming Rupp and Famiglietti run other events instead.

J.R. wrote:

You don't see Geb, Bekele or the other Africans skipping meets.

Haha, I just thought I would reiterate how ridiculous you really are. Finger on the pulse of track and field, I tell ya!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but couldn't Fernandez get the American Junior Record in, say, October? Let's say he's in great shape halfway through cross season. Coach Smith could just set up the "German Fernandez 5k time trial" on the track, with other OK State runners as rabbits. I've got to think that Fernandez might be able to take down the record in that situation, even if the other OK State runners were only fit enough to rabbit him for 8 laps or so.

A time trial would not count, and doing that would take away from cross country.

Now is the time to get the AJR or not at all.

Not that my opinion is worth anything, but I think Fernandez is making a good decision. Better to give his body a rest now because it's better to be safe than sorry. He can take some time to heel, then start working on strength and getting back into shape for xc and a full year of training & racing. Think about what he did this year as a freshman:

Won numerous xc races, including the Big 10's 10k, then strained his achilese

Ran 3:55i(opening race of the year), 3:42(Regionals?), 3:39(NCAA's), 7:47, and 13:31

Placed 11th at World XC after recovering from some sort of stress fracture

Won the 1500m at Big 10's, Regionals, and NCAA's

That's a lot to take in from one year, especially his first year. He obviously has tons of potential, no point in pushing the envelop now.

Why wouldn't a time trial count, if it's FAT and you have a couple other athletes jog it in to finish? What are the criteria to constitute a "race" for purposes of setting an American record?

Haile Gebrselassie won the 5k and 10k world jr champs when he was 19. I say there's nothing wrong with a little bump n' grind.

kanny wrote:

Haile Gebrselassie won the 5k and 10k world jr champs when he was 19. I say there's nothing wrong with a little bump n' grind.

Of course he did, that doesn't contradict what I said. He also wasn't his best when he was 19. As great as the falsely named jr world championships are, they are not as good as the senior world championships. If German can't win our USA championships then he has plenty of battle with birth certificate bearing legitimate runners right here at home, and if burnout/fatigue are issues than why not just keep it at home for now? However watching the NCAA final fatigue doesn't seem to be an issue. There are still plenty of runners right here in america that are much faster and much more race savvy. USA's is a great opportunity to miss.

And don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with going overseas to race international, just not understanding why hitting our own senior national championships is a problem for someone at his level. Lagat was the double gold medalist at the last world championships and is just shy from being the american record holder at 3K & 5K, and we know what his 1500 pr is. Teg is the AR holder at 2 miles and a 13:04 5K runner. Solinsky and Rupp are breathing down his neck. Jager would be a good young runner to line up against.

Taking on the Big Boys wrote:

And there is that outside shot that he might make a team in either the 1500 or the 5K...

No way he'd finish top 4 in the 5k (Assuming Lagat with his wild card is one of the 4). He's good, but he's not that good. In the 1500 I'd say he has a shot because Lagat isn't running it, Lukezic is toast, and who knows which Webb or Manzano will show up on that day.

Dingler wrote:

No way he'd finish top 4 in the 5k (Assuming Lagat with his wild card is one of the 4).

Name a single American runner not named Lagat, Tegenkamp, Solinsky, Rupp, or Famiglietti that would be such a sure thing against Fernandez that there's "no way he'd finish top 4."

Too bad it's not a Jr. Worlds year, I think it would be way cooler to see Fernandez go up against the World Junior crowd than against the American Senior crowd, though I would love to see both.

People need to lighten up on the dude and remember that he is in college and has to use the opportunity to get a good education. He's from a basic background and was not that great of a student in high school. OSU has given him the full ride and there is no chance that he is not going to pass that up and sluff off from hitting the books harder than the track. German, study hard and get your degree, that's the most important thing you can do for your family back home in Modesto. Good luck, mi aimgo.

College Man wrote:

People need to lighten up on the dude and remember that he is in college and has to use the opportunity to get a good education. He's from a basic background and was not that great of a student in high school. OSU has given him the full ride and there is no chance that he is not going to pass that up and sluff off from hitting the books harder than the track. German, study hard and get your degree, that's the most important thing you can do for your family back home in Modesto. Good luck, mi aimgo.

I'm not sure where this comes from. I'm pretty sure that German was a 3.3-3.4 type student in HS. I coach in his league and talk to his coaches regularly. No, it's not a stratospheric GPA, but far from the "c" average that somebody stated earlier.

I also think that shutting down now is wise. Best to think long term

I'm Mexican too and from the general area the German is from originally. Grade inflation at German's high school and other high schools in the area are scandalous. A "B" average at my high school means you have to study like hell, all weekend, no holidays, at the CSU campus I go to. Catholic schools are a different story if you could afford it.

College Man wrote:

A "B" average at my high school means you have to study like hell, all weekend, no holidays, at the CSU campus I go to.

i got a good chuckle out of this...

Apparently, he's keeping his options open. He's entered in the 1,500 and 5,000 BOTH Senior and Junior.

fernandez's future is in his shoe contract and prize money, not in his education.

TK1451 wrote:

Name a single American runner not named Lagat, Tegenkamp, Solinsky, Rupp, or Famiglietti that would be such a sure thing against Fernandez that there's "no way he'd finish top 4."

Uh...that's 5 people already.