Anyone who's still doubting Nico is a moron at this point. He got 3rd to two guys who were 5/6 years older than him, by less than a second with a very sub-optimal racing strategy. The future is looking good for Nico Young.
This was definitely a tactical mistake from him not to push the pace with 3 laps to go but he closed in 55.3, which is a major improvement. He still lacks the forward lean and true shift of gears that Hacker has but he's got six years to get it to be at an equivalent level at the same age.
He should of learned from Nur in the 10k....He should of hammered the pace a bit earlier and make everyone suffer.....
Maybe, but he did say he wanted to finish in the top 3. The USATF is probably a higher priority for them and blowing up at NCAAs would not have been a good stepping stone.
Will get unlucky in XC and outkicked in track. Will run fast times during the season, though.
Weirdly, your prediction is technically already wrong. He doesn't have a title because he got outkicked in XC and unlucky (only covid year seniors beating him) in track.
He is much more like Cheptegei who also never closes sub 55, but was Olympic Champion last year. Nico should take a page out of Cheptegeis playbook.
Then again, I remember we were all saying Rupp didn’t have a kick, until he did. Rupps 2008 year he never won anything because he lacked a kick, from 2009-2012 he developed one of the best kicks ever for an American long distance runner.
lol. Don't think Chep would be a fan. Would be funny to see them race against each other though
He won the 2nd heat, barely out kicking a young prospect from CBU. He didn’t win the invite heat at Bryan clay, Bryan fay won the invite heat. I can tell you’re a high schooler
This has me cackling how do you know he's a high schooler because he thought Nico won heat 1 instead of heat 2 lmao
Also, what fast/hard races has he run where he wasn't the top finisher of his class? He came 3rd at NCAAs last year below 13:30, and the only people ahead of him where a 6th year senior and a 7th year senior. There was BU in December, but that was right after XC, and he still ran 13:15. He came 4th in the 5k indoors, but that was after a DFL at Millrose post-wisdom teeth surgery, and he was still the top guy of his class. Last year he was 5th in the SoundRunning 5k in 13:11 behind pros and Nur. He was 8th at USAs in 13:19 as a sophomore. As a soph indoors, he was 3rd at NCAAs and Ky Robinson beat him, so there's 1 for sure. The only hard/fast 5ks I see before that were the Drake Relays where he set a junior national record, and the Olympic Trials where he was 9th as a true freshman.
This has me cackling how do you know he's a high schooler because he thought Nico won heat 1 instead of heat 2 lmao
Also, what fast/hard races has he run where he wasn't the top finisher of his class? He came 3rd at NCAAs last year below 13:30, and the only people ahead of him where a 6th year senior and a 7th year senior. There was BU in December, but that was right after XC, and he still ran 13:15. He came 4th in the 5k indoors, but that was after a DFL at Millrose post-wisdom teeth surgery, and he was still the top guy of his class. Last year he was 5th in the SoundRunning 5k in 13:11 behind pros and Nur. He was 8th at USAs in 13:19 as a sophomore. As a soph indoors, he was 3rd at NCAAs and Ky Robinson beat him, so there's 1 for sure. The only hard/fast 5ks I see before that were the Drake Relays where he set a junior national record, and the Olympic Trials where he was 9th as a true freshman.
TL;DR: Nico is goated
Yes he’s been the top of his class every year (except potentially this track season, we have hours to see). Just because he’s been the fastest youngest prospect every year doesn’t necessarily mean that he will be on top now, we’re seeing guys older than him blossom up (like drew, Charles) or come in as an international and blow up the scene.
If nico never wins a national title (even just one) in his collegiate career, I don’t think we should conclude that he didn’t develop like he should have. It’s a testament to how elite and semi-world class some of these athletes are now in the NCAA, and how multiple coaches are finally doing a great job with the talent they recruit.
Progression isn’t always linear, and this stage of their careers is crucial for their development into the years they will be in their prime. Remember, Grijalva never won a NCAA individual title…Nur lost in his final outdoor race as well.
Nico cannot run well in hot/humid conditions. He had a horrible race and was eliminated at Regionals his freshman year in similar conditions. Hoping he can do better in XC but this seems to be a huge weakness for him.
Nico cannot run well in hot/humid conditions. He had a horrible race and was eliminated at Regionals his freshman year in similar conditions. Hoping he can do better in XC but this seems to be a huge weakness for him.
dude needs to just sit in a sauna for a month straight