What is happening with Colin Sahlman?

Yep, and also, it didn't hurt Webb to focus on endurance. He ran his 27:34 PR 10k in 2006, while not going under 4:00 for the mile that year. The next year, he ran his American Record 3:46.91.

Colin will be fine if he stays at NAU, and quite possibly will have far better long-term results.

Why wouldn’t he be successful somewhere else?

Sahlman aced the eye test. He closed in the 26 range looking like he was tentative but had a lot more if he’d moved earlier.

I'm not saying he wouldn't be successful elsewhere. He's very talented, and could probably do well at a lot of schools. I am saying he'll most likely do fine at NAU if he's patient. A more endurance focused approach will almost always take longer to produce top results, but building a better aerobic foundation will most likely lead to better results farther down the line.

The fact that anyone questions Mike Smith's resume is insane to me still.

He is on an NCAA XC championship team, while still getting to become a better 1500m runner. Not many programs can provide that experience to their athletes.

Up to this point, I had my doubts, but a lot of guys take a long adjustment period to altitude and a new training system. Colin had a strong regionals xc performance over 10k but otherwise his performances weren't worth writing home over. Here, though, he not only pr's significantly with low 3:38 but shows a very strong finish, indicating that there's room for significant improvement this season. I see him running 3:35 and 13:20s this season now because he's on the upswing from his hs days finally and we know that Mike Smith's system works really well when his athletes have gotten used to it.

Distance running coaches that focus on endurance? Please tell me more.

My impression is that many on LR will identify something that everyone does and act as if it is unique to a given runner.

His resume is fine but there are many, many great runners that aren’t coached by Smith.

He ran a terrible race at the NCAA XC championships and every college runner has a chance to improve. What point are you trying to make?

His point is Smith has a very high hit rate. Even the guys who aren’t world-beaters like Hasty/Quax show steady improvement. Generally if a runner is going to be a stud it won’t happen after Smith, which demonstrates he’s getting a lot out of his runners.

I don’t know about the 2nd tier guys but the Sahlman and Young brothers are going to excel wherever they go. What makes Smith’s coaching so unique compared to others?

Didn’t C Sahlman run 3:38 in high school? Not disagreeing, usually experienced people say that if you can match your hs PRs while making all the adjustments to college you’re doing well.

My point is that he is perhaps the only coach, of the only program, in the NCAA that can deliver XC excellence and track excellence of the highest order....across any distance event.

Andy Powell? Amazing track, pretty solid XC.

Stanford (any coach that's been there)? Amazing XC, solid track.

Ed Eyestone? Amazing XC, great track if you run long distance.

Dave Smith comes close, and Mike Smith's female counterpart would currently be Laurie Henes or Diljeet Taylor.

At NAU your athletic career won't be limited to just running fast on the track. You are right--tons of coaches can get you there. Instead, you also have the best shot at XC titles year-after-year.

So no, there aren't too many coaches out there like him. I'd say basically none. Colin is with a coach that has simultaneously coached an NCAA XC championship team and NCAA indoor mile champ in the same school year. He made a great choice.

Andy Powell is superior to Smith (either) at mid d track and field. M Smith is clearly superior to all (currently) in XC.

It is a valid question as to whether a runner with Sahlmans extraordinary HS range would be better suited w Powell guiding him or Smith. I would say that his mile performances would be superior at U of W vs NAU.

^^^

This.

Powell coached Ches to 17 individual titles, alone more individual titles than NAU has total.

He coached Centro Wheating, Ches, Jenkins, Greer and Puskedra and to a total of 34 titles on the track alone.

This past indoor season he had 7 runners under 3:55 in the mile.

Mike Smith is a great coach, the best XC coach in college. But he always focuses on XC first and then distance only on the track. He doesn't specifically coach for 800 meter racing and his milers are a product of distacnce focussed training and not specific miler training.

Colin Sahlman can excell across the spectrum so Smith's training will suit him well. IF he wanted to just be a miler stud however, Powell would be the best coach. That might not be what Sahlman wants though.

He's in a good place.

You're not being a debbie downer, you're giving great news. He improved upon his PR in less than a year by almost a full second, and he still has plenty of running left. Amazing news for him! I don't know why everybody assumes that something magical happens to college freshman just because they spend a few months running for a college team, in many cases it's not an extreme difference if the coach is smart. He's also ranked 7th currently and is the top freshman.

Not necessarily true. Not every high school phenom excels especially within 1-2 years.

I don't disagree with your opinion, but I'm not sure how less than half a second became almost a full second. Check your math again

Mhm, and Alan Webb looked relaxed...