I do know the whole story. I also know that Wiley is an adult. And she thinks that the Johnsons are a step up for her, so it's none of your business.
Do you run all of your life decisions by Wiley for her approval? No, you don't. Why not? Because it's none of Wiley's business what you decide to do or not do. Just like it's none of your business what Wiley decides to do or not do.
She is not being offered endorsement money/shoe contract money/NIL money because she continues to associate with the Johnsons. Great decisions all around.
Once again, that's Wiley's decision to make, not yours.
She is not being offered endorsement money/shoe contract money/NIL money because she continues to associate with the Johnsons. Great decisions all around.
Once again, that's Wiley's decision to make, not yours.
You are 100% correct. If she wants to stay in Huntington and win domestic meets for a few thousand bucks and walk dogs for a living, I could care less. As a fan of the sport, I'm curious about the economic side of things. People make terrible decisions that cost them $$$$ all the time, and it doesn't matter to me one bit.
Once again, that's Wiley's decision to make, not yours.
You are 100% correct. If she wants to stay in Huntington and win domestic meets for a few thousand bucks and walk dogs for a living, I could care less. As a fan of the sport, I'm curious about the economic side of things. People make terrible decisions that cost them $ all the time, and it doesn't matter to me one bit.
I'm curious about that too. Where does Wiley intend to take her running career over the next few years? Is she going to remain a student athlete until she graduates and not make any money for the next 3 years?
In any case, if Wiley does eventually decide to go pro, I think there will be at least one sponsor that will take a chance on her. Justin Gatlin got suspended for drugs twice, and still got sponsored. Semenya is a biological male running in women's races, and still got sponsored. There always seems to be a sponsor willing to ignore a runner's baggage as long as they are fast enough.
One was targeted relentlessly by anti-doping agencies and one has not been. Yet. And the testing is simply not good enough. The dopers will almost always beat the testing. You can only hope they get sloppy during the dragnet like Houlihan did, but most will skate right by.
The testing, in conjunction with the ABP, is good. I’ve been shown anti-doping test results that showed prohibited substances detected in the range of a few parts per billion. It’s why Valerie Adams, the greatest legitimate women’s shot putter of all-time, has a PB that ranks 183rd on the all-time list.
First of all, stop mentioning "the Johnsons" as if they are one and the same.
Wiley has been close family friends with Lauren Johnson for years and she maintains this relationship. She even made Gault look like a creepy idiot in that interview when he tried to underhandedly get some "dirt" on her by repeatedly asking about her. Wiley just threw it in his face and said, "Lauren is sitting with my mother in the audience right now." He seemed to not know how to respond to her giving him the straight truth. It was hilarious watching a teenager with such poise make a grown man look so bad on camera (along with the other woman she effortlessly shot down). Wiley is not going to just throw away a family friend and she should not.
Lauren Johnson coached her over the summer of 2022 and she (1) broke the HS national record in the mile and (2) placed 5th in the U20 World Championships. After that, she made the decision to bypass Colorado and enroll at Huntington to continue to be coached by LAUREN. She was the coach at the time, not Nick. Nick Johnson was fired from Huntington in 2020 (when Wiley was in high school) and was gone long before she ever considered Huntington and had nothing to do with Wiley's decision. Lauren was hired by the school after the Huntington team (pre-Wiley) implored the administration to promote her to head coach. They could draw the line between Nick and Lauren and understood that just because Nick was a piece of $hit, it does not mean Lauren is. The team wanted her and they got her.
Then two former athletes who were engaged in consensual relationships with Nick got pi$$ed off because they both thought she was "the one" and found out differently. They started making up all kinds of allegations which even one of their roommates has stated are completely false. In the face of the lawsuit, the university decided to let Lauren go and hire new coaches. These are the people coaching Wiley now, although I'm sure Wiley herself probably asks Lauren for advice once in a while. And why shouldn't she? How many college runners have the opportunity to get advice from a World Championship qualifier? It would be stupid not to ask for advice on her training and racing plans. But her coaches are Neideck and Roark.
I don't believe Wiley has had much if any contact with Nick since 2020 and don't even know if "The Johnsons" even exist anymore. Their personal relationship (or lack of) is nobody's business. They may be still married, divorced, on the way to a divorce, separated, living in separate locations, reconciling, etc. Who knows and who cares? It is none of our business. Hilary Clinton was humiliated in front of the entire world when Bill was caught cheating on her with a young intern and she never left him. Thirty years later they are still together.
Huntington has provided opportunities that she would never have had if she was in any NCAA Division 1 program. No D1 coach would allow her to run USATF indoors, the USATF Road Mile, Music City, Ed Murphey, etc. She is doing what she needs to be doing - racing against the professionals. No 1500 runner in the NCAA is going to even challenge her. One thing is for certain - there is no possible way Wiley would have run 4:03 and 1:59 at Colorado as a freshman. Too much emphasis on team scores and achievements. Based on the allegations against Wetmore, she may have dodged a bullet by staying at home with family and friends.
Can she even accept the $2,000.00 she is set to win this weekend?
According to what you posted, it looks like she can accept the money from Music City, USATF Outdoors, and the Ed Murphey Classic but NOT from Camel City, USATF Indoors, or the USATF Road Mile. In total she has won $14,000 so far in 2023. If she can accept the money at the last three events, then she has made $5,000 and declined $9,000. I know she did not take the $6,000 at Camel City (just as Maatoug declined hers) based upon the results list.
Huntington costs about $40,000 per year for tuition, room, and board. It would be financially better to accept the $40,000 scholarship and decline the cash. If she drops her scjolarship, she will never make enough to pay for school unless she signs a pro contract.
First of all, stop mentioning "the Johnsons" as if they are one and the same.
Wiley has been close family friends with Lauren Johnson for years and she maintains this relationship. She even made Gault look like a creepy idiot in that interview when he tried to underhandedly get some "dirt" on her by repeatedly asking about her. Wiley just threw it in his face and said, "Lauren is sitting with my mother in the audience right now." He seemed to not know how to respond to her giving him the straight truth. It was hilarious watching a teenager with such poise make a grown man look so bad on camera (along with the other woman she effortlessly shot down). Wiley is not going to just throw away a family friend and she should not.
Lauren Johnson coached her over the summer of 2022 and she (1) broke the HS national record in the mile and (2) placed 5th in the U20 World Championships. After that, she made the decision to bypass Colorado and enroll at Huntington to continue to be coached by LAUREN. She was the coach at the time, not Nick. Nick Johnson was fired from Huntington in 2020 (when Wiley was in high school) and was gone long before she ever considered Huntington and had nothing to do with Wiley's decision. Lauren was hired by the school after the Huntington team (pre-Wiley) implored the administration to promote her to head coach. They could draw the line between Nick and Lauren and understood that just because Nick was a piece of $hit, it does not mean Lauren is. The team wanted her and they got her.
Then two former athletes who were engaged in consensual relationships with Nick got pi$ed off because they both thought she was "the one" and found out differently. They started making up all kinds of allegations which even one of their roommates has stated are completely false. In the face of the lawsuit, the university decided to let Lauren go and hire new coaches. These are the people coaching Wiley now, although I'm sure Wiley herself probably asks Lauren for advice once in a while. And why shouldn't she? How many college runners have the opportunity to get advice from a World Championship qualifier? It would be stupid not to ask for advice on her training and racing plans. But her coaches are Neideck and Roark.
I don't believe Wiley has had much if any contact with Nick since 2020 and don't even know if "The Johnsons" even exist anymore. Their personal relationship (or lack of) is nobody's business. They may be still married, divorced, on the way to a divorce, separated, living in separate locations, reconciling, etc. Who knows and who cares? It is none of our business. Hilary Clinton was humiliated in front of the entire world when Bill was caught cheating on her with a young intern and she never left him. Thirty years later they are still together.
Huntington has provided opportunities that she would never have had if she was in any NCAA Division 1 program. No D1 coach would allow her to run USATF indoors, the USATF Road Mile, Music City, Ed Murphey, etc. She is doing what she needs to be doing - racing against the professionals. No 1500 runner in the NCAA is going to even challenge her. One thing is for certain - there is no possible way Wiley would have run 4:03 and 1:59 at Colorado as a freshman. Too much emphasis on team scores and achievements. Based on the allegations against Wetmore, she may have dodged a bullet by staying at home with family and friends.
Please. Nick Johnson was ostensibly fired in December, 2020 after a dalliance with an "underage female" and was replaced by.....his wife. She was not placed on leave until around September, 2022 when the scandal broke. And the lawsuits alleged that both Nick and Lauren were in on the doping aspects of the claims. There is no indication at all that Nick and Lauren are not still fully married, not that they are still not "coaching" her. (Sure, it was all made up by jilted lovers; what laughable nonsense).
Of course she could not run 4:03 and 1:59 at Colorado. That is the entire point. That required chemistry, which is exactly what the Johnsons provided and what Lauren was certainly familiar with from her own career unless we are pretending to be completely clueless and are still going with the "multisport athlete" alibi. That is what kept her at HU.
First of all, stop mentioning "the Johnsons" as if they are one and the same.
Wiley has been close family friends with Lauren Johnson for years and she maintains this relationship. She even made Gault look like a creepy idiot in that interview when he tried to underhandedly get some "dirt" on her by repeatedly asking about her. Wiley just threw it in his face and said, "Lauren is sitting with my mother in the audience right now." He seemed to not know how to respond to her giving him the straight truth. It was hilarious watching a teenager with such poise make a grown man look so bad on camera (along with the other woman she effortlessly shot down). Wiley is not going to just throw away a family friend and she should not.
Lauren Johnson coached her over the summer of 2022 and she (1) broke the HS national record in the mile and (2) placed 5th in the U20 World Championships. After that, she made the decision to bypass Colorado and enroll at Huntington to continue to be coached by LAUREN. She was the coach at the time, not Nick. Nick Johnson was fired from Huntington in 2020 (when Wiley was in high school) and was gone long before she ever considered Huntington and had nothing to do with Wiley's decision. Lauren was hired by the school after the Huntington team (pre-Wiley) implored the administration to promote her to head coach. They could draw the line between Nick and Lauren and understood that just because Nick was a piece of $hit, it does not mean Lauren is. The team wanted her and they got her.
Then two former athletes who were engaged in consensual relationships with Nick got pi$ed off because they both thought she was "the one" and found out differently. They started making up all kinds of allegations which even one of their roommates has stated are completely false. In the face of the lawsuit, the university decided to let Lauren go and hire new coaches. These are the people coaching Wiley now, although I'm sure Wiley herself probably asks Lauren for advice once in a while. And why shouldn't she? How many college runners have the opportunity to get advice from a World Championship qualifier? It would be stupid not to ask for advice on her training and racing plans. But her coaches are Neideck and Roark.
I don't believe Wiley has had much if any contact with Nick since 2020 and don't even know if "The Johnsons" even exist anymore. Their personal relationship (or lack of) is nobody's business. They may be still married, divorced, on the way to a divorce, separated, living in separate locations, reconciling, etc. Who knows and who cares? It is none of our business. Hilary Clinton was humiliated in front of the entire world when Bill was caught cheating on her with a young intern and she never left him. Thirty years later they are still together.
Huntington has provided opportunities that she would never have had if she was in any NCAA Division 1 program. No D1 coach would allow her to run USATF indoors, the USATF Road Mile, Music City, Ed Murphey, etc. She is doing what she needs to be doing - racing against the professionals. No 1500 runner in the NCAA is going to even challenge her. One thing is for certain - there is no possible way Wiley would have run 4:03 and 1:59 at Colorado as a freshman. Too much emphasis on team scores and achievements. Based on the allegations against Wetmore, she may have dodged a bullet by staying at home with family and friends.
Imagine trying to claim a doping alligation is fake by claiming that two athletes that a coach cheated on his wife with were jealous that he was taking an underaged kid across state boarders and sleeping with her (also cheating on his wife).
Then doubling down by claiming that Wiley doesn't speak with the husband of her current coach despite them not being separated. Of course she still does, she also doesn't listen to the current Huntington coaches at all.
I'm interested to see how the next two years go racing 800s this late in the game when you're probably going to have to race xc soon is definitely not a great way to look at your long term development
You think that she handles XC like everyone else? That’s funny. Her bread and butter will be on the track (like every great runner, esp mid-distance). So, the more she can squeeze out of the track season the BETTER for her longterm development. Whoever is giving her that guidance is exactly on point. She can tempo XC races and score just a point (or a few points) for her team. Winning her conference will be a cakewalk. You don’t know anything you’re talking about.
I know right. Conflating a married couple that both coached at HU and had/have a very close relationship with said athlete is so outmoded. When Nick texted her to say all dreams would come true if she stayed at HU that was clearly a man with no connection, perish the thought.
This post was edited 18 seconds after it was posted.
Go Addy. She is my favorite runner. What ever happened to that Tuohy girl who was good in HS?
She’s quickly becoming a favorite for me as well, but partly because I can’t stand people who trash the next generation of great runners.
Wiley has overcome more in her short time than many people have in their whole lives. She confronts things head on and works through them. She is obviously an incredibly talented, hard working, and a terrific runner despite the condemnation of the trolls. She communicates well with exceptional class and poise, especially for a 19 year old.
I hope she continues throttling the LR as$holes, killing them with the truth, kindness, and excellence. And while she does that, she’ll be an awesome role model for how it should be done.
This young woman is possibly the most talented American of all time. She will be competing for medals in multiple events next year. This is the generational talent that we all have been waiting for. Mu lost interest and Tuohy will never get to world class level. Cook and Valby have the talent but I don't know if they can stay healthy long enough to unleash their potential.
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