Getting ignored by coaches with a 4:15 1600m

He is a senior right now so XC is over. He still could run the 3200 and drop that time this year.

Like other posters have said, where have you applied? 1600 time good but not great in 2025. Your 2 mile and 5k is much slower. With a 415 the equivalent times would be 910 to 920 for 3200m and probably 1550 to 16 flat if the 5K is cross country. Wish you luck. 410 to 415 was a STUD high school time when I was a senior in 1983 but not so much now. Try to get under 410 and you may see more interest. But remember colleges are downsizing track teams going forward

Good post. Also, show your trajectory and upside.

e.g.

My high school 1600m performances have progressed as I developed as an athlete:

Freshman: X:XX

Sophomore: X:XX

Junior: X:XX

Senior: 4:16 (thusfar)

precision fishing is over. it's time to dynamite fish. go on tfrrs. look up a bunch of schools within the geography you're willing to fly/drive. find ones who would take 415 or worse. be flexible and not a snot about it. make a loooooooong list. make up a sports resume. figure out the coach's email. spam them with their online questionnaires or your resume.

come home tomorrow, find some more, spam some more. and tomorrow. and tomorrow.

and i am talking d1, d2, d3, naia. i would leave off power conferences and basically spam anyone and everyone else. i am sure i sounded like a jerk, your time is pretty good, but if you're getting no responses to it you either did no research, asked teams over your head, or had no strategy.

and at this point, unless you're a brainiac who wants to insist on a top shelf school, strategy is no longer subtle, and incremental, and name brand, it's spam any coach you can find where you're willing to attend, and a lot of them, and see if anyone answers.

or, like the one dude said, take a half year or gap year and chase coming in with the next class after this. call it a mulligan. maybe do juco, which apparently doesn't count as eligibility. maybe do a prep school. or find a serious club team and train.

There are thousands of guys equally good at 800/1600m and the at 1600/3200m. It wouldn’t matter which direction I’m coaching as genetics determine best distances. I’m surprised you think someone has to lose 1600m speed to run 3200m. Ingebrigtsen can maintain his 1500m speed and still win 5000m gold medals.

Watch Frank Yang videos and carefully start implementing strategies for speed and explosive embodiment of the mind...

You're only limited in the mind, brah, you must change the mindset (and don't get injured in the process)

4:16 is absurdly fast, but if you can only run a 12.999 and 25.888 and 54.75, it won't be as enticing or obvious to people your hidden talents

you have no range. how frequently have you run 4:15 in the mile?

For OP and any lurkers: it’s a good idea to put “I’m looking to walk on/don’t need a scholarship”.

Also if you’re low mileage something like “I run x miles per week, but I’m aware collegiate runners do more. The idea of getting in more training to help reach my potential and contribute for “x school” is something that excites me. Also helps to mention you’re a “team player” / want to contribute for the team. It’s cheesy, but it might help you get in the door.

Here you go:

If you're an 800/1600m runner: Sub 1:55- Sub 4:15

If you're a 1600/3200m runner: Sub 4:15- Sub 9:10

Not saying these times will get you into elite programs, but they will get you into a mid D-1, upper D-2 program with a little money.

Was this ever answered? As an Ohioan, people trust the competition level in high school AND there were 11 D1 men’s cross country teams who scored at regionals out of the 12 D1 schools in the state. On top of that, a lot of the top runners leave Ohio for college. It’s a place where it is easier to get noticed by public, in-state, D1 programs. But as other people said, look at lower division schools where you don’t have to be near Olympic level to make your national championship.

Nobody has said to throw away his future. And you are so inflexible.

Do you think D1 coaches are not going to look the athlete up on the data bases available to them? They are just going to take the kid's word on it?

Seriously.

They won't because they won't bother because 4:15 in March of senior year won't get their attention.

Can't disagree with that. But that's a different issue than the one I commented on.

My guess is op ran the 415 in indoor or this month and was weaker when he was looking for a spot. Its too late now. If you didn't include a safety school where the coach said he'd offer a walk on spot, you'll have to run nirca for a year and then transfer to a d2/d3 if you're set on running in college. Unless you're that one person who gets the miracle pr or something.

Hope this helps with some perspective. I Coach a kid who entered this year with 1:54 / 4:17 PB's and had zero D1 offers. He's now run 1:51 / 4:12 and just signed with a P4 school.

Sounds like how I got my first job. I just walked into the CEO’s office, gave him a firm hand shake, and said “Mr. Rockefeller, while I don’t have any experience in oil, but I am willing to do whatever it takes.” I started out sweeping floors but within a few years I was running a division.

What D1 colleges are you reaching out to? You're also a senior and are reaching out to D1 colleges now which is too late. How are they gonna admit you when the school has already sent out acceptances? The schools that care enough about Track/XC for the coach to have that kind of pull with admissions, aren't going to be the ones you can go to with a 4:15 mile. If you had a broken leg in the fall, cancer in your junior year, and you dropped a 3:58 mile, Oklahoma or NAU tier program coaches may have pull with admissions to make an exception to admit you. Patriot league coaches definitely do not have that kind of pull. If you're accepted to these schools and are trying to walk on, I'd be surprised if they don't give you a shot in a time trial in the fall.

I’m in California. I’ve applied to most of the UC schools, NAU, New Mexico, Colorado Boulder, Florida, Virginia, Wake Forest, Villanova, BYU, Stanford, NYU, and Auburn just to name a few. To answer some questions, I haven’t had the chance to run a fast 800 yet. In all my 800s, either, i got boxed in pretty hard or there were bad conditions