AJ Acosta - 13:46.87 - 3rd place in 5,000 !!! 19 Points at Pac Tens!!! WHAT A STUD!!!

so many trolls in this thread

I don't think there's any "fanboy" stuff going on here, that was a damn impressive string of races any way you cut it. The 5k I think is the most impressive. If he could run 13:46 after 3 races he should be able to get in the 1320s fresh. Does he have outdoor eligibility for next year?

cmurph wrote:

so many trolls in this thread

I don't think there's any "fanboy" stuff going on here, that was a damn impressive string of races any way you cut it. The 5k I think is the most impressive. If he could run 13:46 after 3 races he should be able to get in the 1320s fresh. Does he have outdoor eligibility for next year?

Thanks, I was so busy when AJ was in high school that I didn't even know of him.

Really just tuned into him this year, knowing about his injury recovery, and personal travails that were in the press last year.

Seems like he has now gotten some consistent long term training, injury free, and is turning the corner.

Good to see him, hopefully, on the rise again.

The redshirt may really work out for him.

A Duck wrote:

cmurph wrote:

so many trolls in this thread

I don't think there's any "fanboy" stuff going on here, that was a damn impressive string of races any way you cut it. The 5k I think is the most impressive. If he could run 13:46 after 3 races he should be able to get in the 1320s fresh. Does he have outdoor eligibility for next year?

Thanks, I was so busy when AJ was in high school that I didn't even know of him.

Really just tuned into him this year, knowing about his injury recovery, and personal travails that were in the press last year.

Seems like he has now gotten some consistent long term training, injury free, and is turning the corner.

Good to see him, hopefully, on the rise again.

The redshirt may really work out for him.

I've followed Acosta loosely over the years and I was first impressed by his indoor mile race at NCAA's this year. He stuck his nose in it and fought hard for team points even while a freshman teammate on the rise with no pressure and a great kick went by him late in the race.

His outdoor season has just piggybacked off of that, with the only exception being the 9:32 steeple, which can hardly be taken too seriously when he probably raced it off of 1500 work and a few hurdle drills.

He seems to have matured a lot this year and that is probably making the big difference combined with being healthy.

I think Acosta will be a Bethke type runner over his remaining eligibility. Maybe not a favorite to win, but a fine runner with decent range. Also wouldn't be surprised if he steps up for the team in cross next fall (assuming he has a season left) and scores some key points. Good for him. Many a foot locker champ has been left in the dust, Acosta is rising from it.

Wrong. I am simply making a statement about where Acosta falls in the general scheme of things. If you take it as a negative then thats on you. Rupp is whoever Rupp is based on his performances. Just as Acosta is Acosta based on his performances. Thats what makes track and field so brutal. There is no hiding from the clock, nor results, nor people on Letsrun who follow the sport and look at the times.

I guess it all comes down to what you are comparing with. If, in your mind, a runner can only be considered a good athlete if they are the best at a single event in the entire nation, then Acosta falls short. If you want to make your decision on who scored the most points at the meet, Acosta wasn't the top guy or gal, but he was definitely up there.

I think the biggest reason people are surprised and excited by AJ's results, is because it wasn't totally expected. Yes he is a good runner and it would be easy to predict a PR in an individual event, but to perform that consistently in three events in one weekend is awesome.

And I don't get it on these boards when someone criticizes a runner's performance, and someone else has to come by saying, "when was the last time you scored 19 points in a D1 conference meet?" I know I never did, so according to that logic, I shouldn't be praising or criticizing AJ's performance and neither should a lot of people, but that's not the case and we can ridicule, praise, and gossip all we want on these boards, and that's what makes them entertaining.

shrugs* wrote:

Wrong. I am simply making a statement about where Acosta falls in the general scheme of things. If you take it as a negative then thats on you.

Previously you said:

"Honestly Acosta is more or less irrelevant in the grand scheme of things."

I guess you think you're the authority on relavence. As in it's not very relavent to be the highest scoring distance runner in a distance loaded program for the champion team at Pac-10s?

Pac-10's is relavent to all the schools who compete and especially the top couple teams who are good enough to win it.

AJ was supremely relavent here. Perhaps you should have said that AJ has never (and in your mind will never) be an NCAA champion and nothing less than that is relevant.

I think few will agree with you, which is why there are 100's of the top runners in the country still running in college and only a few of them being NCAA champions every year. I also don't think you ever competed for a team who ever had a chance at winning anything.

Let me tell you what I meant...I have been there, shoulder to shoulder, with a team full of D1 guys trying to score at Pac Ten's, I know how hard it is to score 1, 2, a few points at that level.

19 points, even if it ain't as competitive as it was when track was bigger, is huge.

And you know what? Unless you have put in the years, unless you have put in the miles, the core work, weight training, had girlfriends love you or dump you cos you spent too much time focused on d1/NCAA track...you really should temper your praise or criticism.

I've seen it all.