Will the class of '08 graduate without any NCAA D1 champions in the true distance events?

Didn't Fernandez win his freshman year?

Btw... the class of '08 has this outdoor season as well as an entire year before they are done competing in the NCAA.

OK, so now blatant insults from you are just fine. Sensitive overreactions to my off-hand comment lead you to conclude I am writing insults. I really don't understand you can teach logic yet constantly try to redefine parameters during an argument. It is embarrassing to me as a mathematician to watch you do that. Intellectual dishonesty from a professor is truly disappointing.

3000m is not 2/3 of a 5k. That's not all that relevant, but I am really questioning your premise of being a professor of any sort at this point. Can you name a flat event other than the 100m or 10k where the top high schoolers WOULD be dropped at halfway? Would you claim that the top high school steeplers, if all states ran it, wouldn't be able to run 4:15 for 1500 over barriers? Again, a ludicrous proposition. And, once again, you attempt to frame an argument in a way that is not winnable. You conveniently tie your argument to a situation for which there is no parallel in your chosen event. This is not a debate tournament, it's not about technicalities.

No problem, I enjoy the back and forth.

Funny thing is, this is all true of me as well. I readily admit that most runners (including myself) can not simply jump into the steeple and succeed. Notice I didn't say that ANY of the top NCAA guys could win the steeple, I picked one guy who specifically has a skill set that I think would translate very well to the steeple. Further, I never said he'd be better at it than at his flat events. But if you look at IAAF tables, etc, you'll see that you wouldn't have to be better than he is at the 5k or 10k to win it, unless this year's steeple winner, be it Cabral or someone else, drops some significant time. Derrick posted one of the top 5k times ever run by an NCAA runner this winter and he did it indoors.

Your arrogance is cute, but not when it's misplaced. You flatter yourself with your perceptions of your argument skills.

"There is not a single guy from NCAAs last year in the 5 or 10 who could make a steeple final. Obviously the opposite is not true."

Really? You can't seriously believe that. Troll is the only logical conclusion.

I admit it, I am really just looking for friends. The people at my institute don't really like me. The make me ride on top of the short bus:( The SC was my one glorious thing in life and now that is being threatened. Instead of being last of 200 runners I was only last of 5. Can you imagine how much that increased my confidence. Now that I am forced to admit the SC is for non-athletic whimps I don't have any reason to live. My girlfriend from the abnormal psych ward just dumped me. I think I am going to jump off a bridge. See how you feel when I am gone...

Indoor fools wrote:

I fear that Derrick put all his chips in one basket and lost by next to nothing. Lalang seems very disciplined in his training and I think he is shooting for a good summer and a shoot at the Olympics. His goal is sub 13 for 5k. Only foolish runners go for it all indoors. It burned Batty last year and will get him again. Look at Centro and Wheating they wait until it actually matters. Why won't we learn from the past. Very few runners can maintain peak fitness for more than a month. Lalang is winning even though not in top form because he is just that much better...

I highly doubt that Derrick put his outdoor season at risk. I'm sure the Stanford coach has a plan for him to peak properly at outdoor nationals. It's not like his times were at all surprising -- his 13:19 is only 6 seconds faster than what he ran outdoors his Freshman year. While he will likely compete in the Olympic trials, I don't see him trying to save anything for it. Chris is young, and his debut on the world stage as a pro will likely be the next World Championships.

I think he has a great chance at winning the 10,000.

I know NCAA championships are important, but once our athletes are competing with the world's best like Hall, Rupp, Ritz, Solinsky, Teg, etc., it doesn't really matter what they did in college, as long as they keep developing. Ultimately it's probably better for Americans to have studs like Lalang to gun for and not win, but running awe-inspiring times, as it better prepares them for the world stage.