2. He's a high schooler, so running 1:17 at that level is more impressive anyway
Nobody was impressed with Quincy’s 1:17 by itself. He ran 1:17 last year a full year younger.
We were impressed with the fact he ran the first 200m in 22.5. Which is the worst way to run the 600m and he still managed to run 1:17. His 22.5 indicates 1:15 high potential. The potential is what people are excited about.
With that, I’m mostly impressed with the potential of Colin’s 400m.
A 48.6 by itself isn’t that impressive. Almost every guy who made the finals in the Olympics can do that so most 1500m runners except Jakob can probably run that.
But Colin did it his first track meet of the year, in January, which indicates he can probably run 47-low in July / August, outside, while peaking.
The low 47 potential is what I’m excited about.
He split 46 in a 4x400m relay last year. He can definitely run low open 47
Now let's look at their subsequent season bests (indoors & outdoors).
Gibson's best was 46.15 at sea level (Bryan Clay)
Carpenter ran 45.94 at sea level (UNLV)
Douglas ran 46.98 later that indoor season (Albuquerque). Also ran 47.07 in Orem. Best performance at sea level is 48.01 at UNLV.
So all three guys improved, which is the point. Even though this meet is at altitude it's so early that guys are going to run faster later in the season.
Runs 1:17.2 for the school record then comes back to run 48.6 in the 400m just a little later. Pretty insane speed for someone we think of as a 1500m/5k guy. He could qualify for indoor nationals 800m-5000m, is there anyone else in the country who can say that?
Maybe Kessler will have another guy next to him during his prime in the 1500m trials.
He split 46 in a 4x400m relay last year. He can definitely run low open 47
Well the idea is he ran 46-high in a relay split with the running start. That would indicate less ambitious times than low open 47 because he’s a distance runner who is unlikely to start like a sprinter. We don’t need to go overboard…it’d be cool to see him go sub-48 but it doesn’t mean a ton as guys who focus on the 1500 rarely go all out in 400s or work on aspects of it like starts.
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Runs 1:17.2 for the school record then comes back to run 48.6 in the 400m just a little later. Pretty insane speed for someone we think of as a 1500m/5k guy. He could qualify for indoor nationals 800m-5000m, is there anyone else in the country who can say that?
Maybe Kessler will have another guy next to him during his prime in the 1500m trials.
Uhhh, I would have thought he could run a 400m faster..
Really? Seems like maybe you're out of touch with the true speed of top MD guys. Elliot Giles (1:43/3:30) said his PB for 400m is only 47.x, and he is regarded as a pure speed guy as far as the 1500m goes.
It's hard to run really fast over 400m from a standing start when your training is not at all specific toward that type of running.
Runs 1:17.2 for the school record then comes back to run 48.6 in the 400m just a little later. Pretty insane speed for someone we think of as a 1500m/5k guy. He could qualify for indoor nationals 800m-5000m, is there anyone else in the country who can say that?
Maybe Kessler will have another guy next to him during his prime in the 1500m trials.
Opinions aside, this dude has some of the greatest range for a distance runner I've seen. 48.6 all the way to a 13:38 5K?? He will become an absolutely INSANE miler in the future. He could break the American record. Calling it now. Next Alan Webb.
The rest of his races will be a byproduct of his speed and endurance strength, which is why at the end of the day, yes, he will always be a 1500M guy. It's his best event and it always will be.
This is roughly the same range as pretty much every top level miler. As for always being a 1500m guy, recall that Renato Canova thought that Webb was really a 5000m guy.
Uhhh, I would have thought he could run a 400m faster..
Really? Seems like maybe you're out of touch with the true speed of top MD guys. Elliot Giles (1:43/3:30) said his PB for 400m is only 47.x, and he is regarded as a pure speed guy as far as the 1500m goes.
It's hard to run really fast over 400m from a standing start when your training is not at all specific toward that type of running.
I’d bet money that Sahlman would be top three in an open 400 against the guys in Paris Olympic Final, and that the two Norwegians would finish last.
He ran that 13:38 nearly three years ago and has only improved, you don’t think he’s good for a 13:15?
He might be, sure. He also could probably go faster than that at 800. I’d refer to JWHs post above. To Peach Pit you might be forgetting Nathan Green. I think if Andy Powell had him racing 400s you could see him doing similar things. He’s “only run” 1:46.5 but that was almost 11 months ago and he’s gotten much better since.
I wouldn’t be shocked at all if green could run a 48, I just think Sahlman would run a better 5k, but based on XC results maybe I’m wrong. Here’s hoping we get to see them both race a 5k this year, I’d expect Colin under 13:20. I always remember how Green was apparently doing 40mpw when he won NCAAs and had injury problems, so I don’t peg him as a 5k guy, but with a couple more years of training and a good XC season, maybe he’ll do something impressive.
I wouldn’t be shocked at all if green could run a 48, I just think Sahlman would run a better 5k, but based on XC results maybe I’m wrong. Here’s hoping we get to see them both race a 5k this year, I’d expect Colin under 13:20. I always remember how Green was apparently doing 40mpw when he won NCAAs and had injury problems, so I don’t peg him as a 5k guy, but with a couple more years of training and a good XC season, maybe he’ll do something impressive.
It would seem like he should…and yet Green beat him in XC and ran 7:40 at BU. Clearly he’s at a new level endurance-wise.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Just because he ran 48.6 doesn't mean he's suddenly gonna run 47 low as a middle-long distance runner. Given his 46.98 split at Big Sky I think he might be able to just barely crack 48 but that'll be it. 47.8 tops.
Can we remember how good he was at XC when he was in HS? Ran like, 14:03 on a 5K XC course. He was a national champion. He still has all those adequate distance-running genes. 1:45 800m and 1:17 600m are byproducts of his speed and endurance.
Which is why he will be America's next best miler.
They let a former D3 runner and a 22 year old who ran 4:23 in high school make the steeplechase team. Great runners but that is not on the same caliber whatsoever with the 800m-10k teams. #2 and #3 qualifiers in the 800m were all timer prep athletes, even #4 went pro out of high school. This is gonna be the new precedent for all of our events, no more under the radar guys. A 4:15-4:20 high school runner will never make a world/olympic team ever again. 1500 teams were already hard to make even when everything is going perfect for you. 3000m steeplchase will be very deep soon.
1:17.2 600m is a solid 48x sprinter which is good for an 800m runner and excellent for a 1500m runner. Will be interesting to see what he does in the 800m.
