Sadie Englehardt to NC State

NC state will go downhill after Tuohy and Chmiel leaves

If by downhill you mean they won't win every XC title? Yeah you're probably right, thats insanely hard to do and those were two incredible XC runners.

However with the level of recruits they are still getting for the post-Tuohy and Chmiel years (Stephens, Michalak, now Engelhardt), i do see them consistently challenging for the podium and being in and around that top tier of programs. That would still be an impressive level.

What I notice is their "reach" to recruits is expanding. It was NC and OH/PA, then NY, now MI, CO and even CA.

Not surprisingly none of the early predictors even have nc state mentioned for next year given they lose their top 4.

I guess, however, they will still be between 3 and 6 with Stephens, Hartman, Rauber, Quarzo, Shultz plus whoever steps up from abundant depth, freshmen and transfers.

That is an odd statement. Good programs are not bound by national boundaries or state boundaries. I don't think they would have had any problem attracting runners if Henes had recruited them regardless of location.

one would think Fiona Smith will be solid, and there still should be Abby Lovies.

Don’t forget Jessie Jazwinski, she took t10 at FL.

great point. in college football you never see ppl say "omg why would you go to alabama! you're from california why wouldn't you just go to stanford duh"

so many ppl on this board must have peaked in college when they got into a "good school" and think that it has any meaning whatsoever in 2024 (it doesn't. sorry)

Not sure what's meant by this but in case you are assuming NC State is not a good academic institution, you are wrong. Some of their science degree programs are nationally ranked.

I think she will do fine there, but NCS would not have been my choice. I have said for years that schools pursuing XC titles are not the place for true middle-distance runners. For decades many of the U.S. top high school middle-distance runners after a couple years at chasing XC titles like Colorado, Stanford, Oregon and Arkansas, etc., by their mid-20s would basically disappear. Not all bodies are built for long distance running; I would have preferred Georgetown, Villanova, Tenn, A&M V Tech, etc.

None of those programs have exactly been setting the ncaa world on fire, and some of them are clinging to past glory. It depends on the athlete and the ability to avoid injury. The top US miler went to New Hampshire. Mackay medalled from Binghamton. The defending NCAA 1500 champ runs for Harvard. The current xc champ runs for Florida. The time when the sport was dominated by a handful of blue blood programs is gone.

I think it's funny to label someone a "true middle distance runner" or any other label at the age of 17 (or is she 18 now?). She's been successful at the 5K in XC and she's been successful at the 800 and 1600 in HS it's the college coaches' job to figure out what's next when many of the events change.

If the main concern is to prioritize mid-distance, then NCState is a questionable pick. If the desire is to also dabble with team cross-country, she could have done worse.

She said she wants to go pro. In mid-distance? Altitude would possibly help. And eventually move to the 5k? Then living and training at altitude would most likely help, which limits her options to Colorado, NAU, BYU, and maybe New Mexico (unless I’m missing any others.)

As yhbnn mentioned, perhaps she moves up. Who is to say that she is going to be mid-distance at this point in her career? She's already at 9:50 for 3200m, 15:40s for 3 miles XC. Her strength may end up being 5000 and NC State and has done well with those types.

While they have expanded out from the traditional recruiting grounds of NC, OH, PA, and NY, I'll predict that a high level recruit will be coming out of Ohio from the class of 2025.

What’s the strategy in the timing, why did she verbally commit so early? Can any coaches shed some light on this? For example, Elizabeth leachman hasn’t committed (I say OKST). Is there adv/disadv to committing early?

Elizabeth Leachman is a sophomore, not a junior. So there’s a nonzero chance that she could commit a year from now

I think some kids just don't like the recruiting process, so if you've taken the visits you want to take and are comfortable you know where you want to go, why wait? Once you've heard the coach's pitch and been on a visit to meet the athletes and get a view of the campus and the team culture what else is there to know?

That's interesting, i only really see 1 girl in the ohio class of 2025 i would define as a high level recruit so i guess that's who you are talking about. But then again i suppose that definition is subjective.