Sahlman just didn't have it at the end, it's hard to imagine that he could have made a tactical choice that would have helped him much. He obviously gassed hard. As far as Waskom vs. Kessler, I think it just depends on the race. Apart from Nuguse, I don't think anyone is a lock, and Waskom is a total gamer.
The fact people keep of sleeping on Hocker is crazy, he has the endurance to run a 3:48 in May and he of course has his ridiculous kick which is second only to Beamish right now.
Hocker has a great kick, but in a slow race Waskom would have a chance. Waskom ran the last 400 in 52.65 today (pretty damn fast), at World Indoors Hocker did 55.15. It's indoors, so obviously there is a difference, but still. If it is a 3:31 race different story.
Dwight Stones leads off the broadcast by butchering the 4x100 call, which was almost as bad as the time he declared the 2018 women's 4x400 a victory for Purdue before Kendall Ellis overtook Purdue in the final strides to win the team championship for USC.
Great race by Waskom. Going 3:39 after jogging the first lap was impressive.
Nice race by Stokes to win the steeple. Mountain stumbled off the final water jump, but he kept his momentum and didn't really lose ground. Stokes would have outkicked him anyway.
I love Eugene, but attendance tonight is pretty dismal. I don't blame the locals for not showing up since Oregon has zero chance to win.
Let's perform a thought exercise. Can anyone imagine Jon Scheyer taking over the Duke basketball program and, before his second year, deciding that his roster wasn't ready for college competition and essentially punting on an entire season and not even trying for conference or national championship?
Of course you can't! He would have been ridiculed mercilessly, and likely fired!
Why didn't he do what Oregon did on the women's side, and at least use the transfer portal to take in a few upperclassmen?
I mean...He was. Remember this was literally a final 600m race. Guys at the front like Sahlman slowed it down. Imagine if Sahlman went 58-58-57, who would hang with that? And what would the final 300 be?
Sahlman isn’t running faster than 42 if he’d lead all 1200 through 2:53
Hocker has a great kick, but in a slow race Waskom would have a chance. Waskom ran the last 400 in 52.65 today (pretty damn fast), at World Indoors Hocker did 55.15. It's indoors, so obviously there is a difference, but still. If it is a 3:31 race different story.
Hocker closed a 3:35.35 race in 52.23 in college. He would close 51 in todays race. Let’s not be prisoners of the moment for a race where Waskom barely beat Cook.
1:49.42 (56.77 - 52.65) last 800m for Waskom in a 3:39 race. Very impressive, but it's also worth noting that Nuguse and Hocker closed in 1:48 (also 56/52 iirc) to run 3:35 in this race three years ago. For that reason I don't think this performance alone should give Nuguse/Hocker/Kessler much cause for concern, but Andy Powell surely intends for Waskom to be significantly fresher for the Trials than this race so I think Waskom should still be considered a genuine threat to make the team if one of the favorites falters.