Elizabeth Leachman is a sophomore, not a junior. So there’s a nonzero chance that she could commit a year from now
So Sophomores can’t commit? Didn’t know that.
a coach can't make any contact with an athlete or parent until June 15th after their sophomore year. I think they may be allowed to answer some questions from a high school coach prior to that, but not sure.
a coach can't make any contact with an athlete or parent until June 15th after their sophomore year. I think they may be allowed to answer some questions from a high school coach prior to that, but not sure.
Thanks. So no adv or disadv to commiting early. Then Is there any disadv, for example,to Ellie Shea still not committing?
a coach can't make any contact with an athlete or parent until June 15th after their sophomore year. I think they may be allowed to answer some questions from a high school coach prior to that, but not sure.
Thanks. So no adv or disadv to commiting early. Then Is there any disadv, for example,to Ellie Shea still not committing?
for someone like Ellie Shea? probably not. She's is the level of elite recruit that schools that think they have a chance would keep a scholarship open for her.
And the Raleigh area is a great place to train, aside from the track facility on campus. Two parks within relatively short driving distance with long, wide bridle trails with hills ("hills pay the bills"), and miles of greenway throughout the city. Plenty of places to run away from vehicles and without having to pound concrete daily. Definitely a selling point. And the newer campus has a hilly training loop of 5K+ depending on route.
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.
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.
re: "She's already at 9:50 for 3200m, 15:40s for 3 miles XC"
Obviously, I don't know her physiology, but it is not uncommon for a young 4:35 miler to be pretty good at the 2-mile and 5K XC against high school athletes. The times you referenced are almost a given for a 4:35 mile. The issue becomes when you are training everyday with college level 5k/10k/XC specialists running twice the mpw you ran in high school. There are lots of middle-distance athletes who were decent XC runners in college, but a lot of them flamed out post college because their bodies were not built for LD. You can use a race horse as a mule, but only for so long.
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.
re: "She's already at 9:50 for 3200m, 15:40s for 3 miles XC"
Obviously, I don't know her physiology, but it is not uncommon for a young 4:35 miler to be pretty good at the 2-mile and 5K XC against high school athletes. The times you referenced are almost a given for a 4:35 mile. The issue becomes when you are training everyday with college level 5k/10k/XC specialists running twice the mpw you ran in high school. There are lots of middle-distance athletes who were decent XC runners in college, but a lot of them flamed out post college because their bodies were not built for LD. You can use a race horse as a mule, but only for so long.
Where do you make this so!t up? You think a 4:35/9:50 kid isn’t a 5k/10k specialist?
I do know her physiology and I spent years coaching D1. I’d love for you to give me some examples of what you are trying to say. I’ll reference Conner Mantz, Katelyn Tuohy; Keira D’Amato; Emily Sisson…
re: "She's already at 9:50 for 3200m, 15:40s for 3 miles XC"
Obviously, I don't know her physiology, but it is not uncommon for a young 4:35 miler to be pretty good at the 2-mile and 5K XC against high school athletes. The times you referenced are almost a given for a 4:35 mile. The issue becomes when you are training everyday with college level 5k/10k/XC specialists running twice the mpw you ran in high school. There are lots of middle-distance athletes who were decent XC runners in college, but a lot of them flamed out post college because their bodies were not built for LD. You can use a race horse as a mule, but only for so long.
You actually can often tell. Roesler, Willis, J Smith, Gorriaran, Whitaker all ran xc, even winning state titles and 1 even making foot locker. Still it was pretty obvious they were going to be mid distance stars.
Touhy, Cain, Cranny, Efraimson were all equally good at xc and speed, so it was uncertain where they would focus.
Yes hard to believe Cain ran 8:58, 15:45 and was 2nd at NXN nationals.
Cranny after winning Usatf 10k may run 1500 this year.
Engelhardt is also ranked at worst top 5 in her class in xc. Last 2 nationals were not great due injury and wet slop, but she has won other big meets.
Given that she's pretty big for distance, I'd also guess she will be a miler, but she will still be useful at xc and 5k.
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.
one would think Fiona Smith will be solid, and there still should be Abby Lovies.
a coach can't make any contact with an athlete or parent until June 15th after their sophomore year. I think they may be allowed to answer some questions from a high school coach prior to that, but not sure.
Thanks. So no adv or disadv to commiting early.
Then Is there any disadv, for example,to Ellie Shea still not committing?
The potential disadvantage of waiting is that if you wait too long, a college might have given out all of their scholarships. Other than that, no reason to commit to a college early, other than to get the decision out of the way.
No one really knows what is going on in Ellie Shea's head, but the theory is that she might not want to run for a college team, and she might still be struggling with what to do after she graduates high school.
She is kind of a loner, and not a team player or group activity kind of person. She might go pro, or she might attend college as a student and run on her own.
But it's definitely unusual for one of the top runners in the country to not have a college picked by March of their senior year.
Ventura (CA) junior and NC State commit Sadie Engelhardt reacts to running 4:36.36 for a meet record at New Balance Nationals Indoor 2024.For more from New B...