Could I get onto the University of Washington xc/tf team?

Go to a D2 or D3 school. You’ll have much better success instead of being a nobody on a D1 team.

yodawg wrote:

Go to a D2 or D3 school. You’ll have much better success instead of being a nobody on a D1 team.

This poster is correct. Do you want to race and be coached and improve if so D2, D3, or even a solid NAIA. UW might give you a uniform and let you walk on but the coach won't give you the time of day that is reserved for his athletes that break 29:30 in a 10,000 or the dozen sub 4:05 Miles he has.

UW would be a reach, even if you get into 4:15-20 and 9:10-9:15 range. Their last 2 recruiting classes have been small, and especially this year they only signed 1 distance recruit. I'm pretty sure it's because a lot of athletes followed the Powell's to UW, so quite frankly they probably don't have very many walk on spots, if they even have any.

However, the above posters mention going d2, d3, or juco. Personally, If you get to or even get close to 4:20/9:20 I don't think this is a good idea. I don't know what it is with most posters on here, but a lot of them see second tier HS runners and fetishize them going to non d1 schools. In reality, there are plenty of good d1 spots for 4:20/9:20 kids,

and going to a non D1 school would just mean you're likely faster than all your teammates, and don't get as much competition.

Here are some schools you might be able to walk on at: Washington State, Gonzaga, most UC's other than UCLA, Any SEC school other than Arkansas or Ole Miss, maybe Virginia Tech, and really most non Power 5 schools, with the obvious exceptions of NAU, BYU, Portland, etc.

Honestly dude, unless you absolutely know that UW as a school and as a team is the perfect fit for you, don't be dead set on a school just because of the name. It doesn't even matter what division it is. I swear so many high schoolers get caught up in the division of colleges/universities and don't even stop to think whether or not a team is a good fit for them. They think that D1 is the pinnacle of everything and you only matter as an athlete if you go D1.

Based on what you're saying, I think that you could go D1 if it's the right school. I would add that's if you hit the times you're saying you can hit. I'm at a D2 school and fair amount of freshman/sophomores can hit any of your PRs. Like I said though, the best thing you can have as an athlete is a team and coach that is the best fit for you. I could have walked on to a terrible D1 program, but I would've got no attention and probably never improved. I'm on a D2 program with a smart coach and a team that made it to NCAAs last year. And I'm sure there are D3 schools I could have done very well at.

Unless you're in it for a big-time scholarship, D1 is not always the answer. Run those times you're talking first, then pick the school that's best fit for you.

There are no good NAIA or D2 schools. If the OP is smart, he will stay away from those schools. Better to go to a D1 school and run on the club team.

From your goals for this year, I assume you lack 200m and 400m speed. What are your best times in those 2 events?

Your times in FEB were good and consistent (i.e. 2:05 indicates 4:29 indicates 9:46)

I don't know your 400m speed, or if you have quality teammates and a competitive conference, but if you do, I would have guessed you would have run 1:58, 4:25 and 9:20 by the end of spring track. That is a solid junior year.

However, you didn't get the spring track season.

I would get rid of the 5 x 1 mile repeats, it is an inferior workout to the fartlek run that you listed.

Run faster workouts: 4 x 400m with 400m jog, all run at anticipated 800m pace. If you do this right, 1 and 2 are fast but doable, 3 will be a challenge, and 4 will be running very hard the first 200m, and then guts the last 200m, like a race.

2 x (8 x 200m) with 200 jog, 5 minutes between sets. Run at anticipated 800m pace.

Run a 500m with 1st 400m only 1-2 seconds slower than your all-out 400m. Jog 200m, then run 300m all out.

Run 2 x 600m. 1st 400m 2-3 seconds slower than all-out 400m. Rest 15 minutes between sets.

My teammate ran 1:55.5 half and 48.2 mile relay split (same meet) his junior year. His senior year he was expected to run 1:50 half and 47 flat (open), but no sports. He still ran a couple of open meets (working part-time as well) and ran in 49s, but didn't have the meets to get his time down. He got a Div III scholarship, but with a senior year, he would have a Div I scholarship.

I was expected to run close to 4 and under 1:50, but no meets. I did run around 4:11 and 1:53 in a couple of open meets, but its just not the same. So I turned down Div III scholarship to run Div I, but would have gotten a Div I scholarship if we had sports.

The school I went to fired their great coach just before I got there, and hired the candidate who would accept the lowest salary (he was the least qualified). He weakened my career and the careers of other runners, then got fired after 2 years I should have left after 1 year and gone to Oregon as a walk-on, but didn't.

Right now, your goals sound like Div II or III, but some Div I teams might suit your goals, if you walk on.

I offered you some workouts to greatly improve your 800m speed, which will have a huge impact on your mile time based on all the mileage you have been doing. Only the really amazing distance guys can get by without excellent 400m and 800m speed, and even those types are not common at Div I to my knowledge.

Correction: 1:58, 4:18, 9:20 are my predictions for what you could have done in spring track your junior year.

This is exactly what I'm talking about when I say most posters fetishize d2 or d3. There's nothing wrong with going d2 or d3, but posters like this clearly don't realize 9:20 can get you on mid-low power 5 teams and almost every non power 5 team.

This is exactly what I'm talking about when I say most posters fetishize d2 or d3. There's nothing wrong with going d2 or d3, but posters like this clearly don't realize 9:20 can get you on mid-low power 5 teams and almost every non power 5 team.[/quote]

But the reality is that until 9:20 is actually run, that time is as good as nonexistent to a power 5 coach or any coach for that matter. You can "know" you can run it as much as you want but until you actually run it, it doesn't make a difference. Run the time, then you can talk power 5 if you'd like.

runthetime wrote:

This is exactly what I'm talking about when I say most posters fetishize d2 or d3. There's nothing wrong with going d2 or d3, but posters like this clearly don't realize 9:20 can get you on mid-low power 5 teams and almost every non power 5 team.

But the reality is that until 9:20 is actually run, that time is as good as nonexistent to a power 5 coach or any coach for that matter. You can "know" you can run it as much as you want but until you actually run it, it doesn't make a difference. Run the time, then you can talk power 5 if you'd like.[/quote]

OP said he fully expected he could run 9:20, I'm saying assuming he runs that he has plenty of d1 teams he could walk on to.

See how it goes this year and if you can improve on your times. I was only a 4:19/9:20ish guy in high school and had good success D1. So if you get to those times you have a shot. That being said I entered college over a decade ago so the field was not as strong and the truth is most guys at my level in high school; either went to lower-tier D1 schools than a UW or ended up washing out. If you are on a team that consistently makes NCAA's you will get very little attention and the odds truly are not in your favor.

Unless you really improve and run something in the 9:0X range I would suggest a lower level D1 school that has a good coach with a history or developing guys or a D2 school. That really is your best chance for long term success. D1 can be really a dog eat dog enviroment and a huge percent of the kids end up cut or quiting.

Don’t listen to the haters. You can totally make it. I can’t name any recruits or runners on their team except the coaches and I’m a total stats geek. That should tell you something.

This

yodawg wrote:

Go to a D2 or D3 school. You’ll have much better success instead of being a nobody on a D1 team.

Yeah, running in D-1 for someone with the OP's ability fails a cost/benifit analysis. Getting beat by 2+ minutes over 10K is not much of a reward for hard training. In HS, I was always in the front group but in college I was I was gapped by the first half mile.

There were guys with similar ability that went to Sacramento State that were competitive even in the national meet. Some of them continued to run competitively after college while I quit after my Junior year

D1 Stats Geek wrote:

Don’t listen to the haters. You can totally make it. I can’t name any recruits or runners on their team except the coaches and I’m a total stats geek. That should tell you something.

Um... Sam Affolder as a redshirt freshman and Leo Daschbach as a freshman? Seems like they've got some pretty high-caliber recruits. Doesn't mean anything for this guy necessarily, but it's simply not true they don't have any well-known guys on they're team.

They’ve signed Dashbach Culpepper and Green in the last 2 years. All three of them are ELITE recruits. You will not race at UW. BUT you are definitely D1 talent. Just not UW talent. They are slowly becoming one of the best programs in the NCAA.

The first thing you should do is not hold anything you read here as the absolute truth (including my post). You are your own person and need to make the decisions that best suit you, not what fits someone else's view of you or their view of the world of college athletics.

The history of D1 distance running is filled with stories of those with your talent or below who had success at the D1 level. UW has a great distance program and it will be a tall ask for you to make it there but no one here could possibly know if you will reach your goals there or if you will wash out. Keep in mind it's UW's coaches that need to be convinced that you should be given a chance.

The only other thing you really need to understand is that while UW is an excellent program, there are many others that are also excellent... many of which you may or may not excel at... Do your due diligence and pick the school/program that you feel best fits you.... don't be married to a name... be smart.

Maybe if you live in the twilight zone. They literally have some the most elite guys.

Follow your dreams kid

Don't get hurt, keep training, rip some time trials, have fun, you could be good one day and a good coach will see that.