Boling will not even medal in the NCAA 100 and maybe not even in the 200, let alone win

He is great in big races. He will finish 2nd in both.

Don't think it matters. He is a freshman. He likely will medal in the next four years.

The dude is adjusting to a new training program this year and coach probably has him working on a variety of weaknesses he has. I don't know why you'd jump ship just yet. A freshman who can place top 5 in this current field is a beast in my opinion.

He's going to be a great 200-400 runner some day.

We are seeing him right around his ceiling. He may pop off a 19.9x some time in his career, but he's not making any teams or wining NCAA titles. There is always going to be a 9.95 or faster and a 19.8 or fast guy in the college ranks in any given year.

I'm not surprised he gets the coverage that he does, but I am often surprised that people expect some big breakthrough for him. I agree with sprintgeezer that there is just no part of his race that looks like he has room to shave off time.

Also, he has drawn lane 2 in the 200.

YES I remember his indoor performance on way tighter turns, and more of them.

Not happening this time around.

1-Amoah

2-Boling

3-Banks

4-Maswanganyi

5-Williams

6-Martin

7-Burnett

8-Laird

9-Fahnbulleh

Bizarre lane assignment, Fahnbulleh lane 9. Won his heat, fastest qualifier. Maswanganyi decent draw, can see Laird, who has maybe the best draw, although he will blow past Fahnbulleh, who will be able to use him as a reference from then on.

CRAP! I was reading the 100m lane assignments.

In the 2, he has lane 4:

1 Burnett

2 Martin

3 Harding

4 Boling

5 Maswanganyi

6 Fahnbulleh

7 Laird

8 Harris

9 Gregory

Much better, this gives him a shot. Fahnbulleh and Laird still have the best lanes, might be a battle between lanes 4 and 5.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

CRAP! I was reading the 100m lane assignments.

In the 2, he has lane 4:

1 Burnett

2 Martin

3 Harding

4 Boling

5 Maswanganyi

6 Fahnbulleh

7 Laird

8 Harris

9 Gregory

Much better, this gives him a shot. Fahnbulleh and Laird still have the best lanes, might be a battle between lanes 4 and 5.

That's a dream lane pull for Maswanganyi. Fahnbulleh hasn't had much of a start, and I expect him third coming into the straight. If the race was 220m or longer, I'm taking Fahnbulleh all day. Once he reaches top end speed, he gobbles up track.

Laird or Fahbulleh FTW. Maswanganyi 3rd. Boling 4th at best, but I see Harris finishing ahead of him too.

So what?

There are lots of talent that never gets a medal.

Why are you so concerned with his outcomes?

I don't hear him talking. I don't see him big noting. He ran 20.11 indoors. If he can improve on that he may finish in the top half of the field.

So what's your beef?

See for yourself. I agree he looked terribly tight in his indoor 200 championship race. He certainly wasn't the smoothest one on the track in his outdoor prelim, but he looked a lot better than in indoor.

https://youtu.be/hpSAzrBkhKs?t=190

So what?

So I thought I would give my thoughts on some of the hype I hear, because I hear a lot. YMMV

Midwesty Boi wrote:

A freshman who can place top 5 in this current field is a beast in my opinion.

He's going to be a great 200-400 runner some day.

This is true. But there were also two freshmen in front of him in both events...

Good. Have some fun as a freshman, then get down to business.

This will push him to where he should be, in the 400m.

He has great 100m speed, not enough but still great.

He is even better in the 200m, and I do still think he can run in the 19.7's before his career is over, but even then, with how sprinting is progressing, it is not enough in the US, and for sure not the world.

Where I see him being truly great is in the monster. I truly believe that with his tools he can go under 44, and that is rare air. I believe he can be the next JW.

BTW, he should also give up the LJ, this isn"t high school, and he ain't CL.

holterskolter2 wrote:

Midwesty Boi wrote:

A freshman who can place top 5 in this current field is a beast in my opinion.

He's going to be a great 200-400 runner some day.

This is true. But there were also two freshmen in front of him in both events...

He might pan out. I might be wrong about all this...but to me, he looks like he has really been pushing hard. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets injured.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

holterskolter2 wrote:

This is true. But there were also two freshmen in front of him in both events...

He might pan out. I might be wrong about all this...but to me, he looks like he has really been pushing hard. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets injured.

Eh, he'll clearly be elite in the 200 for a long time. Silly to suggest otherwise. I think once he commits to 200/400 he'll improve a bit quicker, too.

I agree, though, that he is unlikely to podium in the 100 or 200. I think he has about a 10% chance or less in the 100, probably more like 33% in the 200.

He is a competing in his FIRST major outdoor NCAA Championships as a freshman. Never ran rounds before etc.

He just won the indoor 200 as a Freshman with the 6th or so best time EVER by a collegian.

His HS stuff obviously was dang good even though he didn't even run sprints till his Senior year.

And people are already dismissing him as a sprint talent and saying he should go to the 400 blah blah.

If this wasn't a white guy, would anyone be saying he isn't kicking butt?

Unfreakingbelievable imo!

The only reason he’s under consideration at all is because of that indoor win, and how close he was to 10-flat in HS.

Nobody is saying he’s done. I am just predicting meh placings for him at this meet.

However he does here, it will be interesting to see the difference for him between NCAA’s and trials, since he seems to have back-slided—unlike his competitors, it seems.

It actually looks like he has a lot of room to improve. He is good out of the blocks, but does not accelerate well the first 25m. That is where he lost most of his time on the winner. He was faster after the turn than the top guy was. If he can get moving better the first 25m, he may have a shot at winning.

The only reasons you gave were his LAST two major competitions including 2 or 3 months ago!

I agree that it doesn't look like he will win either the 100 or 200 this year, but he is well within striking distance of the leaders.

But he was 5th only .04 seconds from the winner in the semis, well within striking distance to win and so to say he isn't improving isn't even necessarily true considering this is his first outdoor 100 major championship to compare anything to and not far behind the best time.

His 200 doesn't look as solid, which is ironic when lots of people were saying the 100 wasn't his strong suit, but still finished 5th in the 200 and still a great time for a semifinal.

I am a University of Houston alum and I pray Boling transfers to UH ASAP so the Carl and Leroy can do their magic. And with him and Maswanganyi training together everyday would be great for both of them.

I actually want Maswanganyi to win for obvious reasons. Should be fun to watch!

Faster is better wrote:

He is great in big races. He will finish 2nd in both.

I like his chances also. Great young sprinter.