So, as a junior with a 9:34.46 3200, I was wondering some schools I would realistically be able to be recruited by. My 1600 won't help me as its only 4:35. I'm mostly searching for schools in the southeast U.S. I've done some research but most of the school I've seen don't have walk-on/scholarship standards for me to go off of.
For example, would I have a chance of being able to run for Florida or Georgia?
No. 4:20/9:20 are the minimum times for P5 schools. Yes you will find some random slower guys but there is always a story as to why. Your time is D3 material. You could get a spot on a mid major but why waste your time getting crushed by real D1 runners?
For distance running I wouldn’t consider Georgia and Florida to be P5 schools… maybe places like Ole Miss and FSU would be, which is why I’m not considering them.
"be recruited by" is a weird verb. It's like asking if you are attractive enough to be asked out on a date. If you want to run at a school do the asking yourself. Simply contact the coach and ask what opportunities there are for a 9:35 guy. They'll let you know whether they have walk-on, preferred walk-on, and scholarship targets and you can go from there.
Here are the possible outcomes:
Walk-On: Schools like the University of Portland have a huge team of walk-ons. If you get in academically there's a good chance you can join the team.
Preferred Walk-On: At many schools, like the Ivies that don't have athletic scholarships, the coach will have admission spots for preferred walk-ons. If you are academically close this can get you into the school.
Scholarship: There are many scholarship levels that vary based on how well funded a school is. Some schools may have only one scholarship that the coach splits up multiple ways while others may be fully funded but divide scholarships between track and field athletes equally. A few schools will publish strict scholarship standards but for others it will be situational. If an 800m conference champion graduates a coach may spend more scholarship money on an incoming 800m runner over an equally talented 3200m runner if they are loaded in distance guys.
It's like dating. There are no set formulas you just need to find the right fit.
With a 9:34 3200 as your best mark, no you would not be able to run for Florida or Georgia. If you absolutely throw down next year in XC and begin talking to them then about interest in walking then continue improving in track. Neither Florida or Georgia are pouring a lot of scholarship $ into distance runners, even really good ones.
That's like saying you don't consider Alabama power 5 for punters if they don't have good punters for a few years. You are talking about two premier track programs. They have the same number of scholarships as Oregon or Iowa State. They just put money and roster spots in different places. Their scholarship standards and walk on standards are still at a high level for distance. They just have fewer of them.
I’m new to this, so forgive me if I’m naive. I’m just trying to scope out where I can go and make it into a good program. My research was based on their 2021 and 2019 track times. I did see a guy on the Georgia team who had PB’s of 9:44/ 4:4X so that gave the thought that I’d have a chance.
Study harder.
Thanks for the advice… I really have little to no knowledge as to how to go about this.
The kid maybe had a 36 on the ACT or he is related to the AD or there is some other reason that he is on the team. You can contact anyone but I predict that you get no responses from P5 schools especially in the shadow of Covid. Your times are best suited for D3.
Just email coaches, tell them your times and your test scores, etc. Tons and tons of D1 runners ran in the 4:20s and 9:30s in college, what matters is looking at schools you want to go to regardless of running and then see if opportunities exist. You still have an outdoor track season, too, so if it comes down to it you can do some last minute emailing in March and April, which is made a lot easier though if you got into the school. Just email some coaches, see what they say, stay in contact with them. It's perfectly possible to have a great experience running d1 and not being a LRC world beater in high school or college
For a fun (but probably inaccurate) way to see where you stand go on runcruit.com and see what times it takes to run at each school. From my experience, the times it takes to be a "recruit" on that website are actually the times it takes to walk on at that school. Also, email coaches - it doesn't hurt. Where you are at right now you probably would not be getting scholarship from SEC schools but you are also better than "D3 material".
Should’ve clarified in the original post but I’m not looking for or expecting any athletic scholarships, I just meant a spot on the team. Thanks for that website
He wouldn't make top 7 at this D3 school. Look at the 3k times. I know a sub 9:20 3200 high school runner on the team who isn't top 7.
Okay? Wartburg is one of the better programs in D3. And I guarantee most of the runners on the team were not running those times in high school (other than your 9:20 buddy). This guy could easily get scholly at D2, and possibly walk on at a good D1 school, just maybe not Florida.
We can’t mention D2 schools here. Didn’t you know that everyone here is an academic genius ready to cure cancer and ran 3:59 in high school?
But in all seriousness, think of where you’d like to go, check out the team/times, then picture yourself living there if running didn’t work out. Don’t let the negativity of this message board dictate your goals. Full send!
No. They have a 9:07 guy and 9:15 guy that I am aware of. The point was that you said he was better than D3. But he wouldn't even make top 7 at one of the best D3 schools. If he goes D3 and makes some improvement, he could be a top 100 guy as compared to finding a crappy D1 team with a terrible coach that let's him walkon and he never dies anything as a future 8:30 3k guy.
You said he was D3 material when, with college training, he would probably be the best runner at the average D3 school. Of course there are outliers, the best D3 schools are better than many D1 schools, but that does not mean he does not have a chance to be great if he goes to a school other than D3. I personally do not see the hype of paying top dollar to go to a D3 school that does not give any athletic scholarship just to compete to be "top 100". Like others have said though, he needs to just look at schools he would be happy at even if running did not work out, and email coaches.
I have absolutely no idea how a coach from a school like FL or GA would respond if contacted by a 4:35/9:34 guy. Might just ignore it. But if I were a collegiate coach and had a 4:35/9:34 guy contact me I would ask a few questions. How long have you been running? Weekly mileage? Injuries? What was your HS program like? Progression through HS? Caliber of competition? Probably a few more if I thought about it for a bit. Send emails to the programs you're interested in and see if you get any responses. Doesn't hurt to ask. Maybe answer a few of the questions I listed to save the coach from having to ask.
Unless he chooses an instate D1 school, D1 will be more expensive than D3 because D3 schools typically provide nice discounts for academics. The average D3 school will have a net cost of $20k while and out of state D1 school will run about net $30k. Also to consider, Florida and Georgia require ACT of about 30 while most D3 schools are in the area of 25.