GMAC 2021

ghost of jack hazen wrote:

Walsh shoo-in for the title? Tiffin no coach, how will they compete? Is Kentucky Wesleyan really running meets on middle school tracks? Can Ashland distance even be top 5? Sources say Kapes discovered another season of eligibility Can the long red line ever regain its national prominence? Did Walsh even race Tommy E? Noah Fisher lost in the sauce?

Why does Tiffin got no coach?

Noah Fisher is most definitely not lost in the sauce

Seems like Walsh will run away with it this year.

I miss the days where Walsh vs Malone was a thing.

noah fisher supremacy

Serious Question.

Anyone know what exactly is going on in Canton, Ohio? After looking through the results this is Malone's worst conference meet in the history of the program.

It'sMoneyManziel wrote:

Serious Question.

Anyone know what exactly is going on in Canton, Ohio? After looking through the results this is Malone's worst conference meet in the history of the program.

I'm sure that with coach Hazen's status now as "coach emeritus," that has something to do with it.

Malone University is not for everyone. It is not the easiest school to recruit athletes to but Hazen was very good at it. Not everyone wishes to attend a school that is Christ-centered, has mandatory chapel, forbids alcohol on campus, has a pretty much non-existent party scene, has an ultra-conservative environment, and has decent, but not outstanding, academics. It really takes a person that has a strong desire to be in that setting and not many do desire that. Additionally, Walsh University is only about 5 miles away from Malone and the more relaxed environment of that campus is more appealing to many. It is a Catholic school but there is not a big focus on Christ as there is at Malone, there's no mandatory chapel, the campus isn't dry, it is not nearly as conservative, the distance program is really strong and getting better, and the social aspects are more appealing for many. I'm just guessing but many that may have considered Malone are opting for Walsh instead.

All of that said, there are examples of strong distance and athletic programs that are at schools that are similar to Malone - Lee in Tennessee, Messiah, Wheaton in Illinois, etc. The biggest factor is Hazen's waning influence, IMHO.

Greetings!

I'd agree with some of your post.

As a Malone Alumni I'd like to remind you that Malone's bread and butter has always been small town kids who don't want to attend an Ohio State. There are plenty of talented small school kids who end up at Cedarville. They look for that small conservative school.

I spoke with Jack at the High School meet several weeks back and I can tell you that recruiting has been tough. He's no longer "THE" coach but he still helps out. Remember, at one point in time we had numerous sub 9:20 and 4:16 guys. So when we were " winning" recruits were coming.

If you took a deep dive on the boards you'll see when they hired Matt Reneker that was the start of a death march inside the program. Reneker's Heart Rate Based training failed miserably. It's hard to do HRB Training and not know anyone's max heart rates. Wish the man all the best best in Mississippi. However that guy literally killed the program and Jack followed his training to a tee years after Reneker was gone. A few of the guys had a conversation with Coach about the training when we had a very disappointing end to the season. It fell on deaf ears and there were a few of us on the team who told recruits to look somewhere else.

Hate to say this but Malone turned into a school where Distance Runners go to die.

Sincerely,

A Malone Alumni

As another Malone alumni, I’d like to counter a few of the claims you made. Through my years at Malone (after Reneker left), HRB training was never used. This idea was no longer used by the program a few years after he had left. I would argue that the coaching and recruiting is not the problem at all. A group of talented guys came in and stopped buying into the coaching. This led to a destructive team culture where runners thought they knew more than their coaches. Because of this, a lot of talent didn’t get anywhere due to this lack of trust. I witnessed many athletes come in and significantly improve throughout their four years in the program, but this was limited to those who were willing to focus on the training plan the coaches designed for them. So few people did this that a decline in team performance came as a result. Recent coaching changes have resulted in a more strict enforcement of following the training plan and I think you will see an improvement in the coming years because of this. Malone is nowhere near where they want to be, but hopefully a culture change in the near future will bring about different results.

Sincerely,

Another Malone Alumni

MaloneAlumni2 wrote:

A group of talented guys came in and stopped buying into the coaching. This led to a destructive team culture where runners thought they knew more than their coaches.

Would that happen to be the Chaplik brothers and Fresenko?

who was it? wrote:

MaloneAlumni2 wrote:

A group of talented guys came in and stopped buying into the coaching. This led to a destructive team culture where runners thought they knew more than their coaches.

Would that happen to be the Chaplik brothers and Fresenko?

No they were fine. The class after theirs was the main problem.