Who is the #1 US boys teenage distance prospect- C. or A. Sahlman, Leo, Lex or Nico Young, Parker Wolfe, or Hobbs Kessler?

I'm excited to see them compete at the World Junior Championships. Be interesting to see them in a race with mid to high 3:30s 1500 guys and mid 13:00s 5k guys. Even before that, the US Junior Championships to qualify for Worlds will be interesting.

rojo wrote:

In this week's edition of the Week That Was, I seemingly make the case for all of them. It's a great problem for US distance fans to have.

https://www.letsrun.com/news/2022/02/wtw-newbury-park-colin-sahlman-are-incredible-but-lets-not-sleep-on-parker-wolfe/

PS. While you discuss this, plears remember you remember you are talking about real people who are teenagers and very well may read what you write. So try to be courteous.

My vote, my wild guess, goes to Colin Sahlman. Something about him strikes me as the very real deal.

Also, keep in mind that Hobbs Kessler (still 18) could easily be the first to run sub-13:20 for 5k.

You forgot to mention German Fernandez’s 7:47 3k at 18 years and 3 months when he was a freshman at OkSt.

I can’t keep Leo and Lex straight. The one that just ran 7:58 isn’t the better of the two? What are their PRs from last year and was one of them

Consistently better in XC?

hiney licker wrote:

I can’t keep Leo and Lex straight. The one that just ran 7:58 isn’t the better of the two? What are their PRs from last year and was one of them

Consistently better in XC?

Leo, injured right now, was a little better in cross country this past season.

Lex ran 8:43 at Arcadia last April and Leo ran 8:55 in the same race as sophomores.

Who is better? Who know and no one should care. They are both extremely good for junior and depending on the race they’ll both win and lose to each other, for now.

When I read between the lines in what Sean Brosnan has said in interviews, he seems to think Aaron Sahlman has the most speed of the bunch and perhaps the most untapped potential. That's my vote.

As fast as Colin has run, his form just looks so wackadoo that I am hesitant to project him too much beyond where he is. Of course, I was wrong about Grant Fisher, whose stride and upper body always seem uneconomical to my eyes.

Lenny Leonard wrote:

As fast as Colin has run, his form just looks so wackadoo that I am hesitant to project him too much beyond where he is. Of course, I was wrong about Grant Fisher, whose stride and upper body always seem uneconomical to my eyes.

Fisher and Sahlman are two completely different runners. Fisher has a choppy borderline heel-striking stride, which, I agree, is uneconomical. He's clearly making the most out of it, though. C. Sahlman has a massive stride, a clear forefoot foot-strike, and will only improve as he fills out and strengthens his hip abductors and core muscles. He is one of the skinniest dudes I've seen run this fast and he still has so many clear areas to improve on.

Nico Young is still technically a teenager until July of this year. I know he's not U20 eligible anymore, but I think he should also be included in this debate.

I think this group will win more medals than the early 2000s crop of Ritz, Hall, Webb, Solinsky, McDougal, Jager, Teg, Rupp, Centro, Fam, Torres (x2), etc. This group earned a total of 9 global medals by my count

[ 4 outdoor Olympic Medals (1 G, 2 S, 1 B) and collectively 3 WC medals (2B and 1S) + 1 road WC medal (1B) and 1 indoor medal (1G)]

Much ado about nothing

It is probably NONE of the above. The one with the most potential probably is not at Newbury Park. It is somebody a bit under the radar.

10 if you add in Manzano who is also of this era.

Sumner.

Brandon Miller

Going with Colin Sahlman. How many kids have gone sub 4 and were the best XC runner in the country that same year? Hunter, Fisher, and him?

Young twins are going to be incredible as well, I could see them just obliterating the record books next year.

Elkamino wrote:

It is probably NONE of the above. The one with the most potential probably is not at Newbury Park. It is somebody a bit under the radar.

The lame American idea of "our hero is a 20 mpw kid who we'll find" should be long gone

I think the overall talent-for-age list of the current generation of these distance guys is:

Leonard/Lexington Young

Hobbs Kessler

Aaron Sahlman

Colin Sahlman

Nico Young (are we including him in this?)

Parker Wolfe

I know this probably sounds pretty cocky coming from a barely sub-5 guy but compared to the others on this list... Parker Wolfe, hasn't really done all that much... still, a national champion who's seeming to accomplish more and more in college

cramister wrote:

Elkamino wrote:

It is probably NONE of the above. The one with the most potential probably is not at Newbury Park. It is somebody a bit under the radar.

The lame American idea of "our hero is a 20 mpw kid who we'll find" should be long gone

Intelligence matters. A lot. I will take the field (the rest of the country) and you can take those names listed. Intelligence dictates the odds are with me. Nice try though.

Elkamino wrote:

cramister wrote:

The lame American idea of "our hero is a 20 mpw kid who we'll find" should be long gone

Intelligence matters. A lot. I will take the field (the rest of the country) and you can take those names listed. Intelligence dictates the odds are with me. Nice try though.

Who would you have chosen to be the all-time greats from among the early 2000 group.

Probably that exact same list with the exception of Jager and Manzano. All the others were well established top athletes in high school.

I love that the excitement is finally on the boy's side of high school running as opposed to the girls. The boys are so much more predictable long term. Even girls who wowed last year like Whitaker, Willis & Sophia G haven't shown improvement so far this year. The best long term female runner will most definitely be someone flying under the radar right now, but not so with the males.

Kessler still tops my list until someone comes anywhere near his 3:34. I've mentioned before that I think he needs a group to train with that can push him forward, guys who are much faster than him. It worked with Willis and Ferlic between his junior & senior years of high school but he has already surpassed them when it comes to the 1500/mile. I would love to see him stay at home with Warhurst but that group needs an injection of pro talent immediately.