Basically everyone on mens and woman’s roster was simply reprinted from team roster. All runners regardless of grade names were submitted. so basically means nothing
Basically everyone on mens and woman’s roster was simply reprinted from team roster. All runners regardless of grade names were submitted. so basically means nothing
right, the only thing it means is if you are not shown as entered you won't run
Is there a precedent for redshirting a top 5 recruit and it paying off? I can't recall any since the class of 2008 perked my interest (all of the big names-- Fernandez, Derrick, Puskedra, Mecheso, Estrada, Lowe, Hill -- competed), but I hadn't paid as much attention to D1 in the 90s and early 00s.
I'd think it's highly unlikely Sahlman would compete for more than 4 years, and he could likely consider going pro sooner. But of course sports reporting for XC is pretty much non-existent, so coaches are easily able to keep secret any relevant information.
I think that's bad for the sport, and makes it pretty much not worth following for anyone but former XC runners. It's too bad, because it isn't going to do the campaign to get XC reinstated as an Olympic event any favors.
I think that's bad for the sport, and makes it pretty much not worth following for anyone but former XC runners. It's too bad, because it isn't going to do the campaign to get XC reinstated as an Olympic event any favors.
Agree with this for the most part, however if there is a physical or mental issue (i.e. injury they’re trying to heal from or mental fatigue or burnout or something), those would be more important than competing just for entertainment value. He’s only a freshman. I’d love to see him compete right now but not if it’s at the expense of his promising future.
My last paragraph was more about the poor reporting. If Sahlman is banged up, we have no idea.
I of course don't advocate running him injured or sick. But beyond that, is there any other reason to redshirt him, going back to my first question?
Generally I agree with you that it works out better to just let the top freshmen run and not overthink it. Everyone remembers the Matt Withrow debacle in 2004.
Mike Smith has made it clear he likes to lessen the expectations and pressure by not having top recruits run right away. He's right that an early "bad" result can be demoralizing since the level of competition is so much higher. Being 15 seconds off in high school isn't a huge deal, but at the NCAA level that can be a lot of places. Look at Verzbicas and his 62nd place finish or whatever it was at Wisconsin.
But I sort of think things are going to turn out how they turn out regardless of the "long term development argument" that people make all the time on here. Sure, don't over-race or run a kid who's injured, sick, or having legit trouble with the adjustment, but I don't think we should be so scared to let people race.
Sometimes a top freshman races, does really well, and goes on to a great NCAA or beyond career (Grant Fisher, Dathan Ritzenhein, Chris Solinsky, Chris Derrick, Nico Young come to mind).
Sometimes a top freshman races, does really well, and goes on to be incredibly successful but not world-beating (Ben Saarel, Luke Puskedra, Casey Clinger).
Sometimes a top freshman races and it doesn't go well and they never recover (Lukas Verzbicas, German Fernandez).
Sometimes a top freshman doesn't race right away and then they never really develop according to plan anyway (Matt Withrow, Brody Hasty - Hasty has come up clutch at NCAAs for NAU, so no shade here, but I'm guessing he had hoped to be a top-ten guy coming out of HS).
Sometimes a top freshman races right away and isn't outstanding of the bat, but gets better in college (think Cole Sprout, Cooper Teare).
Then you have someone like Alan Webb that's all over the map.
I think what's going to happen is going to happen. A runner's psychological profile is part of their talent level. Although having a coach like Mike Smith that seems to excel in this area is key to consistently doing well in the NCAA.
The bottom line is, if he's running as well as expected, he'll run this XC season and this weekend. If he's held out, that means there is some struggle. Maybe a little, or maybe a lot, but if he wasn't struggling more than expected, he would help the team and they look to need it.
As a freshman, German had some terrific xc races before dropping out from near the front toward the end of NCAA xc. He then ran 3:56.5 solo indoors, then 3:55i and 7:47 while ill. Outdoors, he won the NCAA 1500m title from the front the entire way. That was almost all of the highlights of his career after high school, but he had one more, a 3:34 in the summer after his senior year.
I saw Lukas V run in local Chicago races, and I think he just thrived on training for the triathlon, and being part of a team in Oregon didn't work for him. Sadly he had a horrific bike crash, that hindered his performances after college, otherwise he might have had many more great races.
Anyway, hope Sahlman is healthy and he gets to compete. I imagine he really wants to run.
Hope he runs. Any HS senior that is already good enough to be competitive in Div I should NEVER redshirt their freshman year of college barring some sort of real injury. No use saving something for a hypothetical 5th year if you are already an All-American candidate as a true freshman.
Hope he runs. Any HS senior that is already good enough to be competitive in Div I should NEVER redshirt their freshman year of college barring some sort of real injury. No use saving something for a hypothetical 5th year if you are already an All-American candidate as a true freshman.
This, and there's always a possibility of an injury farther down the road that might warrant a redshirt. Why waste one on "adjusting" to college without an injury?
My last paragraph was more about the poor reporting. If Sahlman is banged up, we have no idea.
I of course don't advocate running him injured or sick. But beyond that, is there any other reason to redshirt him, going back to my first question?
Generally I agree with you that it works out better to just let the top freshmen run and not overthink it. Everyone remembers the Matt Withrow debacle in 2004.
Mike Smith has made it clear he likes to lessen the expectations and pressure by not having top recruits run right away. He's right that an early "bad" result can be demoralizing since the level of competition is so much higher. Being 15 seconds off in high school isn't a huge deal, but at the NCAA level that can be a lot of places. Look at Verzbicas and his 62nd place finish or whatever it was at Wisconsin.
But I sort of think things are going to turn out how they turn out regardless of the "long term development argument" that people make all the time on here. Sure, don't over-race or run a kid who's injured, sick, or having legit trouble with the adjustment, but I don't think we should be so scared to let people race.
Sometimes a top freshman races, does really well, and goes on to a great NCAA or beyond career (Grant Fisher, Dathan Ritzenhein, Chris Solinsky, Chris Derrick, Nico Young come to mind).
Sometimes a top freshman races, does really well, and goes on to be incredibly successful but not world-beating (Ben Saarel, Luke Puskedra, Casey Clinger).
Sometimes a top freshman races and it doesn't go well and they never recover (Lukas Verzbicas, German Fernandez).
Sometimes a top freshman doesn't race right away and then they never really develop according to plan anyway (Matt Withrow, Brody Hasty - Hasty has come up clutch at NCAAs for NAU, so no shade here, but I'm guessing he had hoped to be a top-ten guy coming out of HS).
Sometimes a top freshman races right away and isn't outstanding of the bat, but gets better in college (think Cole Sprout, Cooper Teare).
Then you have someone like Alan Webb that's all over the map.
I think what's going to happen is going to happen. A runner's psychological profile is part of their talent level. Although having a coach like Mike Smith that seems to excel in this area is key to consistently doing well in the NCAA.
Sometimes a top freshman races right away and has an awful NCAAs first year, but they go on to have great success afterwards. For example Justyn Knight came 143 in his first XC NCAAs back in 2014.
That's a good point - the injury at NCAA XC wasn't the end for German. He ran that fast mile indoors and a fast 5k outdoors I believe.
And won the NCAA 1500 as a freshman.
It's also worth noting that wasn't just any fast 5k. He broke the American Junior Record in a championship race, placing 5th in the US Championship. He also previously broke Rupp's record at Payton Jordan earlier in the season, but Derrick was ahead of him. His record would stand for 12 years until Nico Young.
His indoor collegiate mile record of 3:55.02 is also a World Junior Record, and still stands after 18 years. He also placed 11th at the World Junior XC Championships. He had arguably the greatest spring season of any US college freshman distance runner.
Which made his neverending string of injuries and lack of improvement afterward all the more disappointing. It's unlikely redshirting would have helped -- his eventual injuries were probably inevitable, and he would not have had all those accomplishments.