L&L vs. Aaron “Alpha” Sahlman PPV Live next Saturday Night on Runnerspace+

The New Gen party was held in the atrium of the hotel in clear view of all credentialed coaches, chaperones, and a sizeable contingent of uniformed Nike security officers. To enter the party required an athlete's wristband or coach, chaperone, or official staff credentials. Once the party started, very few adults entered the atrium as it was clearly an event for the athletes. Parents and visitors were restricted to the check-in lobby and the hotel's restaurant space. No food or beverage service was provided in that area and the hotel bar was closed and all alcohol removed for the entire NXN weekend. All food and drink inside of the party was set-up and replenished by the hotel's catering staff. The only alcohol that I saw all weekend was in a small locked display cooler in the hotel's market. It was only wine by the bottle and could only be accessed by hotel staff.

I cannot speak to any beefs or drama within the Newbury Park team nor if any alcohol was smuggled or consumed by party attendees. I can say that the event organizers and the hotel did a very good and very serious job of keeping the venues controlled. They also kept the programming very appropriate for their audience. If you were not in Portland for the event this past weekend, kindly shut up as you do not have firsthand knowledge and you are merely amplifying rumors for your own entertainment.

Here are some small Ls from my keyboard, l l l l l l, with no circles involved. Does your keyboard have small Ls with circles? However you might have a good point so let's do a deeper analysis.

A circle with the middle fingers would be lo, then the fingers themselves with diagonals could indicate Ss and Es, plus another R and S on the end but he ran out of fingers. Was he trying to spell LOSERS???

No worries. When they all go to college Mike Smith will use his psych skills to smooth all this out. He’s like the Dr. Phil of running.

I saw the next Gen photos & videos from the party & immediately suspected alcohol was involved. Wouldn’t surprise me if this is next gen’s first & last time working nxn.
I know they’re teens & they’re capable of having sober fun but the vibe didn’t seem that innocent & if Aaron got caught he will definitely be suspended. If we see him competing unattached this track season then we’ll know why.

Caught by who? Any police reports? Breath analzyer? Just "somebody's" say so, on a club event in another state? It is weird that Newbury Park is allowed to even compete as "Newbury Park" and have their actual coach coaching, whereas other coaches have to at least pretend to just be observers or something, much less enforce something back at home on the actual high school team. We'll see how things develop, I guess.

Aaron's NXN post has no pictures of the other Newbury kids

Interesting that all the other athletes are posting IG stories congratulating AS (and he’s re posting). Wondering if there’s resentment towards L&L from the top guys (and AS) because they’re so famous? Wouldn’t shock me. Definitely seems like an us against them situation.

didn’t see a single story offering praise, sympathy or otherwise to the twins.

Also, if the LL hands truly had some deep meaning, that would mean Aaron planned it and expected to win.

I find it hard to believe that he went in planning a victory celebration and if so, was he holding back all season?

There definitely is. Caudillo and Birnbaum both commented on the Runnerspace post about them being favorites and them and Connor Burns have liked lots of comments disparaging L&L. Surprising because I know the Young’s know Caudillo

I believe aaron capitalized on having insight into their racing style & tactics. I also think he’s a different personality than the young brothers, hence why wesfly has taken an interest in him. His ig showed him at a Motley Crue concert a few months ago. Kinda funny but maybe the kid likes to party & is an extrovert. Idk, I didn’t care about any of these kids lives until last Saturday lol
I also listened to the young’s recent podcast interview & they only talk about themselves & their chances of winning. They never mention Aaron at all. It’s as though they didn’t consider him a factor. More fuel for Aaron come race day

All it takes is a couple hours being mad to connect L&L yahoo channel, and L for "loser" sign and double L for "losers" and L&L. He could even have come up with during the race, even late race after dropping Lex and thinking about what he'd do if he beat Leo as well.

And, moreover than just the finishing line, reports are he continued flashing it during the after party, etc.

It's not weird. Nike wants geographical names. "Newbury Park" fits that requirement. A few programs were grandfathered in from the original NTN (ie, Kinetic vs. Saratoga Springs). Some states allow coaches to travel with their teams in the post-season, some don't.

But how will this affect LeBron's legacy?

As epic as a double L salute to L&L would have been in winning and sticking it to your nemesis, it's not accurate. He was flashing a L and J for Lumber Jacks (NAU's mascot). Notice the right hand thumb is not extended outward like the left, but more pointed up like a J. If you're a fan of NAU sports, you'll see the L and J used frequently by the crowds.

i’m sure there were similar posts after eliud came in 8th in london. when the overwhelming favorites who are also by far the most popular athletes competing blow up and perform poorly, there’s going to be support and condolences.

probably because they’re adults with a job to do, but i don’t think shura kitata etc are going to be making a scene under such posts

Might as well throw it out there that Colin just shared Leo’s post and supported him. Also this thread is on the hot list now so get ready for it to blow up

Honestly it does seem like some in the upper crust of high school running have an issue with L&L or at least all the attention they receive. Runnerspace made an appreciation post on them after the race and plenty of runners, including Chris Caudillo one of the top non-NP runners in CA. I remember even last year when New Gen made a video testing out the Streakfly with the Sahlmans and Young’s there comments asking why Daniel Appleford or any of the other varsity guys didn’t get to meet Cooper Teare or try the new flats. I have no inside info but this is just what I’m picking up through the social channels and vibes in the comments like below.