Lauren Gregory coming oh-so-close once again made me wonder what other great runners never won a title. So who has the best NCAA resume (not necessarily what they’ve done post-college) without a title?
Lauren Gregory coming oh-so-close once again made me wonder what other great runners never won a title. So who has the best NCAA resume (not necessarily what they’ve done post-college) without a title?
Had he not won the Outdoor 5k in 2017, Grant Fisher. McDonald and Knight owned him in college.
The NCAA did not manage women's sports in Decker's day. There was some other organization but I can't remember what it was called. I don't think she was ever in the NAIA; I think she was at Colorado for about two years before she went pro. College running was a waste of time for her. She was ready to take on the world.
Peter Rono would the Olympic 1500 in 1988, then finished 2nd at NCAA in 1989.
This question is potentially complicated. Peter Rono won a few NCAA Division II titles and of course he wasn’t really competing in NCAA Division I for most of his races, if I recall correctly. So there are some great runners who did not win NCAA titles, but Peter Rono is not one of them.
The NCAA did not manage women's sports in Decker's day. There was some other organization but I can't remember what it was called. I don't think she was ever in the NAIA; I think she was at Colorado for about two years before she went pro. College running was a waste of time for her. She was ready to take on the world.
If we freeze everyone at the end of their NCAA career and ignore anything after (which you are seemingly implying with your answer of gregory), then Chris Derrick has a pretty good case for it. Something like 15 all American performances and multiple marks near the top of respective NCAA all time lists at the time he ran them, but could never get over that hump.
Obviously didn't have the pro career he wanted or many expected, but few were more consistent at the NCAA level.