What if the NAU dynasty never got started? Should we re-name Syracuse as Marathon U?

From a reply to Gault's tweet:

"Memory serves...I think his faith includes the practice of Ramadan and that would likely impact training load, feeding, and recovery during peak outdoor championship season. So it makes sense to peak right now, before Ramadan. Pretty sweet."

Of course he's not going to perform as well at NCAAs when fasting

Add Joe Whelan to the Syracuse marathon list.

That is interesting, however 3 athletes does not indicate a strong trend or tradition.

If I were to nominate a school for MarathonU, it would be hands-down BYU. These are all recent results, most from guys who were relatively unknown in NCAA. I am certain that I am missing a good number.

Conner Mantz-2:08:16 Chicago

Jared Ward -2:09:25 Boston

Nico Montanez -2:09:55

Rory Linkletter -2:10:24

Clayton Young - 2:11:51 Chicago

Conner Mcmillian 2:12:07 NYC

Conner Weaver 2:15 Grandma's

Jacob Heslington 2:18

Jason Witt 2:18

You can't seriously be comparing a school of 25 year olds at altitude to a normal one

Solid case for BYU but much more than 3 athletes for Syracuse. https://www.atlanta2020trials.com/qualifier-statistics the 2020 trials published a list of qualifiers by college/university and Syracuse was number one with 12 (7 men, 5 women). BYU also had 7 men (no Linkletter as he's Canadian and Montanez and Mantz hadn't run marathons yet) but only two women. If Aouani is the only 'Cuse alum to run a fast marathon since the 2020 trials, that would put them at 8 sub-2:19 men compared to BYU's 9 with the 'Cuse women outperforming BYU in the marathon. Seems like a bit of a toss-up for "MarathonU" to me, but I definitely find the 'Cuse marathons more impressive relative to their athletes' performances in college. Grand Valley State definitely should be the MarathonU of D2 with 9 OTQs for the 2020 cycle.

Pretty sure ‘Cuse fielded 7 men and 7 women at the last Marathon trials

So basically the Syracuse coaches suck.

I'm more impressed that Princeton has 11, Cornell has 6 (hey rojo, did you coach any?), and Williams, Duke, and Brown all have 5

comparing current NCAA athletes, i'm comparing Alums.

You have/had the option of matriculating at 25, 30, or 40 (if you had the option of NCAA running at all). But that would only help you (you seem to think) while you are participating in the NCAA. It is actually disadvantagous when comparing marathoning alumni. If they all graduate in their 30s, don't these other groups have a big advantage by starting their marathon careers earlier and figuring it out by the time they reach their peaks?

The BYU list posted is very impressive for a Masters list. I think another poster was trying to make the same point as I. While you may be on to something comparing marathoning by current NCAA runners, how does alleged old age help them in an alumni comparison? By the way, Colorado is at slightly higher altitude and NAU quite a bit higher yet. Where are their marathoning alumni?

I missed a few as impressive ones: Stanford had 8, Dartmouth had 7, and Yale also had 5...

...University of Arizona and NAU both had 5

Props to 'Cuse, but I have to pick the low hanging fruit:

"The most polluted lake in the United States is Onondaga Lake in Central New York. It's not only one of the most polluted lakes in the country but also ranks among the most polluted lakes in the world."

Major props to the Syracuse coaches. I think the Syracuse coaches look for and prioritize grit in their (prospective) athletes.

Correct. They a) clearly don't kill the athletes love for the sport or burn them out and b) recruit people who love to learn or teach them love.

Rojo is right on target here.

A lot gets written and said about high school coaches who burn out athletes, either physically or mentally or both. The kids who are never heard from again after high school. And of course, much of this commentary is true.

Less covered are the 22 year old (sometimes younger, sometimes older) athletes who, in a few short years, went from promising young runners who loved their sport, to beat up and burned out "old men and women" who can't wait to leave it behind.

Not the 80-90% of college runners who aren't elite or sub elite, had their college experience, and are ready to get on with their careers and lives. But the 10-20% who have, or at least had, the potential to go farther in the sport. The young men and women who leave their college teams and coaches too physically and mentally beat up to have the ability or desire to continue.

Yes, college coaches have their job to do. But does that really require the total Darwinian approach that far too many of them seem to take?

And any meaningful discussion of "what's wrong with the American system" that doesn't address this stage and aspect of a runner's career and development is missing the mark.

I reread Rojo's post and thread title and literally have no idea what he's talking about

As a 'Cuse alum, this made me laugh. Needed it! Not the lake you want to swim in, that's for sure

sorry - forgot to quote the post... re/ the one about Onondaga Lake