Curious if anybody thinks she could have won the u20 world cross? It was win in19:28. I say she could have done 19:40 but clearly top 10.
When I looked before the race one of the Ken/etho ran like a 15:06 last year and basically none of them had much else in results(some 16:20 at altitude doesn’t tell me much). If expect everyone on those teams was in sub 15:20 shape. She would be lucky to squeez into the top 10.
More than just doing it solo, Leachman decided before the race to NOT go for the national record, and she was taking it relatively easy for the first 3200. It was only in the last few laps that she changed her mind, and decided to go for the national record after all. She could have run faster than 15:25 if this had been a national record attempt from the beginning of the race.
you say this every time! she was not taking it easy! did you see watch the video where after she finished, she collapsed on the infield. She definitely ran all-out. She probably ran faster because she didn't go out too fast. Her performance was super impressive, no need for embellishment.
You totally misread what I wrote. I did NOT say she took it easy for the entire race. Please learn how to read. Thanks.
I said that she was going relatively easy for the first 3200 because she was NOT going for the national record for the first 3200, but then she change her mind and picked up the pace in order to try for the national record, which she obviously ended up getting.
There are barely any women who ran that fast in college..
There were 7 women who ran faster than 15:25 at the indoor NCAA championships. Plus however many other women who have run faster than 15:25 in other races this year.
15:25 would probably put Leachman around 10th or 12th in the NCAA. Which is obviously very good, but not as high up as other recent high school runners, such as Whittaker and Willis when they were in high school.
We are talking about Americans. Somebody said that she isn't the fastest ever. I said there are barely and college women who have done it. Exclude foreigners and tell me how many have done it in history. You will be shocked at how few. Now tell me how many of thise could have run 15:25 in HS. Leachman is the fastest in history.
We are talking about Americans. Somebody said that she isn't the fastest ever. I said there are barely and college women who have done it. Exclude foreigners and tell me how many have done it in history. You will be shocked at how few. Now tell me how many of thise could have run 15:25 in HS. Leachman is the fastest in history.
Exactly! If she has the record it means she’s the fastest in history! If someone else was faster why aren’t THEY the record holder.
She's great, but not the fastest girl in history. Most HS girls do not run a track 5,000. It's not a typical high school event.
Just to toss a name out: Tuohy ran the 5,000 in HS, and she didn’t run it as fast as Leachman. In fact, Leachman has twice (so far) run it faster than Tuohy did in HS. And she still has a full two years of HS eligibility left after THIS season ends. So if not Tuohy, then what other HS girls are/were faster than Leachman?
(Cue Astro to sign-in and furiously downvote this post multiple times under his registered handle and under his numerous aliases.)
People seem bored. But since you called, Tuohy ran the distance once, sans supershoes. She did that being comparatively undertrained. Got injured anyway, but luckily not bad enough to derail her. That's the trick for all high school phenoms. Can the athlete maintain it without set backs and get through to college running unscathed while weathering the inevitable ups and downs.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
No disrespect but we are just getting the record down to where it should be. For most events, your top high school athlete would be an NCAA all-American.
She's great, but not the fastest girl in history. Most HS girls do not run a track 5,000. It's not a typical high school event.
Just to toss a name out: Tuohy ran the 5,000 in HS, and she didn’t run it as fast as Leachman. In fact, Leachman has twice (so far) run it faster than Tuohy did in HS. And she still has a full two years of HS eligibility left after THIS season ends. So if not Tuohy, then what other HS girls are/were faster than Leachman?
(Cue Astro to sign-in and furiously downvote this post multiple times under his registered handle and under his numerous aliases.)
Tuohuy didn’t have super shoes and more importantly didn’t run faster in HS.
personally I think would have crushed both of them in her prime. But she ran it like once so it all conjecture like that of Allen Webb running 8:30. It is fun to speculate but we will never know.
I guess he is claiming that Tuohy is far down the list since there are faster runners than Leachman.
I'm not claiming Tuohy is far down the list. She is arguably one of the best of all time. She is a 3X NXN Champion and broke tons or records pre super shoes. What I am saying is that claiming someone is the fastest girl in history due to a record in an event that is barely run in high school isn't accurate. An accurate measure of the best of all time is to use championship races and standard distance events (3200, 1600 XC) to make this claim. Running fast times in random meets isn't as impressive as winning head to head against your top competition. Additionally there's a few of the top kids that race consistently at altitude who have very few chances to run fast times at sea leve. That's why the head to head races are the best measure of who is the best.
I'm not claiming Tuohy is far down the list. She is arguably one of the best of all time. She is a 3X NXN Champion and broke tons or records pre super shoes. What I am saying is that claiming someone is the fastest girl in history due to a record in an event that is barely run in high school isn't accurate. An accurate measure of the best of all time is to use championship races and standard distance events (3200, 1600 XC) to make this claim. Running fast times in random meets isn't as impressive as winning head to head against your top competition. Additionally there's a few of the top kids that race consistently at altitude who have very few chances to run fast times at sea leve. That's why the head to head races are the best measure of who is the best.
-My 2 cents...(she/her)
It's a track record. Head to head always fun, but track records are based on time so the record is the record.
Even though it is seldom run, the track 5000 for hs has become pretty close to 'best ever' as the record holders have been top xc/distance athletes anyway. Sisson, Cain, Tuohy, Hutchins and Cook and now Leachman have all been among the top 5000 runners.
With records at 3200, 5000 and a fl xc title Leachman sure has a claim as 'best ever' hs distance runner. Flaws are that she is still a bit wild and inconsistent, leading to races like nxn and Millrose, but she has 2 full years to iron that out. She also needs to keep it up over a couple years and hopefully into college to add longevity.
By altitude I assume you talk about Hedengren and Ritzenhein, and of course Engelhardt is also out there. They would all need to run faster, or win more xc titles to get in the conversation. Engelhardt could very well go down as best ever hs miler and Ritz of course has a chance to be a 3x nxn winner...but they have to make it happen.
I disagree with you. The track 5k is not a standard HS track event, so it isn't the correct measure to rate the best HS runner ever. I don't think we're going to agree on this topic, so I'll just try to leave it at that.
I understand your point of view, it just happens by chance that most of the all time greats are on the 5000 list (many only ran it once), so it's not like the records are from a bunch of nobodies. Similarly, these 5000 record holders also have records at other mainstream distances and national xc that go into the discussion.
You certainly can't exclude the 5000 record from the discussion of HS greats, like you might the 2000m, steeple, or say half marathon.
I understand your point of view, it just happens by chance that most of the all time greats are on the 5000 list (many only ran it once), so it's not like the records are from a bunch of nobodies. Similarly, these 5000 record holders also have records at other mainstream distances and national xc that go into the discussion.
You certainly can't exclude the 5000 record from the discussion of HS greats, like you might the 2000m, steeple, or say half marathon.
I think that it's hard to argue against Leachman as being the best ever in the 3200 - 5k range. She has run the 3 fastest 3200s ever, the second fastest 2 mile ever, and has both the indoor and outdoor 5k records.
Now if you throw in the 1500/1600/mile to the discussion, then there are plenty of other runners that are better than Leachman at those distances.
What I would like to see from Leachman this year is a 1600/mile. She ran a 4:40.7 second mile in her 2 mile record, but she hasn't run a successful mile race yet.
She said that she is running both Brooks PR and Nike Outdoor Nationals. I guess she could run the 2 mile at Brooks and the 5k at Nike, but it would be interesting if she chooses to run the mile at one of those meets.
We are finally agreeing on something. I agree that she can run faster than 15:25.
The problem is that finding a 5k in cooler weather and with fast runners, that also fits in with her schedule, isn't easy.
But there should be a few fast 5k's in May for pros who are looking for a qualifying time for the Olympic Trials.
But now that Leachman has the national high school record and a time that should get her into the Olympic Trials, she might not do another 5k until the Olympic Trials. We'll have to wait and see what her and her coach decide.
I understand your point of view, it just happens by chance that most of the all time greats are on the 5000 list (many only ran it once), so it's not like the records are from a bunch of nobodies. Similarly, these 5000 record holders also have records at other mainstream distances and national xc that go into the discussion.
You certainly can't exclude the 5000 record from the discussion of HS greats, like you might the 2000m, steeple, or say half marathon.
I think that it's hard to argue against Leachman as being the best ever in the 3200 - 5k range. She has run the 3 fastest 3200s ever, the second fastest 2 mile ever, and has both the indoor and outdoor 5k records.
Now if you throw in the 1500/1600/mile to the discussion, then there are plenty of other runners that are better than Leachman at those distances.
What I would like to see from Leachman this year is a 1600/mile. She ran a 4:40.7 second mile in her 2 mile record, but she hasn't run a successful mile race yet.
She said that she is running both Brooks PR and Nike Outdoor Nationals. I guess she could run the 2 mile at Brooks and the 5k at Nike, but it would be interesting if she chooses to run the mile at one of those meets.
Schedule doesn’t allow for Brooks PR 2 Mile and 5000m at NON.