3:32 / 13:12 / 27:30 24 year old freshman

“24”

where u see this

How many other NCAA people can say they have beaten Chelimo and Kejelcha?

https://www.instagram.com/joshua.grenade/p/DFBaA46P1EO/?hl=en&img_index=1

This one is crazy/confusing to me, he used to run for Japanese powerhouse corporate team Honda. I guess he was a pro with Rosa too?

He's going to Odessa College in the NJCAA, just doesn't really make sense. Idk the NJCAA rules but certainly seems like a transfer into the NCAA would break multiple amateurism rules but maybe they don't apply anymore...

....

OMG this doesn't seem right. He ran 3:32 in altitude at age 17, won a GP race and surely received compensation. How is he in NJCAA and if he comes to NCAA and improve any the college ranks are in trouble.

The NCAAs are now the Olympics.

is that a bad thing? as fans, we complain about our super bowl being once every four years. we also complain about all the good races being in europe. now we get to watch some quality racing with some of the best in the world in our own backyard.

Well, it is a bad thing if you want the NCAA to be a place for US runners to develop. It is a question of do you think it would be better if the Grand Slam, Diamond League, and NCAA are all essentially just pro circuits for elite pro-level talent?

I don't, for example, need three NBAs. I like March Madness to be different than the NBA. I like watching randos from Gonzaga compete against Cinderellas from Wake Forest (or wherever). Making the NCAA more like the NBA is not a "win" for me.

Same with running. The NCAA was awesome before we had these changes...

This guy isn't dominating the NBA (though he is good), so I am glad we got to watch him in the NCAA:

Open image

I could run those times for 1200m, 4km, and 8km (XC) and I was a total scrub in the D3. :)

i dont see how this will hurt the develop of drew griffith or daniel simmons

counterpoint: grand slam and diamond league races dont pull/will not pull consistent high viewership. comparing march madness to ncaa track is a bit different because they actually pull numbers. and i mean, college basketball has the second most international athletes in collegiate athletics behind track. tennis has a large number of international athletes but nobody complains there.

you can even look at our own sport. look at the 100m men's NCAA final. 1/9 of the finalist were American. the men's bowerman finalist: 2/3 weren't american. top three in the men's 400 weren't american. Hell, this post is about a juco guy. have you seen NJCAA sprinting rosters? there's a lot of Caribbean guys who make up those rosters. and what happens in the end? the top american guys compete against top world talent and sharpen each other. We never see this level of complaining about "foreigners" in sprinting but because US distance running, especially in high school, is predominately white we for some reason have an issue when an east african comes here. we don't even see this level of complaining when an australian, canadian, european, or even south africans comes over. and i get it, the age here is the concern, and also his questionable eligibility, but you even see this complaining when its an 18 year old kenyan. you just can't win with distance fans. celebrate the accomplishments of eliud kipchoge or kelvin kiptum but if someone that has the same skin color as them comes to the US, those same fans start raising pitch forks

If this continues it will be the demise of US men, and soon to follow, US women’s distance running.

Stop this madness.

Coaches that do this, agents that arrange this née to be called out.

I have nothing against the athletes - they are just trying, in any way possible, to have a better life. Nonetheless, allowing this “anything goes” NCAA will kill collegiate sport as it was meant to be.

I can promise you, Graham Blanks is better competing against Habtom Samuel. the same way Connor Mantz got better competing against Wesley Kiptoo. the same way Grant Fisher got better competing against Morgan McDonald. Iron sharpens Iron.

I think it is fair to be slightly worried with the reduced rosters and increased pressure to win, more coaches will bring in studs from overseas (not just Africa) to score distance points. It pushes kids out before they can develop because their roster spot goes to a grown man or woman who is basically a pro runner.

I am more concerned about the 7th and 8th runner on a team getting pushed off the roster by adding a 24 year old at the 1 or 2 spot. The fastest American kids will be fine, it is the next tier, who is trying to develop into stud runners that will be cut...

If in 2028 the American 18 year olds can't make it onto their own teams because coaches have brought in four unknown 26 year old Kenyans running 13 flat in the 5000m, I will be frustrated.

It didn't really happen as much under the old rules (kids were not getting paid so there was less incentive to "go pro in the NCAA") but with those rules gone, I am kind of nervous.

Referring to Chet Holmgren as a “rando from Gonzaga” is hilarious to me. as if he wasnt the number one player in his recruiting class going to a school that’s good at basketball. that’s like saying you enjoy watching Drew Griffith at Notre Dame. Drew’s spot isn’t getting taken away because a Kenyan is coming here

Yes, you are right. For the elites, it is good to be pushed like that. However, I don't see the NCAA simply as a place for the elite, future Olympians. It is more than that.

It is also a place where a 15:10 kid in high school can go to become a 13:50 runner. That won't happen, nor will the experiences and friendships and skills, if you can't get on teams because the roster size is reduced, the roster is full of imported "scorers," and walk-ons have been eliminated as a concept.

p.s. At least let American kids walk-on. It isn't like they are demanding cash and travel for goodness sake... the vast majority run for free anyway but under the new rules, even this is coming to an end.

He was amazing. I meant that for those of us who watched zero regular season Gonzaga games, to suddenly be introduced to this amazing mutant was awesome! Chet is great (and has been playing well in the NBA).

My point was that March Madness is different than the NBA and that is a good thing. The NCAA is different than a pro league and I think that adds something for the average fan like me.

So blame the NCAA, not these athletes. the roster limits suck but its the consequences we have to deal with. to counter that, how much develop really goes on with "next tier" athletes at some programs? having been to an SEC school, the men's distance athletes of the category you're referring to get cut every year - way before these roster limits were a thing. go check texas a&m, alabama, or texas' xc rosters year to year and see how many kids disappear. if anything, if someone truly wants to develop, go to a mid major or a d2 or d3 school. they'd be a priority there and will be more likely to develop. so many success stories from d3 like alex philip and such. we just also have to accept the sport, even at the domestic level, is faster than it's ever been. go on milesplit and look at the top 100 1600 times last season compared to 2018. standards have gotten so much higher in terms of american recruiting, and its not entirely because people overseas are coming.