Wake Forest Coach John Hayes

Maybe but if you’re intention to run the 5k at USAs then he should have run the 5k at BU to secure the standard and leave nothing to chance. This result may provide some good points but he could wind up in the the exact situation that his coach put him in last year.

Everyone big mad cause Hayes was playing 4D chess and the others are playing checkers.....

As much as we might think that people should "run their own race" or whatever, races are very interactive. In a setting like this, what one runner does, especially the runner leading the race, absolutely impacts how others are going to run.

When you do something like this, you are in essence saying, "My workout is more important than your race."

Hayes and Hansen may have been under no obligation to inform the other competitors, and there don't seem to be rules prohibiting them from doing so, but it still comes across as very disrespectful of those that are actually there to race.

I lost respect for both John Hayes and Rocky Hansen on this.

This was pure weakling crap.

Don't want to run a race? Don't go in a race.

Want to run a workout? Run a workout.

And running nerds complain that track is getting cut or ignored.

Start with this: Don't be a joke.

I think Hansen was seeing how Wolfe would respond in a 5k at 8 flat 3k pace and then coach told Hansen to drop to.protect his ego going into nationals.

“Hayes told us that Hansen hadn’t had much volume in terms of quality this week and he wanted him to get more work in after running the 1500 earlier that day (he was 6th in 3:45.73). Hayes said they “waffled back and forth” between having him run the first 3000 of the 5000 in the 7:55-8:00 range or doing a workout on a Boost Treadmill (ACCs were at Wake Forest). In the end, they put him in the race.”

Logic doesn’t make a ton a sense to me but he’s one of the best coaches in the NCAA so I’ll give him the benefit, although I don’t love it.

Also I guess you could argue it’s not much different than someone have a slower teammate take the race out pretty quick.

Imagine actually having an AD that gave a _ _ _ _ about what actually happens in a track meet that makes no money for the school.

I think the injury in indoors screwed up the plan. But he still has the monster points from the 3K so he should be in good shape now

He’s still 7th on the list. And there’s 5 guys with the standard. I wouldn’t exactly say he’s in “good” shape.

Most ADs may not focus on niche sports, and antics like this show why track will remain a niche sport.

BUT any AD will care with the only time a niche team gets any attention is for bad sportsmanship. (Literally getting more discussion than any event result.)

It's more like everyone playing checkers then Hayes played jenga without telling anyone.

I think ADs and others who aren’t super tuned into the sport just see Hansen leading 2/3rds of the race and dropping out of the conference championship final for no apparent reason. Sure, the AD knows Wake isn’t bringing home the team title, but he’d still like to see an athlete earn an individual title. All the AD is thinking is “but he was in first place, why would he drop out?”

Here's how the math works for Wolfe:
1270 points for his 3K
1160 for this 5K

If he gets bronze at USAs he'll hit around ~1200 points give or take (estimating 13:10-13:20) with the bonus points (50). It's early yet, but he would likely get in with that world ranking. Last year I believe he had a 7:37 3K and 13:19 5K at ACCs instead, which held down his score. This could all be a moot point if he chases the time after NCAAs or he runs really fast there. He will need far fewer scratches that last time it seems if he finishes top 3 at USAs.

My bad. Wrong thread.

This whole situation in the grand scheme of the issues our sport is facing doesn’t help. I think most AD’s won’t care about an athlete hopping into a conference championship 5k and running a workout but they wouldn’t understand why a coach decides to do that. I think to the average college administrator (and most college AD’s know nothing about track/xc) they just see us not valuing a championship or a team finish. Our sport is confusing enough and most people don’t understand it.

Wake Forest isn’t going to win the ACC but if they’re going to run a workout in a conference championship they probably don’t value the conference championship. Why then would an AD value the sport or this meet more than a coach? How do we advocate against the massive cuts that are threatening our sport when we don’t value the team aspect of our sport at our own conference championships.

Rocky Hansen is a good athlete and Coach Hayes is a hell of a coach and I don’t doubt this will help Hansen as he preps for NCAA’s and the summer. But we need to place importance on championships. Because if we don’t care about them why should any administrator.

Hes going to need the standard.

Hayes is a great coach, but this is chicken-sh^t, and he knows it. He's probably sitting back and laughing. I'm all for race tactics, but he made Rocky look like an idiot by having him drop out, at least have him finish the race. What is Hayes' objective, and how does it work for Rocky?

Amateur coaching move by a veteran coach. I hope Rocky wins NCAA's.

This is why college track is dying.

Even the conference championships aren't important. There's only one meet that is: NCAAs.

Imagine another sport losing on purpose. You can't unless they are tanking for a draft pick in the pros.

Selfish college track coaches have killed college track.