I was actually thinking about this just this morning, as I have made huge strides post-collegiately, and not just because I am older, but because I get to do exactly what is best for me and only me nearly every day. Of course, this includes periodically doing workouts with a group. When I was in college, I basically did whatever training was appropriate for the best runner that year, as the coach generally designs training for the best runner on the team and wants the other athletes to just hold on for dear life, hoping some will emerge better for it.
I have heard a suggestion in the past that training for a team should be done on time, rather than distance, so that all athletes get the same rest. So, instead of doing quarters, athletes would do 60 sec repeats or something. This of course has other inherent issues, as athletes could be lazy and run slower and shorter. However, it takes into account the gap between athletes. After all, the fitter an athlete is, the less rest they need, and running everyone together is the complete inverse of what is needed for a team.
Then again, a good coach would know how to break the team into appropriate groups so that this would not be such a huge problem...