Big Ten XC

Helmer is taking too long? Isn't he just starting his second season at IU?

midwest rocks wrote:

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Purdue - awful

What do you expect them to do? If they throw some resources that way they still will not make much of a dent in the distance-rich Big Ten. On the other hand, they are placing well in track and FIELD; switching scholarships to distance runners will hurt them where they are good and not help them too much where they are weak. I think that they are in a position that they are damned if the do and damned if they don't. Still, they are pretty bad...

I disagree slightly with you. Any Big 10 team if they allocate just one total scholarship to distance runners will be able to 4-5 solid guys. I know that at least 6 very good runners have gone to Ohio State for books for a speck more. Purdue could do the same without hurting their bread and butter which is track. So the question is, why be so bad, if they could be middle of the pack?

1. Michigan - with winning big ten outdoors and hosting big tens this fall they have all the momentum to put it away this season

2. Wisconsin - always strong and always fast

3. Minnesota - Mead and Rombough are dangerous

4-10 - Toss Up Really... Besides Purdue (10)

Michigan always falls apart for Big Tens, home course won't matter.

Just a curious dude wrote:

I disagree slightly with you. Any Big 10 team if they allocate just one total scholarship to distance runners will be able to 4-5 solid guys. I know that at least 6 very good runners have gone to Ohio State for books for a speck more. Purdue could do the same without hurting their bread and butter which is track. So the question is, why be so bad, if they could be middle of the pack?

You have some good points, but Ohio State is the only Big Ten (and major sports pub) school in a much larger state, while Indiana has more tradition and may get the slight advantage from in-state talent. Good people from other states will cost more scholarship money, I would guess.

Still there have been comments on them not bothering with in-state talent that would be good enough to help their current plight.

Who, by the way, would they over ahead of with a bit more talent? No way they get some help and get better than Wis/Mich/MN/ and even the next tier would be tough, so that they would be fighting for 8/9/10 realistically.

sounds like osu will redshirt quite a few runners which would hurt their chances...my top 5:

1.wisco

2/3. iu/minn

4.mich

5.osu

Some of these aweful schools have actually gotten some good recruits, and with recent coaching changes should get better with time. So just wait until Big 10's.

It'll be interesting to see if Torchia can give MN a solid #3 guy..

I think Rob Gary has done as good a job with some 9:20-types as any other coach in the conference. He was only named head track coach (a say in scholarships) 2 years ago. Even now, he seems to really be committed to a balanced track team.

Purdue doesn\'t exactly have the recipe figured out; last year was Coach Warner\'s 1st they didn\'t suck in cross and track.

Robert Gary was only named head track & field coach a year ago, but before that he had a separate budget and a defined number of scholarship for cross country. This is a fact, not something made up. He does a great job of recruiting the 9:15-9:20 types for little or no money. I can think of 8 guys in the last 3 years that have given up nice scholarship offers from very good DI colleges to walk-on, or take book schollys from OSU. Keeping good kids in state is important.

see and balyo are redshirted