name::::;:;: wrote:
If regionals are so bad, why aren't we trying to eliminate them in cross country?
I get that it's apples and oranges in many respects (e.g. comparing times, different heats, duration of meet, thus cost, cost when school is out of session, etc.) but isn't the rudimentary intent to send the fastest athletes in mid Nov. to the NCAAs? Doesn't a regional track system accomplish something similar?
First off, regionals in cross country are a little more "regional" as opposed to flying halfway across the country.
Second, cross country is 7 man teams, you can hold out a couple guys if you are a good team at the conference or regional meet in order to save something for nationals.
Thirdly, running a 10K at conference, then at regionals, then at NCAA's on the track is a lot harder than running 8K xc conference and then 10K's at regionals and ncaas. Especially since with track you are often compelled to double runners at the conference meet, if not at NCAA's (and with the "regional system" at regionals too).
That's a LOT more difficult than the qualifying system in cross country.
The only argument here is that if you think conference doesn't matter. That's a lame argument and if you are in favor of the little man it makes even less sense since this might be their biggest stage to score points for their team with a lot on the line. Conference is the true competition of teams, whereas NCAA's is the true competition of the select elites of the best teams.
What regionals does is give guys who haven't run fast enough a shot to make NCAA's at the expense of making most of the true contenders run needless rounds and risk injury or just plain fatigue when it counts.
It's great to let the little guys have a shot to go to the big show to get lapped or left way back, but in the true development of our sport and for seeing the most exciting races at NCAA's it's counter productive.
I think that's kind of the point, if you truly deserve to be at NCAA's you could have hit your mark during the season either at Penn, Stanford, Cardinal, Mt. Sac or just a decent race anywhere. If Robby Andrews can run 3:40 and 1:47 at a regualar meet, why should he have to go to a regional meet to prove himself again? Goes for all the true players.