Community College?

yes and they're all sprinters

You DO know that we are also known as 'University of Oregon Honors College' don't you ?

The current US National Marathon Champ, Sergio Reyes, ran for a California Community College. Cuesta I believe?

Really??

Sally Kipyego

Abdi Abdiriham

Brandon Leslie

Boaz Lalang

Morceli

Kyle O'brien

plus about 3-4 NCAA cross country all-americans EVERY year.

and a lot of sprinters too

Is there an academic counselor at your high school you can talk to about this?

You can get a very good education at a community college, and (depending on where you live) many have guaranteed transfer agreements with nearby 4 year schools. Basically, if you take a certain number of units/classes that meet the accreditation standards for the 4 year school with a certain GPA, then you can transfer in as a junior for your last two years. When you graduate from the 4-year school, no one in the working world cares that your first two years were at a community college. An academic counselor should help you get the information you need to know. They also will know what other graduates (before you) have done with going to community college, and how it has worked for them.

Also (depending on where you live) many have track and XC teams that may be easier to "walk-on" as a freshman compared to a 4-year school.

Four years of running at an NCAA school versus two at a community college (where you can compete against NCAA schools) followed by two at an NCAA school won't make a difference for most people. There are former div. 1 coaches who coach at community colleges because there aren't that many jobs available.

nouredine morcelli ran 2 years at riverside junior college in california, and he improved so much he was able to turn pro.

johny gray

tyreese washington

kirk pfeffer

zelda johnson

In my state, you can take CC classes in high school and it's free. It's for juniors and seniors. I just wish that I would have done that. That last two years of high school were sort of a waste of time.

Ben Bruce is the U.S. runner up in the steeple chase and road 5k for 2010. I think he also made the world xc team. Ran 2 years in community college.

I feel that junior college is a great decision for anyone who isn't Div 1 material out of high school.(not saying your not d1 material) you just have to make sure that you choose a school with a good coach. There are several kids that are doing great things in the NJCAA. I do know the number one school in the nation in NJCAA currently is Cowley College I was looking at there results from the OSU jamboree meet. Cowley college Won the mens small college division. If there times would have been taken and ran in the University race(note: That was a faster race and possible faster times from Cowley) they would have placed 5th overall and would have beaten several D1 schools such as K-state, Rice, TCU. Also Cowley college's lead runner Josh Gracia in high school his PR was a 16:20 and he was a 16:40 average guy and lets be honest these times are not D1 material anymore. He has now ran a 24:30 in the 8k. Which is coming through the 5k in 15:18 and still having another 3k at the same pace. I am sure that kid is getting recruited by several big time schools I have heard from friends that he is talking to Tennessee,Florida State, and even Arkansas.

You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Community college's are not what they used to be. Look at the ranking's in juco and aim for a top ten team. Here is a list of the top five.

National Rankings

1. Cowley College

2. Lansing

3. Central Arizona

T-4. Johnson County

T-4. South Plains

It's not just for sprinters, off the top of my head I can think of:

Sergio Reyes

Abdi Adrirahman(sp)

Eliud Njubi

James Kiranu

Likaya Diyiley

Brandon Leslie

Mark Menefee

Junior Vasquez

Kyle O'Brien

Boaz Lalang

Nordine Morcelli

Herbert Mwangi

I'm sure there are several more who have thrived under the Junior College system and went on to see success in the NCAA system and beyond, you just have to find what is right for you.

At UCLA, 1/3rd of the junior class consists of transfers from the California Community College System of 102 colleges.

I don't know if this is true for track/xc, but some can get a better basketball scholarship at NJCAA (non-west coast) than NCAA/NAIA.

i attended community college, and ran for them also. It was a great experience. I received a good education, an associates degree, and good running experience - all while living at home. The best part about it was that after i was done with the 2 years at the community college, with the financial aid i received, i was in no debt whatsoever. having a degree (even though its just an associates) without any debt is a great feeling...trust me. By the time i was done at the community college, i transferred to a university (and was able to walk on to their team). I am still at the university now. When i look back, i have no qualms about going to the community college first. Deffinatley think about it!

Community college is a good affordable option for students unsure of where they fit but it can be very difficult to get out in 2-3 years so you can use your remaining athletic eligibility. You have to really be on task since many coaches will enroll you in 12 units and 3-6 of them will be BS units made to keep you eligible for JC. It can take you 4 years to get out easy. As a community college student you should be taking 5-6 real academic courses a semester and class in the winter and summer sessions as well. Community college classes are generally much easier than University courses but it can still be time consuming, especially if you work and are on the team. Do NOT go see a community college counselor, it is their job to convince you JC is the best option and they will keep you there an extra year at least with their pick of classes and schedules. Remember who they work for! Talk to athletes from JCs who are now at Universities or whose eligibility is done and who have their Bachelor degrees and have real jobs to see how they would approach it and what, if anything, they would do differently. good luck

I think CCs are a great idea. Depending on the system and the courses you choose, you may be able to transfer all the courses to a 4 yr college. This is a critical thing to ask. In GA the transition is pretty seamless; in IL (at least at one time) it was not.

Besides cost, you also have good odds of getting a teacher with a PhD versus a doctoral candidate for freshman courses at a 4 yr state university.

I will leave the running options to others.

Junior college wrote:

You shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Community college's are not what they used to be. Look at the ranking's in juco and aim for a top ten team. Here is a list of the top five.

National Rankings

1. Cowley College

2. Lansing

3. Central Arizona

T-4. Johnson County

T-4. South Plains

Don't ignore the non-ncjaa colleges. While they are both on down years a bit from last year, Both Spokane and Everett of the NWAACC could have easily competed for top 5 spots in the NJCAA last year. Particularly Spokane on the Men's side and Everett on the women's side, but both programs on both sides are solid year in and year out. And if you are a trackster, and particularly a Decathlete, the NWAACC seems to be the place to go. Tom Pappas, Dan O'Brien, David Lemen, Cyrus Hostetler (yeah yeah, he doesn't do the decathlon anymore, lol)...

P.S. I have noticed that no one pointed out that Noureddine Morceli ran for a community college as well.

Also, Jacques Sallberg was a state champion is the steeple for Glendale College (california) and he has made the finals of Olympic Trials and USATF Champs in the steeple I believe.

and do not forget about:

Sylvia Mosqueda

Francie Larieu Smith

Ato Bolden

Maurice Greene

Giovanni Lenaro

They been to the Olys

Also Tyson Gay and Jon Drummond