Best NCAA coaches 800m Excluding The big 3

Take a look at what Mr. Gray produced at UCLA last year. He had a pretty good group of 800m guys, and I belive 2 made it to nationals, and 1 made the final.

mike smith at kansas state.

Ernie Barrett at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Himself a 46 pt, 146 guy back in the day at St. Aug and George Mason (where he was coached by John Cook)he has had many men and women run fast at unheralded Coppin State and now UMES.

I'm not counting Cory Primm because he was a beast in hs

little apple wrote:

mike smith at kansas state.

Really? I'll have to look into that didnt notice Kansas State

J.J. Clark

Ohio State looked great winning both middle distance relays at Drake Relays last year!

The UConn program has produced some very good 800m runners, but it isn't for everyone. A lot of the mid distance/distance kids they plug in end up quitting before they make it to Junior year.

local man wrote:

J.J. Clark

J.J. is arguably the best and that i do know

How about Eastern Illinois. They had a pretty good 4 x 8 last year. They had to have been developed over a 2-3 year period.

Zach Beth and Luke Rucks at Wisconsin both ran around 1:57 for the 800 in high school. They both have run 1:48 and qualified for nationals.

Wisconsin also has Zach Mellon who ran 147 and got 5th at indoor nationals last year as a freshman.

Wisconsin is more known as a XC/long distance school, but their mid-distance is usually very strong too. The 800 this year at Big Tens is shaping up to be a very good race between the Wisconsin and Penn State runners.

"I want to know opinions on the best developers of 800m runners. Please don't include the big 3 (Penn St,VA, and UO) Honestly they are good but they bring in talent, thats not what i'm looking for."

============================

You state that you aren't looking at the big 3 because they bring in talent. OK, if you are looking at coaches who "develop" 800 meter runners, you are missing the boat by not discussing Lananna of Oregon.

Take a look at what he has done with these three for example:

Andrew Wheating. He was nearly an unknown before getting to Oregon, almost on a whim. Wheating had absolutely no high school history in the 800, but Lananna took him from 1:52.13 as a freshman to 1:48.82 as a sophomore, to 1:47.03 as a junior, to 1:45.69 as a senior. This has to have been one of the more incredible coaching jobs in NCAA history.

Travis Thompson. He was another nearly unknown high school 400 meter runner, who started at Lane Community College. Once under Vin Lananna at Oregon, Thompson went from the 1:54 range to last season's junior time of 1:47.60.

Elijah Greer. He was a very good high school 800 meter runner who improved his top time by a full second as a freshman, running 1:46.99 and finishing only behind his teammate at the Pac 10 championships.

Message:

little apple wrote:

mike smith at kansas state.

Really? I'll have to look into that didnt notice Kansas State

Take a look at the Big 12 lists (Men and Women) for the last decade. Seriously, the most underrated mid-distance coach in the country... hands down! haha

Louie Yuan wrote:

Andrew Wheating. He was nearly an unknown before getting to Oregon, almost on a whim. Wheating had absolutely no high school history in the 800, but Lananna took him from 1:52.13 as a freshman to 1:48.82 as a sophomore, to 1:47.03 as a junior, to 1:45.69 as a senior. This has to have been one of the more incredible coaching jobs in NCAA history.

Wheating ran 1:45 as a soph to make the Oly team. He ran 1:44 in Europe last Summer after a long college season. Check your facts. The coaching was good, but it's Wheating's incredible talent that makes the story stand out.

Just to correct you, Wheating ran a 1:45.03 at the Oly Trials, AFTER his sophomore season. His 1:44 in Europe, was also AFTER his senior season. The purpose of my post was to point out his collegiate season improvement. His post season races are relevant, but were not part of the point I was trying to make.

UC Irvine

Definitely Uconn.

I wouldn't say "it's not for everyone" I think it's more fair to say "it's not for weak athletes or hobby runners."

Since 2000 They've had a steady stream of very good 800m guys with the latest two running 1:46 (one is a current senior).

Uconn does not get legit blue chippers but tends to get your very good HS guys that turn them into very good college runners (as opposed to say a UO who get the absolute best HS who often turn into the absolute best in college).

For 1:52-1:55 guys I think U of Connecticut is one of the best places to go.

bump

We are talking about guys that have done something as an 800 meter coach. Gags, JJ, and Mac. Johnny Gray doesn't fit into this group because he hasn't done anything yet. No offense, but you can't compare a first year guy who is learning on the job with these other accomplished coaches. In five years we might be able to, but right now we are talking about coaches who have done something.