Verzbicas to Oregon!

What made him change his mind on Stanford? I was surprised he was even considering them in the first place, but what changed for him?

bus boy wrote:

If he does go to Oregon, it would make sense on one hand because they would cater to a guy like him - international travel expenses...!

If Oregon is outfitting their guys with international travel expenses, no wonder Vin's under fire from the NCAA!

lukasverzbicas<3 wrote:

he has not committed anywhere, as he said on his facebook site. the facts (from chicago tribune!) that Stanford is out of the running and it is between oregon, portland, colorado, and oklahoma state. i am sure he will wait to make his decision but he did say on twitter that oregon was "amazing", just a guess but I could see him ending up there.

What's his Twitter account?

he's bypassing the oly/wc medal winning schools (ucla, usc). he's bypassing the world class academic schools. so what are his goals then ?

that Stanford is out of the running and it is between oregon, portland, colorado, and oklahoma state

Up Up and Away wrote:

repost from the other thread:

If Lukas is thinking about post collegiate success, which he absolutely should think about, the clear choice is Colorado for 5k and up or Oregon for 800-5k.

Off the top of my head, track World Champs/Olympic Qualifier from 2000-current for 1500+ runners:

Rob Conner - 0

Dave Smith - 0

Vin Lananna - 8

1500 (4): Michael Stember, Gabe Jennings, Jason Lunn, Grant Robison;

5000 (3): Brad Hauser, Jonathan Riley, Ian Dobson;

10000 (0) unless you count Rupp...

Marathon (1): Ryan Hall;

Mark Wetmore - 8 (some qualified for more than 1 distance, not taken into account in this count)

1500 (0)

5000 (4) - Adam Goucher, Kara Goucher, Shayne Culpepper, Jorge Torres

10000 (4) - Alan Culpepper, Dathan Ritzenhein, Kara Goucher, Jorge Torres

Marathon (2) - Alan Culpepper, Dathan Ritzenhein

3000 Steeple (2) - Billy Nelson, Jenny Baringer

Good analysis, whether or not you missed any names.

EOT wrote:

Repeat, it will be Wisconsin or Indiana. I understand this news is difficult to trust on a message board, but I am sharing this news on good authority. Personal issues have arisen that are influencing the decision to stay closer to home. Mark these words.

wow, I wish I could believe you, because as a die hard IU fan, id love to see Verzbicas go there along with the crazy IN class Helmer is getting....not holding my breath though.

Hank moody wrote: Wow ur a creep

What's creepy about it? It may not be politically correct to say it in so many words, but it's a compliment to JH that people think she's got a fine caboose and a great pair of legs. If I was a woman, I'd be flattered that so many in the male population think I'm worth "it."

Mr. Clif wrote: wow, I wish I could believe you, because as a die hard IU fan, id love to see Verzbicas go there along with the crazy IN class Helmer is getting....not holding my breath though.

You CAN believe it. Besides the interest in staying closer to home, one thing IU has in its favor is that LV sees the program as strong but not so nationally scrutinized that he'd be under the microscope all the time. Who knows, he may go with Wisco, but you can believe that IU is in the 2-school mix. Exhale....

Up Up and Away wrote:

repost from the other thread:

If Lukas is thinking about post collegiate success, which he absolutely should think about, the clear choice is Colorado for 5k and up or Oregon for 800-5k.

Off the top of my head, track World Champs/Olympic Qualifier from 2000-current for 1500+ runners:

Rob Conner - 0

Dave Smith - 0

Vin Lananna - 8

1500 (4): Michael Stember, Gabe Jennings, Jason Lunn, Grant Robison;

5000 (3): Brad Hauser, Jonathan Riley, Ian Dobson;

10000 (0) unless you count Rupp...

Marathon (1): Ryan Hall;

Mark Wetmore - 8 (some qualified for more than 1 distance, not taken into account in this count)

1500 (0)

5000 (4) - Adam Goucher, Kara Goucher, Shayne Culpepper, Jorge Torres

10000 (4) - Alan Culpepper, Dathan Ritzenhein, Kara Goucher, Jorge Torres

Marathon (2) - Alan Culpepper, Dathan Ritzenhein

3000 Steeple (2) - Billy Nelson, Jenny Baringer

Kudos for mentioning this, and I hate to be yet bone pick, but I have mention that it is dubious to include a few of those runners on Lananna's list. First, Hall absolutely has to come off. Vin did not coach Hall when he made the Olympics and when he did coach him at Stanford it was a spectacular failure, Hall did not come into his own as a collegiate runner until Vin left Stanford. Again, Vin did not coach Dobson when he made the Olympics, but did have more success with him in college. Either way both those guys should come off as he did not coach them when they made the Olympics or even in the few years prior.

Again, the list was just to mention athletes that later went on to make World Championship/Olympic teams some time in their careers. Yes, Wetmore does seem to have more experience in actually coaching them when they make their teams in that regard, does anyone want to put the list of who was still under their coaching when they made those teams? I also chose not to include cross country world championships, half marathon World Championship teams and World Championship marathon teams because so many people choose to skip those events.

For Vin's list: As you said, Hall and Dobson made their teams under Mammoth TC and Mahon. Riley was with the Farm Team and I think Lunn was as well. Not sure about Robison. Were Stember, Jennings, and Hauser under Vin when they made their teams?

For Wetmore's list: Adam Goucher, Torres, Ritz, Nelson, and Baringer made teams while still being coached by Wetmore. Were either of the Culpeppers still being coached by Wetmore when they made teams? I don't think Kara made a team until she got to Alberto?

Up Up and Away wrote:

For Vin's list: As you said, Hall and Dobson made their teams under Mammoth TC and Mahon. Riley was with the Farm Team and I think Lunn was as well. Not sure about Robison. Were Stember, Jennings, and Hauser under Vin when they made their teams?

For Wetmore's list: Adam Goucher, Torres, Ritz, Nelson, and Baringer made teams while still being coached by Wetmore. Were either of the Culpeppers still being coached by Wetmore when they made teams? I don't think Kara made a team until she got to Alberto?

I think this discussion isn't concerned as much with whether the athlete will stay under the college coach after they graduate and make a world champ or Olympic team, but that the college coach doesn't screw up the athlete and they're ready for the next level when they graduate. This is the important thing for LV when making his choice. He should only look at it as a 4-5 year commitment, maybe shorter if he goes pro early.

The Rent is Too Damn High! wrote:

I think this discussion isn't concerned as much with whether the athlete will stay under the college coach after they graduate and make a world champ or Olympic team, but that the college coach doesn't screw up the athlete and they're ready for the next level when they graduate. This is the important thing for LV when making his choice. He should only look at it as a 4-5 year commitment, maybe shorter if he goes pro early.

Good point, which was what I was thinking when putting together the original list.

EOT wrote:

Mr. Clif wrote: wow, I wish I could believe you, because as a die hard IU fan, id love to see Verzbicas go there along with the crazy IN class Helmer is getting....not holding my breath though.

You CAN believe it. Besides the interest in staying closer to home, one thing IU has in its favor is that LV sees the program as strong but not so nationally scrutinized that he'd be under the microscope all the time. Who knows, he may go with Wisco, but you can believe that IU is in the 2-school mix. Exhale....

the fact that this has been roundly denounced by everybody suggests to me that it's not entirely implausible. IU would be a great place for LV. lots of varying training options, a good group of non-egomaniacs who genuinely like each other and are dedicated to improving and making waves nationally.

LV could have a big impact on IU's program in the long run, too, and be viewed as sort of blazing his own path.

I have no idea of the validity of said claims, but if Lukas wants to get in some quality biking for his tri training, IU is a good place to be.

He won't be doing tri if he runs. It is one or the other, at this point I think running looks more likely.

Does anyone here believe that Lukas is waay waay overrated and we should just go pull Kenyans who actually achieve something and aren't already way wrapped up in fame and actually hard workers not just all natural talent and for once see a race which is worth watching rather an American being viewed as "amazing" for running a 13:30 in College while plenty of Kenyans have already done that? Look at Sam Chelenga, lets go get 12 of Chelenga and make it interesting. Just saying

How is watching Kenyans continually dominate interesting?!

How is watching Americans with their excuses and fame for not even making the top 5 in a race and thinking it's amazing to run sub 60 last lap interesting? They are very very good runners but that doesn't mean we should continually look for more talent besides American spoildness.