Chris Derrick: The Greatest Runner never to win an NCAA Championship

Derrick is a great runner. He just didn't get to the line first in the NCAA 10K. Everything has to go right on the given race day to win at the NCAA Championships level. He was in the race, and its a long track race, until the last lap.

derrick phan wrote:

I'm talking American. I could care less about africans and whatnot that just attend school in the US, take advantage of everything US and whatnot. Train in East Africa and stay in East Africa. Americans would be infinitely better if they ran 10 miles to and from school from the age of 5 like all of those kenyans do.

I'm pretty sure neither of the Africans mentioned attended school in the U.S. They are just two runners who are better than Derrick who never won NCAA championships. That's what we're talking about, right?

Has Derrick ever peaked correctly under Dunn? For that matter, has the entire Stanford team every peaked correctly? Agree that this is a coaching thing, but it could also be that he's just not a winner. There are some great runners out there that lack that extra something it takes to actually win big races.

derrick phan wrote:

I'm talking American. I could care less about africans and whatnot that just attend school in the US, take advantage of everything US and whatnot. Train in East Africa and stay in East Africa. Americans would be infinitely better if they ran 10 miles to and from school from the age of 5 like all of those kenyans do.

COULDN'T care less

Judging by the socks and possibly racing flats it looks like he is clearly dealing with some foot problems, that developed sometime between his Pac12 15/5 double and NCAA regionals.

Injuries have been a problem at Stanford under coach Dunn, which is why Derrick was never able to get a team cross country title either. In this program, key guys are consistently getting hurt by the time NCAAs roll around.

Importantly for Let's run posting purposes, we need to know the following:

1) Is he OFFICIALLY the greatest?

2) Is the greatest of all time? Ever?

Tegenkamp won no NCAA Titles.

3:34, 7:34, 12:58, 27:28 (and an 8:07 AR), 3 WC teams, 1 Olympic Team. 4th in his best Worlds finish.

Derrick is running faster younger, but hasn't had a career like Teg yet.

Chalaga is an NCAA Champ and like third fastest guy in his hut

impresssssive wrote:

Tegenkamp won no NCAA Titles.

3:34, 7:34, 12:58, 27:28 (and an 8:07 AR), 3 WC teams, 1 Olympic Team. 4th in his best Worlds finish.

Derrick is running faster younger, but hasn't had a career like Teg yet.

When I think of this topic I do not include post-collegiate achievements. I would be referring to greatest NCAA runner never to win an NCAA championship.

Given that criteria, I am still unsure if Derrick is the right answer - I just don't know enough about NCAA history.

if he has never won an NCAA championship, then why is he so great??

I think the interesting question is which athlete achieved the most while running in the NCAA yet never won an NCAA championship.

Derrick has run very fast at 5,000 and 10,000 while in college, and he is a four-time top-ten placer in XC. Are there other people with stronger NCAA records?

Someone mentioned Lagat, but he won 3 Championships.

How about Yobes Ondieki

From the Iowa State Website

Yobes Ondieki received All-America accolades six times, earning NCAA runner-up honors three times and third-place status three times. The Kenyan won every cross country meet he competed in during the 1983 and 1984 seasons, except the NCAA Championship. Ondieki placed among the top three runners at the NCAA cross country meets from 1983-85. He set a world record in the 10,000 meters, becoming the first man to run the distance under 27 minutes. He shattered the existing mark by more than nine seconds at the Bislett Games in Oslo, Norway, on July 10, 1993. Ondieki’s was considered by many track experts as the greatest distance race ever run. Ondieki, the 5,000-meter world champion in 1991 captured four Big Eight titles, three in cross country, while at Iowa State.

eojtlc wrote:

Bernard Lagat

Lagat has three NCAA titles

I think we can all agree that it's great to have a guy as good as Derrick losing. East Africans are great because there are so many fast ones who get their asses kicked on a regular basis.

Sloop John B wrote:

I think long term it's a good thing Derrick didn't win any NCAA titles. Think about it this way. He's going to be super, super hungry post collegiality because I'm sure he feels like he's got unfinished business. Honestly I think Derrick has a very good shot at making the 10k US team. My order goes Rupp, Ritz, and then Derrick/Teg.

Not getting the NCAA title might hurt his sponsorship chances or total earnings a bit. I feel bad for him in that regard. It may make springing into the pros just that much harder. Hope the trials go well.

derrick phan wrote:

That was just depressing. Losing 10 seconds to Cam that last 300 meters. I hope Levins gets fried in the 5k. Poor Chris. Hopefully he rebounds in two weeks and has a great race at the trials.

Poor Chris? As a fan of Chris Derrick, I do not feel sorry for him at all, not everyone gets a fairytale ending. He had an incredible NCAA career, and is one of the best collegians ever, with or without a title (3rd fastest all time at Terra Haute). Hopefully the lack of an NCAA title adds fuel to his fire...the best of Chris Derrick is yet to come.

Did Alberto Salazar win any NCAA titles?

While I would have loved to see Derrick win, I actually feel sorrier for Brendan Gregg. My guess is he led for all those laps so teammmate Derrick could sit back, and it probably cost him All-American honors. For nothing.

"Did Alberto Salazar win any NCAA titles?"

Answer: Yes, Salazar was the 1978 NCAA Cross Country Champion

BTW, I think I'd have to agree that Yobes Ondieki might have been the best NCAA runner never to have won an NCAA title. But Chris Derrick might be the best American born runner to never have won an NCAA title.