Texas women's running distance programs

You said your daughter is "young"? How young is she?

If she is not entering her senior year, there should be very limited recruiting per NCAA rules.

Sorry, "young" meaning inexperienced...she came into cross country halfway through her sophomore year (came from another sport). Last year (her junior year) was the first year she ran cross country and track exclusively. This coming season she will be a senior.

Texas universities are not known for their distance programs...

I do hear distance squads typically do pretty well in academics in the big xii.. Of the texas schools in the big xii, The UT team has been improving every year and they are really developing a lot of unknown talent which is great to see. Their squad is also doing very well in academIcs from what I heard and it continues to be the trend yr in and yr out

I run for Baylor (so admittedly I may be a little biased;), but I can definitely honestly say that I love it here and I'm very happy with my decision, not only for the running but for the entire school experience. Coach Harbour is an incredibly nice guy and a devout Christian, and he always looks out for his runners and has their best interests (long-term) in mind.

The atmosphere at Baylor in general and on the cross country team as well is Christian and not party-centered (of course it is college so no matter where you go some people will party, but here people are definitely focused on academics and in general the party scene is limited). Several of the girls on the team hold Bible studies and most are involved in local churches. The girls on the team all take academics very seriously; nearly every year we have the highest GPA of all the teams on campus, and I believe we've been ranked among the top in the nation academically multiple times in recent years. The girls also do a lot of team bonding activites together at the beginning of the year, which is good for freshmen who don't know many people yet coming in.

Another thing that has been great for me was the resources avialable here, especially for rehab/injury prevention. We have 2 Alter-G treadmills, which I belive is unmatched by any other school, and they're an awesome rehab/injury prevention tool that I was really blessed to be able to have access to this year as a fairly injury-prone runner. The trainers are also great and they really make taking care of you a priority even if you're among the slowest on the team, like I was haha.

Coch Harbour is the same way in that he genuinely cares about all of his athletes, from #1 runner to walk-ons like me. He also differentiates workouts and training loads for the various ability/experience levels to aim for gradual development and avoid burnout,etc. There is a lot of flexibility in individual mileage levels. He is just the nicest guy (which you may have already experienced first-hand if he's been recruiting your daughter), and I definitely believe in the way he coaches/runs the program.

Sorry if this sounds too much like a recruiting message or something, but I'm just honestly giving my opinion as someone on the inside of this team. If I were to say anything that's been negative about my experience here, it's that there aren't a lot of good places to run in Waco when you're by yourself and not running with the team. There's a huge park very close by with lots of trails that we run in all the time as a team (Cameron Park), but in my opinion it's definitely too sketchy for girls to run in alone. The old 2.5ish mile campus loop gets pretty old after a while, but luckily there are lots more options when running as a team/with others.

Overall Baylor is a really good school and I loved my first year here not just running-wise but everything else too. Great academics, a lot of awesome ways to get involved in the school and the communtiy beyond running, and the coach and team are great:)Best of luck wherever you decide on going!:)

You mentioned religion 4 times... Yuck. Waco is a total poop hole

Also to be clear, both UT and A&M also seem to be really solid programs and have definitely been achieving very good results recently. I don't personally know anything about the coaches or team/school atmosphere there but both teams ran really well this year. Of couse A&M is dominant in track but they've also seemed to focus a lot more on distance lately and have done some great things as a result. And UT seems to be developing runners well and improving a lot. To be honest they obviously both did a lot better than Baylor at conference, regionals etc. this year. I still think we have an awesome program though and would recommend it to anyone:)

Hey, Waco may be a poop hole, but not because of religion. And I only counted two times;)

To be serious though, faith is important to me, and I won't be ashamed to say that- it's a major part of who I am and who our team is as well. But you certainly don't have to be Christian to go to Baylor or even to enjoy the school and/or running experience here.

youngrunner2012 wrote:

My daughter is currently being recruited by most D1 big schools in Texas and the Big 12. We need advice about which programs would be the best considering she is young and not very experienced (just happens to have good times). She does NOT want to go to a school where the team is going to be into partying and not serious about academics. But, we also want to find a coach that is not going to run her into the ground to the point she is either injured or burnt out before her senior year. Should we continue to look at these big Texas schools? (UT, A&M, Baylor, etc.) or should she start looking elsewhere??

I'm going to take a guess and assume this is a certain runner from San Antonio who use to play vball.

Anyway, Texas and A&M both have had distance success recently. Texas has a lot of depth right now and A&M just had the best individual season of any runner in a long, long time with Natosha Rogers winning the NCAA 10k and placing 2nd in the Olympic Trials.

Another program that recruits well is Rice

You need to decide how important running is and if it is worth it to go out of state to an Oregon-type program where she is a number and could be lost in the shuffle. Something to also consider is the fact that the distance scholarships are relatively small on the national scene - even for a 10:40 runner. It might be more financially beneficial to stay in state.

I would also look at the current roster and who each school is bringing in for 2012.

To be serious though, faith is important to me, and I won't be ashamed to say that- it's a major part of who I am and who our team is as well. But you certainly don't have to be Christian to go to Baylor or even to enjoy the school and/or running experience here.[/quote]

I respect that you are strong with your faith,Its just I wouldn't want to attend a school that has prayer circles before races. That's all.

Truth

Best two women's distance programs in Texas are Texas & Rice. Texas A&M has had one runner run AMAZING but the rest of the team has not gotten any better. The rest are really not that good. TCU might get better but not likely soon. SMU is all foreign.

1. Texas - In just a few years, the coach has taken this program from the pit of the Big 12 to near the top. Positives are very good academics, significant development of Texas talent and a very committed team. Negatives are little scholarship money to distance runners, a deep team might minimize opportunity and a very big school. Austin is an amazing place to live and train.

2. Rice - While once dominant, Rice is going through a transition phase. Bevan is a very, very good coach who Will look to long term development. There are only a few spots on the Rice roster but the academics are better than Texas. You do have to live in Houston though.

3. Everyone else.

Seriously, Texas is your daughter's best option, if they want her.

The best distance program in the Big 12 is Iowa State but you have to live in the Mid-West. Oklahoma State is good but they have a lot of foreign athletes.

Sisson is a very good coach. He only coaches the women and has developed some average Texas girls into All-Americans.

Based on the NCAA Regional results from last year:

1. Arkansas

2. Texas

3. Texas A&M

4. SMU

5. Rice

6. Baylor

7. Lamar

8. UTSA

9. SFA

10. TAMU-Corpus Christi

11. TCU

12. North Texas

Go down the list. Do you want scholarship money? How much do you value education? What is your inteneded major?

What programs are on the rise/ decline?

Steve Sisson is an intelligent, caring coach who is building a solid program. And don't forget that of the current Big 12/in state schools, Austin is hands down the best place to train.

As far as concerns regarding burnout and being run into the ground, that's a genuine concern at pretty much any mid- to upper level distance program in the country.

ShoeHead wrote:

The best distance program in the Big 12 is COLORADO

They're in the Pac 12, silly.

Fixed it for you wrote:

The best distance program in the Big 12 is COLORADO

[/quote]

wow - you actually felt so strongly about "mentioning religion" that you counted her references to it & felt a derogatory post was in order? I take it that a college that only "mentions religion" to ridicule it would be OK-fine with you? I appreciate this athlete taking the time to reply to the OP, who - after all - asked about values, Christian influence, etc..

[quote]Broke Dad wrote:

wow - you actually felt so strongly about "mentioning religion" that you counted her references to it & felt a derogatory post was in order? I take it that a college that only "mentions religion" to ridicule it would be OK-fine with you? I appreciate this athlete taking the time to reply to the OP, who - after all - asked about values, Christian influence, etc..[/quote

You're right the OP didn't ask about christian influence. My problem was that it seemed as if she was suggesting Christians won't party and that they all hold strong moral values.

I hear a ton about A&M only have one good girl have success which is total BS. My brother runs at A&M (I'm still in HS) and he has mentioned several times that literally every person on the team PR'd under the new coach McRaven. This was his FIRST year at A&M and he turned the program around. Yes Rogers did great but there is so much more to the program. Mia Behm has been hurt SO SO SO much. Along with a ton of other Texas girls. Sisson runs those girls into the ground every year. Texas A&M's track program is extremely successful. With that comes GREAT perks to being on the team. You get tons of REAL academic help from the student-athlete study center. The team pushes academics very hard. You get all the equipment you will ever need to be successful. Recovery drinks, multiple track/cross country specific trainers, a track/XC specific nutritionist, and the best coaching staff in the entire country hands down. Get ahold of Coach McRaven, you will not go wrong I can promise you that. I know all of this because my brother talks a ton about the program in trying to get me to come there as well lol.