Villanova Gets Another Aussie

So what happened to them last year? Why'd they get 27th at nationals?

Track Coach, I think you have seriously gone insane

do you think that Marcus would NOT recruit the 4:02 to 4:07 U.S. HS miler? He does all the time.

he just got Ben Malone last year and Lampron the year earlier and Fitzsimmons before that

The issue is, not every HS 18 year old will go to the same place....duh?

They recruit the best guys they can and get the best ones they can get, if those are 19 and 20 year old ready made guys , so be it.

Andrews could have gone there, so could have others

Their obligation is to be as good as they can be , not develop second tier U.S. talent

Why so much "hate" for Villanova? Because they are using foreign athletes?

Villanova is a relatively small school with limited resources (not Ivies or Stanford) and no state tuition leverage. It is surprising that they are even remotely competitive.

O'Sullivan and Procaccio are out there trying very hard to recruit U.S. student-athletes. The "name" kids are going elsewhere - Oregon, Stanford, points south and west. Occasionally they get a Lipari or a Malone, but generally they come-up empty. But they are out there trying. Last year, they lost out on Southerland, Cheserek, Coyle, ... Previous years, it was Cuffie, the Francis sisters, Rosa twins, Hatz, Miller, Thornton, ... Do you think Blake Haney is even considering Villanova? It is what it is So they look outside the country. Fortunately some of the kids from Australia are interested. What would the naysayers have them do?

The irony is Villanova is actually a very fine school with an excellent track program. Gina and Marcus are very good coaches. But U.S. kids are not interested. So you play the cards you are dealt.

So when you see Villanova have a modicum of success - like Penn Relays or women's NCAA XC (a few years back), then one should applaud there ingenuity or even coaching prowess. It is really very American to overcome such odds and still compete well.

I can only speak for myself, but I dislike them because they hype themselves a bit on the boards. Agreed that it's a good school/program.

It is not Marcus O'Sullivan who is recruiting the Aussies - it is his Kiwi assistant Adrian Blincoe AKA Blinks.

Villanova built its reputation mostly on the Irish pipeline, which also pulled in some Canadians, Brits, and Americans along the way.

It's comical to me to hear someone argue that Villanova doesn't get its share of talent. Really?????

smell the coffee, wrote:

Villanova built its reputation mostly on the Irish pipeline, which also pulled in some Canadians, Brits, and Americans along the way.

It's comical to me to hear someone argue that Villanova doesn't get its share of talent. Really?????

Ummm, the 1970's called.....

Well they picked up some big points surely at the Princeton Invite today. Should have solidified their NCAA berth in case they lose to Princeton and Georgetown at Regionals.

What points did they pick up at Princeton? It doesn't matter because they will qualified at Mid Atlantic with an easy victory.

None. It was sarcasm. I still think they will qualify but they are being more risky than necessary.

Villanova ran a 23:54 average and the top three runners appeared to be sandbagging.

Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy wrote:

Villanova ran a 23:54 average and the top three runners appeared to be sandbagging.

Cool

Tiernan is looking like an All-American.

Kithuka's already listed as 24.

Is he a senior?

Tiernan is a 19 year old true freshman.

I think the question was about Kithuka

But indeed that is correct info on Tiernan who is very very good.

I mean, based on how and who he has raced so far, I think he could be a top 20's guy at Nats, which I would not have thought coming in.

Nova has a very good 8K type team, can they carry the extra distance? We'll see, but as an 8K team,so far they might be as good as top 12, maybe better.

If you look at where Columbia is ranked and what they ran at Heps, and then look at Nova putting 4 in at 23:50 at Heps course weeks earlier running in together you could make a case for Nova being as good as Columbia at least.

Trialswatcher wrote:

I have to admit, I was surprised that an 8:20 3K 14:40 5K and 1:54.xx 800 runner would be at the top of a list, but I did see the 1500M video and he carried a big move from a very long way out in that 3:50.xx win, he looks like a really good prospect.

Looks like a pretty good decision now