Decent article here with good links to race videos.
http://trackboundusa.co.uk/2013/02/11/ncaamile/
No country has been quite as enveloped by the romanticism of the mile as the United States. The 1609m distance is still run during the indoor season and remains the blue riband event. The days of Roger Bannister rewriting human limitations on the Iffley Park track in Oxford are now but a distant memory, and with a 3:57 time now ultimately required to guarantee participation at the National Indoor Championships for the men, no distance race is deeper in quality. The appeal and allure remains in the US, despite the 1500m replacing it on the world circuit.
The mile, however, still stands as a barometer of achievement by those outside of the sport, to the common spectator, and is revered and respected. So, every spring, student-athletes across the nation spike up and run this arbitrary distance on flat tracks, banked tracks and oversized tracks alike, with the goal of becoming national champion.
However, this party has been crashed, on an incredible frequency, by athletes from Britain and Ireland. As long as athletes have been heading across the Atlantic, they have been consistently over- performing on this stage. Of course, the athletes from the British Isles that chase this American dream are of good quality, but man-for-man, and woman-for-woman, they have had remarkable success in this race.
So what is behind this success? Using comparative populations is not an effective metric due to participation levels; instead we should look at the number of British and Irish athletes in the NCAA compared to their US counterparts. Our database tells us of around 130 known British and Irish athletes within NCAA D1 (we can possibly attribute 5-10 more that we do not know about). Compare this to the overall student-athlete figure competing within indoor track which stands at nearly 21,000. Now, we appreciate that further statistics on mile specific participation figures would further validate our point, but it’s clear to see that the success in the mile goes way beyond normal levels of pro-rata accomplishment, even considering the skew in the figures due to the fact that most Brit-Irish athletes are distance oriented.
Well then, why is it? Is it because new recruits into the NCAA have had good experience of indoor competitions within the UK compared to their novice high school US counterparts? The UK is well-endowed with indoor track facilities compared to much of the US and athletes have the opportunity to compete regularly indoors before even considering their college options. The UK also has a rich middle distance history in 800 and 1500, in contrast to its achievements in the 5000m and upwards. The US high school scene is one of big mileage and hard work, and there is a much greater lure to the longer distances, above and beyond the mile.
Or is it borne out of the success in years prior which has developed a sub-conscious winning mentality? What we do know is that it is working and seemingly will continue to do so judging by the current crop of athletes on NCAA rosters. So, whose turn is it this year?