Lawi Lalang is the greatest distance runner in NCAA history

Ummm...ever hear of Henry Rono?

fair enough, but I think by the end of his NCAA career Lawi will have a more impressive Resume

+1

Natethegreat wrote:

I think it can be confirmed, 7 NCAA titles, NCAA meet records in mile, 3k, and 5k (Indoors). Plus 1 more year of track eligibility and 2 more for XC. Plus fastest 5k time in NCAA history 13:09 and that was run INDOORS!

Meh. Henry Rono, Steve Prefontaine you could all make good cases for.

I'd go with Gerry Lindgren. A fistful of meet records & American records to his credit, and 11 NCAA titles out of 12 attempts. The man was basically unbeatable in college, and handed Pre his only defeat in an NCAA matchup.

Have you checked who owns BOTH of the NCAA meet records in the 1500 (3:35) and 5000m (13:20)? Yeah, back in the day that the 5000m still had semi-finals.

Rono or Nyembui (utep) 4x 10k, 3x 5k, xc, World record, Olympic medal.

As previously mentioned... Rono

Anyone who say anybody other than Rono is an idiot:

In a span of only 81 days, he broke four world records: the 10,000 meters (27:22.5), the 5,000 meters (13:08.4), the 3,000 meters steeplechase (8:05.4), and the 3,000 meters (7:32.1); an achievement unparalleled in the history of distance running. He lowered the 10,000 meter record by almost 8 seconds, the 5,000 by 4.5, the steeplechase by 2.6, and the 3,000 by a full three seconds. In the same year he also won the 5000 m and the 3000 m steeplechase gold medals at the Commonwealth Games. Among his other performances was a steeplechase / 5000 m double in one day during qualifying at the NCAA championships at the University of Oregon at Eugene's Hayward Field. He set meet records in both events, turning in an 8:18 and 13:22. The former took 6 seconds off the NCAA meet record for the steeple. When he ran the steeplechase final the next day, he won in 8:12.39, taking another six seconds off the steeplechase mark. He won 10,000 metres and 3000 metres steeplechase gold medals at the 1978 All-Africa Games.

All these arguments for Rono are justified, but lets not forget, Lawi is still an underclassman, and he's already run the fastest 5k in NCAA history and will most likely have more than 10 titles by the end of the day. true he will probably never break 4 world records, but lets not forget back then the world competition was much less impressive

Natethegreat wrote:

All these arguments for Rono are justified, but lets not forget, Lawi is still an underclassman, and he's already run the fastest 5k in NCAA history and will most likely have more than 10 titles by the end of the day. true he will probably never break 4 world records, but lets not forget back then the world competition was much less impressive

Competition doesn't matter when it comes to world records. Either you are in shape to break it or you are not, in fact, world records should be easier to break with more competition.

If the global competition was better the WR would be harder to break, example: 10k WR when Rono broke it 27:26, WR now: 26:17

/thread

I will name just a few, Nyembui, Maree, Rono and Rupp.

And, btw, you do get credit for records, relays, team titles and other accomplishments during your NCAA career.

Natethegreat wrote:

All these arguments for Rono are justified, but lets not forget, Lawi is still an underclassman, and he's already run the fastest 5k in NCAA history and will most likely have more than 10 titles by the end of the day. true he will probably never break 4 world records, but lets not forget back then the world competition was much less impressive

Rono set two world records in non-paced dual meets.

Lawi Lalang couldn't hold Rono jockstrap....or his beer stein.

Peter Rono and J. Cruz both won OLYMPIC GOLD while collegians. Also, Jim Ryun broke world records as a collegian, so did H. Rono. When you have a number of guys with Olympic Gold and World Records to their credit while being collegians, Lawi is not even in the top 5.

Yes but only amateurs could participate in the Olympics back then

codger wrote:

Rono set two world records in non-paced dual meets.

Lawi Lalang couldn't hold Rono jockstrap....or his beer stein.

YUCK! Who would want to? That is just disgusting!

There is someone that has 9 NCAA wins. Someone born in the USA

but do they have 4 more seasons of eligibility?