Pac 12 1500 champ......NCAA champ 1500 & 5000 (That is special).....2 smartly run qualifying runs to get to the finals. She has good balance of strength, speed, good form and savvy racing smarts. She is my upset pick....Go Shelby.....Go Devil's........
Correction, she won PAC 12 1500 & 5000 and the NCAA 1500, my apologies.
No Laura Roesler. But i do like Houlihan alot over 1500 in future years.
Roesler
Vessey
Price
Wilson, Roessler, B Mart
High Wire wrote:
Wilson, Roessler, B Mart
agreed.
My alum pick aside I will enjoy watching Roesler and Houlihan going after it. But I predict with Laura and Shelby 4th and 5th. It should be a great race.
Wilson
Martinez
Vessay
Can Houlihan beat Roesler? No, Roesler will narrowly beat Brenda Martinez to win the race and Houlihan will be lucky to get top 5. Any reason Houlihan didn't race 1500 at outdoors instead of the 800? Houlihan obviously has phenomenal speed at the 800 and 1500 and proved from the 5000 and cross country she runs mileage
In houlihan's post heat interview, she said her only expectation at US nationals was to P.R. In the 800. She commented after the NCAA's that she would like to run 2 flat at nationals. Give her speed and racing chops, I think she could have a break out race and may break 2 min. As far as not entering the 1500, it's a mystery to me but she just wanted to do something different.
The first lap will be fast which will put the college runners on their heels.
Wilson
Vessey
Martinez
PR's from Houlihan and Roessler.
What I don't get is why Shelby runs the 800 at USA's and longer stuff at NCAAs. Granted she ended up winning at NCAAs but wouldn't you want to run your best event across the board? We don't see Rupp run the 1500m at championships really (I am aware of the one exception). Thoughts?
Roesler will win if she learns to up her effort. She finishes like it's a sprint rep, smooth and relaxed through the line. But you can get more out of the 800 if you do this:
http://blogs.registerguard.com/track-and-field/files/2013/08/ap-moscow_009_20130813-1320x920.jpg
Symmonds in particular is Hate personified. If he had caught Aman he would have done a Suarez on him.
Given Shebly,s tactics, the way she closes her races and her strong upright form in the last 100, she is an 800 meter runner at heart. She probably would have run all three at the PAC 12's if she could have. So, after successes in the 1500 and 5000 she probablly just wanted to see what she could do in the 800 in a quality race.
Can she beat Roesler? Since she hasn't raced her in a championship caliber field this year, I think she will give Laura a run for the money. She may even crack the top 3.
That pic says it all. If you ain't smilin and grinding in the last 100, you haven't used all your gears.
wascallywobert wrote:
What I don't get is why Shelby runs the 800 at USA's and longer stuff at NCAAs. Granted she ended up winning at NCAAs but wouldn't you want to run your best event across the board? We don't see Rupp run the 1500m at championships really (I am aware of the one exception). Thoughts?
My thought is that it had to do with the competition she would be running against. The events that would maximize her points/placing at NCAAs may not be the same when running at Nationals.
geez get your facts right... prince advanced but dropped out of usa's. houlihan is the ncaa 1500 champ not the ncaa 5k champ..
She didn't have a qualifying time for USATF at 1500 or 5000. At the last minute they let people in who didn't have the time, but she couldn't necessarily count on that happening. She had a qualifying time in the 800 and opted to run that.
lalala wrote:
geez get your facts right... prince advanced but dropped out of usa's. houlihan is the ncaa 1500 champ not the ncaa 5k champ..
Tells people to get facts right, then gets Chanelle Price's name wrong. Well done.
ij wrote:
She didn't have a qualifying time for USATF at 1500 or 5000. At the last minute they let people in who didn't have the time, but she couldn't necessarily count on that happening. She had a qualifying time in the 800 and opted to run that.
Thank you for the clarification. The facts as they are, based on USTAF qualifying standards; is the 800 her best event? She won well run tactical 1500 and 5000 championship level races without running the fastest times. Defeating Cuffe at the PAC 12's shows she has great range to hold her own and close it out when it counts, regardless of the distance. As a fan of middle distance running, I think the 800 could be her best event.
I was not aware this was the case. That makes sense. Thanks for the info. As far as the previous poster about the level of competition, you are right if you look a Maggie Vessey and Brenda Martinez, but Roesler was certainly there at Pac 12's and NCAAs. There was plenty of competition for her.
We have a winner wrote:
ij wrote:She didn't have a qualifying time for USATF at 1500 or 5000. At the last minute they let people in who didn't have the time, but she couldn't necessarily count on that happening. She had a qualifying time in the 800 and opted to run that.
