Running in College

Aber4730 wrote:

Hi guys,

I am a female distance runner going into my senior year of xc/track. I had a hard junior year and wasn't able to run much. Does anyone know what kind of times I would need to run D1 for the 5k, 3200, 1600, and 800? I want to go to Wisconsin-madison but need to know what times I need to run to get into there or any D1 school. Thanks kn advance!

For Wisconsin, it looks like if you can run under 5:15 for 1600, they'd probably talk to you. In the end, it doesn't matter. Get in shape to run as fast as you can, and see where it takes you. If you really like to run, consider a D3 school that fits your academic interests, or your degree interests if you're not so interested in an education.

Aber4730 wrote:

Hi guys,

I am a female distance runner going into my senior year of xc/track. I had a hard junior year and wasn't able to run much. Does anyone know what kind of times I would need to run D1 for the 5k, 3200, 1600, and 800? I want to go to Wisconsin-madison but need to know what times I need to run to get into there or any D1 school. Thanks kn advance!

Juniors interested in running in college should start the process of communicating with college coaches via e-mail. Those entering their junior year need to keep in mind that the coaches' first recruiting priority is to communicate with those entering their senior year. So you may be late in starting the process but far from too late. As a 2016 graduate now DI coaches are allowed to call you. Prior to July 1st you could call them but they could not return your call. E-mail works best prior to this date.

I would start with e-mailing the college coaches at schools that interest you. Keep the e-mail short and list your times. Ask them for the typically times they require for walk-ons and for scholarship athletes. I asked the coaches of one of the top national women's program about the walk-on times this past spring. The times for this team are 5:15 for 1600, 11:30 for 3200, 19:00 for CC 5K. They said they have accepted higher times if they athlete had other event skills of interest. Wisconsin's threshold will be similar to these and those listed below.

Another DI women's coach listed the following for minimum scholarship, walk-on, and tryout guidelines:

Scholarship Walk-on Tryout

800 2:12 2:18 2:22

1600 4: 58 5:08 5:20

3200 10:40 11:00 11:20

Looking at mid-distance and distance runners the above coach has signed this year, I see that 3 meet the scholarship threshold, 2 meet the walk-on threshold, 1 meets the tryout threshold, and 8 do not even meet the tryout threshold. I am surprise a school would really sign this many distance runners plus sprinters and field event athletes. A few of the girls are 5 to 10 seconds off but some are not even close to the tryout thresholds. I wonder if these girls will make the team. If they really wanted to run on a college team they may have been better off looking at another school.

The only one I see that signed for University of Wisconsin is Amy Davis (2:18 - 800; 4:53 - 1600; 10:26 - 3200); so I can't tell much from their 2015 recruiting class.

For 2014 they signed girls with the following best times in high school:

800 1600 3200

-----------------------------

1) 2:33 4:59 10:46

2) 5:37 11:21

3) 2:14 4:52 10:55

4) 2:29 5:14 11:17

5) 2:28 5:06 11:04

Run at Footlocker Midwest Regional this fall since I assume you are from Wisconsin are within driving distance.

If you do not meet the above guidelines now you still have time. Some girls to not sign with top teams until late into their senior year of high school track. Get in a good summer of training. Do be careful regarding injuries. Do not increase your mileage too quickly. Back off in any workout where you feel anything new pain. Seek help. There are free injury exams offered at some locations. Ask running shoe stores and area coaches where exams may be offered from free.

If you want to actually run in the top 7 on Wisconsin's team or any other top DI team then you will need to improve in college. Looking at Wisconsin's outdoor 5000 meter track times I see that the 6th and 7th fastest returning women had 5000 meter times of about 17:15 in track. Cross country would be 4 to 8% slower but these girls should be faster by fall. So anyone wanting to run in the top 7 this fall will likely need a 5K cross country time faster than 17:15. Most freshman are redshirted at top DI teams because they need at least a year or two to improve their times enough to make it into the top 7 cross country runners. Make sure you pick a school where you think you can progress enough to eventually make it into the top 7.