Stanford Frosh Thomas Ratcliffe 23:17 at Stanford Invite

Too bad the team finished 9th.

Nonsensical fast times.

Don't we go ever this every year with this course?

POLE BUNYAN wrote:

Don't we go ever this every year with this course?

Yeah. It's always fast. It's never short. It just so happens that the person who wins it every year is super damn fast. End of story.

That's what it seems like more than a short course or anything.

10 point wrote:

Nonsensical fast times.

Or not. Time makes perfect sense for an easy course. Radcliffe is the real deal.

erginergkenrgpoqeb wrote:

Guy is the real deal, I wonder if stanford is gonna pull the redshirt this year

http://www.rtspt.com/events/stanford/xcinvite16/m.htm/link

]

Incredible talent. Remember, he played soccer in HS so this may have been the first xc meet of his life.

The results link is here:

He ran middle school XC for three years, was very good at it.

So, this was his first XC race in 4 years. He is a tough kid, his HS coach said he was better at long distances than he was at the mile, which is saying something considering that he ran 4:01 in HS.

I think Stanford should run him this year before they ruin him.

Bernie Montoya with a 24:47 finish. It is good to his name in results.

Why redshirt.

Who on earth has FIVE great years?

Too big of a gamble and this program has too much talent to not run the guys who are running best.

rojo wrote:

erginergkenrgpoqeb wrote:

Guy is the real deal, I wonder if stanford is gonna pull the redshirt this year

http://www.rtspt.com/events/stanford/xcinvite16/m.htm/link

]

Incredible talent. Remember, he played soccer in HS so this may have been the first xc meet of his life.

The results link is here:

http://www.rtspt.com/events/stanford/xcinvite16/m.htm

I guess his dad was a 2:14 marathoner, too. 23:17 on a flat course seems perfectly believable for a 4:01 miler who went from playing soccer in the fall to Stanford XC. I bet he runs 13:3x in the spring.

turn to itt wrote:

Why redshirt.

Who on earth has FIVE great years?

Too big of a gamble and this program has too much talent to not run the guys who are running best.

I agree. I never understood why a team would red shirt a freshman just because he us a freshman. He ran 23:17 time to go ! He is ready

Hell be a flameout like Robert Coe, who nonetheless wrote a book about it.

Donger wrote:

Too bad the team finished 9th.

They didn't run their "A" team.

Not all milers make great xc runners. This is a fast time and since I've never seen a sub 23 on this course, this is a very good performance. How good we won't know for awhile but there was a Kenyan, Rotich, in second. Also, I saw the name Justin Robison in sub 24. Is he related to Grant Robison, the 3:35 guy?

The list of people ahead of him on the all time course list is impressive. All D1 guys ended their seasons as all Americans and most were Top 10. McGorty, Bauhs, Aron Rono, Chris Derrick, Joe Rosa, Maksin Korolev. Guys he was faster than on the course include David McNeil, Jake Riley, Elliot Heath, Josh McDougal, David Torrance, Ian Dobson, Michael Coe, Solomon Haile and Nef Araia. By comparison, Grant Fisher ran 23:33 last year as a freshman for a second place finish, 26 seconds back from McGorty.

AuntBee wrote:

Hell be a flameout like Robert Coe, who nonetheless wrote a book about it.

Whoa, a troll climbed out from under a bridge in Mayberry and tried to bite my ankle! Made my day. :)

Saturday's course has been in use since 2010.

McGorty ran 23:07 on it last year, fastest ever by a collegian.

Several years ago, Scotty Bauhs won in 22:45 or thereabouts for the all-time course record . . . but on a course slightly different than the current one. Bauhs was a professional by then, having left Chico State.

Really fast times this year were due to the weather. Temps were in the 60s, unlike most years where it's in the 80s.

He's very good, no doubt about that. Impressive performance that puts his name in the mix, first try. But before reading too much into XC times (especially on this always-insanely-fast course), stop to consider that he beat well known household name Swarnjit Boyal by all of 5 seconds.