Wiess signs with Slippery Rock!!!

ummm wrote:

If by Christensen you mean Jed Christensen he went to Calvin college which is D3. I am fairly certain that Weiss did indeed finish 2nd in D2.

well, then you would be wrong.

1 Nicodemus Naimadu SO Abilene Christian 30:13.8

2 Kelly Christensen SR Western State 31:10.4

3 Jeff Weiss FR Slippery Rock 31:18.2

No Kelly Christensen from Western State. Look at the results...3rd Place! Oh and runner...you need to chill about putting him in a class with Alistair and guys like that. He is no where close. There is a chance that he could be; yeah he is only a sophomore, but 7:40 3000m, 28:46 10k, and a slew of sub 4 min miles, come on. Easy up on that.

ghost wrote:

While it is true that Slippery Rock does not have the 'name' compared with schools like Penn. State and other division one schools, it does not really matter where you go for undergrad, as long as your Graduate Degree is from a reputable school....

Also, it is true that running in Division 2 might not give him the chance to run as fast as he might, but running at Shipp. did not stop a guy like Spence from becoming a world class marathon guy (3rd in the World Champs....in the 90's), and Wiess, from what I know, is every bit as talented, if not more so, than Spence.

And, when your major is P.E. or related to that, it does not matter so much, especially, keeping in mind that S.R. has an excellent reputation in that field.

It does matter where you graduate from. Schools with a strong academic reputation will have more companies recruiting offering better internships, more job opportunities, and higher salaries. I'm not saying that a D2 school can not have a strong academic reputation, but an undergraduate degree should not be discounted to the point that all are equal.

As far as Spence is concerned, he is certainly the outlier of post-collegiate distance running success. I'm sure there are other examples, but from a numbers perspective most professional runners come from a D1 background. It's not the only way, but why gamble against the numbers?

The reason that most pro runners come from DI programs isn't necessarily because DII doesn't develop runners as well as DI. It's because of the percentage of the fastest HS kids that do go to DI schools. Just take a peek at T&F News' yearly "where are they going" issue... 95 percent of the guys under 9:10, and 4:12 go DI. So yeah, I'd hope DI sends more guys into the Pro ranks than DII. But if you look at percentages you'll probably find that DII has a pretty good # of guys who are/have run at a high level beyond college... Especially @ the marathon distance. T. Brinney, Spence, Conover, DeLaCerda, are a few who come to mind quickly, and a solid current crop.. Cele Rodriguez, Maerek Maizeko (sp.? harding), Levassier, etc..

I guess my response to you would be to ask who do you think will have a better collegiate and post collegiate career, Jeff Weiss at Slippery Rock, or Craig Miller at Wisconsin? Both are of comparable talent, yet I would argue that Miller's career will far outshine that of Weiss because of the opportunities going to Wisconsin affords him.

Jeff will not come close to his potential as a runner being at slippery rock. This is a decision he has made. I'm guessing education, being close to home, and staying in his comfort zone are more important to him. It is weird though when those few individuals out there choose the path that Jeff is taking. I think most athletes at that level just want to afford themselves every opportunity to put themselves in a position to be the best they can be. And Jeff staying in his comfort zone, and SRU will not do this for him.

Sorry Kelly, but just because Jeff will go to a few big meets doesn't mean he will get to his potential ...not even close. He needs guys that can crush him daily in practice, at every meet, and he needs coaching. I'm sure that SRU has some good coaches, but not what an athlete with this potential can help.

Why are you bagging on this kid for choosing to go to SRU? He CHOSE to go there, nobody forced him too. It's too bad your dumbass wasn't there to talk some sense into him.

There's more to life than how good your running career is. If Weiss feels like SRU is the best place for him, then why can't you accept that? Why can't you accept that people CHOOSE to go to DII schools even with the knowledge that DI is more competitive on the whole?

Jeez.

I'm not critizing Jeff Weiss or anybody else for deciding to go to a Division II University. Rather I am objectively arguing the benefits of competing at the Division I level for top high school athletes.

The finish line doens't know who was a high school state champion,

It doesn't know who has a shoe deal,

It doesn't know who ran Division I, II, or III...

But it knows who gets there first.

Well atleast J Dubbs has a hotass girlfriend here at SRU! Know what I'm sayin buddy! Have a good weekend @ home cya on Friday, lets go big at Bucknell, forget what everybody on here says. Somers, Cummings, Hansloven, Rowe, Stallings, Carney, Petrini, Spence, Y. Wu, etc etc etc have probably all taken shit for running DII.

I'm gonna go steal Gavazzi's car. later jeff.

oh yeah and if you wouldn't have came to SRU do you still think you'd have that mexican friend at IUP?

I don't know why this is such an issue.

Somers, Cummings, Hansloven, Rowe, Stallings, Carney, Petrini, Spence.....

Other than Spence and Carney what are these guys credentials? None would have qualified even provisionally for a Division I national meet while in college. Yet Division II runners, like I assume you are, continue to hold them on a pedestal.

Wow... wrote:

Jeff Wiess, Pa AA state champ, Foot Locker National meet qualifier, and who will be competing in the Penn Relays coming up here soon just signed with Slippery Rock University, turning down places like tenn, penn state....What do you think of this?

I think this thread was started by Jeff Weiss.

Don't forget Conover and DeHaven, you douchebag. Both were trials marathon winners.

Here are some benifits of not going to a division I school if you are a top high school athlete.

#1 You can still race the Division 1 kids at almost all the big meets in cross/indoor/outdoor. This means that you are only missing out on a few competitions that you would be able to compete in as a division I athlete. Those meets would be pre-nationals/nationals and the fast section at Roy Griak in cross. In track it would only be the regional meet and nationals. I may have missed a meet or two, ten but you get the point. You get to see the big competition throughout much of the year.

#2 You can have down weeks were you don't have to worry about big competitions almost every week. Many runners on all levels get too jacked up for early and mid-season meets and turn stale by the end of the season. Going to a low key division I or non-division I school would ensure that you wouldn't have big meets on the schedule every weekend.

#3 The ability of kids on your team to race you every day and run you into the ground lessens as you get away from good division programs. At a good division I school there will be several guys that could hammer on every run and if you are not ready for this it could break you. Recovery days are not over-rated.

#4 Coaches at small division I and non division I schools usually have worked with more kids that need more attention as they have not developed or trained as much in high school as the top high school kids. This means that if a top high school talent that hasn't trained much volume or intensity ended up at a big division I program he might be thrown to the wolves a bit more than if he went to a smaller school that deals regularly with kids like that.

#5 There should in theory be less pressure on the smaller schools to perform compared to the division I schools. Stress causes a lot of problems and the less you have the better.

There are plenty more but I am trying to watch a movie and don't care to think them all out.

If I was a top high school runner I would most likely choose a division one program. Luckily for me I was not a polished in high school and I found a great division II program that got me to a level that I really don't think I would have reached at Division I. All the division's offer great advantages. The biggest one that I see big division I having is a travel budget to go all over the country to chase times. If you are good enought you will make USATF champs and other championships regardless of what division you are in.

Just because you don't race the best competition at your national meet doesn't mean you don't know that competition is out there. If you are a good runner you know how good the best runners are and where they are. Occassionally you will meet someone who is content with their role as one of the best in their division. More often than not those top runners in the non-division I schools strive to be the best.

Blah blah blah. I need to quite rambling. Lets hear some thoughts.

Dumb Ass. I mean Dude Face,

You are talking about a 10 minute 2 miler. We are talking about a serious D1 prospect. Most of your points are not relevant for Jeffs ability.

I know the DII route did not hinder either Ron Tabb or Mark Curp at Central MO. State Univ... or me either. Different choices for different runners.

However, my senior year in track we had nationals at Slippery Rock, nice track but locatecd in a DRY county. Now that is something to complain about.

Pat Porter was a decent DII XC runner himself. And Steve Scott ran a pretty good mile and Edwin Moses did OK in the 400m IH.