Minnesota vs. Wisconisn Duel

I agree 100%, at what point does someone become accountable for never having his runners run! You can't say they are all redshirting because many of them have already redshirted!

I'm sure we could write a letter of frustration to the AD but where would that get us. I think Mick should be accountable to at least give the fans an update of what's going on. Where are all the runners that haven't run this year or even last year? The runners that were mentioned are big contributors in CC but haven't heard anything AGAIN! Then again, half of them didn't run during CC either.

From the athletes perspective it must be extremely difficult! Undoubtedly they are sold to come to Wisconsin from our winning tradition and stating they'll get to run at nationals and all over the country. At this points it's all talk from the previous 4-5 years. So many freshman go unheard of!

Maybe it's time we sent a letter to Alvarez asking for some answers! If the football or basketball team didn't have players playing the reporters would be asking for updates. Why should our sport be any different, because it doesn't generate as much money? Tell that to the athletes who come to UW to actually RUN and COMPETE!

Err, still frustrated!

It is hard to be a fan in the Mick era.

For the Minnesota and Wisconsin fans who are down on the programs, I will point out some of the successes of in-state kids who decided to run elsewhere. I wonder if we would have ever heard much about them if they would have run for the Badgers or Gophers.

Andrew Dusing - HS PR 4:22. Ran 3:40 and finished 6th in NCAA at Miami OH.

Molly Seidel - HS stud. Several time NCAA champ at Notre Dame.

Ian Lamere - HS PR 9:39. Ran 28:38 for UW Platteville.

Aubrey Roberts - HS PR 10:13. Finished 6th in Big Ten XC meet for Northwestern

Joe Klecker - HS stud who has continued to improve at CU and won the Mountain Regional in XC.

Jaret Carpenter - HS stud who has continued to improve at Purdue running 13:57 indoor.

Another example is Josh Thorson transfering from the gophers program to Uw-Eau Claire. Thorson significantly improved and had a better experience after leaving that program. Just look at results and his progression after he left the U of M compared to his career at eau claire. Bottom line, gophers and badgers are great feeder schools for successful D3 programs that can actually retain and develop talent. If you want to burn out, get injured, and not improve; then Mick and Plaz's programs are just for you. Such a shame considering the talent and potential these programs take in. Wish I can call both of these programs great again... hopefully someday

Maverick Darling News. The only good news I've seen in a while.

http://www.icgaels.com/news/2018/1/16/mens-xc-track-field-maverick-darling-named-assistant-coach-for-cross-country-and-track-field-program.aspx#.Wl586e6G5_s.twitter

Good for him. A good runner who will make a good head coach in the future. Interesting connection to Mick with Iona.

If you throw a bunch of studs together, they're going to hammer each other in practice. It happens everywhere. It's up to the coach to rein them in. A lot harder to do with still-developing kids at Wisco than a bunch of old foreigners at Iona.

To clarify, I meant keeping kids healthy is much harder to do.

A good example going in the opposite direction was Mckena Ramos who ran at the dual last year. He ran 1:55 and 4:23 which would be a good double for a D3 guy but shouldn’t be running at a program like Wisconsin. Wait a minute though, he started in D3 running 1:51 and 3:45 as a frosh. As an instater, the badgers saw him and said he could be a sub4 guy. His next 3 years at WI, he went backwards running 3:47, 3:53, 4 minutes. He should have stayed where he was successful. I feel bad for some of these kids who never reach their potential.

Predictor wrote:

A good example going in the opposite direction was Mckena Ramos who ran at the dual last year. He ran 1:55 and 4:23 which would be a good double for a D3 guy but shouldn’t be running at a program like Wisconsin. Wait a minute though, he started in D3 running 1:51 and 3:45 as a frosh. As an instater, the badgers saw him and said he could be a sub4 guy. His next 3 years at WI, he went backwards running 3:47, 3:53, 4 minutes. He should have stayed where he was successful. I feel bad for some of these kids who never reach their potential.

Predictor your observations are spot on. Both UW and MN men's programs are underachieving. There are many more examples than you have posted.

It appears Mick did not take much of a distance squad to NY.

Mick Giusto getting ready for cross country season all year round; and just trying to be good every several years.

How quickly things change. I am very impressed that Hoare and Hardy broke 8 minutes in the 3k today.

Predictor wrote:

How quickly things change. I am very impressed that Hoare and Hardy broke 8 minutes in the 3k today.

Does it though? Those two were mentioned as being some of the exceptions, so their relative successes is nice for them but doesn't change the status of the program.

Also, not to dig up old skeletons, but remember when Joe Hardy threatened his girlfriend with a knife and is still on the team?

Apparently, Wisco's best runner does not want to be in Wisconsin. Either Mick can't control his runners or he is scaring them away. Morgan McDonald is taking classes online and will redshirt indoors. Why give him a full scholarship then? So he can run for Australia? Stupid!

http://uwbadgers.com/news/2018/1/23/mens-track-and-field-mcdonald-wins-season-opener-in-australia.aspx

So Wisco's distance program is struggling and Mick thinks it is a good idea for his best runner to live in Australia and not run for the Badgers. Another terrible decision by Mick!

Huh, you guys really do not get it. He gets to be home for the Commonwealth Games. I am sure that that must have been part of the discussion in the fall and possibly years ago. He gets to train in warm weather for a while, it probably does not cost UW. He will be ready for the spring, he is a crack student and can keep up with his studies (I think he might be from an academic family). Since he is red-shirting XC and indoors, next year he will have NCAA XC on his home course with the newcomers having more under their belts. Then have the indoor season. [And I think his countryman ran something like 7:55 showing the sort of form that won him the Big 10 XC race.]

It costs the Badgers 1 of their 12 scholarships. This is not football where you have many to waste. Even 1/4 scholarhips can't be wasted in track and xc.

Priorities, agreements wrote:

Huh, you guys really do not get it. He gets to be home for the Commonwealth Games. I am sure that that must have been part of the discussion in the fall and possibly years ago. He gets to train in warm weather for a while, it probably does not cost UW. He will be ready for the spring, he is a crack student and can keep up with his studies (I think he might be from an academic family). Since he is red-shirting XC and indoors, next year he will have NCAA XC on his home course with the newcomers having more under their belts. Then have the indoor season. [And I think his countryman ran something like 7:55 showing the sort of form that won him the Big 10 XC race.]

I agree with this rationale. It also gives MB an excuse when the team does not finish well in the conference. On the bright side, Zack Benning is a nice story. Has done very little so far in his career and apparently had a very serious injury last year. I saw him run at the dual and again in Iowa City. You could see his confidence growing as he ran down the field in Iowa City. It's possible Benning's career to date is another example of a failure by the coaches to keep this team healthy. Nevertheless his recent success is a very nice story.