Sam Affolder runs 9:11 at VA Showcase

I mean yeah, we all know it’s the little brother that comes on here and talks all the hype right? He does the same thing on Instagram. Just making sure we’re all on the same page here?

Am I the only one..? wrote:

I mean yeah, we all know it’s the little brother that comes on here and talks all the hype right? He does the same thing on Instagram. Just making sure we’re all on the same page here?

Either that or Sam is Pre, Ryun, Rupp, Chuck Norris, Tony Hawk, Jimi and Fanning all rolled into one.

Am I the only one..? wrote:

I mean yeah, we all know it’s the little brother that comes on here and talks all the hype right? He does the same thing on Instagram. Just making sure we’re all on the same page here?

I mean yeah, we all know you're far out in left field, not to be believed. We all don't know who the bleep you're referring to. Noah Affolder, running for Syracuse, is Sam's older brother, with a more accomplished running résumé. A younger brother runs for LV, but he has shown none of the talent of his two older siblings. And as a high school sophomore, this younger sib also a) doesn't have the writing skills to post what has been added above in defense of Sam, and b) can't post more than a tweet/instagram's-worth of letters and numbers, unlike this Affolder defender, without blowing a head gasket.

So, yes, you are the only one.

CaliforniaPlaya wrote:

Neither race was close?

He crossed the line ahead Jacob & Eldad Mulugeta (from Northwood) by like, 3 seconds. . .Maier won his race by around 10 seconds, and he ran his about 2-weeks ago.

That's absolutely correct. Neither race was close.

4xMile Relay: When anchor Affolder received the baton, he had a lead of 19.2 seconds. His finishing 4:11.7 gave Loudoun Valley A Team a margin of victory of 37.3 seconds over the Loudoun Valley B Team - the same team which was in second place with a mile to go. So Affolder increased his lead by 18.1 seconds by the finish of his mile anchor run. I don't know who taught you math and physics, CaliforniaPlaya, but a 37.3-second victory AIN'T CLOSE!

Boys 2-Mile: Going by the video, Affolder takes the lead after 200 meters, builds it into a huge lead, gives up a chunk of that lead while coasting smoothly, and then slightly increases the lead to the finish. Here's a breakdown of his lead in seconds during that last 800m:

800 to go: Affolder's lead is 9.1 seconds.

600 to go: His lead is still 9.1 seconds.

400 to go: The video doesn't show him crossing the line, but he's up by something like 5 secs, maybe a little more.

200 to go: His lead is 2.5 seconds, over the guy who ended up in 3rd.

Finish: His final margin of victory, over teammate Jacob Hunter, is 2.8 seconds.

Guess what, California Playa. That was a dominant performance by Affolder. He didn't let his opposition gain within about 2.5 seconds - which is a sizeable gap in a 2-mile race - and he even increased his margin of victory by the finish - over others who were fighting it out in a close battle for second. Affolder's finishing stretch includes one look-back with a little more than a lap to go and his taking the effort to make the LV sign with his fingers when crossing the line. NOT EVEN CLOSE for Affolder! A decisive victory!

The video of the relay isn't posted. You can see the 2-Mile at the link found in an earlier post.

hate to say it wrote:

The top 10 times in the 2-Mile so far this indoor season:

4 9:14.73 ELDAD MULUGETA MD Northwood High School

Watch out for this guy. From what I know, he's basically running all of his indoor times off of base training.

Also, he didn't even breaking 18:00 when he joined XC as a sophomore, and ran 16:40 XC as a junior.

Huh? Wha? 'Splainin' Needed! wrote:

It will be no surprise to see Affolder's 9:11 fall down the list by the end of the current season,

Which is why I don't see how it's newsworthy.

Running slow early in HS is good? Most top guys were always fast.

CaliforniaPlaya wrote:

If anything, I'm more impressed that LV had 5 guys run sub 9:30, if anything.

And LV’s top finisher at NXN 2018 has yet to run an indoor race this winter

I watch the Loudoun Valley guys with great interest, but Mulugeta really should be another to watch closely. The seasoned Valley duo of Affolder and Hunter outlasted him over the weekend, but Mulugeta's star is rising rapidly.

you perfectly described what I was going to comment

I mean I get what you're saying but 9:11 is FAST, if he ran that time last year he would be still in the top 15 times nationwide.

No, that time would have been 27th indoor last year.

27th wrote:

No, that time would have been 27th indoor last year.

NOT EVEN CLOSE. Speasdj was correct - top 15. Affolder's 9:11.74 run in January would have ranked 13th, not 27th. Of the twelve ahead of him, all but #12 (Feb 23, 2018, Tenn State Meet) were run in March 2018, at the end of the indoor season (2 at the New England Indoor Championships, 9 at the New Balance Nationals Indoors).

The 27th-fastest two mile in the 2017/2018 indoor season was 9:21.20, also run at NBNI at the end of the season, and over 9 seconds behind Affolder's time of Jan 20, 2019.

The twelve from last year:

1

8:57.59

RYAN OOSTING

MA Arlington High School

2

9:00.38

BRODEY HASTY

TN Brentwood High School

3

9:06.11

CLAYTON MENDEZ

IL Whitney Young High School

4

9:06.37

MATTHEW MEINKE

WI Neenah

5

9:06.58

DEVIN HART

NJ Pt. Pleasant Boro HS

6

9:07.10

ALEX MAIER

TX Flower Mound

7

9:07.59

DREW THOMPSON

CT Fairfield Prep High School

8

9:08.03

VICTOR MUGECHE

MO Blue Springs High School

9

9:09.27

CHARLES HICKS

FL Bolles HS

10

9:10.00

RUSTY KUJDYCH

PA Neshaminy

11

9:10.13

IAN RUSS

NY Holland

12

9:11.23

JAKE RENFREE

TN Knoxville Catholic High School

Click that little conversion button in milesplit to see that he is 27th. I like how you want to eliminate 9:05 type 3200s. You think for recruiting purposes coaches aren’t converting 3200 and 2 miles times? I was the fastes 2.25 miler in the country last year. Where’s my full ride?

I love it when a LetsRun poster pretends that a high school kid's 3200 time was a full two mile time. It wasn't. According to the laws of the universe, 3200m is short of two miles by almost 19m. A lot of failure can, and does, happen to runners in those last 18-plus meters. (A lot of same-pace-or-faster running also happens, but that's not the issue here.)

Obviously, 3200m and two miles are darn close. However, despite what Milesplit guru says, there were only 12 kids in 2018 who ran faster indoor two miles than Affolder's 9:11.74. And nothing's going to change that fact, ever. In a race which concluded at exactly 3200m, a converted 3200m time is not a two mile time, even though the numbers have tremendous value to a recruiting college coach. Instead, a 3200m-to-two mile conversion is only a measure of equivalency to a distance which was not run.

Looking at it in another light, someone who runs a 1600m at a pace that a MileSplit conversion tool would equate to a sub-4 mile will not, in a million years, be considered a member of the sub-4 mile fraternity (except by Milesplit guru?) unless he either went on to finish that same mile race in a sub-4 time or he ran sub-4 in a separate full mile race.

Conversions are of great use, but nobody will be (should be) credited for what he or she didn't accomplish. A 3:58.61 1600m equates to a 3:59.99 mile, but it's only a 1600m time, never to be viewed as a legitimate sub-4 mile.

So, again, Sam Affolder's 9:11.74 would have placed him 13th in the list for the 2017/2018 indoor season. And that's a fact.

I'm using the MileSplit conversion tool, which may be slightly different than other conversion tools.

The entire thread was about putting his 9:11 into perspective. He is tops in the nation but he would only have been the 27th best runner in the nation after indoor last year, not that he ran the 27th fastest 2 mile. So split the hair that way if you feel better about it. Do you know who was the top 440yd guy last year? Gavin Hooker lead the nation in 53.5.

So if he runs 3:50 for 1600 this year and the best mile is only 4:05, we won't try to compare the times. The 4:05 guy will be the best guy in the nation, not the 2nd best.

I feel bad for the boy. He has a lot of pressure that his friends and family get placed on him. With all the hype anything less than a gold medal will be utter failure uh I mean wow Sammy is the GOAT.

Wow he anchored his team a national record. This kid is going to be winning NCAA championships almost immediately.

Affolder worshipper wrote:

This kid is going to be winning NCAA championships almost immediately.

No, he probably isn't. Stop the hypefest please. He's a superb high school distance runner, with great teammates and coaches, and an impressive resume, but so do so many others before him who haven't gone on to become NCAA champs...which also means not "almost immediately".

So far in the indoor nationals he's run a 4:06 anchor 1600 meter on a national record-setting team and a 4:06 mile as the third leg on a national record-setting team. That means he has twice run great AND that he was joined by three talented teammates. Together they took down two national high school records. He has one more relay to come, early this evening. Tough chore ahead!

His speed in those two completed relays (Friday evening and early afternoon Saturday) is only eight or nine seconds behind former Loudoun Valley miler Drew Hunter's best, hinting at how far Affolder has to improve to be up among the elites in college.

But he's an exciting young buck.