Alicia Monson 8:45

Iowa State's oversized track?

coach d. wrote:

Iowa State's oversized track?

She ran it at Millrose

Love her smile

https://www.flotrack.org/video/6268471-alicia-monsons-gigantic-family-will-be-at-ncaas-tomorrow

Strong work!

Her story should show us that we should support athletes AND students in all communities across the country.

She was not raised in a running hotbed or to a family ghat was knowledgeable about running. She is a physiologically gifted athlete who was roughly a 5 minute miler in small-town Wisconsin. Luckily she stayed with the sport until she found proper guidance.

We should make sure we support small town students and athletes because talent is not limited to affluent families in urban centers.

5 Minute Miler wrote:

Her story should show us that we should support athletes AND students in all communities across the country.

She was not raised in a running hotbed or to a family ghat was knowledgeable about running. She is a physiologically gifted athlete who was roughly a 5 minute miler in small-town Wisconsin. Luckily she stayed with the sport until she found proper guidance.

We should make sure we support small town students and athletes because talent is not limited to affluent families in urban centers.

I agree her story is awesome, she has improved a ton and is enjoying a great year. Let's not get carried away that it was some miracle she stuck with running because she didn't get support or coaching. She raced actively in HS and ran 4:55 and 10:26 as a HS Junior.

Indoor? wrote:

I agree her story is awesome, she has improved a ton and is enjoying a great year. Let's not get carried away that it was some miracle she stuck with running because she didn't get support or coaching. She raced actively in HS and ran 4:55 and 10:26 as a HS Junior.

Good point. 10:26 as a junior is probably top-50 all-time for juniors outside of California.

Indoor? wrote:

5 Minute Miler wrote:

Her story should show us that we should support athletes AND students in all communities across the country.

She was not raised in a running hotbed or to a family ghat was knowledgeable about running. She is a physiologically gifted athlete who was roughly a 5 minute miler in small-town Wisconsin. Luckily she stayed with the sport until she found proper guidance.

We should make sure we support small town students and athletes because talent is not limited to affluent families in urban centers.

I agree her story is awesome, she has improved a ton and is enjoying a great year. Let's not get carried away that it was some miracle she stuck with running because she didn't get support or coaching. She raced actively in HS and ran 4:55 and 10:26 as a HS Junior.

Point taken but my suggestion is that talent is not typically hereditary and talented kids are born all over the country into families and communities that may not support their talents. I’m certain there have been national champions that have missed their chance because they had to work after school or grew up in communities that had no cross country team.

We spend a lot of time applauding the phenoms that have put in the hard work at an early age but we should also support the late bloomers and kids in disadvantaged situations. The odds that all of the talented kids have resources and support is mathematically impossible.

5 Minute Miler wrote:

Point taken but my suggestion is that talent is not typically hereditary and talented kids are born all over the country into families and communities that may not support their talents. I’m certain there have been national champions that have missed their chance because they had to work after school or grew up in communities that had no cross country team.

We spend a lot of time applauding the phenoms that have put in the hard work at an early age but we should also support the late bloomers and kids in disadvantaged situations. The odds that all of the talented kids have resources and support is mathematically impossible.

Can you please stop virtue signaling long enough to take a step back and realize that this thread is already doing what you are asking it to do. It is supporting someone who was not a world beater at a young age. However, since you bring up the fact that we should support late bloomers and kids in disadvantage situations, can you please provide any insight on how you would like to see that accomplished. Further more, I would like to know what you are already doing to bring attention to these late bloomers or the individuals in disadvantaged situations. Or are you someone who just likes to feel like they are self important by pointing things out. Thank you and end of rant.

5 Minute Miler wrote:

Point taken but my suggestion is that talent is not typically hereditary and talented kids are born all over the country into families and communities that may not support their talents. I’m certain there have been national champions that have missed their chance because they had to work after school or grew up in communities that had no cross country team.

We spend a lot of time applauding the phenoms that have put in the hard work at an early age but we should also support the late bloomers and kids in disadvantaged situations. The odds that all of the talented kids have resources and support is mathematically impossible.

I mean I guess I agree to a point but I really think it's less than you think. Track & Field/Cross Country have some of the highest levels of participation for High School students. Not sure the number on this but practically every High School in the country has Track. Sure there are impoverished areas and teams with poor coaching but if a kid wants to work hard they can do that in running easier than they can in almost every other sport. I wouldn't put Monson in that category either, I'd call her a normal girl who has had an amazing college career. If you pay attention to me on any other threads I would say her path has likely meant she has more potential to be successful than the "phenoms" like Mary Cain or Tuohy. I'm going to guess that she had adequate HS coaching though.

NBC was so shocked they failed to get a post race interview.

I'm not the biggest running follower, but I'd never heard of her before. Based on her name I figured she must be Aussie or British, but then saw that she's from Wisconsin. Pretty damn cool to set a ~30 second PR and win at Millrose.

buckybadger wrote:

I'm not the biggest running follower, but I'd never heard of her before. Based on her name I figured she must be Aussie or British, but then saw that she's from Wisconsin. Pretty damn cool to set a ~30 second PR and win at Millrose.

Very cool. She had a outstanding XC season which was a bit of a breakout for her. And I think only a junior so could be exciting next 1.5 years.

She is the recent version of Purrier/Schweizer. So is Dani Jones. Many women don't find their footing in distance running until college, more so perhaps than with boys/men.

How can you waste time on this site and not know who she is? She won the Nuttycombe Invite in the fall, one of the biggest XC meets of the year. Her time yesterday was 3rd of all time. Schweizer is first. She finished 4th at NB nationals in HS making her one of the top recruits of her class.

Her HS coach

http://news.vdoto2.com/2017/02/coach-paul-enslin-amery-high-school/

Track Times Matter wrote:

Indoor? wrote:

I agree her story is awesome, she has improved a ton and is enjoying a great year. Let's not get carried away that it was some miracle she stuck with running because she didn't get support or coaching. She raced actively in HS and ran 4:55 and 10:26 as a HS Junior.

Good point. 10:26 as a junior is probably top-50 all-time for juniors outside of California.

She also tore her ACL early in her senior year. So 10:26 as a junior probably would have been near sub 10:10 as a senior had she been healthy. And we wouldn't be as surprised. Still a good story.

Has she been dealing with an injury again this outdoor season? I saw she was 9th at Big Tens this past weekend which is odd after the strong cross country and indoor seasons she had.

She was with the pack but died on the last lap.