Sam Tanner - Kiwi High schooler - ran a 3:58.41 mile last night. Now he's headed to UW

Bit of a correction to the UW article. Sam broke the NZ junior record and was the first junior to break 4. Nick Willis's previous junior record was 4.01.

Earlier in the season Sam bet Nick over 800m running 1.49.42 and also broke Nick's junior 1500m record running 3.43.01.

While (currently) he is no Jakob Ingerbritsen (an lets be honest not many runners out there are) he still has a lot of potential and will be one to watch over the next few years in the NCAA and onwards.

I think that he will do well at the UW. Good facilities, coaching, academics, and a lifestyle and climate a little closer to Kiwiland than a lot of other places in the USA. Of course if he gets homesick then there's not much you can do about that.

I’m so amazed wrote:

zcvxzcvx wrote:

Incredible! How old is he?

Incredible! He could have just made it onto the final straight while a 17-year-old Ingebrigtsen crosses the finish line!

3:31. Yawn! He'd be about 40 meters back while El G was crossing the finish line.

Powell has a record of getting a lot of milers under 4, as well as plenty sub 3:40 in the 1500m. He should do well with this kid, who did not manage to set a world junior record but ran a NJR to break a multi-time Olympian and medalist's record.

At least this guy speaks English and comes from an affluent country. If he gets into the Army WCAP program and gets a fast track to citizenship so he can take spots away from Americans, then it would become problematic.

anyone heard how nick moulai is tracking at ole miss . having watched both there progress feel once nick gets a good build up behind him his future is very bright , add in Thoe quax who was carefully guided by his late father (former world 5 k record holder Dick ) . then kiwis will be following in the tracks of former black singlet greats ... exciting times ahead for kiwi MD fans

This says he's been running since age 5 and his mom was a good 400m runner. He also likes surfing and skateboarding. Good stuff.

Still don’t understand why a university in the US needs to give an athletic scholarship to anyone outside of the US. Why are they going to pay for the athletic development of someone not from here?

2 wrote:

anyone heard how nick moulai is tracking at ole miss . having watched both there progress feel once nick gets a good build up behind him his future is very bright , add in Thoe quax who was carefully guided by his late father (former world 5 k record holder Dick ) . then kiwis will be following in the tracks of former black singlet greats ... exciting times ahead for kiwi MD fans

Is he the one that is injured at the moment, badly ruptured something?

Alabama BS wrote:

Still don’t understand why a university in the US needs to give an athletic scholarship to anyone outside of the US. Why are they going to pay for the athletic development of someone not from here?

Because, and i know this is shocking so don’t fall out of your chair, there are people from other countries that can contribute to the success of US institutions.

It does not contribute to success. Foreigners don’t bring championships to the US. The championships already exist. They merely assist in potentially moving them from one institution to another. If scholarships only went to Americans, we would still have XC, indoor, and outdoor championships. There may even be more interest in the sport. I would concur if the NCAA prohibited scholarships going to foreigners.

Alabama BS wrote:

Still don’t understand why a university in the US needs to give an athletic scholarship to anyone outside of the US. Why are they going to pay for the athletic development of someone not from here?

Why wouldn’t you want students from overseas coming to your country to make a contribution in lots of ways. You have much to learn from outside your borders. Broaden your horizons.

Alabama BS wrote:

Still don’t understand why a university in the US needs to give an athletic scholarship to anyone outside of the US. Why are they going to pay for the athletic development of someone not from here?

This has been going on for decades, is within the rules and isn’t going to change, so why whine about it? Why should Powell disadvantage himself so that NAU or Oregon can pick up this kid instead?

hjdjsj wrote:

Alabama BS wrote:

Still don’t understand why a university in the US needs to give an athletic scholarship to anyone outside of the US. Why are they going to pay for the athletic development of someone not from here?

Because, and i know this is shocking so don’t fall out of your chair, there are people from other countries that can contribute to the success of US institutions.

I emigrated from the Soviet Union at a young age and was naturalized as a citizen during my teens. Besides my Russian/Jewish background, I sound American, for all intents and purposes. I give this background only to say that as an immigrant American, I see Alabama BS's point quite well.

Despite receiving some private funding, UW is billed as a public institution serving 5 states. He is neither within the 5 states UW ostensibly serves nor an American taxpayer/citizen. The point of public institutions like UW is to benefit tax-paying citizens. This has nothing to do with xenophobia, which I do see on LRC often, or anything of that ilk; it's simply a matter of UW's organizational mission and honest appropriation of funds.

Alabama BS wrote:

Still don’t understand why a university in the US needs to give an athletic scholarship to anyone outside of the US. Why are they going to pay for the athletic development of someone not from here?

Because they want to win?