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Post by ramseur on May 30, 2023 22:40:38 GMT -8
Under the radar commitment for the men’s team is Austin Milton of Sherwood High School who NateB referenced as a local product earlier in this thread. It appears the he signed back in April but without the fancy edit or fanfare of some of our other commitments. He improved his Javelin PR to 209’ 0” and won state this weekend. This is great news! With the Blutreich coaching him, who knows to what heights he might rise!
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Post by arizonaduck on Jun 2, 2023 8:12:17 GMT -8
I want some opinions. It is certainly heartening to see the names of blue-chip recruits that this new coaching staff has landed. Some of these blue-chips have posted performances that are "pro quality". However, I'm not comfortable with what appears to be the red-shirting of them as we have seen of some this year. Will that be the norm? As I see it, as these recruits mature and become stronger with age and practice, they will become more tempted to turn pro after only one or two seasons and we will be without the value they could contribute now. Why not use them as soon as they arrive? We might be able to keep them one year more. eg Reinhardt Harrison apparently has been training this year and getting stronger. Why hasn't he been used this year, not only to get stronger, but wiser about racing tactics under real competition? Do I have a foggy outlook or am I missing something obvious?
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Post by NateB on Jun 2, 2023 16:49:09 GMT -8
I think the outlook is a little foggy in my humble opinion. It's not just an Oregon thing but many top schools tend to redshirt their bluechip freshman on the men's side. Also it's not very common for men distance runners to go pro early and now with the NIL it is probably gonna make it even less common. Harrison was dealing with injury and illness at the start and middle of the season. Other top male recruits on the team had some injuries too which is a reason top programs redshirt them because it is very common for freshman to get injured with the transition, training volume and intensity. Keep in mind most freshman when didn't train with runners just as good or better than them when they were in High School so there's emotional, mental, and physical issues that come along with that transition. A few of the freshman did run unattached this season which logically meant that they had enough consistent training under their belt to compete. I would bet those who didn't run attached were not in the best shape/health to run.
I have noticed not only on here but on other boards there were sever people who were upset and bashed Jerry for pulling the plug and redshirting many of his runners. It was as if he committed some ultimate crime. I actually commend him for not worrying about what we all think and making the decision to do what was best to not only rebuild the team (which was on life support when he inherited it), but also act in the best interest of the runners for not putting them out there when they really weren't ready. There will more than likely be several redshirts next season as well. Again it's not a crime it's just the nature of how many top distance coaches operate in the NCAA landscape right now on the men's side. Usually it isn't as noticeable when you have other classes ahead of them hitting on all cylinders. The reason why Oregon felt it this year was because there wasn't enough national caliber talent available to cover it up. Most of that blame actually belongs to Coach Thomas. I do think Coach Thomas would have recruited some transfers last summer that could've came in firing but obviously with Jerry just getting there he didn't have time to recruit when most top transfers were already signed with new programs. Finally had Coach Thomas stayed his runners would have been able to build off of his training system but with Jerry coming in they had to switch systems again; some for the third time in consecutive years which causes setbacks as well.
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Post by NateB on Jun 5, 2023 16:10:53 GMT -8
As I was worried, Alana Reid is going Pro.
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Post by ducktafnut on Jun 5, 2023 16:54:51 GMT -8
As I was worried, Alana Reid is going Pro. No surprise, but disappointing.
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Post by jedg on Jun 5, 2023 17:01:20 GMT -8
Disappointing but as Nate notes, unsurprising. I suspect there's a Plan B being put into effect.
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Post by danishduck on Jun 19, 2023 19:31:27 GMT -8
The Athletic Dept. hasn't had the time or the interest to issue a list of the recruits/transfers in this class. So I decided to compile a summary of who's expected to enroll next Fall, based on reports from various posters in this thread.
By my count, 21 names have been posted-14 men and 7 women.
8 of the 14 men are distance runners from 800M up as well as 5 of the 7 women.
The other 6 men are: 2 throwers 2 multis 1 short sprinter (Pleasant-maybe) and 1 long (200-400)
The other 2 women are 1 multi and 1 sprinter.
No jumpers of any kind in sight.
We can hope for summer transfers to fill in gaps.
Your input would be welcome
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Post by arizonaduck on Jun 20, 2023 11:08:15 GMT -8
The Athletic Dept. hasn't had the time or the interest to issue a list of the recruits/transfers in this class. So I decided to compile a summary of who's expected to enroll next Fall, based on reports from various posters in this thread. By my count, 21 names have been posted-14 men and 7 women. 8 of the 14 men are distance runners from 800M up as well as 5 of the 7 women. The other 6 men are: 2 throwers 2 multis 1 short sprinter (Pleasant-maybe) and 1 long (200-400) The other 2 women are 1 multi and 1 sprinter. No jumpers of any kind in sight. We can hope for summer transfers to fill in gaps. Your input would be welcome I continue to be concerned about the lack of sprinters. Sprinters can easily be spaced into three of five events: 100, 200, 400, and both relays. Distance runners, two of four events (with difficulty): 800, 1500, 5k, 10k, OK and MAYBE steeplechase. In the new PAC-12, USC and UCLA, the other top sprint schools, will be gone. We will still have to contend with Washington and Stanford in the distances. I can see more points in the sprints than in the distances. I would definitely like to see some more good women. As I understand it, we get about 50% more scholarships for women than men. I concur with danish that your input would be welcome.
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Post by mallardg on Jun 20, 2023 14:10:38 GMT -8
Just a bunch of random thoughts. For starters, the history of Oregon track has been heavily focused on distance running, something most fans have been complaining has been lacking of late. As we all know, recruiting is a complex matter, subject to Title IX limitations for the men and competition for the limitations of available local talent and national/international talent. Most of us have been struggling with the lack of depth on the men's distance side...apparently the current batch of recruits provides a strong response to that "problem". Also, we are all aware that Johnson built his powerhouses with an emphasis on a well-rounded track team. Is that model valid any longer? Other programs such as Stanford and Colorado have traditionally relied on distance runners, something that Schumacher is apparently leaning toward. Is he looking more to the increased championship opportunities which distance runners can provide (Cross Country and distance heavy Indoors)? Also, the kind and level of talent he brings in will determine the model of whether Oregon is competitive for Pac 12 championships, or is competitive for National championships? Additionally, based on the most recent results, winning National championships pretty much requires high level International athletes. So, how do we all feel about recruiting mature foreign superstars at the expense of going after developmental home-grown talent? Perhaps an even larger issue is the current situation with professional opportunities, NIL money, and the liberal transfer portal policies. Talented recruits may only be on board for one or two years before moving onto greener pastures with more opportunity. With all these variables in play, we need to understand that the old recruiting model is obsolete. Recruiting of top level International athletes will go on and on throughout the year, with some entering the program with only a few weeks notice before commencement of a specific season (XC, Indoors, Outdoors). So, we can all question and criticize but we fans are not the ones who have to deal with the complicated world of collegiate track and field as it is presented today. Folks, this ain't Kansas anymore.
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Post by olduck66 on Jun 20, 2023 16:39:57 GMT -8
God, you guys are so sharp. The well thought out posts make coming to this site so fun. By the way, are there any lady Ducks that post regularly? In the past several of the mothers were well know for super contributions. Let me add another pitchfork of hay to the shock. (sp?). Yes, the next few years should be extremely exciting-for mid distance runners. BUT how many of these incomingn Duck runners will excel at 10K? Stanford returns (I think) the 3rd, 6th and 7th finisher for 2022 XC. Colorado and Washington are sure to have longer distance stars. If I were to forecast when the Ducks once again rule the Pac-10, I would look ahead for 2 o3 3 more years for the men. As to the ladies side, I have not a clue who will do well. And then there is indoor and the big one outdoor. By next year the list of participants may be very different with the portal and overseas athletes. AND, who is sure Oregon will be part of the conference?
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Post by ducktafnut on Jul 3, 2023 17:20:27 GMT -8
Kobe Lawrence is competing in the Senior division of the Jamaican championships shot put rather than the U20. Xavier Nairne is competing in the 100m. Kemba Nelson is also competing in the 100m.
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Post by NateB on Jul 13, 2023 2:15:43 GMT -8
The men's incoming middle distance class just keeps upping the bar with their performance this summer. Sergio Del Barrio ran a massive 3k Steeple PR of 8:39 yesterday which is very impressive for an 18 y/o. A few weeks ago Archie Noakes ran a 5k PR of 13:52. I know most of the attention has rightfully so been on the national recruits but Del Barrio and Noakes are top notch international recruits. I don't anticipate any of them running attached during the fall as many of them are still racing and will be racing late into the summer and will need to take a break and rebuild once arriving to campus next month. Next year is a U20 World Championship year and Olympic year. I can the goal for many of the freshman being to adjust to training through fall/winter with the intention of having a big summer outdoors similar to Harrison, Balasz, Smith did this year but that also means they may not be able to be heavy contributors in the 2024 XC seasons.
Begs an interesting question that I love to hear some Feedback on. It seems that many of top men's especially XC teams/runner struggled this year staying sharp/healthy for all 3 seasons. With the increased performances that have been happening across the world in the distance events has this made it harder to maintain that level of fitness all year around without taking significant breaks to recover and rebuild a base at some point? How does Oregon balance that in the future? Which season should be less emphasized? I just don't see how they will be able to be fully successful if they try to compete hard fall, winter, spring, and summer.
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Post by allducksalways on Jul 13, 2023 14:03:41 GMT -8
This is why the triple crown is so hard to complete. You need to have a really balance team where you maybe don’t rely on the distance runners to score a ton of points on the track because you’ve gone all in on cross country. Then get the sprinters locked in and ready to be the main point scorers on the track. And those 400m/800m specialists are so important.
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Post by allducksalways on Jul 14, 2023 13:24:37 GMT -8
This is why the triple crown is so hard to complete. You need to have a really balance team where you maybe don’t rely on the distance runners to score a ton of points on the track because you’ve gone all in on cross country. Then get the sprinters locked in and ready to be the main point scorers on the track. And those 400m/800m specialists are so important. I had to look at the numbers to see how the points actually were spread across events. Anyone think that they know how many distance points we scored in indoor and outdoor during the triple crown? Note: I’m not counting 800m as distance since those athletes did not factor into the XC team title. 2017 NCAA Track and Field Championships Indoor 3000m - Katie Rainsberger - 6 points 3000m - Samantha Nadel - 5 points 84 team points 11 points by distance / 73 points by sprinters and field 13% of points by distance Outdoor 1500m - Katie Rainsberger - 5 points 5000m - Samantha Nadel - 1 point 64 team points 6 points by distance / 58 by sprinters and field 9% of points by distance In conclusion, you’ve got to get lucky to triple crown. The only reason the Ducks even won the XC Championship is because Erin Clark of Colorado who was an easy top 20 athlete ran the worst race of her life placing a non-scoring 133rd.
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Post by TheDrake on Jul 14, 2023 15:57:15 GMT -8
But we'll take it! LOL
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