Rich Get Richer: Klech Follows Craddock to UCLA

[bad hammy]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... FKNGQ1.DTL

[tafnut]

Is it just me or is Klech the most unlikely looking hurdle star? He looks like a high jumper or distance guy. If UCLA packs the 20-30 pounds on him that his frame could easily hold, he'll either be unbeatable with the added strength or totally mediocre from the extra bulk. He can't/won't look the same in two years, so he's a great test case for how best to build a hurdler.

[bad hammy]

Actually, he is an unlikely looking deca guy . . .

http://www.trackandfieldnews.com/discus ... ight=klech

A quote from yours truly in that thread:

Just to keep up the well-deserved hype on this guy, the following was true as of May 6th, 2005 (I don't have time to update it now):

Klech was at that time:

No. 1 in the nation in the 400h
No. 1 in the state of California in the 300h
No. 1 in the state in the high jump
No. 2 in the state in the 110h
No. 3 in the state in the long jump
No. 12 in the state in the triple jump
No. 19 in the state in the 400
No. 43 in the state in the 800

Obviously he needs to work on the 800 . . .

[EPelle]

Ok, I was on the Klech wheel all track season - starting with Stanford Invite.

Deca guys love Klech:s versatility - general speed, excellent stamina, and good strength.

If Klech stays healthy in 2006 - no Scott Sellers-type of late-season injuries - you guys may see George Porter:s 300m hurdle record erased, and see Klech run 46-point/1.53/4.21. For you jumpers: 7,67m/25-2, 2.17m/7-1,5 and 15.29m/50-2.

I think by the time the kid turns 23 he can be the equivalent of a Jeremy Wariner, however over the 800m distance. Not an immediate world-beater, but a great hope for your nation:s future.

[MCFLY]

is anybody out there with me in thinking klech is a little overrated?

i mean, he is certainly impressive in that he competes consistently well in multiple events. he always seems to be steadily improving and never has a bad race/performance.

however, there is no one event where he really stands out, in my mind. i mean, last year we saw a kid run 10.0 in the 100 meters, and it seemed like klech got significantly more ink when he didn't even break into the all-time top 10 for his forte event--the 300mh (top 12 for that matter?).

sure, klech will be a college coach's dream as he can score points in so many events. but he has no potential as a decathlete as i can't see him throwing mildly well with his frame.

the kid is about a second and a half off the 400 meter hurdle record and some articles are calling him the "best multi-event athlete in the last 50 years"

i don't get it? the numbers don't lie and when you look in the record books, klech's numbers aren't that earth-shattering. actually, if you look in the record books, you don't even see klech's name yet.

[bad hammy]

is anybody out there with me in thinking klech is a little overrated?

Not here. I've seen him about 10 times. He is not setting records basically because he has not specialized in any event. He was still playing soccer in 10th grade!

He can go one of two ways: admit he is deca material and grind away there, or specialize, either on the hurdles (probably long) or the high jump. My feeling is that his best event is the long hurdles, but I would really like to see him in the deca. I think he did about a 6800 after his sophomore year.

[Double R Bar4]

Kevin Craddock is the guy I want to watch in college. I saw him run several times in high school and I think he has the potential to run under 48 seconds in the intermediates. I just hope he stays healthy. His whole senior year in high school was wasted on injuries. When he's healthy and fit, he's amazing.

[mike renfro]

Kevin Craddock is the guy I want to watch in college. I saw him run several times in high school and I think he has the potential to run under 48 seconds in the intermediates. I just hope he stays healthy. His whole senior year in high school was wasted on injuries. When he's healthy a
and fit, he's amazing.

I agree, but sub 48 may not be the limit. I saw him run at only one meet, the '04 state, and he was awesome. Truely, a man among boys. He has the build (ala Young & Clement) (altho Jackson showed that a "little" guy can do okay) to really be good at either event. I was really hoping for Cal (Klech too) so I could watch Kevin develop. Ah, there will be meets.

As to Kletch being overrated, too early to tell. I think that it is hard to get our heads around a skinny white kid being up there in the hurdles and jumps. If he develops well in his individual events, I doubt that he will do many decas.

[bad hammy]

[quote=mike renfro]

Kevin Craddock is the guy I want to watch in college.

Truely, a man among boys.[/quote:1cmgrez4]
I'm with both of you there. It is a shame his SR year went to waste - he had HSR written all over him, possibly in both hurdles.

I think Craddock's best event will be the 110h, while I think that Klech's will be the 400h. But if both concentrate on the same race (and Craddock's injuries are behind him) I think Craddock takes Klech every time. Much more polished. Another reason that I like Klech in the deca - some of his rough edges will not matter nearly as much there.

[Double R Bar4]

I certainly don't think 48 seconds is a limit for Craddock. I said I think he has the potential to run under 48 seconds. Who knows, maybe he can run under 47?

[MCFLY]

As to Kletch being overrated, too early to tell. I think that it is hard to get our heads around a skinny white kid being up there in the hurdles and jumps. If he develops well in his individual events, I doubt that he will do many decas.

i was thinking the same thing but you said it...i'm wondering if this is the reason klech is such a stand out, because, imho, he doesn't really stand out on paper

[richxx87]

Darius Reed 13.70 also will be a Bruin

Lost in all this Craddock-Klech talk is that Darius Reed the top returning 110 hurdler (13.70) will be signing with UCLA as well. He's from Colorado and built a lot like Craddock, tall (6'4") and lean.
Add to these guys the best best crop of throwers, and the Bruins future looks very bright indeed. New jumps coach Mike Powell is also excited about coaching a group of talented frosh and soph jumpers.

Good luck to the rest of the Pac-10. Oregon will be tough as will USC

[bad hammy]

Based on the lists over on DyeStat, here is where Klech finished this past season:

No. 1 in Cal (4th national) in the 400h 51.28
No. 1 in Cal (2nd national) in the 300h 36.06
No. 3 in Cal (6th national) in the high jump 7' 3/4"
No. 2 in Cal in the 110h 13.94
No. 10 in Cal in the long jump 23' 1" (24' 7-3/4 w)
No. 22 in Cal in the triple jump 46' 3/4"
No. 24 in Cal in the 400 48.7
No. 68 in Cal in the 800 1:56.9

[mrbowie]

I hope like hell that this Klech kid never ventures onto this board, because he could lose his interest in track and field based on what happened to all of the assholes that post herein, as though the kid was a slab of meat being picked over by a bunch of women shoping at a butcher shop.

I didn't know Archie Bunker was such a track and field fan.

[bad hammy]

I hope like hell that this Klech kid never ventures onto this board, because he could lose his interest in track and field based on what happened to all of the assholes that post herein, as though the kid was a slab of meat being picked over by a bunch of women shoping at a butcher shop.

I didn't know Archie Bunker was such a track and field fan.

Um, what? Most folks said nice things. A couple used the term 'overrated', which is not really a negative, just an opinion that others may be a little overzealous in their praise. I didn't see much here that a well-adjusted athlete – which Klech appears to be - couldn't handle.

Edit: the Archie Bunker comment? Because someone pointed out that he was white? BFD - I think he knows that.