NCAA At Large Selections

[Tvarish]

I can't seem to remember from last year. Approximately how many at-large were taken in each event? Also, how many did they take in the multis? Finally, if your relay team qualifies, who is eligible to run? Thanks in advance for the help.

[gh]

This was true last year; don't believe any changes this time around (but I could be wrong):

The top 5 individuals (and top 3 relays) in each of the four Regionals automatically qualified for the Nationals. For various reasons—running in another event, injury, etc.—not all will accept the entry. The 10,000s and multis fields will be based solely on the yearly list.

The Nationals fields will be filled by combining Regionals results with the yearly list. After the 5 (and 3) are determined, including scratches, the next 7 placers from each Region go into a pool, and are then selected based on the yearly list order as each event reached its quota.

[knite]

Is there a quote for each event outdoors? I know there is for the indoor meet, but wasn't sure abotu a number for the outdoor season....?

[ndamix]

Is there a quote for each event outdoors? I know there is for the indoor meet, but wasn't sure abotu a number for the outdoor season....?

Generally the NCAA likes to have @ least 20 - 24 per event (minus the combined-events). But things change.

[gh]

Number is actually higher than that. Believe most men's events were 26 last year, women's 28. (and the combined events get the same amount as all the others)

[ndamix]

Number is actually higher than that. Believe most men's events were 26 last year, women's 28. (and the combined events get the same amount as all the others)

See...what do I know... :lol: :lol: :lol:

[KevinM]

Is there a quote for each event outdoors? I know there is for the indoor meet, but wasn't sure abotu a number for the outdoor season....?

The only event mandates listed in the Championship Guide are the 20 per individual and 12 per relay auto qualifiers (plus top 20 10K and multis). After that, everything is dependant on the number of the 544 (I think that's the #) per gender that the autos take up.

So assume that the wholly improbable were to occur and absolutely no one in the entire meet planned to double (including relays). This means 20 unique athletes for each of the 19 individual events 48 athletes not running an individual event manning the auto-qualifiers for the relays. That means (20x19) + (48x2), or 476. That would mean there are 68 at-larges to give out. So for every person competing in an additional event, add one more at-large.

Also consider than if you are the next person on the list in a given event, and you are already in the meet for another event, the committee will often add you, provided the field size can handle it. This is how you will end up with large 100, 200, 400 fields, as many guys in the at-large pool are already in the meet on relays.

[gh]

...
Also consider than if you are the next person on the list in a given event, and you are already in the meet for another event, the committee will often add you, provided the field size can handle it. This is how you will end up with large 100, 200, 400 fields, as many guys in the at-large pool are already in the meet on relays.

Doesn't seem to work exactly that way. While there were 30 men in the 200 last year, there were 26 in both the 100 and 400.

On the women's side the numbers were 30 in the 200, 28 for the 100 and 400.

So 4/6 sprint fields were same size as all other events, 2 had a pair of people extra. And never "large" since there were always empty lanes in the first round.

[gh]

ahh... for the good old days: in Austin in '74 the 100 had 60 (sixty!) entrants; 56 at Philly in '76.

(what happens with 10th-second timing)

[KevinM]

Guess I should have said "could" end up with large fields. Or "larger fields than those events would normally merit".

Note that if the next athletes on the list after 544 are reached are not in the field, then that caps things off, as I understand it, so there is some randomness at play here.

In the days before there were 5000m prelims and distance/mid-d doubles were more common, I think this same procedure may have resulted in some expanded 1500, St, and 10,000 fields.

[26mi235]

...
Also consider than if you are the next person on the list in a given event, and you are already in the meet for another event, the committee will often add you, provided the field size can handle it. This is how you will end up with large 100, 200, 400 fields, as many guys in the at-large pool are already in the meet on relays.

Doesn't seem to work exactly that way. While there were 30 men in the 200 last year, there were 26 in both the 100 and 400.

On the women's side the numbers were 30 in the 200, 28 for the 100 and 400.

So 4/6 sprint fields were same size as all other events, 2 had a pair of people extra. And never "large" since there were always empty lanes in the first round.

This makes perfect sense. The 200 runners can do both the 4x400 and the 4x100, so if a team qualifies in either one, they are more likely to get in to the 200, while the 100 and 400 do not as often cross two distance doubling factors (X-man types are rare and anyone that good is usually in in one of the events 'directly'). In addition, they can qualify in the 100 or in the 400 in a similar manner, although doubling 100/200 and especially 200/400 is probably harder than 200/4xX00.

[gh]

This year's men's sprints: 29, 26, 26.

women : 26, 28, 27

On first blush, I'd say the individual events overall have fewer entrants than last year.

[Bruce Kritzler]

Yeh, what's the point of inviting 18 relay teams? Just like indoors with the men's dmr, many of these teams will not be competitive.

[26mi235]

Yeh, what's the point of inviting 18 relay teams? Just like indoors with the men's dmr, many of these teams will not be competitive.

Outdoors the relays are short and you can have rounds; indoors the DMR is the only relay and you cannot have rounds. Different animals. Also, unlike the sprints, there is not a wind-aided element in the 4xX00, although there is the time/strategy issue in the 4x400 (better teams can keep from burning their matches a bit (is a single replacement allowed?).

[Gleason]

Yeh, what's the point of inviting 18 relay teams? Just like indoors with the men's dmr, many of these teams will not be competitive.

Outdoors the relays are short and you can have rounds; indoors the DMR is the only relay and you cannot have rounds. Different animals. Also, unlike the sprints, there is not a wind-aided element in the 4xX00, although there is the time/strategy issue in the 4x400 (better teams can keep from burning their matches a bit (is a single replacement allowed?).

I believe that two replacements are allowed in relays. In 2006 "X-Man" and Willie didn't run 4x400 relay prelims at NCAA.

In fact they didn't run 4x400 between PennR and NCAA finals. They skipped SEC, Regionals and NCAA heat.