Should NCAA Superstars skip NC's for USATF?

[aaronk]

The list of NCAA "Superstars" isn't as short as you'd think!

Men
Ronnie Baker (60)
Michael Cherry (400)
Donavan Brazier (800)
Devon Allen (60H)
Brad Adkins (HJ)
Jake Blankenship (PV)
Ryan Crouser (SP)


Women
Courtney Okolo (400)
Raevyn Rogers (800)
Molly Seidel (3000)
Quanesha Burks (LJ)
Keturah Orji (TJ)
Raven Saunders (SP)

Will Akela Jones be competing at WC for Barbados?
Hasn't Kendell Williams been placed on US team for Heptathlon?

[Atticus]

Hmmm, let me see. Let's ask their college coaches, who have TOTAL control over which meet they should enter . . . the one they have been given a scholarship to go to?

[gm]

AFAIK, Seidel has no Worlds qualifying standard, so it would be strange to even consider choosing USATF over NCAA.

[lonewolf]

Hmmm, let me see. Let's ask their college coaches, who have TOTAL control over which meet they should enter . . . the one they have been given a scholarship to go to?

Beat me to it.

[aaronk]

Beat me to it.

Well then, please, next year---change the schedule!!
Same with the NBIN for top HS'ers!

The top Collegians (& HS'ers) should be able to go to BOTH meets!!

[Atticus]

The top Collegians (& HS'ers) should be able to go to BOTH meets!!

The WIC is a not a big deal to many world elites, so why should it be to college coaches or their athletes?

[Cannon]

I agree with aaronk...what's the point of having the two national meets on the same days? It would be interesting for fans to have the top NCAA athletes in the USATF meet, and good experience for the younger athletes and maybe a chance for a PR.

[tandfman]

AFAIK, Seidel has no Worlds qualifying standard, so it would be strange to even consider choosing USATF over NCAA.

Neither does Adkins.

[NotDutra5]

Well then, please, next year---change the schedule!!
Same with the NBIN for top HS'ers!

The top Collegians (& HS'ers) should be able to go to BOTH meets!!

Which meet are you moving?

[bruce3404]

I don't get it. Why can't they compete in both? Didn't Devon Allen win both the NCs and USATF two years ago? Sure, it's a bigger load to have to peak twice and that might be a good reason to move future Trials and USATF meets a bit closer to one another. This year there will be roughly a three week gap between the two meets. But as others have said, collegiate athletes are beholden to their teams and coaches and as a college fan I would find it disappointing to miss seeing the best college athletes in action at the NCAA's.

[tandfman]

Outdoors is a different story. The NCAAs have always preceded the US Nationals, and I can't remember any eligible NCAA athlete ever skipping the NCAAs for the US Nationals/Trials. And there are very few NCAA athletes who have a decent chance of making a US team who stop competing after the NCAA meet when there is a team (World or Olympic) to make.

[aaronk]

I was talking about this year's INdoor schedule!!
Both meets are on the same days---this Friday & Saturday!
Would've been doable if the NC's were a week earlier!

ADD: Look at the USATF entries!
Right now, Crouser has the best SP mark in the country--Pro or amateur!
So does Orji in the TJ, Saunders in the SP, Okolo in the 400, and Brazier in the 800!
In fact, Saunders's mark is 2nd only to Val Adams's recent
OUTdoor 63-9 and an earlier INdoor mark by the Chinese woman!

[NotDutra5]

I was talking about this year's INdoor schedule!!
Both meets are on the same days---this Friday & Saturday!
Would've been doable if the NC's were a week earlier!

ADD: Look at the USATF entries!
Right now, Crouser has the best SP mark in the country--Pro or amateur!
So does Orji in the TJ, Saunders in the SP, Okolo in the 400, and Brazier in the 800!
In fact, Saunders's mark is 2nd only to Val Adams's recent
OUTdoor 63-9 and an earlier INdoor mark by the Chinese woman!

The NCAA's are not going to be a week after conference indoors. Those two meets affect, potentially, far more athletes than the limited number who can compete in the USATF meet if the schedule better fit AaronK's pipedream.

This assuming that the qualified athletes are interested in going to the USATF meet in the first place when they might not be.

[aaronk]

Dutra---"AaronK's pipedream" isn't the problem!
What's the problem is that people don't take the INdoor WC's seriously enough to care about getting the BEST athletes on our team!
Crouser has the best US mark--as do the others I mentioned!
Why wouldn't they think they could make the team---and WANT to do it--if they could?
What happened to the pride of being on a WC team--whether OUTdoors or INdoors??

And don't bring up the OG--or the OT's!
The Trials are about 100 days after the WC's end!!
Plenty of time to re-peak!

[gh]

aaron, you're laboring under the misconception that those on the collegiate side (be they coaches or athletes) particularly have a meet like the World Indoor on their radar. Never have, never will, and the collegiate calendar isn't in any way constructed with that meet in mind.