Re: t-and-f: Sandrock: 'Ritz' aims for Olympic 'A' standard

Wayne T. Armbrust Fri, 30 Apr 2004 19:45:12 -0700

One of the things I was trying to get across is that Ritz is better than either he or Wetmore thinks he is. He should have no trouble with the "A" standard in whatever event he chooses. He is being sold short by both Wetmore and himself. He will have many chances this year to get the Standard. He doesn't' t need to punt the conference meet to do so.

BTW, Ed. I'm sorry, but I don't think it is important at all to be an Olympic tourist. The fact that we send so many Olympic tourists is part of the reason why we haven't had an Olympic medalist in any event longer than 800 m since the rump Olympics of '84.

edndana wrote:

Just a clarification - meant to say that being an Olympic tourist is more
important than winning points in a conference meet (or even the NCAA meet in
my opinion).
- Ed ----- Original Message ----- From: "edndana" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: ""Athletics"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, April 30, 2004 6:18 PM Subject: Re: t-and-f: Sandrock: 'Ritz' aims for Olympic 'A' standard
Wayne -
I think you're both right and wrong. I think that there is a
mentality

of chasing NCAA qualifying times that has done serious damage to both competitive attitudes and programs themselves. This has been discussed

many
times before.
But if I was Ritz and his coach, I would absolutely go to Stanford. This is not an NCAA "B" qualifer we are talking about, this is the Olympic
A

standard. This is a situation where in the biggest meets of the year,

NCAA

and Olympic Trials, he wants to be able to race rather than worry about

his

time. In Sacramento - despite the amazing luck of cool weather in 2000 - the truth is that conditions on July evenings are usually abysmal for distance running. If we have even normal Sacramento conditions, no one

who

can't break 27:20 on a good day will have a shot at an A standard. I

can't

even begin to describe how badly conditions have affected some workouts

I've
done at 8PM in the summer here.
And yes, being an Olympic tourist is ABSOLUTELY more important than winning points for your team in a dual meet. I know very few people who would disagree - obviously you are one. If you're saying that no one
should
go to the Olympics unless they have a chance of getting top five, well
you're entitled to your opinion.
To me - and I know I'll get creamed by the college coaches for this - the real crime is that most talented young distance runners have to make
the

sacrifice of NOT going to the most competitive 10K in the country (save

the

trials) and instead doubling or tripling 3 or 4 times and sacrificing

their

training for it. It's the fact that kids get hardly a break from

September
to late June.  That most cannot hone their skills in Europe or even other
summer meets at ages 20,21 and 22 because their college season, full of
meets below their abilities (unless they attend one of less than ten top
schools), takes priority.
   Decry the loss of competitive college meets if you will.  From a fan
standpoint it makes sense.  But in today's global reality, NCAA distance
competition won't prepare you to break 27:00 or 13:00.  We are fortunate
that Colorado realizes this and is properly nurturing the brightest young
talent since Bob Kennedy.
- Ed Parrot
----- Original Message ----- From: "Wayne T. Armbrust" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "tandf listserv" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, April 30, 2004 5:22 PM Subject: Re: t-and-f: Sandrock: 'Ritz' aims for Olympic 'A' standard
It's hard to believe that an athletic administrator would support
something like this, or that a head coach would want his athlete to do
this.  I guess Wetmore doesn't really want to have a track team, just a
few good (by U.S. standard) distance runners.  Does Wetmore think that
Ritz can't get a standard except in the idealized environment of a race
at Stanford?  He is either a great runner or he isn't.  Great runners
don't have any problem getting standards.  People who have a problem
getting a standard aren't going to do well in the competition in
question.  Is being an Olympic tourist more important than winning
points for your team in the Conference meet?  This is the kind of
mentality that is killing collegiate track.
magpie wrote:
Instead of stepping on the starting line in Norman, Okla., Friday night
to run 10,000 meters against Big 12 competition in what would likely be no more than a hard workout, CU junior Dathan Ritzenhein will be in Palo
Alto,

Calif., to run 10K against the best Americans in a race that should be as competitive as this summer's Olympic trials.

With the backing of associate athletic director Chris May â head track

coach Mark Wetmore's boss â "Ritz" is getting the chance to go for the Olympic "A" standard of 27:49 at the Cardinal Invitational, one of the

best

meets for distance runners in the country. It will be Ritzenhein's first track 10,000 meters ever and will give he and Wetmore a feel for what

event

Ritzenhein should run at the Olympic trials in July.

"I feel ready and am excited to do my first one," Ritzenhein said.

"There

should be some good post-collegiate guys in there."

Indeed there will be. Start with American 10,000 meter record holder

Meb

Keflezighi, who is expected to follow pacers in an attempt to break his

own

record. Bob Kennedy, the U.S. record holder for 5,000 meters will also be there, as well as Dan Browne, Abdi Abdirahim, Weldon Johnson and Brad Hauser. Boulder's Justin Young is also in the field and could surprise

fans.

Full article:

http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/running/article/0,1713,BDC_2413_2846220,00.html
Buff men, women set for Big 12 meet
CU's Metivier should be favored in 2 events
http://mas.scripps.com/BDC/2004/04/29/0429meti_e.jpg CU's Renee Metivier has one of the nation's top collegiate marks in the
5,000 this year.
By Michael Sandrock, For the Camera
April 29, 2004
Renee Metivier has just one complaint about her time at the University
of

Colorado _ she wishes she had started here a couple of years ago.

As it is, Metivier has made a big mark in a short time at CU. Since

transferring from Georgia Tech and joining the cross country team last August, Metivier has progressed to the point where she is one of the favorites in the Big 12 Track and Field Championships that start today at the University of Oklahoma's John Jacobs Field.

Full article:

http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/cu_track_field/article/0,1713,BDC_2458_2846219,00.html
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--
Wayne T. Armbrust, Ph.D.
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"Know the difference between right and wrong...
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Treat others the way you'd like to be treated..."
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--
Wayne T. Armbrust, Ph.D.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Computomarx (TM)
3604 Grant Ct.
Columbia MO 65203-5800 USA
(573) 445-6675 (voice & FAX)
http://www.Computomarx.com
"Know the difference between right and wrong...
Always give your best effort...
Treat others the way you'd like to be treated..."
- Coach Bill Sudeck (1926-2000)

Re: t-and-f: Sandrock: 'Ritz' aims for Olympic 'A' standard

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