Running Man 101
Well-known member
Looks like the Girls D3 top 4 went Fresh, Soph, Fresh and Soph and will be set for the next 3 years. What I talented group of young ladies! Great work!
Anyone know what happened to Alexandria Markovich from Gates Mill Hawken? Looks like she didn't run at her Regional meet.
Looks like the Girls D3 top 4 went Fresh, Soph, Fresh and Soph and will be set for the next 3 years.
This post got me curious so I did some quick research. Going back to 1998 state results on the OHSAA website, 70% (147 out of 210) of podium finishers in D1 girls are upperclassmen. In the same span only 55% (114 out of 209) of podium finishers in D3 girls are upperclassmen. One girl in one of the D3 girls results is errantly listed as a first grader, so I did not count her in the total.
Why the big disparity? Just a coincidince? This is over 14 years of results.
This post got me curious so I did some quick research. Going back to 1998 state results on the OHSAA website, 70% (147 out of 210) of podium finishers in D1 girls are upperclassmen. In the same span only 55% (114 out of 209) of podium finishers in D3 girls are upperclassmen. One girl in one of the D3 girls results is errantly listed as a first grader, so I did not count her in the total.
Why the big disparity? Just a coincidince? This is over 14 years of results.
I'm not sure why the big disparity, but maybe the DI schools just have had a better run of the "lucky ones," i.e. girls who have yet to undergo the physiological changes that can hinder a female's ability to run fast.
Another issue could be training philosophy although I've never really discussed the idea with big and small school coaches.
The smaller schools with presumably less people on their teams have a greater need for runners who can contribute immediately in order to make their teams competitive, so the smaller school coaches might feel the need to bring their younger runners along more quickly which can hinder their long term development.
By contrast, the larger schools presumably have more than enough runners to choose from and can be a little more patient and take a longer term approach to developing their younger runners.
Another possibility could be that the average smaller school runners are playing other sports (basketball for example) during the year because their schools need them to play those sports in order to fill the rosters; whereas the average larger school girls might be able to focus on running year round since their schools have more than enough girls to fill the rosters in the other sports.
I'm just thinking out loud here. If we could just get a hold of training logs for all of these kids, then we might have a more accurate answer.
badger, I share your observations, and I remember when you were in the same boat as these youngster... and you turned out just fine IMO.
Mr. K, just an opinion, but I think it has to do more with the difference in overall competition level than with any differences in training. It's not that rare for a freshman girl with natural talent to run low to mid-19s, but much less rare for that same freshman to run mid-18s. The smaller population of D3 means that a sub-19:30 performance will often make or at least sniff the podium. The larger population of D1 means that it often takes a mid-18 to make the podium, giving the advantage to older runners with more training and maturity under their belts.
I would like to see someone take mathking's advice and compare the two divisions based on time instead of place. I wouldn't be surprised if the ratio of sub-19:30 (as an example) underclassman to upperclassman in D3 is very similar to that of D1.
I thought D3 girls individuals had a great state meet this year, particularly with their underclassman. Look forward to seeing how well they continue to do.