He took the best opportunity for himself at the time. It looks like UVA wouldn't have looked at him straight out of high school, so he went D2.
I agree with the other poster, good coaching is good coaching, doesn't matter the division. Sometimes it might be better for a runner to take a D2 scholarship and develop further vs. go D1.
Good coaching is good coaching, however the pure resource standpoint between Virginia and Tampa Bay University is probably eons of difference. Virginia likely has a first class support system and a virtually unlimited budget while Tampa Bay has a beach.
@someone.... It appears from your responses that either (a) you are intentionally attempting to cause contention by putting down any non D1 programs; or (b) you truly don't know.
If you are in the coaching profession or higher education you know divisions don't matter as much as what outside people think they do athletically - and divisions don't mean hardly anything when it comes to academics. Those who know, know.
And if (b) is where you are at - that you really don't know - then best of luck learning what the rest of us who are in the profession already know.
Congrats to Tampa for developing Cohen and congrats to UVA for further developing him. At the end of the day, the common denominator is Cohen, and he took advantage of the opportunities!
So he goes from 1:58-->1:48 as a D2 runner but ZERO possibility he runs 1:44 if he stayed another year? He would have to beat a 1:45 guy to win d2, also a good test for the trials.
Sorry if your argument sounds like a dude running at a non-scholarship D1 who runs 1:57
Lol you think 1:57 kids make D1 rosters? What on earth are you talking about?? Cohen went from a B level 800 runners to an NCAA champ and what changed? D1>>>>>
Good coaching is good coaching, however the pure resource standpoint between Virginia and Tampa Bay University is probably eons of difference. Virginia likely has a first class support system and a virtually unlimited budget while Tampa Bay has a beach.
@someone.... It appears from your responses that either (a) you are intentionally attempting to cause contention by putting down any non D1 programs; or (b) you truly don't know.
If you are in the coaching profession or higher education you know divisions don't matter as much as what outside people think they do athletically - and divisions don't mean hardly anything when it comes to academics. Those who know, know.
And if (b) is where you are at - that you really don't know - then best of luck learning what the rest of us who are in the profession already know.
Congrats to Tampa for developing Cohen and congrats to UVA for further developing him. At the end of the day, the common denominator is Cohen, and he took advantage of the opportunities!
@someone.... It appears from your responses that either (a) you are intentionally attempting to cause contention by putting down any non D1 programs; or (b) you truly don't know.
If you are in the coaching profession or higher education you know divisions don't matter as much as what outside people think they do athletically - and divisions don't mean hardly anything when it comes to academics. Those who know, know.
And if (b) is where you are at - that you really don't know - then best of luck learning what the rest of us who are in the profession already know.
Congrats to Tampa for developing Cohen and congrats to UVA for further developing him. At the end of the day, the common denominator is Cohen, and he took advantage of the opportunities!
Lol this is hilarious.
Agreed, it's a pretty bad take all around.
Divisions do matter and D1 is going to come out on top both academically and athletically. NAIA and D2 on the national level? Please.
D3 can be solid for undergrad academically but the point of the OP stands . . . go D1 over D2 if you have the chance.
This post was edited 5 minutes after it was posted.
What about schools like Portland State University? Academically mediocre at best, dumpster fire running program, but NCAA Division I. There are also many more such examples to be found all over this nation. I wouldn't find any of these institutions "superior" to schools in other divisions simply because they have some delusion that their men's basketball or football team will one day catch fire and become a middling power.
I digress. Major football and basketball realignment will turn most DI institutions into glorified DII in short order.
What about schools like Portland State University? Academically mediocre at best, dumpster fire running program, but NCAA Division I. There are also many more such examples to be found all over this nation. I wouldn't find any of these institutions "superior" to schools in other divisions simply because they have some delusion that their men's basketball or football team will one day catch fire and become a middling power.
I digress. Major football and basketball realignment will turn most DI institutions into glorified DII in short order.
You're cherry picking with one example. One.
Look at entire D1 conferences that are superior in cross country / track and field and academics across the board: the Big East, ACC, the Ivy League for example.
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
No one argues that the Power 5 is not the best of both worlds. There are a large number of public universities across America that are D1 simply because of size and an ambitious AD. These schools would be classified DII if they didn't have 12K+ enrollees. As such, simply claiming to be a DI athlete means nothing without proper context. No one claims that a degree from a DII school trumps one from Stanford. Lots of DII degree holders are gainfully employed and many go to grad school at name brand DI schools. After running is over and you have a job or two under your belt, no one cares outside of this message board.
Let's Run just has a weird obsession with putting everything into neat little boxes so that posters can claim status points.
Kids develop differently in all sports. Look at the Ivy League and G5 kids who in football and basketball who are going to P4 schools now.
There was a freshman at Vassar who was a 5:13 miler last year in high school who just won the D3 championship 1500 in 4:19. The second fastest kid at her high school ran a 5:40. She went to Kentucky Country Day. Country Day schools are typically academically strong schools that are small. She didn’t lose a race last year and won the state championship for small schools.
Imagine if she went to Union Catholic or J Serra. She would have been one of the top middle distance runners in the country.
There are many, many D1 track and xc programs that are weak, both academically and athletically. One thing great athletes at D2 and D3 programs get from moving up in college or the pros is great training partners, which is why they often improve markedly, but they would have been overlooked and unable to keep up with anyone had they somehow been able to start there.
What about him? He's a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.
Instead, look at the bigger picture and the program he was in: D3 Willamette University. Are they regularly developing athletes to be competitive on the national level?
Also: if the young Symmonds were around doing his thing here in 2024, I suspect, at the very least, he would go the Alex Phillips route and try his hand at a top D1 program for a year as a grad transfer.
No one argues that the Power 5 is not the best of both worlds. There are a large number of public universities across America that are D1 simply because of size and an ambitious AD. These schools would be classified DII if they didn't have 12K+ enrollees. As such, simply claiming to be a DI athlete means nothing without proper context. No one claims that a degree from a DII school trumps one from Stanford. Lots of DII degree holders are gainfully employed and many go to grad school at name brand DI schools. After running is over and you have a job or two under your belt, no one cares outside of this message board.
Let's Run just has a weird obsession with putting everything into neat little boxes so that posters can claim status points.
I agree that context is everything. And that context is coming off this weekend with the D1 national championships fresh in mind: obviously superior to the D2, D3, and NAIA national championships in every way.
Indeed, following the point of this thread, the context here is athletes who have the chance to perform on that level. Starting out at D2 is fine, but if you have the chance, make the jump, and don't stick around in D2. The point of this thread isn't about scrubs who go D1 simply to claim they went D1. Otherwise, why would the title bother to mention Shane Cohen?
I would say the last point is odd. This isn't about status points, it's simply about taking it to the next level . . . if you have the chance.
This post was edited 6 minutes after it was posted.
What about schools like Portland State University? Academically mediocre at best, dumpster fire running program, but NCAA Division I. There are also many more such examples to be found all over this nation. I wouldn't find any of these institutions "superior" to schools in other divisions simply because they have some delusion that their men's basketball or football team will one day catch fire and become a middling power.
I digress. Major football and basketball realignment will turn most DI institutions into glorified DII in short order.
I would choose Portland State over basically every D2 school.
No one argues that the Power 5 is not the best of both worlds. There are a large number of public universities across America that are D1 simply because of size and an ambitious AD. These schools would be classified DII if they didn't have 12K+ enrollees. As such, simply claiming to be a DI athlete means nothing without proper context. No one claims that a degree from a DII school trumps one from Stanford. Lots of DII degree holders are gainfully employed and many go to grad school at name brand DI schools. After running is over and you have a job or two under your belt, no one cares outside of this message board.
Let's Run just has a weird obsession with putting everything into neat little boxes so that posters can claim status points.
I agree that context is everything. And that context is coming off this weekend with the D1 national championships fresh in mind: obviously superior to the D2, D3, and NAIA national championships in every way.
Indeed, following the point of this thread, the context here is athletes who have the chance to perform on that level. Starting out at D2 is fine, but if you have the chance, make the jump, and don't stick around in D2. The point of this thread isn't about scrubs who go D1 simply to claim they went D1. Otherwise, why would the title bother to mention Shane Cohen?
I would say the last point is odd. This isn't about status points, it's simply about taking it to the next level . . . if you have the chance.
Thank you for having reading comprehension. You just have gone to a D1 school.