Link wrote:
The only one I might be wrong about is Ches - he might get under 13:10, too, but, if he stays a Kenyan citizen, there will be little developmental support for him after his college career is over - he'll be down around 50 or lower on the national lists. I think he needs another two years - minimum - before he can reach his 5k potential, and, given that it's not really high - again, he's not a guy with a 3:35 under his belt - which he would need to be able to sell himself as a future Olympian - he's not going to get much help going forward.
Is Mr. Cheserek not a great fit with the likes of Galen "I'm A Late Bloomer, And In Double Jeopardy I'm Going To Bloom" Rupp, Matthew "Dad's Going to Have To Go Back To The Olympics So My Tattoo Works Again" Centrowitz Jr., Cameron "Just Let Me Go Back To Running 300km/wk and Colouring in My Dreidel Colouring Book" Levins, Mo "My Publicist Created the Mobot So People Would Forget About How Much Better KB Is Than Me" Farah, Eric "Free Jenkins" Jenkins, and Jordan "Adorable" Hasay under the tutelage of Mr. Salazar? He has the finishing kick, the Nike/Oregon ties, and the preexisting fan base (thanks to Flotrack and the group of high schoolers that flood their site) to make Him a good fit with the Oregon Project. I'd typically agree with you on the whole "Africans are going to have a tough time getting substantial endorsement deals" argument, but Lawi Lalang and Kennedy Kithuka weren't the personification of everything that is NCAA distance running like Mr. Cheserek has become. To wit: Mr. Lalang, despite running his stout 13:00 5000m race prior to his senior cross country season, never achieved the household notoriety of "the King" (seriously though your mom wouldn't stop talking about Him last night. It was pretty annoying.). Before anybody tries to jump in and write some garbage about "Mr. Lalang/Kithuka was every bit the NCAA favorite that Mr. Cheserek was this year. You're just another one of those new fans of the sport," let me stop you now: they weren't. While I don't necessarily think Mr. Cheserek's loss was more of a surprise than were the losses of Mr. Lalang or Mr. Kithuka (I mean, who expected Mr. Cheserek to take down the reigning NCAA champ when He was a mere freshman? Nobody. It wasn't even a discussion...but Mr. Kithuka's name hadn't been in the spotlight long enough for him to overcome the loss, and as a result he's probably working as a plus-sized belt salesman (that's how he met your mom!).), it had more publicity thanks to the ease of news publication and His aforementioned preexisting fame.
This preexisting fame is most likely due to Mr. Cheserek's timing of entering the NCAA system after having a stellar prep career with Flotrack, Letsrun, and your mom following His every step. Some cheered for Him to win because it's fun to watch a record fall; others hoped for His failure because He's a filthy age cheat who is probably on something. Whatever the case, He will not have any trouble landing a lucrative shoe deal once He completes His eligibility with UO this spring. Once He's scored said contract, He'll be able to drop his personal bests into the 3:34, 12:58, 27:15 range and possibly compete for a spot on the Kenyan Olympic 5,000m team in 2020 under the guidance of Mr. Salazar. His personal records will likely end up better than the rest of the lot in this discussion; His 5,000m PR will likely surpass that of Mr. Rupp within the next 2 years. I guess Mr. Knight seems to have the wheels to compete, but I don't suspect he will.
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