I meant Mercy looked off, not Nichols....I kept expecting Nichols to make a move at some point but it never happened.
I'm sure Mercy's 10k took something out of her, and Tuohy/Valby kept the pace strong enough to keep both Mercy and Gregory from really contending for the lead.
Both Tuohy and Valby ran great races. Valby was very consistant throughout, and great to see her try to push for the win.
Tuohy tucked in nicely though and didn't try to retake the lead right away. It was good racing from them both.
Announcer said Tuohy had lots left at the end...I didn't think so. She looked pretty spent. But she pulled it out, which was great for her. I believe this win will take a lot of pressure off of her and silence a lot of the trolls that have been on her for years. Well, except for the moron on this thread,
Starliper looked really good through most of the race, but didn't have the legs to finish...but great on her to get to the finals and show well. She will likely be a beast for NC State going forward.
Nichols really didn't look comfortable that whole race...maybe that was just me, but she looked a little off from the start.
Valby is going to keep getting better...very impressive year for her.
Agree. Would have been interesting if Mercy hadn't just come off winning the 10K... I think it would have been close between her and 2e but 2e still would have pulled it out. Should be really interesting next year for a cross country as you'll have quite a bunch of runners in contention and it's not like there's any other races so everyone goes in with the same chances... Starliper looks great I was impressed that she could keep her season going strong considering she's still working her way back... NC State will be loaded for a cross country next year I hope Kelsey Chmiel stays with the team as well!
Valby ran a bad tactical race. Running on the outside for almost a full race and then making her move way too early. Don't mean to be overly critical as she did great to get second and has been improving incredibly but just saying she's kind of handing tuohy a victory with that strategy. If she would have stayed in Mercy's position for the whole race she actually might have been able to challenge down the stretch. Anyway cross country next fall should be pretty epic with a lot of top notch talent
I love that Valby wasn’t afraid to throw down so far out. She threw everything she had at Tuohy.
Valby gave it a go and also knew she was out there too maximize team points, her biggest issue moving forward is the injury situation, she had a hip problem in high school and now the foot but still operates at a high level with minimal running. Hopefully she gets a couple seasons of training so we can see her full potential.
Valby ran a bad tactical race. Running on the outside for almost a full race and then making her move way too early. Don't mean to be overly critical as she did great to get second and has been improving incredibly but just saying she's kind of handing tuohy a victory with that strategy. If she would have stayed in Mercy's position for the whole race she actually might have been able to challenge down the stretch. Anyway cross country next fall should be pretty epic with a lot of top notch talent
She isn't going to outkick touhy especially with her lack of running this season, she felt at 1k it was time and she went probably knowing it wouldn't work, lesser runners would have just sat there and that's the difference between the great runners and the rest of them. Like I tell my daughter, even though there is a race plan, you get final say when the gun goes to make changes as needed and call audibles like brady and manning.
First, Tuohy is not big. Second, she needs to keep doing what she is doing, because she is stronger than everyone else. Thirdly, most of the other girls need to get in the weight room and gain a little muscle weight if they want a chance to beat Tuohy. And lastly, if Starliper can stay healthy and have a good summer, she and Tuohy will be the one two punch to another NC State title in the fall.
It’s amazing that Starliper after two years of not racing and battling injury for two years, and struggling this first season could make Nationals, place 9th in 15:36. What girl can do that at her age? You can tell she is not back to form yet, but she is obviously winning many mental battles that come with injuries, illness, and returning to racing and training. Her heart and consistency showed up again as she beat everyone that beat her in the West Regionals heat except for Tuohy and Valby. Next year might be a battle of the class of HS 2020 with Tuohy, Valby, and Starliper.
Valby ran a bad tactical race. Running on the outside for almost a full race and then making her move way too early. Don't mean to be overly critical as she did great to get second and has been improving incredibly but just saying she's kind of handing tuohy a victory with that strategy. If she would have stayed in Mercy's position for the whole race she actually might have been able to challenge down the stretch. Anyway cross country next fall should be pretty epic with a lot of top notch talent
She isn't going to outkick touhy especially with her lack of running this season, she felt at 1k it was time and she went probably knowing it wouldn't work, lesser runners would have just sat there and that's the difference between the great runners and the rest of them. Like I tell my daughter, even though there is a race plan, you get final say when the gun goes to make changes as needed and call audibles like brady and manning.
Guys she ran an extra 30 m in each of her last two races!!! That's kind of a big deal and shows bad tactics! Yeah I agree she wasn't going to win either race at this point but she could have been kicking with at least a chance to win, rather than running for an obvious second
She should have got right behind the leader and drafted like a couple of other runners did for the whole race... I mean it's not a big deal or anything but I'm just saying she did that twice in a row now so it just shows that she doesn't understand tactics and doesn't know that she's running an extra 3 m per lap running on the outside!!!
Announcer said Tuohy had lots left at the end...I didn't think so.
Very little of what the announcers say makes any sense at all, except for RG3, who is good. I would watch with the sound off, except then I wouldn't hear the crowd.
At any rate, anybody with a lick of sense could see that Tuohy was dying in the last 100. She confirmed that in the post-race interview.
Not the dumbest moment for the announcers, though. That was when they were ticking off all the great times Anna Hall might run to set various heptathlon records, when she was running the 800 meters 20 minutes after finishing the 400 hurdles. Then throughout the race they kept talking about how she was running a conservative race, and how surprised they were that she wasn't going for it.
I mean, really? She was a dead woman running. She also confirmed that in the post-race interview but ... duh. Come on now.