dean moriarty wrote:
Yeah, Jon Riley sucked. Mohamud won Footlockers as a junior and Riley was a senior. Check the results from 1996 and 1997, you'll recognize plenty of names. Certainly not the "rock bottom days" of boys distance, it was the beginning of the renaissance. Riley ran 3:43 that spring.
You are absolutely right about when the renaissance began, people always say 2000/2001 mainly focusing on Webb, Ritz and Hall's senior year, but the renaissance clearly started 2-3 years before that.
96/97 the athletes listed below started to get their names on the top-10 list, which had not changed very much in 15 years.
Gabe Jennings
Jonathon Riley
Sharif Karie
Michael Stember
Gabe Jennings
97/98
Andy Powell
Franklyn Sanchez
Murad Campbell
...with Rohatinsky, Webb and Sage as underclassmen in 1998, but still making noise and following year Ritz, Hall, Teg and Dobson come on the scene.