Andy Powell has turned UW into an absolute powerhouse since taking over in 2018. They went from 8th place and 42 points at Pac-12s in 2018 to 4th place and 85 points in 2019. In 2020, 3 UW guys broke 4 in the mile, the most ever in the school's history, before 4 did it in 2022, and 8 did it in 2023. Also notably, in 2021, Husky Sam Tanner ran 3:34i, shattering the NCAA record indoors and out (as a sophomore).
2022 was the breakout year for UW, when they went 1-5-7 in the 1500m at nattys, when no other school had more than 1 finalist. Somehow 2023 was way more impressive than that. As a reminder of what they did indoors:
2. 3:51.90 Joe Waskom
3. 3:52.03 Brian Fay
4. 3:52.62 Kieran Lumb
5. 3:52.76 Nathan Green
6. 3:52.87 Luke Houser
8. 3:53.65 Aidan Ryan
17. 3:55.60 Aaron Ahl
They had 6 of the fastest 8 men in the NCAA, and that's not counting Sam Ellis, who ran 3:53.13 indoors. So 7 guys at 3:53 or faster all at the same time. Then the 5th fastest guy on the team ended up winning NCAAs in the mile, which sounds absolutely crazy until you realize Houser's PB was less than a second slower than Waskom's. Then outdoors, Green won nationals with a 51 last lap, and Waskom came 2nd. I loved how immediately after crossing the line, Waskom threw his arms around Green, and then they did that celebration where they just held each other's faces and gritted their teeth lmao. Then Houser immediately walks up and hugs Green and is smiling for him, despite coming next to last. They were all so happy for Green's success, and it felt super special.
I think it's also worth nothing that Waskom won as a sophomore, Green won as a sophomore, and Houser won as a junior. No 5th+ year senior bias here. 3 seasons, 3 titles, and 3 different winners. And they'll all be back next year, assuming Waskom doesn't go pro, which leads me to the most recent development for Powell:
Waskom's 2nd place at USAs. In 2022 he wasn't there because he hadn't run a qualifying time, even though the guy he beat at NCAAs placed 4th at Worlds in 3:30. Also interesting that Waskom's move to (try to) beat 3:29 guy Yared Nuguse was the same move he made a year prior to (successfully) beat Nuguse's current training partner/roommate/3:29 guy Garcia Romo.
Now it's clear that Waskom is one of the best in the country as a junior in college, even though you could argue he's not the best on his college team. I absolutely loved his post-race interview. He was so excited, and when asked about going pro, he said he'd have to consider it, but he wanted to stay with UW because what they have is so special, and it's as good or better than most pro groups. He also said No one considers themselves the best, no one has an ego, and they all love each other and want to help each other be the best they can. That culture absolutely stems from Powell, and it cemented for me that the culture that a team has is the most important aspect of it.
I don't know much about Powell's history outside of UW. Some general questions I have that I wanna throw up for discussion:
- What were some of his big successes while coaching at Oregon?
- Why did he leave Oregon?
- Is he getting the top HS runners and just keeping them on the right path, or is he getting a bunch of 2nd tier runners and developing them to be the best? Or a mix of both? Examples?
- What are some of his training principles/standard workouts/anything else special he does?
- How did he build the great culture that UW has?
- Has/does he coach pros? If so, who? If not, is there a reason?
- What's his track record with athletes above the mile? I think he had Cheserek, but other than that idk
It feels like a few years ago, the only groups with a lot of top athletes were BTC/NOP. Seemingly very quickly, we've entered an era with a ton of the greatest running programs in US history. From NP/the high school revolution, to NAU/UW, to Mike Smith Elite/OAC/BTC, top runners now can choose between a ton of groups with a track record of success. High schoolers are finally reaching (and surpassing) the depth of the 60s and 70s, and there's now a clear pipeline for them to take if they want to pursue running seriously. In light of this, I wanted to take a look at some of the coaches behind these groups, and I figured I'd start with Powell because what's happening at UW right now is incredible, and I feel like I don't know a ton about him.
With the 2028 Olympics in LA, T&F is going to get a huge national spotlight. To capitalize on that, the US needs world class runners, personalities to root for, and media to distribute it. This year's HS class, and guys like Nuguse/Hocker/Nur, are showing that the talent is there. Programs like UW/NAU/MSE are showing that the training infrastructure is there. Guys like the Youngs/Burns are showing that there's a sizeable audience who want to follow the best guys in the country. Despite getting a lot of hate on LetsRun, people like TRP (and Symmonds to some extent) have built massive followings off the back of T&F. The audience is there, it just needs to be capitalized on, and Powell's program is definitely one of the best options to follow. He's building a dynasty, and it's absolutely a story that needs to be documented.
