MileSplit North Carolina

Well so much for the rankings and the polls. Who will be projected to be number one or number 15, etc. The fact is these two runners have been running club track for as long as I can remember. Why they were not on the mile split ranking board is very surprising to me. Not that projections or rankings amount to much anyways. However, many in the club circles would have known these two athletes are not push overs. I knew from watching Dekker (Durham Striders) year in and year out at USATF Junior Olympic Nationals, that she would be a force to be reckoned with. Here are her stats as far back as the Bantam age group forward:

2007 USATF JO Nationals/California
Bantam Girls 800m - 5th Place Dekker 2:35
Bantam Girls 1500m - 2nd Place Dekker 5:10

2008 USATF JO Nationals/Omaha, Neb.
Midget Girls 800m - 7th Place Dekker 2:26
Midget Girls 1500m - 3rd Place Dekker 5:01
Midget Girls 3000m - 2nd Place Dekker 10:39

2009 USATF JO Nationals/Greensboro, NC.
Midget Girls 800m - 4th Place Dekker 2:25
Midget Girls 1500m - 2nd Place Dekker 4:55
Midget Girls 3000m - 2nd Place Dekker 10:29

2010 USATF JO Nationals/Sacremento, NC.
Youth Girls 1500m - 7th Place Dekker 4:48
Youth Girls 3000m - 8th Place Dekker 10:23

2010 USATF JO Nationals/Wichita, Kansas
Youth Girls 1500m - 2nd Place 4:45
Youth Girls 3000m - 3rd Place 10:13

As far as Mark Blackmon is concerned. He to has been running club track for a very long time. Anyways, congrats to both and to all that participated.

In the Spirit of Sport

@StengthCoach "However, many in the club circles would have known these two athletes are not push overs."

Everyone knows this.

Eliza runs for Durham Academy and has for the last 2 years. She was 5th at the NCISAA state meet as a 7th grader, so people know who she is. She killed it in track last year as well, for Durham Academy. Not sure what you mean by not in the rankings, either. She ran 17:59 at the adidas meet in Cary already this year which had her ranked on time, 9th in NC.

Blackmon hadn't raced a big XC race yet this year. Maybe he hadn't raced at all, who knows, West Charlotte is a bit off the radar for XC. Blackmon ran track last year and did quite well, too.

Everyone in the state knows these two runners.

@StengthCoach Eliza Dekker was ranked 4th in my last individual rankings (she would be 5th now that Alana Hadley has run 17:30). I have mentioned Eliza probably 10 or more times in my articles this fall. To imply that I have somehow ignored or missed her is not just false, it's ridiculous and insulting. Also, I believe Eliza gets 9+ months of training per year from her school coach and only 3 or less from her summer track coaches (who, I should say, are excellent).

As for Blackmon, he did not have a single posted result until yesterday. How can I rank someone if they do not have results? He did not run cross country last fall, so why would I include him in any rankings or previews? Since 2009, counting both cross country and track season, he has run a grand total of 6 races that submitted results to MileSplit. He did not run summer track this year, and he does not have a single result from a summer track meet on his MileSplit profile, which dates back to 2006.

I think you have an interesting perspective, and I also think you have some good points to make (and there are some on which I agree with you). However, your tendency to get your facts wrong makes it hard for you to get your points across, as does your relentless self-promotion.

While we're on the subject, a piece of advice: going on a HIGH-SCHOOL track and cross country site and bashing all high school coaches, while implying that all club coaches are inherently better, doesn't really help your credibility. There are some terrible high school coaches, to be sure. I have also met many absolutely horrible club coaches, who by the way also have day jobs (very few people in America get to just coach track for a living). In the same vein, there are amazing high school coaches, and there are excellent club coaches. Most coaches, whether high school or club, fall somewhere in between (and I suspect that, under scrutiny, you would also fall somewhere between).

I would have to agree that these 2 runners are under no ones radar. Mark, especially was the topic of much discussion last year when he moved from SC to NC. Also, after winning the SC State AAAA XC high school championship there as an 8th grader, and also doing quite well in basketball, the question isn't whether you know about Mark, but where you heard about Mark or which sport he's playing.
I for one was glad to see him not only show up in the results, but show up well after not being very active in XC last fall. I'm not going to add pressure to his plate by trying to predict a successful comeback or asking him to focus on one sport, but whatever he does, I wish him the best.

@CoachGeorgeRJR
Hi Coach:

I think this thread brings up an important issue to club coaches and high school club athletes that do not compete for a high school.

I coach a club team in South Carolina and wish that the MileSplit network would have a universal policy to include the times run by high-school age athletes who do not run for their high school in the MileSplit rankings and on the individual athletes' profiles.

I also wish the high school leagues would let these athletes compete unattached in the big high school meets. I have heard some say that there would be questions about academic eligibility and insurance, but meet directors could have these runners fill in a waiver and also provide a copy of a high school transcript to show that they are in good academic standing. It is frustrating for these club athletes to have to line up against only college-level or Open competition. I can understand that these club/unattached athletes cannot compete in the high school championship races but why not meets like Wendy's, etc?

@Alsoran Personally, I don't mind if they compete in the meets I direct (which are few now). The NCHSAA also has clearly stated that it is OK for its teams to compete against club teams. I guess it's up to each meet director to set their own policies.

As for the database, we don't have a policy against having club runners in there. It's just a matter of each webmaster deciding whether to process the results of AAU/USATF meets. The problem is, our system was designed to link athletes to schools, and that makes it hard for us to process the club results (they take much more work). This is especially true when the athlete in question runs for both the school and the club. There has been a lot of internal discussion among the MileSplit webmasters and higher-ups regarding how to better serve club teams, and I think you will see positive changes there over time.

@CoachGeorgeRJR
Thanks, Coach. I look forward to seeing a more inclusive (not that there was any intentional exclusive) policy adopted with regards providing exposure for all high school athletes, regardless of their affiliation.

Coach George

We had the same discussion on the Kentucky Board. Only the parent was upset because their child did not receive a medal.

Speaking of Mark Blackmon, he finished first yesterday at Beeson Park with a time of 15:27 which is good enough for a third
place state ranking.

Also Freshman runner Eliza Dekker set a new PR with her time of 17:46 which is good enough for 5th place in the state ranking and is
behind only Alana Hadley in the freshman rankings.

Under the radar is another freshman, Rebekah Greengrass of Panther Creek. She has run 18:09 and is ranked 12th in the state.

I am still waiting on Ryen Frazier to run her first race. She also broke 18:00 in track. It would be outstanding for Four young freshman ladies to run under 18:00. I do not even have to look it up, it has never been done before in NC.

@KYinNC Alana Hadley's 5k pr is 17:06 alanahadley.com/3543.html

@CoachSides That's a track time, her best cross country 5K is the 17:30 earlier this year.