In our newest feature, MileStat answers your questions! Check out what questions we answer this week and who asked them.
Our newest feature seeks to answer and talk about exaclty what you want to hear about. We had numerous questions sent to us and of those we chose these to answer. If you are interested in having your questions answered then just shoot us an email at njez@milesplit.com for a chance to be featured next week!
MileStat, do you think that there is a chance of an indoor facility being opened in SW Virginia? Such as in the Abingdon or Bristol area. Or would it be more likely that Virginia Tech hosts more meets?
by: Ben Compton
Ben, unfortunately I think there is a 1% chance that SW Virginia gets a new indoor track facility. The only areas in the state that I really think could add one is Hampton/Newport News or NOVA. Those are the only two areas with a large enough need to build one. They also have some pretty large school districts that have the power and wherewithal to get something like this done.
Virginia Tech though is supposed to be building a new practice facility for their football team. That would mean, in theory of course, that Rector Fieldhouse would then become solely about track & field. If that is the case then you can expect VaTech to host a couple more invitationals. But, as history has shown, VaTech seems to be hesitant to host meets that often, citing their XC course.
MileStat, did the Virginia Foot Locker Finalists live up to your expectations?
by: Jason McAvoy
Jason, I think it was a mixed result. Some athletes did not peak per-se but a lot of the athletes did step up big time. I think the biggest surprise was Libby finishing in 6th! I am a big VA-homer and I did not expect that, though I knew she was totally capable of it. I really believed Andrew Hunter would win the national title. I think he is a very special athlete, he will get his chance next year though and I hope that time he gets the national respect he deserves!
MileStat, I was curious as to whether people who start on the outside of the waterfall and break in if they are always the slower seeds? Sometimes don't the faster seeds start there? Does it vary by meet?
by: Bryce Williams
Bryce, you have no idea how happy I am that you asked this! This issue eats at me at nearly every meet I cover. But of course, I know better then to tell others how it is done correctly, so I of course will do that here.
Though I do not see it anywhere explicitly outlined, the best practice for starting a race is very simple and yes it is technically up to meet management to decide where to seed the top seed. The best way to seed a distance race that uses a waterfall is to have the fastest seed on the far outside. The logic behind this is that you want to give the top seed the highest level of advantage that you can to a clear path. Some people say this is unfair but it is exactly what they do in lane races where the top seed gets the optimal curve from lane 4.
If you are the top seed in the race, say the 1000, then you 100% deserve the clearest path to break. You should not be burdened with having to sprint to get out and push your way to the front. Some will say that "it is real racing" but let's be honest we want to see the top seeds duel it out, not the slowest seeds.
And a little bonus info here: for races that are double or even tripled alley'd you are supposed to do a split commiserate with seeding. So, if you have two alleys you will want 2/3 of the field in the first ally and 1/3 of the field in the closer up ally. That is because the athletes starting in lane 4 can only use 1/3 of the lanes while athletes in lane 1 can use the entire track. For this to be done properly you need the 66%, 33% split and you need to do it fairly. To do that you need to alternate every third top seed on the far outside. So if you had a race where there was 15 seeds the lineup would look like this.
Lane 4 Ally: 15, 12, 9, 6, 3
Lane 1 Regular Start Line: 14, 13, 11, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 2, 1
Which is the ideal way so that the top two seeds in theory both have clear paths to lead and each ally has equal amount of space compared to how many lanes they are allowed to run in.
MileStat, do you think some state events are harder to qualify for then others? For example, the boys 5A standard for the 1000 is 2:37.75 and the standard for the 3200 is 9:43.28, do you think the 1000 is harder?
by: Tyson Evans
Tyson, The simple answer is hands down yes. It all depends on the depth a certain classification has in different events. Some years the standards in different classifications may actually be nearly harder then a "higher" classification and that is because of the depth. In 3A we have a ton of distance heavy programs that have produced some national champion level athletes over the past couple years. 6A on the other hand is hurdle heavy, especially with Western Branch. They went 1-2 outdoors in the shuttle hurdle relay race. That means in theory if Touks had run all 8 girls that the 100m hurdle standard would be freaking impossible!
So, in sum, it really depends on what classification you talk about and what kind of depth are they dealing with in different events. Over time though, events will change in difficulty and what is impossible now to achieve will be different in years to come thanks to it being an average over time.
MileStat, Will you be attending more VISAA XC meets next season?
by: Ryan White
Ryan, my attendance at meets is largely dependent on who is at what meet. Though I value every single athlete the same, since everyone does have family and friends who want to see coverage of them, I am well aware that certain parts of the state just have more competitions and more viewers.
In a perfect world I would want to cover more VISAA meets and SW Va meets which I think are the two most under-covered areas of our sport but unfortunately I would have to do that while also neglecting a ton of viewers. It is like last year I was hammered for not being at the 3A/4A outdoor state meet to do live updates, but if I was there instead of 5A/6A then I would get a even bigger backlash.
So know this, I will do my best to cover VISAA and SW VA but my coverage of them will have to warranted as well. Either it being a large meet or a big match-up happening. I chose which meets to be at not based on the location but on the competition. I of course will be at VISAA States every year for all three seasons too.
MileStat, Could we see another MileStat Gala again this year? The meet two years ago was a great hit and I think for a lot of people its a great way to end their season with a fun event (i.e. 2K Steeple). Plus, who doesn't love a MileStat singlet?
by: Peyton Artz
Peyton, It all depends on how close Nationals and States are together. The same goes for a Meet of Champions. If we could, we would host meets every single weekend but time and feasibility do not allow us sometimes to do that.
We also love having a fun atmosphere with different events allowing athletes and relay teams to finally break that school record in an event and to become part of history. Some of the best races I personally can remember are from the Gala, especially the Eleanor Roosevelt DMR vs Virginia All-Star team! Look it up and you will understand why that that race is historically awesome.
Your hardest question though is trying to think of who wouldn't love a MileStat singlet? That is an impossible questions because I cannot think of a single soul who would not love to have a MileStat singlet.