NCAA XC Class Recruiting Class Countdown #3: University of Washington Women
NCAA XC Class Recruiting Class Countdown #3: University of Washington Women
National championships aren’t gift-wrapped. Though these perennial powerhouses may have their appeal, recruiting isn’t easy. Neither is signing.
The fall will soon be upon us and Flotrack is ranking the top NCAA recruiting classes for the fall. Who will have an immediate impact on a team’s top five? What team is built for longevity?
The University of Washington Huskies
# of sub-17:30 5k - 3
# of sub-10:40 3200m – 3
# of sub-4:55 1600m – 3
# of sub-2:21 800m – 4
# of NXN / FL Qualifiers – 4
The Wood Report: Washington Women (#4)
“Coach Greg Metcalf might just have the best recruiting class he's ever had in his time in Seattle-- and that's saying something. With the talented recruits that Metcalf has brought in alone, Washington would have a chance to make the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute.”
How long has coach Greg Metcalf been waiting for this freshmen class? Would four years be too obvious an answer? We said above that recruiting isn’t the easiest task. Life gets easier when the talent is in-state and the team is a constant podium threat and beyond. Life gets better when those recruits are two of the most highly touted preps in the nation. Life is good at UDub.
Though UW got the two most coveted Washingtonians in Katie Knight and Amy-Eloise Neale, having a talented in-state pool to draw from wasn't all the help they got when it came to attracting distance runners to Seattle, WA. It’s not quite lineage, but there are now two Husky distance runners in the Flanagan family.
Then there’s the one that chose UW for reasons unknown, but we don’t always need to connect all the dots. As coach Metcalf said – “It’s an exciting time for myself and my staff. We think this is a class that can make an instant impact.”
Amy-Eloise Neale (Snohomish, WA); Glacier Peak HS
View Fast 100 rankings
1600m – 10th
That fact that Neale’s freshman biography is one of the longest and most prolific entries in recent memory should speak volumes. Her most notable marks is an 11th place finish at the 2k steeplechase at the ’11 World Youth Championships, 21st at World Junior Cross Country Championships, and fifth in the 3000m steeplechase at the ’13 European Junior T&F Championships.
Compared to that, winning the Gatorade Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year for Washington three times (and the cross country title three times as well) is just another drop in the bucket.
We also talked to her about the now-freshmen class at UW at the Portland Track Festival (@1:50).
Katie Knight (Spokane, WA); North Central HS
View Fast 100 rankings
1600m – 17th
3200m – 7th
Later that night in Portland, we caught up with the other future Husky, Katie Knight. “I was so excited that I ran up to [Amy-Eloise Neale] and gave her a big hug after her race. ‘Amy! This is the first time we’re running together as teammates at a meet,’” Knight said after running the 5k. “It’s nice to not have that pressure of racing her as a competitor anymore and now we just have to be happy for each other no matter how we do and be there to support each other.”
Knight and Neale didn’t just compete against one another often in WA, but they were both in Poland for World XC. Knight finished third for Team USA and 28th overall in 19:52. Back in the states, Knight finished 3rd at NXN two consecutive years and ran 16:25.75 for 5k (at Portland).
Now for some nuggets. There are two quick takeaways from her profile on gohuskies.com. (a) Coach Metcalf’s enthusiastic quote about Knight and (b) that she missed team picture day.
Kaylee Flanagan (Roselle, IL); Lake Park HS
View Fast 100 rankings
3200m – 64th
Flanagan is a two-time Foot Locker finalist and one-time NXN qualifier. She took 34th last year in San Diego, but her junior year, she pulled off the impressive fall national double that saw her finish 31st at FL and 18th at NXN.
She’s also the sister of UW standout Lindsay Flanagan. That makes buying team gear easy for her parents, huh.
Kelly Lawson (Cardiff, CA); La Costa Canyon HS
View Fast 100 rankings
As The Wood Report points out, “Lawson is a two-time NXN qualifier and has a very good 1600m PR of 4:48.” What I bet you didn’t know was that she ran at the 2012 World Mt. Running Championships, lettered in water polo and swimming four times, and was an All-American in the 200m relay.
Thank, UW Sports Information Department!
The fall will soon be upon us and Flotrack is ranking the top NCAA recruiting classes for the fall. Who will have an immediate impact on a team’s top five? What team is built for longevity?
The University of Washington Huskies
# of sub-17:30 5k - 3
# of sub-10:40 3200m – 3
# of sub-4:55 1600m – 3
# of sub-2:21 800m – 4
# of NXN / FL Qualifiers – 4
The Wood Report: Washington Women (#4)
“Coach Greg Metcalf might just have the best recruiting class he's ever had in his time in Seattle-- and that's saying something. With the talented recruits that Metcalf has brought in alone, Washington would have a chance to make the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute.”
How long has coach Greg Metcalf been waiting for this freshmen class? Would four years be too obvious an answer? We said above that recruiting isn’t the easiest task. Life gets easier when the talent is in-state and the team is a constant podium threat and beyond. Life gets better when those recruits are two of the most highly touted preps in the nation. Life is good at UDub.
Though UW got the two most coveted Washingtonians in Katie Knight and Amy-Eloise Neale, having a talented in-state pool to draw from wasn't all the help they got when it came to attracting distance runners to Seattle, WA. It’s not quite lineage, but there are now two Husky distance runners in the Flanagan family.
Then there’s the one that chose UW for reasons unknown, but we don’t always need to connect all the dots. As coach Metcalf said – “It’s an exciting time for myself and my staff. We think this is a class that can make an instant impact.”
Amy-Eloise Neale (Snohomish, WA); Glacier Peak HS
View Fast 100 rankings
1600m – 10th
That fact that Neale’s freshman biography is one of the longest and most prolific entries in recent memory should speak volumes. Her most notable marks is an 11th place finish at the 2k steeplechase at the ’11 World Youth Championships, 21st at World Junior Cross Country Championships, and fifth in the 3000m steeplechase at the ’13 European Junior T&F Championships.
Compared to that, winning the Gatorade Girls Track and Field Athlete of the Year for Washington three times (and the cross country title three times as well) is just another drop in the bucket.
We also talked to her about the now-freshmen class at UW at the Portland Track Festival (@1:50).
Katie Knight (Spokane, WA); North Central HSView Fast 100 rankings
1600m – 17th
3200m – 7th
Later that night in Portland, we caught up with the other future Husky, Katie Knight. “I was so excited that I ran up to [Amy-Eloise Neale] and gave her a big hug after her race. ‘Amy! This is the first time we’re running together as teammates at a meet,’” Knight said after running the 5k. “It’s nice to not have that pressure of racing her as a competitor anymore and now we just have to be happy for each other no matter how we do and be there to support each other.”
Knight and Neale didn’t just compete against one another often in WA, but they were both in Poland for World XC. Knight finished third for Team USA and 28th overall in 19:52. Back in the states, Knight finished 3rd at NXN two consecutive years and ran 16:25.75 for 5k (at Portland).
Now for some nuggets. There are two quick takeaways from her profile on gohuskies.com. (a) Coach Metcalf’s enthusiastic quote about Knight and (b) that she missed team picture day.
Kaylee Flanagan (Roselle, IL); Lake Park HSView Fast 100 rankings
3200m – 64th
Flanagan is a two-time Foot Locker finalist and one-time NXN qualifier. She took 34th last year in San Diego, but her junior year, she pulled off the impressive fall national double that saw her finish 31st at FL and 18th at NXN.
She’s also the sister of UW standout Lindsay Flanagan. That makes buying team gear easy for her parents, huh.
Kelly Lawson (Cardiff, CA); La Costa Canyon HSView Fast 100 rankings
As The Wood Report points out, “Lawson is a two-time NXN qualifier and has a very good 1600m PR of 4:48.” What I bet you didn’t know was that she ran at the 2012 World Mt. Running Championships, lettered in water polo and swimming four times, and was an All-American in the 200m relay.
Thank, UW Sports Information Department!
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