Robert Griffin III

[Conor Dary]

He would just rather play soccer. Go figger.

He's still young for track and field and the soccer will help his endurance. When he gets older he'll probably do both.

Well, Gwen (Hardesty) Coogan played soccer until she switched to track as a freshman -- in college. She soon won several DIII 3000m titles and made the Olympic team in the 10,000 while working on her PhD in math (Number Theory, I think) at Colorado.

One thing I like about track and field -- it is one of those (few) sports you can do while enjoying playing as a kid rather than having to work to be a good athlete as a kid. Seems like you cannot play baseball, soccer, swim etc. now at a good level unless you play and typically play intensively as a kid.

Actually it is Gwyn. If I remember right her dissertation was on elliptical functions.

[26mi235]

I was thinking number theory because a recently departed hot-shot number theorist who came ten - fifteen years ago brought along four or five mathematicians to work with him and she was one of them. She only lived a few blocks away, as did Rod DeHaven and as does Tim Hacker. Thus, in my daughter's elementary school covering K-2, there were kids from all three and good runners in each family. Rod went to South Dakota to coach at his alma mater and Gwyn did the same going back to New England to teach math at her prep school alma mater (maybe the best one in the States) while hubby coaches at Dartmouth. Too bad for Madison West, they would have had even strong XC teams.... (boys won states, girls third this year )

Katrina Coogan was the strong fifth runner as a frosh who finished ahead of the fifth runner of the other contenders and thus helped her team to the NCAA title in 2011.

Same Hacker is a red-shirt frosh at Wisconsin (where dad was NCAA champ); however kid three is likely the star runner of the kids.

Rod DeHaven's oldest son was a surprise Footlocker Finalist last year (as a sophomore?), although he did not race well at the MW FL this year.

[Conor Dary]

Katrina Coogan was the strong fifth runner as a frosh who finished ahead of the fifth runner of the other contenders and thus helped her team to the NCAA title in 2011.

Yes, I know Katrina. I once babysat her back in 1995. Ho, ho...

[26mi235]

Katrina Coogan was the strong fifth runner as a frosh who finished ahead of the fifth runner of the other contenders and thus helped her team to the NCAA title in 2011.

Yes, I know Katrina. I once babysat her back in 1995. Ho, ho...

And I ran with her while I was in grad school and she transferred to Harvey Mudd for her junior year (and then back to Smith for her senior year, which was her plan).