Stanford's Thomas Ratcliffe Goes 23:17 In Cross Country Lifetime Debut
Stanford's Thomas Ratcliffe Goes 23:17 In Cross Country Lifetime Debut
4:01 miler Thomas Ratcliffe never ran a single cross country race in high school. The son of KIMbia agent Tom Ratcliffe played soccer during the fall in hig
4:01 miler Thomas Ratcliffe never ran a single cross country race in high school. The son of KIMbia agent Tom Ratcliffe played soccer during the fall in high school, and the plan was for Stanford to redshirt him while he got accumulated to college training and racing. After all, 10K is more than triple the distance of any race he ran in high school, according to his MileSplit profile.
But the Cardinal may want to rethink that redshirt after today. Competing unattached at the Stanford Invitational, Ratcliffe won the 8K in 23:17. Among Stanford athletes, only Sean McGorty, Chris Derrick, Maksim Korolev, and Joe Rosa have ever run faster at that meet. None of those four ran more than ten seconds faster than Ratcliffe's time; all were cross country All-Americans in the season they ran the time; and Korolev, Derrick, and McGorty finished top ten at nationals in those seasons.
It was an extremely fast day on the course--the top three all ran top-15 times in meet history. But Ratcliffe is still in very good company.
Stanford coach Chris Miltenberg is generally loath to race freshmen--he redshirted entire male freshman classes in 2012 and 2014. But after the first cross country race of his life, Ratcliffe might be the best true freshman in the country. We've seen their entire squad short of McGorty, Grant Fisher, and Alex Ostberg; they need the depth that Ratcliffe can provide. Miltenberg has to make a decision: will he take the redshirt off Ratcliffe in November?
​​Gordon Mack contributed to this report
But the Cardinal may want to rethink that redshirt after today. Competing unattached at the Stanford Invitational, Ratcliffe won the 8K in 23:17. Among Stanford athletes, only Sean McGorty, Chris Derrick, Maksim Korolev, and Joe Rosa have ever run faster at that meet. None of those four ran more than ten seconds faster than Ratcliffe's time; all were cross country All-Americans in the season they ran the time; and Korolev, Derrick, and McGorty finished top ten at nationals in those seasons.
It was an extremely fast day on the course--the top three all ran top-15 times in meet history. But Ratcliffe is still in very good company.
Rk | Year | Time | Athlete | School | Season Finish |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
01 | 2007 | 23:07 | Scott Bauhs | Chico State (DII) | 10th at USATF XC Champs |
01 | 2015 | 23:07 | Sean McGorty | Stanford | 7th at NCAA XC Champs |
03 | 2007 | 23:12 | Aron Rono | Azusa Pacific (NAIA) | 1st at NAIA XC Champs |
04 | 2011 | 23:15 | Chris Derrick | Stanford | 2nd at NCAA XC Champs |
05 | 2014 | 23:16 | Joe Rosa | Stanford | 33rd at NCAA XC Champs |
05 | 2014 | 23:16 | Maksim Korolev | Stanford | 4th at NCAA XC Champs |
07 | 2016 | 23:17 | Thomas Ratcliffe | Stanford | TBD |
08 | 2010 | 23:18 | David McNeill | Northern Arizona | 123rd at NCAA XC Champs |
09 | 2016 | 23:19 | Emmanuel Rotich | Tulane | TBD |
10 | 2011 | 23:21 | Jake Riley | Stanford | 18th at NCAA XC Champs |
11 | 2010 | 23:22 | Elliott Heath | Stanford | 42nd at NCAA XC Champs |
11 | 2010 | 23:22 | Jake Riley | Stanford | 6th at NCAA XC Champs |
11 | 2010 | 23:22 | Chris Derrick | Stanford | 5th at NCAA XC Champs |
11 | 2011 | 23:22 | Jon Peterson | UC Davis | 71st at NCAA XC Champs |
11 | 2016 | 23:22 | Swarnjit Boyal | Cal Poly | TBD |
16 | 2011 | 23:23 | Erik Olson | Stanford | 127th at NCAA XC Champs |
17 | 2005 | 23:24 | Josh McDougal | Liberty | 4th at NCAA XC Champs |
18 | 2007 | 23:25 | David Torrence | California | 62nd at NCAA XC Champs |
19 | 2002 | 23:27 | Ian Dobson | Stanford | 9th at NCAA XC Champs |
20 | 2010 | 23:29 | Michael Coe | California | 91st at NCAA XC Champs |
21 | 2010 | 23:30 | Solomon Haile | Arkansas | 17th at NCAA XC Champs |
21 | 2016 | 23:30 | Clayton Hutchins | Cal Poly | TBD |
23 | 2006 | 23:31 | Neftalem Araia | Stanford | 2nd at NCAA XC Champs |
24 | 2015 | 23:33 | Grant Fisher | Stanford | 17th at NCAA XC Champs |
​​Gordon Mack contributed to this report