Different schools will excel in different events as coaches attract athletes, especially top athletes with Olympic ambitions. For an athlete willing to put in the work, the training group can make a _huge_ difference in development. VT has that also, with a great pole vault coach and they also are usually very strong at mid-distance - overall they have a great program and I see the sprint program getting better and better all the time. The 200 and 400 guys are getting quite good, and they attract good multi-event athletes and throwers. My eyes were opened last week by the North Carolina A&T 200 and 400 m runners - holy cow they are good. Jacory Patterson broke an ACC indoor record and finished second to an A&T runner in the 400m.

Schools' support can make a difference - Syracuse will "fully fund" their XC team, so they are usually very strong in cross country, which may or may not translate over to a good track program (some years it does). I've heard people say that Oregon will give all their T&F team support in some form (athletic and/or academic) - that is the Nike money at work. VT will try to spread out their scholarships across different disciplines to have a more complete team. The men only get 9.5 scholarships for over 40 athletes (I think that is the scholly limit - it might be a few more). The women get about twice as many scholarships.

As far as recruiting, many of the international names you see actually grew up in the US. Ole Miss' top miler (Suliman) went to high school in Virginia. Same for the VT kids - Bashir is from Richmond, and Antonio is from Spain but spent time in high school in NOVA (I think). All great kids and great Hokies!

-drh