Business As Usual

Indoor track has finished and the final season of competition is upon us. For many seniors, this will be their last season of racing before they go on to bigger and better things.

Of course, there are a select few that will seek sponsorship contracts and attempt to start a career as a professional athlete. Where will they end up? That's the big question we'll try to answer...

*Some training groups do not have restrictions on what sponsors their athletes must have. Paranthesis indicates the sponsor the athlete may sign to.

Edward Cheserek

Best Guess: Nike Oregon Project

Other Possibilities: Nike Oregon Track Club Elite, Nike World Class Athlete Program

Why:

For years now, there have been rumors that Cheserek will almost certainly end up at Salazar's Nike Oregon Project (NOP) which features living legends like Mo Farah, Galen Rupp, Matt Centrowitz, and former teammate Eric Jenkins. Salazar's close connection with the Oregon Ducks and the lure of training with a past teammate makes NOP a very realistic end destination for the King.

Of course, there are plenty of other destinations for Cheserek. The Nike Oregon Track Club could keep him nearby and allow him to continue training with Andy Powell. Little change in training methods, no school work, and a familiar environment may seem like a no-brainer for the current Oregon Duck.

Nike's World Class Athlete Program (WCAP) may not seem like an obvious choice, but it certainly makes sense. WCAP is actually associated with the United States Army and all of their members are required to deploy on one tour of duty. Details aside, joining this program could help accelerate the U.S. citizenship process and incentive someone like Cheserek who is currently undergoing that process right now. The citizenship incentive would also explain why eight of the nine WCAP athletes are originally from Kenya. The roster includes names like Hillary Bor, Paul Chelimo, Shadrack Kipchirchir, and Leonard Korir.

One thing is for sure, Nike will out-bid every other brand to sign Cheserek.

Futsum Zienasellassie

Best Guess: Hoke One One NAZ Elite

Other Possibilities: Saucony, Nike Oregon Project

Why:

It feels as if this was a given for the NAU senior who has been a true long-distance standout during his time in college. Hoka One One has been building their brand for the past few years as they look to become one of the top long-distance programs in the nation. Recent college grads like Craig Lutz, Scott Fauble, and Martin Hehir have found success in the distance-oriented training program as they have raced everything from 5000's to half-marathons. Obviously, Futsum has already been exposed to training in the northern Arizona environment and would need much less time to adjust to his training. Is there really a better fit for him elsewhere?

Saucony also has the potential to be a sponsor for Futsum. We don't often see Saucony invest in high-level elite athletes, but when they do they typically get their money's worth (see Ben True and Molly Huddle). The most recent big-name signing was former Virginia Tech Hokie, Thomas Curtin who had a respectable first-year of competition. As you can tell by the names I just mentioned, it's clear that the focus for Saucony is to develop long-distance talent. Could Futsum be their next big signee?

While I do think it is unlikely that he ends up at NOP, the appeal of training with long distance stars like Dathan Ritzenhein, Mo Farah, and Galen Rupp may be enough to make Futsum consider Nike as an option. Yet, as mentioned with Sean McGorty, the Oregon connection and doping allegations may deter any thoughts of joining.

Craig Engels

Best Guess: Asics Furman Elite

Other Possibilities: Brooks Beasts Track Club, Nike Oregon Track Club

Why:

Engels is in a bit of an awkward location in regards to professional training stations. Pro teams like Brooks Beasts and Oregon Track Club are excellent mid-distance programs, but are located in Washington and Oregon. That's a bit far for the Mississippi Rebel and North Carolina native.

And that's why Furman Elite may be the best option. Stationed at Furman University in South Carolina, the Asics sponsored program is headed by an established coach in Robert Gary who has a proven ability to develop elite athletes. The Furman Elite program may be small, but it does have mid-distance stars like Ryan Martin and (more recently) Chad Noelle. Staying close to home and training with the 2015 1500 NCAA champion could very easily appeal to someone like Engels.

Marc Scott

Best Guess: Kilbarchan Athletic Club (New Balance)

Other Possibilities: Nike, Mizuno Atlanta Track Club

Why:

The England native and Tulsa senior has been running incredibly well as of late with two All-American performances at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships. His countless All-American performances matched with marquee wins over Justyn Knight and Sean McGorty makes him a valuable commodity for any potential sponsor.

Although someone will eventually sign Scott, finding a training group is the difficult part. Will Scott return home to the UK to continue his post-collegiate career? Or will he decide to stay and train on U.S. soil?

New Balance, despite not signing many male athletes, could end up making an offer to Scott. The recent success from English Olympian Callum Hawkins (currently with New Balance) would be a tempting detail for someone like Scott to consider. Signing with New Balance would give Scott an excuse to return home to England and train alongside Hawkins at the Kilbarchan Athletic Club.

One of the lesser-known groups with talented distance runners is the Atlanta Track Club (ATL TC), the elite distance team for Mizuno. Recent college graduates on the team include men such as the Rosa twins, Kirubel Erassa, and James Dwyer. However, it might be Englishman Robert Mullet that attracts Scott towards this group. Mullet was an Olympian for England at last year's summer Olympics in Rio. Having a connection back to the UK may be a deciding factor when all is said and done.

Nike is an easy guess as it seems like anyone at Marc Scott's talent level could end up in that generic purple-camo racing singlet.

Erik Peterson

Best Guess: Mizuno Atlanta Track Club

Other Possibilities: Adidas Boston Athletic Association, Asics

Why:

Although he holds PR's of 7:51 (3k) and 13:40 (5k), it might be very easy for sponsors to overlook the Indiana native. Butler doesn't have a strong reputation for producing distance talent like Oregon and Stanford do. It also doesn't help that Peterson competes in a relatively weaker conference such as the Big East which doesn't gain the attention that a Power Five conference may get. That, however, should not discourage shoe brands from approaching this rare talent.

As mentioned in the above section with Marc Scott, Robert Mullet is an appealing factor for someone like Peterson. Yes, Mullet was an Olympian for England, but he is also a Butler alumnus. The connection to Butler means that Peterson and Mullet may already have an established relationship, making Mizuno a potential front-runner to sign the senior Bulldog.

Other training programs such as Adidas may be a good fit for Peterson as he would be able to join an underrated and deep training group in Boston (the BAA). Although elite miler Daniel Winn is the star of this group, it's the 3k and 5k athletes that make up a heavy portion of this team.

As for Asics, it is unlikely that they will sign Peterson. However, they typically make an attempt to keep a few star distance runners on their elite athlete page. Former Oregon Duck Johnny Gregorek signed with Asics two years ago and has done wonders for the brand since then. It might be time for Asics to make their next big move and give a contract to someone like Peterson.

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