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NSO or GWI? GWI or NSO?

Which comes closest to a national championship meet?

In the absence of an official national high school championship meet, two meets compete to be considered the unofficial national championship.  They are the National Scholastic Outdoor championships (NSO) at Raleigh NC and the Golden West Invitational (GWI) at Sacramento CA.  This is east vs. west, old vs. new.

For much of its 39 years, the GWI had no rival as a meeting ground for the national elite.  Then the NSO was established 8 years ago and quickly built up a strong following.  In 1997, unfortunately, the meets were held on the same weekend, forcing top athletes to choose.  The NSO seemed to come out ahead in that tussle, with a brilliant meet featuring the monumental mile between Sharif Karie, Jonathan Riley, Gabriel Jennings, and Ryan Travis.  In 1998, the meets were held a week apart, so athletes could choose one or the other or both.

DyeStat compared the two 1998 meets on two measures: best winning performance and most competitors in the top 9 in the US in the DyeStat Elite rankings for the 14 events held at both the NSO and GWI.  The winner?   Too close to call.  As the following table shows, GWI edged NSO 8-6 on best mark for boys, but NSO had a 57-54 edge in participants who ranked in the top 9 of DyeStat Elite.  In the girls events, it was even closer with a 7-7 tie on best marks and a 49-47 edge for GWI in top 9 athletes.

Seven athletes won both the NSO and GWI, but even here there is no significant difference -- four had a better mark at the GWI and three at NSO.  The seven athletes are Jermaine Cooper in the 110HH, Maurice English LJ, Greg Yeldell TJ, Jim Autenreith PV, Lindsay Hyatt 800, Mandy Borschowa DT, and Maureen Griffin HT. 

The two meets have differences that appeal to different tastes. 

GWI is an elite, invitation-only meet that attempts to get the best nine athletes in each event.  All events are finals and the entire meet runs in an evening like the crowd-pleasing European grand prix meets.  The NSO is open to anyone who meets entry standards, leading to deep fields from throughout the country.  It is conducted over two days with qualifying and final rounds like a normal championship meet.

The GWI has only individual events, the NSO has relays.  This drew the national record setting Houston Westbury girls and Fort Worth Wyatt boys to Raleigh (but not the Long Beach Wilson girls 4x400 team).

Each meet loses athletes because of the expense of travelling across the continent.   The NSO may benefit from the greater population in the eastern half of the country, but it is still a continent a way from the rich lode of prep stars in California.

Each meet is well organized, well attended, and superbly officiated. 

So which is best?  There is no objective answer, at least in 1998.    DyeStat attended both and enjoyed both immensely.  Let's hope both meets continue to thrive. 

Event by event comparisons: 
(For details, go to DyeStat's coverage of the NSO and GWI.)

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