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Why Matt, Not Sean...

Created: Wednesday, 16 November 2016 13:36

Last Updated: Friday, 18 November 2016 07:35

Thursday, 17 November 2016 23:10

Today we're going to talk about one of the more controversial MMA selections: Men's Performance of the Year

At Tri Night, Matthew Payne did not expect to receive the POY. At the podium, he admitted that he had expected Sean Cooley to take home the prize for his course record 4:04:21 at Superior Man. Several others were confused, perhaps shocked, by the selection.

Why then did Matt Payne's CR at Buffalo Olympic receive the award? Before we start to explain, know that some of the selectors did favor Cooley.

- First of all, Buffalo Olympic's men's field was perceived to be deeper than SM's. It featured four of the top 5 men on Team Minnesota, plus Corey Towle, who came very close to making the team. By comparison, only two--Payne and Andy Wiberg--Team Minnesota men, other than Cooley, raced at Superior Man. Still, as was said on Election Night, the POY race between Matt and Sean was too close to call...

- Next, we evaluated margins-of-victory. Most selectors argued that Matt's 2:46 win at Olympic distance, trumped, albeit very slightly, Sean's 6:27 MOV at half IM. Though not definitive by any means, a half is 2.25 times longer than an Olympic. All this is very debatable, of course, but it was argued that it is harder to build a large margin in a shorter race, than a longer one. As with the first point, a very slight advantage was given to Matt.

Is a CR at a half IM, a longer race which carries more risk, worthy of extra consideration? Maybe. Especially if the CR is a fast one, not simply an improvement on a prior CR that was soft. Cooley's CR was not soft. In fact, it was one of the two fastest 70.3 times by a Minnesota male since Kevin O'Connor's state record 4:02, set in Muncie back in 1997.

Finally, it needs to be understood that the selectors tend to change their minds several times during the selection process. Some even do so AFTER the awards have been ordered and it's too late to affect the outcome.

The men's POY was a controversial category, and both Matt and Sean truly deserved to win, but there was only one award. Did we get it right? Some will say yes. Some will say no.

They'll both be right.

ED. After Thanksgiving we'll try to explain why Diane Hankee, and not Erin Hyndman-Farrens, was named Long Distance AOY. The toughest category for us was Male Master. We'll also deal with that after the holiday.