Races - Places.
Edward Cheserek and Eric Jenkins of the University of Oregon, who have combined for three individual NCAA championships and two runner-up finishes dating back to the fall cross country season, tonight continued their habit of finishing 1-2 in the 10,000m at the NCAA outdoor championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
This time, Cheserek came from behind Jenkins in the final 200m to win in 28:58.92.
Jenkins was a half step behind, clocked at 28:59.13—and he did not look happy about it as he came off the track.
“Of course there’s a little bit of a rivalry,” Jenkins said after the race, standing with Cheserek. “I know my biggest competition is this guy right here, and same with him. Yeah, there’s a little bit of a rivalry, but at the end of the day, we are teammates. If I’m going to lose to one person, I guess I’m all right with it being this guy.”
The race was tightly bunched through a slow first 5,000m, which the pack passed in 14:49. After the halfway mark, Craig Lutz of Texas took to the lead and strung out the group with a more honest pace. Soon, only five runners remained in contention behind Lutz—including Jason Witt of BYU, who was the eventual third-place finisher in 29:04.
With three laps to go, Jenkins surged to the front. His last three laps were 64 seconds, 63, 59.35—fast enough to leave the pack well behind.
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“I’m not too upset,” Jenkins said. “It might have looked like it.”
Cheserek tallied his seventh individual NCAA championship, and he’s only a sophomore.
“The main point is the win and getting more points for the team,” he said.
Thanks to Cheserek and Jenkins, Oregon collected 18 points in the 10,000m, and after the first day of competition, the Ducks lead the team scoring with 34 points. Florida is in second with 16.
Cheserek and Jenkins will face off again in the 5,000m on Friday and were trying to save a little energy for that race.
“I want to make sure I’ve got a little pop in my legs for the 5K,” Jenkins said.
As for tomorrow? Jenkins said he’ll run an easy 30 minutes to recover. And he’ll do it with Cheserek.
Other races on the track today were heats for competition on Friday:
Men’s 1500m Semifinals
Zach Perkins of Air Force, who was the 2013 NCAA 1500m runner-up, had only the 88th-best time on the season entering regionals, but he will return to the final this year after winning a slow first heat in 3:45.63. Oregon’s Daniel Winn was second, followed by Kyle Graves of Wake Forest. Ben Saarel of Colorado failed to advance, the same result he had here a year ago.
Boise State junior David Elliott took control of a much faster heat two with 300 meters to go, powering to a 3:40.44 personal best and taking the win. Montana State’s Cristian Soratos led the field through a fast first 800m in 1:56 and change before fading to finish sixth, just ahead of highly touted Jordan Williamsz of Villanova. Both advance on time despite being outside the top five automatic qualifiers.The big causalities of heat two were Cal’s Thomas Joyce and Penn State’s Robby Creese, both of whom were among the favorites coming into the meet.
After some bumping in the field sent Izaic Yorks, a junior at Washington, sprawling to the track at the start of the bell lap in heat one, he got up and finished the race in 3:56.35. Officials ruled that Yorks would advance to the final, so the field for the race on Friday will have 13 starters, instead of the usual 12.
Men’s Steeplechase Semifinals
Two-time defending champion Anthony Rotich prevailed in heat one in an unpressed 8:40.52, 0.59 ahead of Dylan Lafond of Illinois, who ran a 3-second PR of 8:41.11 to nab the runner-up spot. Florida State’s Zak Seddon, one of this event’s favorites, crossed the line third. The top six in the heat all advanced by running faster than heat two winner Stanley Kebenei.
Runner-up to Rotich a year ago, Kebenei coasted to an 8:42.07 win in heat two and was followed closely by Georgetown sophomore Darren Fahy (8:42.24). Eastern Kentucky’s Ole Hellelbjerg was third in 8:42.52, third in the 2014 final behind Rotich and Kebenei. Oregon senior Tanguy Pepiot finished seventh in heat 2 and failed to advance.
Complete results and splits from the NCAA.
since 2005. She is the author of two popular fitness books.
How to Better Pace a Marathon Based on Effort is a writer and editor living in Eugene, Oregon, and her stories about the sport, its trends, and fascinating individuals have appeared in Runner’s World A Part of Hearst Digital Media, Run Your Butt Off! and Walk Your Butt Off!
