NCAA Day 2 Recap - Chelanga Finally Wins First NCAA Track Title
By LetsRun.com
June 10, 2010
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Photo: As Chelanga makes his move, Puskedra decides to go with him. |
Men's 10,000m - Puskedra's Kamikaze Move Doesn't Pay Off As Chelanga Has No Peer
With Oregon's men's team title hopes on the rocks, Luke Puskedra made the decision to surge with huge pre-race favorite Sam Chelanga when the Kenyan Liberty junior bolted from the pack just after 2k. After a frustrating 2010 track season, Puskedra excited the crowd with his gutsy move and built up a 80m lead over the peloton before starting to fade in the second half of the race.
Chelanga, running consecutive 4:31 1,600 splits to break away, eventually didn't have to look back to see his nearest competition, he just looked across the track as he had a near 200m lead on 2nd place during the last few miles. As far as he was ahead of the pack, Chelanga's 27:08 from Stanford a few weeks ago would have lapped his 28:37 performance from tonight. He won so easily it was anti-climactic and easy to take his talent for granted. It was very cool, damp and windy (most spectators were shivering) and Chelanga effortlessly clocked 4:31, 4:31, 4:33, 4:35 and 4:34 to close out his first ever NCAA track title.
An interesting chase pack formed with 2 freshmen (Joe Bosshard of Colorado and Mohammed Ahmed of Wisconsin), Kiel Uhl of Iowa State and pack leaders Jake Riley of Stanford, Alfred Kipchumba of Portland and John Kosgei of Oklahoma State. In the end, Kosgei threw down a 60 second final quarter to nab 2nd with Riley just in front of Ahmed in 28:57.44 (breaking his own Canadian junior record). Puskedra, who looked like he was hurting with 7k still to go, hung in there for 14th in 29:27 (30 seconds behind the peloton).
After the race, Chelanga was very happy to achieve what he called his "big goal." Most people assumed that he would win. But for him, all the focus was on the 10k and his first-ever NCAA track title, he wasn't taking it for granted as much as the crowd and most fans were. As he said, "Sometimes it just feels like, 'Oh it's Sam Chelanga, he came and ran ... oh, he won.' But really for me this has been on my list since like January."
10k On The Boards:
*After the 10,000 any doubts that descending order qualifying is unfair?
*NCAA coverage of 10k...
*Puskedra will shock the world and win the 10k tonight!
*FloTrack Video: Chelanga After The Race
Event 8 Men 10000 Meter Run
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Final only. Random draw. Double waterfall. 2/3 on main
American: A 26:59.60 5/1/2010 Chris Solinsky, Nike
College Best: C 27:08.49 5/1/2010 Sam Chelanga, Liberty
NCAA Meet: M 28:01.30 6/1/1979 Suleiman Nyambui, Texas-El Paso
Hayward: S 26:25.97 2008 Kenenisa Bekele, Ethiopia
Name Year School Finals Points
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Finals
1 Sam Chelanga JR Liberty 28:37.40 10
2 John Kosgei SR Oklahoma State 28:55.93 8
3 Jake Riley JR Stanford 28:57.41 6
4 Mohammed Ahmed FR Wisconsin 28:57.44 5
5 Kiel Uhl SR Iowa State 28:58.55 4
6 Joe Bosshard FR Colorado 28:59.87 3
7 Ben Cheruiyot SO Auburn 29:09.09 2
8 Alfred Kipchumba SO Portland 29:09.63 1
9 Matt Llano SR Richmond 29:10.27
10 John Beattie SR Tulsa 29:16.48
11 Samuel Kosgei SR Lamar 29:19.90
12 Tyler McCandless SR Penn State 29:22.67
13 Michael Krisch SR Georgetown 29:22.85
14 Luke Puskedra SO Oregon 29:27.37
15 Ahmed Osman SO Northern Arizona 29:29.62
16 Elkanah Kibet SR Auburn 29:30.46
17 Kevin Schwab FR Oklahoma 29:35.07
18 Josh Izewski SO Florida 29:37.85
19 Ryan Collins JR Virginia 29:48.76
20 Dan Jackson JR Notre Dame 29:54.87
21 Duriel Hardy SR Brown 30:04.19
22 Lex Williams SR Michigan 30:04.26
23 Patrick Cheptoek SR Western Kentucky 30:04.32
-- Chris Barnicle SR New Mexico DNF
Men's 1,500 Semifinals - Emanuel And Bolas Absolutely Throw Down In Heat 1
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Acosta and Centro in good position to qualify in heat 2 of the men's 1,500. |
After an opening lap of 66, 2-time indoor mile champion Lee Emanuel of New Mexico pounded to the front and strung the first heat and Andrew Wheating out to single file. Emanuel absolutely hammered the rest of the race, clocking laps of 56 and 57 before easing off in the final stretch. Wisconsin's Jack Bolas was apparently feeling good as he followed Emanuel's lead and hammered home in 1:51.9 for the last 800 to take the first heat by almost 10m. Wheating looked around in the homestretch and jogged it in with Cal's Mark Matusak and Columbia's Kyle Merber closing out the automatic top 5 spots. Minnesota's Ben Blankenship, sitting in 6th, waited and hoped that the 2nd heat would be slow. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't.
The 2nd heat was perfectly paced by Auburn senior Felix Kiboiywo as they went out in 45 for the first 300 and ran 61, then 58 heading into the bell lap. Maine's Riley Masters was right on the shoulder of Kiboiywo for most of the race before Oregon's AJ Acosta and Craig Miller of Wisconsin took the lead with 600 to go. Matt Centrowitz had himself comfortably in position the whole race and Jeff See of Ohio State did the same. In the end, as Stanford's Dylan Ferris kicked home well and Kiboiywo faded to the back of the pack, there were no surprises from heat 2 as the big names with the best seasonal bests advanced. Acosta won and looked great kicking off the relatively fast pace before he and Centrowitz eased off the gas at the end.
The question we have is can Oregon put 3 in the top 4 on Saturday? It certainly looks that way with Emanuel being the other clear podium contender. Big Ten seniors Jack Bolas, Craig Miller and Jeff See also have big meet experience and credentials.
*Video: Lee Emanuel Says 10:30am final on Saturday is a bit too early, but at least he'll be done in time for the World Cup England/USA game.
*Boards: Acosta looking strong
Event 5 Men 1500 Meter Run
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2 Heats. Advance top 5 from each heat plus next best 2 times
American: A 3:29.30 8/28/2005 Bernard Lagat, Nike
College Best: C 3:30.56 8/11/1999 Bernard Lagat, Washington S
NCAA Meet: M 3:35.30 6/6/1981 Sydney Maree, Villanova
Hayward: S 3:32.81 2007 Daniel K. Komen, Kenya
Name Year School Prelims
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Heat 1 Preliminaries
1 Jack Bolas SR Wisconsin 3:43.26Q
2 Lee Emanuel SR New Mexico 3:44.99Q
3 Andrew Wheating SR Oregon 3:45.24Q
4 Mark Matusak SR California 3:45.54Q
5 Kyle Merber SO Columbia 3:45.91Q
6 Ben Blankenship JR Minnesota 3:46.34
7 David Forrester FR Florida State 3:47.30
8 Brandon Rooney SR Iowa State 3:49.62
9 Julian Matthews SO Providence 3:50.63
10 Trevor Van Ackeren SO Princeton 3:51.66
11 Jason Bigelow SR Oakland 3:53.62
-- Carl MacKenzie JR Villanova DNF
Heat 2 Preliminaries
1 A.J. Acosta JR Oregon 3:40.95Q
2 Jeff See SR Ohio State 3:41.25Q
3 Matthew Centrowitz SO Oregon 3:41.27Q
4 Dylan Ferris SO Stanford 3:41.92Q
5 Riley Masters SO Maine 3:42.01Q
6 Daniel Clark SR Notre Dame 3:42.20q
7 Craig Miller SR Wisconsin 3:42.33q
8 Josh McAlary FR Michigan State 3:44.96
9 Francis Kasagule SR Lamar 3:45.23
10 Abdi Hassan SO Arizona 3:46.37
11 Felix Kiboiywo SR Auburn 3:46.96
12 Cory Nanni JR Duke 3:53.04
Women's 1,500 Preliminaries - Event Remains Wide Open As 8 Girls Could Legitimately Win
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Hasay and Bucknam take to the lead with Reid, McShine, Browning and Martinez stalking. |
Lucy Van Dalen and Pilar McShine won the 2 semifinal heats on Thursday, though handicapping Saturday's final remains a very difficult task. Washington star Katie Follett, indoor mile champion Charlotte Browning, 2009 runner-up Brenda Martinez, and Villanova's XC and track star Sheila Reid are some of the other top contenders.
Oregon's Zoe Buckman was the biggest casualty of the first round, as she faded towards the end of the slower 2nd heat and finished as the first person out. Jordan Hasay ran well to extend her season and Alex Kosinski snuck in with her time-qualfying 4:15.67 from the first, and faster, heat.
The first heat, led by Follett, went out in 66, then 2:16 (70), 3:25 (69) and the final lap was a 64. Tennessee standout Brittney Sheffey, who anchord the Vols to the indoor DMR championship, got tangled up in a tight pack with 800 to go and fell to the track. The top 7 finished well clear of the rest of the field as the top 5 knew they would automatically advance.
The 2nd heat went out slowly and only passed 800m in 2:24. At that point, Hasay and Buckman took over the lead with the entire 12-person field bunched directly behind. The race really picked up heading into the final lap and the girls finished with a 62-second lap. Reid and Martinez, 2 runners who many think could win the final, only qualified with late pushes to knock Australian Zoe Buckman out.
Event 25 Women 1500 Meter Run
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2 Heats. Advance top 5 from each heat plus next best 2 times
American: A 3:57.12 7/26/1983 Mary Slaney, Athletics West
College Best: C 3:59.90 6/7/2009 Jenny Barringer, Colorado
NCAA Meet: M 4:06.19 6/14/2008 Hannah England, Fla State
Hayward: S 3:59.19 1984 Mary Slaney, USA
Name Year School Prelims
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Heat 1 Preliminaries
1 Lucy Van Dalen JR Stony Brook-SUNY 4:13.19Q
2 Gabriele Anderson SR Minnesota 4:13.45Q
3 Karly Hamric SR West Virginia 4:13.54Q
4 Katie Follett SR Washington 4:13.58Q
5 Lauren Bonds SR Kansas 4:14.29Q
6 Keri Bland JR West Virginia 4:14.87q
7 Alex Kosinski JR Oregon 4:15.67q
8 Mihaela Susa JR Oklahoma State 4:19.19
9 Betsy Flood SO Iowa 4:19.75
10 Ashley Verplank SO North Carolina 4:24.68
11 Nikki Swenson JR Minnesota 4:28.23
12 Brittany Sheffey SO Tennessee 4:36.85
Heat 2 Preliminaries
1 Pilar McShine SR Florida State 4:16.53Q
2 Charlotte Browning SR Florida 4:16.77Q
3 Jordan Hasay FR Oregon 4:17.90Q
4 Brenda Martinez SR Riverside 4:18.17Q
5 Sheila Reid SO Villanova 4:18.34Q
6 Zoe Buckman SR Oregon 4:19.02
7 Katrina Drennen SO Montana 4:20.24
8 Heidi Gregson SO Iona 4:22.89
9 Rachel Schneider FR Georgetown 4:24.25
10 Lauren Hardesty JR Iowa 4:26.01
11 Kate Van Buskirk JR Duke 4:28.65
12 Ellen Dougherty SR Villanova 4:31.68
Women's Steeplechase - Can Colorado Sub-10 Duo Challenge Franek?
Penn State's Bridget Franek, a US World Championships team member in 2009, ran unopposed in the first heat before the Colorado duo of sophomore Emma Coburn and freshman Shalaya Kipp both broke 10:00 in the 2nd heat. The final should be interesting.
SMU pre-race favorite Silje Fjortoft surprisingly slipped back to 10th in the final heat after factoring in the front of the heat for most of the race.
Heat 1 Preliminaries 1 Bridget Franek SR Penn State 10:02.48Q 2 Winrose Karunde JR Texas Tech 10:07.15Q 3 Sarah Pease JR Indiana 10:09.03Q 4 Rebeka Stowe SO Kansas 10:09.05Q 5 Kristen Hemphill SR Colorado State 10:09.51Q 6 Sarah Klaczynski SR Purdue 10:11.17Q 7 Eva Krchova FR San Francisco 10:11.43q 8 Jennifer Dunn SO Florida State 10:14.58q 9 Ruth Senior SO New Mexico 10:20.45 10 Stephanie Pancoast SR Cornell 10:40.85 11 Jenielle Hunt SR Ohio 10:47.53 -- Maddie O'Meara SR Stanford DNS Heat 2 Preliminaries 1 Emma Coburn SO Colorado 9:59.69Q 2 Shalaya Kipp FR Colorado 9:59.93Q 3 Ashley Higginson JR Princeton 10:02.83Q 4 Shelby Greany FR Providence 10:04.88Q 5 Marie Lawrence SO Washington 10:06.09Q 6 Hannah Moen SO Arizona 10:13.13Q 7 Lauren Gregory SR Georgetown 10:15.90 8 Martina Tresch FR Kansas State 10:16.85 9 Julie Northrup SR Florida 10:20.58 10 Silje Fjortoft JR Southern Methodist 10:24.61 11 Nicole Rozario SO South Florida 10:48.05 12 Anne Lovelace SO Yale 10:58.75
Other Interesting News - Eaton 10.37, 25'11", 46.28 On Day 1
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Ashton Eaton after day 1 of the decathlon. |
Decathlete Ashton Eaton excited the early morning schoolkid crowd with a 10.37 100m dash and near 26' long jump. His performance of the day, however, came in front of the regular home crowd during the afternoon session when he set an NCAA decathlon 400m record of 46.28. He ends the first day with 4500 points and may break the NCAA record (8465, Trey Hardee) with another strong day tomorrow (his better day is typically the first day).
Oregon Men - The Team Dream Is Over
It's all over for the Oregon men. Cyrus Hostetler, the Duck javelin thrower with the farthest throw in the NCAA coming into the championships, didn't make the javelin final, which essentially kills the team hopes with Texas A&M and Florida both looking fine through 2 days.
Baylor 400 Runners - What Happened?
In the 3rd heat of 4 x 400m qualifying, the once-fearsome Baylor Bear 4 x 400 couldn't even get an auto qualifying spot in the final, as the Big Ten's Iowa Hawkeyes beat them to the line for 2nd. Baylor got a time qualifying spot, but it appears the days of Baylor's and Clyde Hart's unbelievable perennial 4 x 400m dominance are over.
Heps Pride - Brown's Kinsley Wins Javelin, Throws T-Shirt To Top Of The Stands
Brown's Craig Kinsley gave the Ivy League their first individual title of the championship with a 250' javelin throw. After his victory lap, he had a T-shirt that we think he was supposed to throw into the crowd. This is the perfect task for a javelin thrower and he got to show off by throwing the shirt practically to the top of the main stands to some surprised kids. Very impressive.
More Tidbits:
- Jessica Beard of Texas A&M ran a 50.19 split to bring the Aggies from 4th to 1st in their 4 x 400m semifinal.
- Rice's Jason Colwick, the defending pole vault champion, passed to 5.30m but then went miss, miss, miss and no-heighted at nationals.
- Ronnie Ash of Oklahoma ran a 13.32 in the 110 hurdle prelims to cement himself as the best high hurdler in the NCAAs.
- Like Ash, Virginia Tech's Queen Harrison showed the crowd what a special talent she is by winning her heat of the 100m hurdles in 12.68.
- Oregon's heptathlete Brianne Theisen finished her career as a 2-time NCAA heptathlon champion.
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