High School Sophmore runs 14:42 on 5k x-country course

At Manhattan Invite 3 weeks ago, and it was by 6, not the 8 seconds I said.

Very exciting.

Not the usual excitement we have come to expect from New Jersey...but very exciting nonetheless

Actually it was like 5.8 seconds and Cheserek had just come from an in orpanage from Kenya in August. So if its any doubt about his age I don't think orphanages would allow grownups to be orphans in the orphanage.

During the Jim Rosa vs. Cheserek race they hit 1200m in 3:07 AMAZING! I don't think I ever heard any college runner attempting to open an x-country distance like that except maybe Sam Chelanga.

Also not the comments Jim Rosa had to say plus the ones Jeramy Elkaim -in previous links- to say about the young Kenyan Edward Cheserek.

http://highschoolsports.nj.com/news/article/-5825745903734342187/nj-boys-cross-country-rosa-and-cheserek-meet-up-at-van-cortlandt-park/

``I wanted to show everyone that I could run with the big boys,’’ said Cheserek, who will turn 17 on Feb. 2. ``So I am happy with how I raced. We stayed together the whole way right until the end. It was nice to have great competition. He (Rosa) ran a great race.’’

Rosa and Cheserek are set to meet again next month in the Nike Northeast Regional Championships.

That's older than I was in 11th grade, almost my age as a senior.

There are many kids who are alittle older then the average high school students. Luke V is older than his fellow competitors so who cares? Not all high schoolers graduate at the same age. I'm sure you'll have many opportunities to see young Edward Cheserek develop and dominate national high school x-country and track maybe not totally this year but definitely in the next 2 years.

The real question is can you run 14:42 for 5000m now that your out of high school, um just like I thought- NO!

He is under the age that is permitted by the state. That is really all that matters. It is hard to jump on an orphan boy from Kenya for his "advantages" against the wealthy NJ suburbanites.

I was 17 when I started college. I certainly could not run 14:42 then.

being born wealthy, as has been demonstrated by the last 15 years, is not an advantage in the distance running world.

I'm impressed by all three high school athletes races this year:

Rosa

Cheserek

Elkaim

Cheserek really impressive as 3 months ago he was in an orphanage in Kenya. I serious doubt he was training for x-country in the orphange!

Also keep in mind the race vs. Rosa at Manhattan came pretty soon after Edward started training again after an injury. I would hazard a guess that should they meet again Rosa and anyone else will have their hands full.

ken bob wrote:

being born wealthy, as has been demonstrated by the last 15 years, is not an advantage in the distance running world.

.

But somehow I think being born into African poverty is not an advantage in any world...other thsn maybe it makes you a tougher person

...and being a tougher person will most certainly help you in high school xc.

I'm sure Kenyan orphanages house tons of 22-year-old dudes. That makes perfect sense, since they are wiping their asses with $100 bills. 17 is a little old to me a sophomore, obviously, but I doubt he had much say in what grade they put him in. I had a 21-year-old German kid in my freshman dorm in college.

Great run!

Jim Rosa is going to take an obnoxious dump on poor Cheserek.

There is a lot of kids in high school that look like the Kenyan - but they are playing football. Those dudes are probably the running back or defensive back on your HS football team. However, if all those great athletes that trend toward football and/or basketball ran XC...

This kid is 20-22. Looking at his picture, it is ridiculous to turn a blind eye to what is going on here and to just assume that anyone who calls Cheseret out is a suburban white kid who is afraid to run against this kenyan or who has a PR in the 16:xx range. I am not of the prior categories and I am going to call it how I see it. I would likely guess that whoever sent him here to the US lowered his age to the lowest number possible so that Cheseret could start school in the lowest grade the school would allow. Why would the orphanage send Cheseret over at age 21? He wouldn't be permitted to High School, and would likely be in a worse situation than he was before, in kenya. He would be a 21 year old in the US without a high school education. So, I would bet the orphanage thought "hey, if we cut down his age to say 17...Cheseret will be put him in an American high school. He can then do well in school, get a degree and possibly go to college". Now this is a great situation for Cheseret, his life just got a lot better! However, the people at the orphanage likely didn't think about the effects of letting loose some 21 year kenyan on the high school xc circuit.

Having experience with Kenyan athletes at all levels you learn a few things that relates to this dialog. Record keeping of birth dates as whole is not the best. Children from orphanages are a wild guess at best.

Trying to verify ages in Kenya as Ive done in prior years leaves you scratching your head as you talk with the various hospitals and agencies.

Bottom line you will never know the exact the age of these young men , its not their fault they are just part of the system.

I agree with your post. Considering that, he should not be permitted to compete against high schoolers if he can not prove his age. It is not fair to those that are truly HS age.

My kids can't even play T Ball if I can not prove their age to the town.

I had an almost identical build when I was 16. My 5k time was 19 minutes, though.

VIPAM does have a love affair with africans, I think deep down he cheers against the American runners! Starting this thread just another cheap shot at young American runners!