Can anyone beat Josephat Boit (Ark) at the NCAA X- Country Championships?

Men 8000 Meter Run University

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Name Year School Finals Points

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1 23 Boit, Josphat Arkansas 23:54.82 1

2 997 Fountain, Mark Unattached 24:14.44

3 35 Rodrigues, Marc Arkansas 24:14.72 2

4 380 Kosgei, Peter Harding Univ 24:16.83 3

5 29 Gunn, Matt Arkansas 24:36.24 4

6 24 Bordes, Luis Arkansas 24:45.60 5

7 377 Fisher, Reed Harding Univ 24:50.66 6

8 379 Kosgei, Julius Unattached 24:55.86

9 381 Miereczko, Maciek Unattached 24:56.48

10 1976 Coleman, Jason U of Oklahoma 24:58.38 7

11 32 Norris, Jonathan Arkansas 24:59.42 8

12 22 Ahmed, Said Arkansas 25:03.68 9

13 632 Jankowski, David Oklahoma Sta 25:04.39 10

14 26 Feltner, Chase Arkansas 25:05.68 11

15 633 McCabe, Sean Oklahoma Sta 25:07.80 12

16 883 Breshears, Michael Sms 25:09.03 13

17 28 Gross, Eric Arkansas 25:13.09

18 372 Bobrowski, Przemek Harding Univ 25:20.73 14

19 25 Campos, Jose Arkansas 25:21.06

20 30 Hill, Tyler Arkansas 25:22.56

21 998 Harper, Josh Unattached 25:26.17

22 627 Campbell, Tyler Oklahoma Sta 25:26.65 15

23 1962 Vernon, Trey Unattached 25:26.86

24 1974 Culp, Blake U of Oklahoma 25:27.80 16

25 513 Kioko, Francis MidAmerica N 25:29.95 17

26 599 Bowling, Kenneth Okla. Christ 25:32.29 18

27 1986 Summerside, Seth Unattached 25:37.37

28 378 Kern, Artur Harding Univ 25:43.38 19

29 1985 Roe, Brian Unattached 25:45.36

30 1987 Lyons, Brian Unattached 25:45.89

31 786 Longuski, Keith Park Univ. 25:48.74 20

32 996 Dubed, Abdi Unattached 25:51.17

33 892 Neal, Tommy Sms 25:53.81 21

34 243 Sawyer, Steve East Central 25:54.31 22

35 1977 Schmiedeberg, Tyle U of Oklahoma 25:54.58 23

36 620 Ellis, Daniel Oklahoma Ba 25:57.15 24

37 537 Koehler, Paul Missouri Sou 26:01.60 25

38 993 Albertson, Ryan Unattached 26:06.91

39 1978 Penland, Jason U of Oklahoma 26:07.18 26

40 628 Dixon, John Oklahoma Sta 26:07.24 27

Josphat Boit used to live in Norway during summer and ran a lot of races there and in Europe. He trained in the group of Marius Bakken for some years and ran an impressive 13.17 at Bislett Games in 2001, only 17 or 18 years old. You can see some pics of him at www.mariusbakken.com.

Arkansas does not impress me yet. They have a lot to prove. Rodrigues is a very inconsistent runner (check '04 Texas Relays and season) and may not even be an All-American at NCAA's. Boit is the real deal, but he reminds me of another Richard Kiplagat. 23:54 on that course is solid, but he will need to improve if he has visions of winning the NCAA's. For example, Stanford may have had 7 guys ahead of Rodrigues at this meet.

Boit's time is fine, but not exceptional, and since coming to the US he has yet to show anything close to the 13:17 level of performance. In '02 Lincoln ran 23:55 on that course, and last year Rotich from Harding ran 23:55 there and didn't even win DII. Boit is definitely in a better training situation now that when he was in Kansas, but it's probably a bit early to hand him the trophy with guys like Cheseret lurking out there.

Rodrigues was Cragg's training parnter as a junior and a few years younger, always in his shadow, now under Coach Mac, I think he will blossom into a good athlete. He will also have Cragg at Ark to train with again so expect him to get better and better.

Vipam

LetsRun is really helping your use of english slang. The reference to Boit as a "ringer" is outstanding. You already have the track enthusiasm.

Anything can happen in Terre Haute?????

I saw the race and he is good, but the course is extremely fast and the time was not that impressive. Before he thinks about a top 5 finish in Terra Haute, he must improve and stay healthy.

isn't fountain a arkansas guy aswell, pretty good team if they add him in there

Fountain trains with the hogs, but runs professionally. The hogs did not run Sandfort (#10 NCAA Returner) and Shawn Forrest, a sub-14 Australian guy. If you add those two in, they both finish around Rodrigues i say, giving the hogs a top 5 between 23:55 and 24:36 on a course that is not nearly as easy as it might appear due to at least ten U-Turns in the course.

How does he remind you of another Kiplagat?... Kiplagat hadn\'t come close to breaking 14 before he came to the States.

That Southern course where Boit ran is really fast. It's by far the fastest course I've ever run on.

Good analysis, Athletics mad. I was thinking the same thing on my training run: that Rodrigues will be in a better training situation now at Arkansas and he should improve dramatically because he is very talented. I've seen him race before and he is very light and smooth, but not yet aggressive. But I agree, with Coach Mac, he will blossom.

What happened to the days when ARK had 7 guys hovering around 24:00 on a fast course?

Josphat was (is) a rare talent, even as a Kenyan. When he ran 13.17 he was very young, especially in terms of training. He did that result of very little serious stuff. Used to be a beautifully smooth runner. A nice, quiet boy coached by his uncle when he did 13.17. And his age is probably also right - spending months down there the last six years you start to tell these things. From who they hang out with, when they graduate etc. ALOT of strange age stuff down there, but this one is probably right.

It will be interesting to see his preformance at Arkansas. Probably out of shape now but give him a year of two. With a stride like that you only need proper training.

Marius

www.mariusbakken.com

Boit was ok in the NAIA two years ago (but not sub 14 although he outkicked Minot's 13:49 Brad Tighe for a 5k win) and then while at the Kansas JUCO really stuck it up. Ark will be good for him, but don't give him too much too soon.

Isn't it a NCAA violation if Fountain--a professional runner--trains with the Razorback XC team and is not a student??

not Arkansan wrote:

Isn't it a NCAA violation if Fountain--a professional runner--trains with the Razorback XC team and is not a student??

no.

and getting back to the topic, boit could just be another kangogo: fantastic start but fades as the season goes on. transfers sometimes train real hard over the summer and early in the season to impress their coaches/teammates and then fade. not saying this is the case per se, but it's not like we haven't seen this before.

i think cheseret is the man to beat. but it's real early. pre-nat's will shake things out some more and conference meet, regionals, too.

ummmm, no. it's definetly not a "fast" course. it has about a million sharp turns and u-turns to it. plus, the time that it it run, the grass is wetter than shit and your shoes are soaked. a "fast" course is one of those california golf courses that's like running on a road.

arkansas does it again...got any americans on the team? Who cares is a team wins with all these transfer foreigners..go back to kenya! Try recruiting some 18 yr old americans.