Arkansas' Scott Macpherson won in a solid, but not spectacular 8:44. Chebon-Mwei dipped under 8:50 at third, besting Abilene Christian's Daniel Maina by about 2 seconds. The pair certainly appear fit (Chebon-Mwei ran sub-14 one week ago), and it's too bad the conditions conspired against them. With conference meets coming up, finals and then all the "last chance" meets before nationals, I'm not sure what opportunities they'll have (this year) to rip another. Maybe in San Angelo?
Here's what I saw in Thursday night's action at Drake and Penn relays:
- Daniel Kirwa (Harding) ran a 29:42 in warm, breezy conditions in Des Moines. Teammate Artek Kern DNF'd in the same event.
- Chris Clark (California (Pa.)) nearly won the 5,000 in Philly, finishing with a 13:59. Yet another fine performance for Coach Caulfield's charges. And he joins what is becoming quite a nationals field.
- Abilene Christian swept the 10,000 at Franklin Field. Amos Sang (29:34) won, with teammate Cleophas Tanui coming across the line 8 seconds later. Jeff Weiss of Slippery Rock missed the "magical" 30-minute barrier by 14 seconds.
- Queens (N.C.) standout Michael Crouch was a notable no-show at Penn. Any ideas why?
Relays begin in earnest at both sites. Unless I read the start lists wrong (and judging by some of the no shows, a lot can and has changed), D2 doesn't have much of a presence in either venue.
What about Hannah Steffan from Dallas Baptist University qualifying for D2 Nationals? First athlete in that school's history to qualify for Nationals.
ReplyDeleteOur Dallas Baptist fan is referring to Hannah's 4:35 1500m, which meets the D2 provisional standard. I typically focus on the men's side of things, just due to time constraints. But I will add more women's info as I get a better handle on it!
ReplyDeletecrouch is running at payton jordan next weekend.
ReplyDeleteThat would be at Stanford. Also known as The Place To Run Fast.
ReplyDelete