NCAA Recap: Noelle Drops 52 Last Lap FTW; Cheserek Grabs Double Gold

By Garrett Zatlin

 

This past weekend was an interesting one with so many story lines. One of those story lines is how I beat out Alex Fox by 1 point in our prediction contest (through tentative scoring)…but we won’t get into that. First off, I have to say that I feel like it was a relatively boring meet. Every favorite going into the races won their event (you could argue the steeplechase). The times weren’t jaw dropping either with the steeplechase most likely being the fastest event (won in 8:33.90). On top of that, you had big name guys not even make the finals or ended up being DNF’s (Creese, Joyce, Awad, Erassa, etc.). Maybe I’m just a downer, but I would’ve liked to see something a little more entertaining. Whether it was entertaining or not, let’s review the five distance events from this past weekend.

 

800

The race started off extremely slow and no one was willing to lead. Even the front runner, Brandon McBride, who is known for his “lead from the front” tactic, stayed well behind waiting for someone to take the pace. The 55 second first lap was not expected by many and the race eventually turned into a “kick for your life” kind of race. Sure enough, the strong finishers took advantage of the easy first lap. Edward Kemboi was the strongest of all thefinishers as he captured the outdoor title with an underwhelming 1:49.26. Kidder, Murphy, and Garn all grabbed top five spots in similar fashion to how they raced their preliminary 800 (kicking hard the last 200). McBride finished 6th in what had to be a disappointing race for him. This is the second poor championship showing for McBride who just didn’t seem to have anything left in the tank. Maybe he’s just not that clutch as I may have thought.

 

1500

Much like the 800, the pace was slow and lacking thrill. Not even Cristian Soratos, the man known for dropping a 1:51 in the middle of his mile race with Ches, wanted to take the lead into the wind. The slow pace came back to haunt some guys. With 400 to go and 3:02 already on the clock, the entire field began to move and at 200 to go it was anyone’s race. Soratos tried making a move but couldn’t handle the field crawling up on his back. Callahan tried to maintain his lead but was overtaken in the last 100. Jordytried to respond to the barrage of kicks, but maybe in a twist of fate, relied too heavily on his kick (just like a certain Oregon Duck we know all too well). In the end, it was Chad Noelle who blasted a 52 last lap to overtake the field and get the win. While he may have won it in a 52.03 last lap, Zach Perkins of Air Force doesn’t get enough credit for getting second place and throwing down a 51.93 last 400. I doubted him all season and the guy showed up when it counted so congrats to you Perkins. I also can’t forget Oregon frosh Blake Haney who surprised everyone this season with his racing ability. Indoor season seemed to be a tough transitional period for Haney. Yet, the young guy was able to regroup and hang tough for a strong outdoor campaign and for that I’ll give him a nod.

 

3000St.

This race, surprisingly, was probably one of my favorite races. Maybe it’s because I slightly enjoy watching people go face-first into a puddle of water. Although let’s be real, who doesn’t love that? The race started out relatively quick thanks to the efforts of Edwin Kibichiy and Zak Seddonearly on. Unfortunately for them, Seddon couldn’t hang onto the quickening pace at the end, and Kibichiy fell at a barrier on the front straightaway. As the race neared the final lap, it was Kebenei and Rotich with Hesselbjerg on their backs. At 200 to go it was just Kebenei and Rotich. It must’ve been déjà vu for them considering the same scenario happened last year. While, Kebenei didn’t fall this time, it was still Rotich who would grab the win in an exciting last 100 meters. 

 

It’s tough to say if this was an upset or not. Kebenei’sseason best was roughly 16 seconds faster than Rotich’s. Although, Rotich already had two steeple titles coming into this race. In my mind, it’s an upset but only based on this season’s performances. Maybe I should start paying more attention to history rather than one season…

 

5000

The 5000 was probably on everyone’s watch list afterJenkins snubbed Cheserek at the end of the 10k (but we’ll get into that later). The 5k opened up with Thomas Curtin taking the early lead for the first mile and then some. Tiernan took over for a couple laps and then it was Duck time. With about two laps to go, the Oregon trio of Ches, Jenkins, and Geo, went with Campbell and the race was on. With a lap to go, Oregon put on the jets and battled with Kincaid and Campbell to determine who the champion would be. At 200, it was clear that Ches and Jenkins would be the only two left. With 75 to go, it almost seemed as if Jenkins was going to find another surge and have a chance. Yet, it was still the King who would take his second gold of the weekend. Behind him was Jenkins (who was all smiles), Campbell, Geo, and a surprise finisher in Kincaid. There’s not much to say here except that Will Geoghegan is the most underrated runner in the NCAA plain and simple. He doesn’t get enough love with guys like Jenkins and Cheserek constantly getting the spotlight. Also, quick S/O to the frosh Justyn Knight on his sixth place finish. The guy has excellent racing instincts and a humble attitude on top of that. I can’t help but be a fan. 

 

10,000

The race was slow as expected. In a race that is five miles long, no one wanted to go out and immediately take a hard lead. The NAU duo of Matt McElroy and Futsum Z. decided to lead, but never gave anything that would stretch out the pack. A little after the 5000 mark, Craig Lutz had had enough. Lutz bolted to the front and started grinding out a pace that made the event somewhat honest. On his back, were the three 10k juggernauts: Witt, Ches, and Jenkins. With three laps to go, it was clear that only those four would be left. The Oregon duo began to move up and by the last lap, no one was getting anywhere near them. 

What happened next is what got a lot of attention. 

 

With 100 to go, Jenkins had a slight edge on Cheserekalthough it was clear that neither of them were really kicking it in. It was at that point in the race, that Cheserekturned on the jets and rocketed past an unsuspecting Jenkins who must’ve thought that they would cruise in together. When they crossed the line, Jenkins didn’t stop running. He went straight to the exit of the track, but not before displaying a very disgusted look. Jenkins was clearly upset that Cheserek had kicked for the title when there really was no reason to. Jenkins has since said that he was simply being competitive and has all the respect in the world for his training partner and friend, Cheserek. So what do you think? Should Jenkins be mad at his training partner for taking a win from him? Or should we side with Cheserek who simply just runs to win? I’ll let you all answer that…

 

Besides the men of Oregon, Witt finished an unsurprising third while Lutz’s grit paid off for him with a fourth place finish (does this mean I owe him a burrito?). Pierce Murphy quietly snuck into the fifth spot. He patiently waited to see how the race would unfold and then made his move. Well done on his part.

 

 

 

Well that is all I got! My “End of Season Awards” will be coming up soon as well as something a little more specific to PA distance running. Comment below and tell me what your thoughts were on this weekend’s action.

 

Run on,

Garrett