Oklahoma State University Athletics
Kipchirchir Places Ninth In NCAA 5,000 Meters
June 13, 2014 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
June 13, 2014
EUGENE, Ore. -
Oklahoma State's Shadrack Kipchirchir and Kirubel Erassa placed ninth and 18th, respectively, in the 5,000 meters on day three of the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, in Eugene, Ore., on Friday.
The leaders took the race out at a meet-record pace, which scattered the field almost from the start. Kipchirchir (13:47.18), after taking second in Wednesday's 10,000 meters, just missed out on being the fourth Cowboy in school history with multiple first team All-American honors at the same outdoor championships, taking ninth.
Erassa's 18th-place finish marks the second-straight season in which he earned All-American honors at both the indoor and outdoor championships. His time was 14:12.98.
“I think those were two tired guys, who have done a lot of hard running,” OSU coach Dave Smith said. “You think about what Kirubel did for us in the indoor season, and it makes sense that he's been running on fumes. His performances the past few weeks have been all about guts and hanging on. If you don't come into this meet breathing fire, you won't score. This field is always so competitive, and this time it was the fastest 5,000 meters in the history of the meet, which is incredible.”
Kipchirchir wrapped up a career performance at the outdoor championships, earning top-10 finishes in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Kipchirchir finishes his Cowboy career with six All-American honors, and seven overall, between cross country and track & field.
“As far as Shadrack goes, he gave everything he had in the 10K on Wednesday,” Smith said. “We talked about being more conservative and picking off stragglers, but they wanted to go for it. I won't fault them for that. I'm proud of both of them.”
The OSU men are currently sitting in seventh place, with 16 team points, and no Cowboys remaining to compete.
OSU track & field will be back in action tomorrow at the final day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where Monika Juodeskaite will compete in the women's 5,000 meters, at 5:24 p.m. CT, on ESPN U.
NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships
June 11-14, 2014/ Hayward Field/ Eugene, Ore.
Friday, June 13
Men's Individual Results
5,000 Meters
9. Shadrack Kipchirchir – 13:47.18+
18. Kirubel Erassa – 14:12.98+
Team Standings (Through day three)
1. Oregon - 53
2. Florida – 28
3. Georgia – 24
4. Wisconsin – 20
5. Texas – 19.5
6. Texas A&M – 17.5
T-7. Oklahoma State - 16
T-7. Nebraska – 16
9. Arizona – 15.5
10. Baylor – 15
+ - Denotes All-American Performance
