Kurgat Named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week

AMES, Iowa – Edwin Kurgat's big performance in Boston has seen him earn national recognition yet again, as the Cyclone senior was named National Athlete of the Week by the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), the organization announced Tuesday morning.

Kurgat, the Division I NCAA Cross Country champion, continues to pile up awards as he has now earned his third National Athlete of the Week of the season to go with his two from the XC season. This is the first time a Cyclone has been named National Athlete of the Week during the indoor track and field season.

Kurgat ran the fastest indoor 5,000 meters in Iowa State history and in the past seven years in NCAA Division I Track and Field to kick off the indoor track and field season at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener last Saturday. Just two weeks after claiming the NCAA Division I Cross Country title, Kurgat lit up the BU Track & Tennis Center with his 13:24.04, a mark that made quite a bit of history.

Kurgat took down his own school record in the indoor 5,000 meters of 13:34.54, set at last season's Iowa State Classic. Kurgat's effort is also the Big 12 record, knocking off Kennedy Kithuka's 13:25.38 ran at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Championships. He has also knocked Kithuka off the list of top-10 performers in NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field history at 5,000 meters, checking in at No. 10. Kurgat's run is the first indoors sub-13:25 in NCAA Division I since the 2012 Millrose Games, when four of the top-five times in NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field history was run.