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Track and Field
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Iowa State University Athletics
Kiptoo Wins NCAA 5,000 in Record-Breaking Fashion
03.12.2021 | Track and Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas – Wesley Kiptoo put forth a dominant performance in the men's 5,000-meter run to win the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships title for the event in record-breaking fashion. Kiptoo put together a wire-to-wire victory in an NCAA Indoor Championships and Iowa State school-record time of 13:23.77.
"It has been a really hard year training-wise," Kiptoo said following the race. "You did not know if there would be a Championships. One day you are preparing to race, the next day you are told the meet is cancelled. You have to be ready because when you are in shape, the race is not as hard and you will be in a better place."
In the men's 800-meter run, Jason Gomez had the top time of the day and will be the top seed heading into tomorrow's final. In the men's distance medley relay, a new-look squad put together a strong effort to earn ninth place and Second Team All-America honors.
Kiptoo has enjoyed leading his races from the front and Friday was no different as he went to the front on the first lap. Within the first 1,000 meters the lead pack was down to four and soon it was down to just Kiptoo, as he only had two competitors within 10 seconds at the 3,000m mark, which he split in 7:55.53. With the win in the bag, from there it was record chasing, as Kiptoo next had his eyes on the NCAA Indoor Championships record of Arizona's Lawi Lalang of 13:25.11 run at the 2012 Championships. He was able to bring it all home, crossing first in a new NCAA Indoor Championships and Iowa State school record of 13:23.77.
Kiptoo is Iowa State's first men's NCAA Indoor champion since Edwar Kemboi won the 800-meter run in 2015 and Iowa State's first indoor 5K champ since Jonah Koech won his title in 1993. ISU claimed its fifth indoor 5K title in program history, with Kiptoo joining Koech (1990, 1991, 1993) and Jon Brown (1992). In addition, Kiptoo's 13:23.77 is a new school record, as his mark beat Edwin Kurgat's previous record of 13:24.04 ran at the BU Season Opener in Boston last year.
Gomez went to the front of the pack at the end of the first lap. In a run very similar to his victory two weeks ago at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, Gomez held the inside line and did not give it up, allowing him the shortest path to victory and no traffic as he took the win in 1:47.65 to advance to tomorrow's final and guarantee his First Team All-American status in the event.
When Iowa State broke its school record in the DMR in Arkansas in January, it was with the services of Gomez and Kiptoo in the squad. Cebastian Gentil and Alex Lomong were joined by Joe Schaefer and Nehemia Too. The quartet, running together for the first time, put together a strong effort to come home in ninth place in 9:36.00. The quartet earned Second Team All-America honors, the first All-America honors for the careers of Lomong, Schaefer and Too, while Gentil repeated as an All-American from last season's men's DMR.
Up Next
Jason Gomez runs for the national championship in the men's 800-meter run Saturday afternoon at 2:40 p.m. The race will be streamed on ESPN3 and the ESPN app.
Team Scores
Men: T-1. Georgia & LSU – 20; T-7. Iowa State – 10
Iowa State Results
Men's 800m Run Prelim: 1. Jason Gomez, Iowa State – 1:47.65
Men's 5,000m Run: 1. Wesley Kiptoo, Iowa State – 13:23.77
Men's Distance Medley Relay: 1. Oregon – 9:19.98; 9. Iowa State (Joe Schaefer, Cebastian Gentil, Alex Lomong, Nehemia Too) – 9:36.00
Players Mentioned
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