DES
MOINES, IOWA – With a strong kick over the final 200 meters,
Shadrack Songok added another national title to his resume
repeating as the 10,000-meter run champion at the NCAA Outdoor
Track and Field Championship hosted by Drake University.
It was
the Songok's third national crown in the past 13 months. He won the
5,000-meter run earlier this year at the NCAA Indoor Track And
Field Championships. His first title came a year ago in the
10,000-meter run. Songok earned All-America honors in the process
for the sixth time in his career.
Songok
out-kicked Shawn Forrest of
Arkansas down the stretch to win the title with the next three
runners within three seconds. Songok stopped the clock in 28:46.69
just ahead of Forrest who clocked a 28:47.08. Tyson David of
Alabama was third in 28:49.76 and Eastern Kentucky's Jacob Korir
fourth in 28:49.92. Seth Pilkington of Weber State was fifth in
28:51.81.
"A couple
of guys took off early but the guys I was worried about stuck
around," said Songok. "After we saw the two guys up front, no one
wanted to go. It was too early. By the end, it was everybody's race
and it was very tactical."
"It was a
great tactical race," said Islander head coach Shawn Flanagan. "I
got a little worried because the weather was nice and I was afraid
the pace would be to fast. We wanted a slow race."
After
falling behind early, Songok took the lead for the first time with
two laps remaining. A strong final lap allowed the senior to shake
most of the lead group and allow him to out-duel Forrest down the
stretch.
"He ran
his final lap in less than 58 seconds," said Flanagan. "Shadrack
ran a smart race and performed like the champion he is."
Added Songok,
"He almost caught
me, I thought that he was done. I am just glad that I stayed a little ahead
of him."
With the
10 points from Songok's win, the Islanders were tied for second
place with Oregon after two days of action. Florida State leads the
way with 16 points.
Event
8 Men 10000 Meter
Run
=======================================================================
Final Only. Two waterfall, one turn, start (18 - 8)
American: 27:13.98 5/4/2001 Meb Keflezghi, Nike
College
Best: 27:22.47 6/11/1978 Henry Rono, Washington State
NCAA Meet: 28:01.30 6/1/1979 Suleiman Nyambui, Texas-El Paso
Drake Stad.: 28:07.40 1980 Kipsubal Koskei, Albuquerque
TC
Name Year School Finals Points
=======================================================================
Finals
1 Shadrack Songok SR A&M-CC 28:46.69 10
2 Shawn Forrest JR Arkansas 28:47.08 8
3 Tyson David JR Alabama 28:49.76 6
4 Jacob Korir SR Eastern Kentucky 28:49.92 5
5 Seth Pilkington SR Weber State 28:51.81 4
6 Sean Quigley SR La Salle 29:03.27 3
7 Jeremy Johnson SR New Mexico 29:06.13 2
8 Japheth Ng'ojoy SR Texas-El Paso 29:07.08 1
9 James Strang JR Arkansas 29:10.73
10 Mat Ashton JR New Mexico 29:22.59
11 Mohamed Khadraoui JR Iona 29:28.79
12 Michael Kilburg SR Portland 29:29.10
13 Micheal Eaton FR Louisville 29:33.62
14 Andrew Ledwith JR Iona 29:44.49
15 Christian Wagner JR Wisconsin 29:47.04
16 Matt Clark SR Clemson 29:50.51
17 David Jankowski SR Oklahoma State 29:53.48
18 Chris Pannone JR Colorado 30:13.30
19 Diego Mercado FR Oregon 30:14.87
20 Soimo Kiplagat SR Louisville 30:18.75
21 Jake Schmitt SO Washington 30:44.12
22 John Moore SR Portland 30:49.48
23 Mike Krisch SO Georgetown 30:57.97
24 Landon Peacock FR Wisconsin 31:00.78
25 Daniel Mercado FR Oregon 31:05.10
