Bringing Down Quiet Thunder
Bringing Down Quiet Thunder
Bringing Down Quiet Thunder
The stage is set for this weekends’ NCAA indoor championships, and much like this fall the running world asks itself; can anyone go toe to toe with Liberty Senior Sam Chelanga?
Chelanga is seeded first in the 5k after he ran a converted13:37.55 on his home track in January, basically all by himself for the last 10 laps. At the Flotrack Husky classic a few weeks later, Sam placed 5th in a stacked 3k field with a 7:50.92 and even though its not his marquee event, it showed he was still human amongst other NCAA competitors.
So can the two-time NCAA cross country champion hold off all challengers in a 5k final on Saturday? Currently his is closest competitor looks to be Stanford’s Elliot Heath. Heath comes into Fridays’ final with a 13:37.77 after absolutely torching the last 300 meters at the Flotrack Husky Classic and has something to prove after a subpar cross country finish. Leonard Korir of Iona is seeded third in the 5k and was hot on Chelanga’s trail this fall in Terra Haute until the final straight away.
In a weekend where so many races become sit and kick affairs, someone who takes out the race right from the gun could put the hurt in the rest of the field early. That person is usually Mr. Sam Chelanga. He’s also the only one with a PR under 13:20, so who else stands a chance? NCAA XC runner up Stephen Sambu of Arizona showed he has the ability when he finished behind Chelanga this fall after recovering from a stress reaction. The other challengers with major NCAA championship experience include the likes of Oregon’s Luke Puskedra and Stanford’s Chris Derrick…the only question is, how fit are they?
The 5k is slated to go off at 7:30 Friday night.
The stage is set for this weekends’ NCAA indoor championships, and much like this fall the running world asks itself; can anyone go toe to toe with Liberty Senior Sam Chelanga?
Chelanga is seeded first in the 5k after he ran a converted13:37.55 on his home track in January, basically all by himself for the last 10 laps. At the Flotrack Husky classic a few weeks later, Sam placed 5th in a stacked 3k field with a 7:50.92 and even though its not his marquee event, it showed he was still human amongst other NCAA competitors.
So can the two-time NCAA cross country champion hold off all challengers in a 5k final on Saturday? Currently his is closest competitor looks to be Stanford’s Elliot Heath. Heath comes into Fridays’ final with a 13:37.77 after absolutely torching the last 300 meters at the Flotrack Husky Classic and has something to prove after a subpar cross country finish. Leonard Korir of Iona is seeded third in the 5k and was hot on Chelanga’s trail this fall in Terra Haute until the final straight away.
In a weekend where so many races become sit and kick affairs, someone who takes out the race right from the gun could put the hurt in the rest of the field early. That person is usually Mr. Sam Chelanga. He’s also the only one with a PR under 13:20, so who else stands a chance? NCAA XC runner up Stephen Sambu of Arizona showed he has the ability when he finished behind Chelanga this fall after recovering from a stress reaction. The other challengers with major NCAA championship experience include the likes of Oregon’s Luke Puskedra and Stanford’s Chris Derrick…the only question is, how fit are they?
The 5k is slated to go off at 7:30 Friday night.