Walla Walla's Kenneth Rooks named USTFCCCA D1 men's athlete of the week...

NEW ORLEANS--Walla Walla native Kenneth Rooks (Paul Merca photo) of Brigham Young University was honored by the USTFCCCA as its NCAA Division I men's athlete of the week Tuesday after his record breaking performance at the On Track Fest in Walnut, California Saturday night.

Rooks rewrote BYU and NCAA record books with a historic, all-time great race, going 8:17.62 in the steeplechase at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the campus of Mt. San Antonio College.

The mark makes Rooks the second fastest collegiate steeplechaser all-time, behind Washington State's Henry Rono's 8:05.4 set in 1978 at Husky Stadium in Seattle, and is also an American collegiate record.

In the process, Rooks broke the BYU school record of 8:21.60 set by US Olympian Henry Marsh in 1977

Rooks ran a steady, patient race before gathering himself to counter two-time US Olympian Hillary Bor’s move with 800-meters to go. After withstanding Bor’s initial onslaught, Rooks delivered a knockout blow, running the final lap in 59 seconds to beat New Zealand's George Beamish by three seconds.

After the race, he told byucougars.com, "This was a big confidence booster for me. I felt like I had more to give in the last few races I was in, so it felt good to be in this race today where the other guys pushed me to do what I did.”

The junior returned to BYU last season after serving a two-year Mormon mission in Kampala, Uganda, and in Orem, Utah. 

Before going on his mission, Rooks, who attended College Place HS, finished 11th at the 2019 NCAA championships as a freshman.  Last year, he finished sixth at the NCAA championships in Eugene, running what was then his personal best of 8:22.56.

While Rooks is currently the 2023 world leader in the event, his mark doesn't count for the USTFCCCA's rating index, as the On Track Fest doesn't meet the NCAA criteria for a track meet, which is a minimum of seven running events and four field events.

His mark puts him as one of the favorites for next month's NCAA championships in Austin, Texas. As the West Coast Conference doesn't sponsor outdoor track, BYU, along with Gonzaga, isn't competing in a conference championship meet this weekend.

Courtesy of Sound Running, you can watch a replay of Rooks' breakout performance below.

The USTFCCCA release is available here.

NOTE: The USTFCCCA, Sound Running and the sports information office of Brigham Young University contributed to this report.

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