WSU's Evans Kurui runs the third fastest 10000 in school history and takes 12 under 28 minutes...
STANFORD, California--With a large group following pacer Patrick Kiprop through the first 5000 meters of the top section of the men's 10000 at the Stanford Invitational, Washington State's Evans Kurui (Paul Merca photo) was sitting just behind him, just waiting for his chance to go.
Just before the 5000 meter mark, which was crossed unofficially just a hair under 14 minutes, Kurui decided he'd had enough, and threw a 63 second lap to shake things up.
When nobody went with him, he then threw two straight laps of 64, and was never pressed the rest of the way, running a meet record 27:37.32 to win the race by over 11 seconds ahead of second place Lex Young of Stanford.
Behind Young, ten other men including Gonzaga's Wil Smith in fifth at 27:53.19, and Washington State's Josphat Meli at 27:59.27 broke 28 minutes.
Kurui's mark is the third fastest in WSU history behind only Henry Rono's 27:22.5 in 1978, and Samson Kimobwa's 27:30.5 set in 1977, Both marks were world records.
Washington's Evan Jenkins, who won this race last year, was 17th in 28:11.13, and Tyrone Gorze of the Huskies was 28th in 28:24.49.
Acer Iverson, who for the first 4600 meters sat behind Kurui, faded to 31st in 28:39.14.
Other highlights:
--Washington's Chloe Foerster won the top section of the women's 1500 in dominant fashion, going for the victory in a personal best 4:07.32;
--The Huskies' Hana Moll won the women's pole vault with a clearance of 14-8 (4.47m) to outlast twin sister Amanda's 14-4 (4.37m) in their outdoor season opener;
--Washington State's Kai Twaddle-Dunham led a Cougar 1-2 finish in the men's discus, throwing 187-3 (57.09m) to teammate Maxwell Moore's 173-11 (53.01m);
--Spanish heptathlete Sofia Cosculluela made a promising official Husky debut, reaching two different UW top-10 lists in her first day. In the 100m hurdles, she was third overall in 13.76 to advance to Saturday's final. Then in the long jump, Cosculluela went 20-2.25 (6.15m) on her second attempt to finish fifth.
ALLEN FINISHES FIFTH IN SEASON DEBUT IN KINGSTON GRAND SLAM TRACK 400H...
Washington State alum CJ Allen opened his 2025 season campaign at the inaugural race of the four-meet Grand Slam Track competition in Kingston, Jamaica.
Allen finished fifth in the 400 hurdles, as the US Olympian ran 48.71.
Alison Dos Santos of Brazil took the victory in a world leading time of 47.61.
As part of the unique format, Allen and the other racers and challengers in the 400 hurdles will return on Sunday to compete over the flat 400.
Saturday, Josh Kerr of the Brooks Beasts will run the 1500 against a field that includes Olympic champion Cole Hocker and bronze medalist Yared Nuguse.
NOTE: Grand Slam Track and the sports information office of Washington State, University of Washington, and Stanford contributed to this report.
paulmerca.blogspot.com may receive a commission for any purchases made from links clicked. Please support this site and our sponsors by clicking on the links. You can also support the site by clicking the yellow "Buy Me A Coffee" link below.
Comments