Evans Kurui earns first All-America honors by a Cougar in the 10000m since 1994...
EUGENE--Washington State's Evans Kurui (Paul Merca photo) got himself in perfect position at the bell to possibly pull off an upset in the men's 10000 meter finals at day one of the NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.
Kurui finished fifth in a time of 29:10.91, as Ishmael Kipkurui and defending champion Habtom Samuel of New Mexico went 1-2 in a time of 29:07.70 and 29:08.73.
As was expected in a championship race, the first half of the race was fairly slow, with the field going through in about 15:22.
At around 6k, eventual winner Kipkurui and defending champion Samuel tried to inject some pace, but the field stayed with the New Mexico duo.
With two laps to go, Kurui worked his way to the front and actually had the lead entering the bell.
Kipkurui ran the fastest lap of the race, clocking 53.38, while Kurui finished with a 56.75.
Afterwards, Kurui was pleased overall with the way the race turned out, and with the way he moved to the front to get himself in position to make the podium.
Kurui will prepare to compete in the Kenyan World Championships 10000 meter trials next month at Hayward Field in conjunction with the Nike Prefontaine Classic.
Kurui became WSU's first All-Americam in the 10000 since Josephat Kapkory and Patrick Muturi finished second and third in 1994.
In other Wednesday finals, Cheney native Ryan Rieckmann of Cincinnati finished 13th in the javelin with a throw of 228-3 (69.59m), one spot ahead of Walla Walla's Dash Sirmon of Nebraska. Sirmon finished with a best of 226-11 (69.17m).
Washington's Scott Toney finished eleventh in the pole vault, clearing 17-9.75 (5.43m).
QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS:
In the 1500, Washington's Nathan Green finished third in his heat, running 3:52.19 to earn a spot in Friday's finals.
Despite a spill on the water jump, Cashmere native Rob McManus (Paul Merca photo) of Montana State finished fourth in his heat of the 3000 steeplechase in 8:34.50 to advance to Friday's finals.
Mason Lawyer of Washington State was eighth in his heat of the 100 meters in 10.20, then was fourth in his heat of the 200 in 20.67.
In the meet's opening event, the WSU 4 x 100 relay team of Bryson Stubblefield, Lawyer, Parker Duskin, and Keenan Kuntz finished eighth in their heat in 39.41.
Kyle Reinheimer of Washington was one spot away from claiming an automatic berth in the finals of the 800, placing third in his heat in 1:47.32. He had the misfortune of running in the slowest of the three semifinal heats, as no time qualifiers emerged it.
Seattle Prep grad Will Floyd of Georgia was.03 from a time qualifier in the 400, running 45.47 in his heat.
In the 4 x 400 relay heats, Bellingham native Jacob Andrews helped USC run the second fastest time. The Trojans clocked 3:02.76 to win their heat and advance to Friday's finals.
Will Floyd ran the second leg on Georgia's 4 x 400 relay, as the Bulldogs finished fourth in their heat in 3:04.71.
One athlete we completely overlooked in our NCAA preview was Jaden Roskelley of Arlington, who competes for Brigham Young University.
Roskelley sits seventh in the decathlon, with a first day score of 4062 points.
His day included a 10.89 100 meter dash, followed by a 23-0.5 (7.02m) long jump.
Roskelley threw 42-10.75 (13.07m) in the shot put. He had his best event of the day in the high jump, where he cleared 6-8.25 (2.04m), then ran 49.31 in the 400 to close day 1.
He's 417 points behind leader Peyton Bair of Mississippi State.
The women take over Hayward Field Thursday. Here's who's competing Thursday with Washington ties:
TIME EVENT ATHLETE
4:21 PM 1500 Meters Sophie O'Sullivan, Chloe Foerster, Amina Maatoug
4:38 PM 3000 Steeple Maggie Liebich
6:14 PM 400 Hurdles Braelyn Baker
6:56 PM 10000 Meters Rosina Machu, Logan Hofstee
FIELD EVENTS
4:35 PM Pole Vault Hana Moll, Amanda Moll
Roskelley returns for day 2 of the decathlon starting at 9:45 am with the 110 hurdles.
ESPN will have live coverage of day 2 of the NCAA outdoor championships starting at 4 pm Pacific, while ESPN+ ($) will have dedicated field event streaming coverage starting at 9:45 am with the decathlon.
BATT-DOYLE SETS 10000m PERSONAL BEST IN OSLO...
As part of the Wanda Diamond League sereies in Oslo, Washington alum Izzi Batt-Doyle set a personal best in the 10000 meters Wednesday evening at the Bislett Games.
The Australian national, who was the Pac-12 10000m champion in 2019, finished sixth in a time of 30:51.27, besting her previous personal best of 31:40.10, set two years ago in London.
Washington alum Eleanor Fulton paced the race through the first 4000 meters before eventual winner Yenawa Nbret of Ethiopia took over, clocking a world leading tine of 30:28.82.
In the main portion of the Bislett Games Thursday, Washington alum Gianna Woodruff will run the 400 hurdles in an old Pac-12 rematch against Amalie Iuel of Norway, and Dalilah Muhammad, both of whom competed for USC. Muhammad, a former Olympic champion, is Woodruff's training partner.
NOTE: The sports information office of Washington State University, the University of Washington, and the NCAA contributed to this report.
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