Take three different writers, and have them write about the same event, and they will find different aspects of the race that interest them. Sean MacPherson wrote this recap of the 10,000m on Wednesday night.
He found some interesting things to write about. Sean MacPherson also was in the SOJC under Professor Lori Schontz, when he was an undergrad. Sean just wrote for us on the Nike Prefontaine Classic.
The Men’s 10,000m, in fifth, Athanas Kioko, in sixth, Charles Hicks, 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Champs, June 8, 2022, photo by Cierra Hitner
By Sean MacPherson RunBlogRun
Wednesday’s NCAA Men’s 10K Final had no shortage of drama. There was blood. There were tumbles. There was a fearless athlete that went out by himself and led by as much as 100 meters in the race.
Ultimately, Dylan Jacobs of Notre Dame came out on top with a rather pedestrian winning time of 28:12.32. Jacobs used a 55.45-second last lap to out-kick the field. He sprinted past NAU’s Abdihamid Nur with around 170 meters left and never looked back, winning his first NCAA Championship.
Alex Maier used a big push down the home stretch to grab second in a time of 28:12.68. Nur held on for third in 28:14.51. Cole Sprout finished fourth in 28:14.89.
“I didn’t want to let (Nur) go too early and miss the move,” said Jacobs, “I didn’t really get around him until 200, and then I was finally able to go and just kick it in.”
The 2017 Foot Locker Cross Country champion credited his teammates for pushing him in training enough to accomplish this achievement.
“I’ve trained with, I think, the best team in the country, the best guys,” said Jacobs, “we’ve prepared every day to come out to nationals, and fortunately, it worked out where I was able to take it home.”
Jacobs won the race despite taking a tumble early on in the race.
“I just stepped on the rail.” said Jacobs, “I got up, got to the back, and I was like, ‘well, that better not affect it because nothing happened to me.”
Although Jacobs emerged as the winner of this race, there were other individuals who showed incredible guts.
Athanas Kioko of Campbell sprinted out into the lead from the gun and was running at a record-setting pace go start, including a 4:19 first mile. His lead ranged from 60-100 meters ahead of the field for a large chunk of the race. Kioko’s pace slowed down considerably over the course of the race, but he still had a sizable lead of over 10 seconds with 9 laps left. With around seven laps left, Kioko was caught and absorbed with the rest of the pack.
Remarkably, the decorated Campbell athlete held on for a fifth place in a time of 28:17.88.
“Kioko is an interesting athlete because in every race, he does something to make you think about your tactics and your race plan,” said third-place finisher Nur, “I just knew the group would work together, and we eventually caught him.”
Right behind Kioko in sixth place was Stanford’s Charles Hicks, who ran the second half of the race with blood covering his face.
“I was just in the pack, and all of a sudden, I felt gushing,” said Hicks, “It was less than ideal. It was kind of like breathing through a snorkel a little bit.”
