6/13/08
STADIUM RECORD & NCAA 10,000M TITLE FOR KOLL
Songok Defends Retains Men's Crown
By Mike Scott
(c) 2008 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission
Watch the 10,000 meter highlight video here
Des
Moines (12-Jun) -– Hometown favorite Lisa Koll, the American collegiate
10,000m record holder from Iowa State University, shattered the Drake
Stadium record here tonight to win the NCAA women's 10,000m, while
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi senior Shadrack Songok successfully
defended his NCAA men's 10,000 crown. Both athletes had to contend
with warm and humid conditions as the NCAA Division I Men's &
Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championships concluded its second
day.
Koll, who earlier this spring shattered the American
Collegiate 10,000m record with a 32:11.13 at Stanford University,
charged into the lead less than a lap into the race and proceeded to
run away from the field, covering the first 1600m in 5:13 and 3200m in
10:25.
Behind her, a tightly bunched pack that included Stanford
frosh Alex Gits, Providence's Danette Doetzel, Boston University's
Marisa Ryan, Iowa's Diane Nukuri, Arkansas' Denise Bargiachi,
Wisconsin's Katrina Rundhaug, and several others battled for the medals
and critical team points. At 3200, the chase pack was almost 30
seconds behind Koll.
Koll dominated the race in front of a
wildly partisan crowd, passing 4800m in 15:41 – 36-seconds ahead of the
pack -- and gradually extending her lead to win in a Drake Stadium
record 32:44.95. Koll's nearly one minute margin demonstrated
underscored her dominance.
“Going into the race, I wanted to run
fast because the weather was perfect,” said the Fort Dodge, Ia., native
who was apparently accoustomed to the humidity. “When you get an
opportunity to run in perfect weather, you want to take advantage of
it. I felt very comfortable during the entire race. I ran the first
5-K at a great pace and I knew I could pick it up for the last 5-K. I
heard the crowd the entire time and it was great! Running here at
Drake is the best feeling for me. I never won a state title in high
school and then, to come to Drake, and win a national championship is
the best feeling.”
Nearly a minute behind Koll, Rundhaug and
Gitz battled up front, while Nukuri, Ryan, Doetzel, and the others
tucked in for the early portions of the race.
Doetzel, a junior
from Macklin, Saskatchewan, surged away from the chase group in the
final mile and gradually edged away from Gits to claim second in
33:44.23. Gitz finished a few steps behind in 33:49.93, while Ryan
closed well to claim fourth in 33:54.38.
SONGOK MAKES IT TWO IN A ROW
The men's 10,000 opened much more slowly, with the whole field tightly bunched from the start.
Arkansas's
Shawn Forest and James Strang made a strong surge early, opening up a
lead over the pack with only UTEP's Japeth Ng'ojoy making the move with
the Razorback duo. LaSalle's Sean Quigley, the yearly leader with a
28:03.72 to his credit, Eastern Kentucky's Jacob Korir, Alabama's Tyson
David, and Songok were among the leaders of the chase pack.
David
was the first of the chase pack to catch Forest and Strang, with
Quigley, Korir, Songok, and five others catching them by the halfway
point. With seven laps to go, Quigley and Korir led the pack of nine
which stayed together through 8-K, passed in 23:21.
Songok
charged to the lead with two laps to go and only Forrest, David, and
Korir able to respond. With a 60-flat penultimate lap, Songok and
Forrest edged away, and it was a two man race. The duo matched strides
along the backstretch before Songok found one more gear, beating
Forrest by less than 4/10ths of a second in 28:46.69.
“A couple
of guys took off early but the guys I was worried (about) stuck
around,” said Songok who was also the NCAA 5000m indoor champion this
year. “After we saw the two guys up front, no one wanted to go. It
was too early. By the end, it was everybody’s race and it was very
tactical.”
After Forrest (28:47.08), David was third (28:49.76) and Korir fourth (28:49.92).
In
the first round of the women's 1500m, North Carolina's Brie Felnagle
--the defending champion-- won the first prelim in 4:15.56, while
Florida State's Hannah England won the second prelim ahead of Texas
Tech's Sally Kipyego, 4:17.36 to 4:17.48. Kipyego, who won the 10,000
at this meet last year and finished second in the 5000, is attempting
the 1500/5000 double this year.
In the men's metrick mile,
Leonel Manzano of the University of Texas outsprinted Stanford's
Garrett Heath, 3:41.70 to 3:42.21 to win the first
prelim. Georgetown's Andrew Bumalough won the second prelim in
3:42.28 over Wisconsin's Evan Jager (3:42.41).
The biggest story
in the women's 800 semis was the no-show by defending champion Alysia
Johnson from the University of California. She had won her preliminary
heat on Wednesday, but didn't show for the semi-final. Her team's
website said she was suffering from a minor foot injury.
"Alysia's
foot was sore, but she could have run today," said Cal director of
track and field Tony Sandoval to Calbears.cstv.com. "It would have been
sorer if she ran today, and then even more if she ran in the final. She
would have had to take some time off to let her foot heal with the
Olympic Trials just a couple weeks away. We had her foot checked out
and she's fine. We just didn't want to risk anything with the Trials
right around the corner."
With Johnson out of the meet,
Michigan's Geena Gall won the first semi in 2:04.02 ahead of LSU's
Latavia Thomas (2:04.17), while Oregon's Zoe Buckman edged out Western
Michigan's Becky Horn, 2:03.64 to 2:03.73.
In the men's two-lap
competition Oregon's Andrew Wheating edged out Texas's Jacob Herandez,
1:47.15 to 1:47.18, in the first semi of the men's 800, while Southern
Cal's Duane Solomon won the second semi in 1:47.60 ahead of Northern
Iowa's Tyler Mulder. Mississippi State senior Golden Coachman, who
finished fourth at this meet last year, finished last in his heat and
did not advance.
Friday's action includes both the men's and women's 3000m steeplechase and 5000m finals.
ENDS