Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Mar 174 min
Last night, on a beautiful Saturday evening in San Juan Capistrano, California, distance running superstar, Nico Young, toed the line for his first-ever 10k race on the track.
Of course, when you go back and watch the race, the NAU standout seemed to more closely emulate that of seasoned veteran as far as his positioning and raw fitness was concerned.
Despite looking more strained than the pros, Young bided his time in that 10k race. He slowly moved his way up the field as the race unfolded and responded to most moves that would keep him in contention for the win (or at least the top-three). Not only that, but he still had enough strength defeat Mo Ahmed on the final straightaway and place 2nd overall in a time of 26:52, a new NCAA 10k record.
The former record of 27:08 (10k) was previously held by Liberty's Sam Chelanga.
There are only so many different ways to describe how incredible Nico Young is. And in fear of being redundant, I'd suggest that you go back and look at our prior article on the NAU star when he ran 12:57 (5k) on the indoor oval.
Yes, I would agree that most times in this era of distance racing aren't easily comparable to the performances that we saw 10 to 15 to 20 years ago. Between extra NCAA eligibility stemming from COVID and revamped shoe technology, numerous collegiate records and all-time lists are being completely overhauled.
Even so, there was nothing fluky about this performance.
Nico Young comfortably went under the 27-minute barrier with room to spare. He made well-preserved moves to be in the mix for the win rather than just be dragged to a fast time. He beat numerous elite-level pros, all of them except Grant Fisher. And in the grand scheme of things, he began to make us wonder, "Where amongst the all-time collegiate distance greats does Nico Young now sit?"
That question is best reserved for a different day, likely when he goes pro. But the more relevant (and more complex) question is, are the NCAA Championships even going to be something that Nico Young pursues come June?
The NCAA Outdoor Championships begin on June 5th and the final men's races take place on June 7th. The USA Olympic Trials, of course, are shortly thereafter, beginning on June 21st. And more importantly, the men's 10k final begins on the same night that the Trials begin. Then, on June 27th, the first round of the men's 5k kicks off followed by the 5k finals three days later on the 30th.
In other words, that is A LOT of racing for someone like Nico Young, especially if he ends up doubling at the Olympic Trials.
And based strictly on the below two time-stamped videos, he seemingly wants to...
With a ticket to Paris on the line, is it possible that Young could bypass the NCAA Championships entirely, aiming to stay fresh for late June? At this point, that doesn't seem like an unreasonable suggestion.
Of course, as we just saw, this still-rising distance legend was able to bounce back from his 5k/3k weekend double at the NCAA Indoor Championships incredibly well in just seven days. If any collegiate is going to race at the outdoor national meet and still be effective at the Olympic Trials, then it's most certainly going to be Nico Young, especially with two weeks of rest instead of one.
If Nico Young does toe the line for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, then I don't think we would see him try to the 10k/5k double on that stage -- that is an extremely aggressive pair of races just two weeks before the Olympic Trials.
Instead, I would imagine that he contests only one of those events, likely the 5k, before ending his NCAA career there and moving on to the Olympic Trials...assuming he doesn't go pro before the NCAA Championships.
Oh, and by the way, Nico Young wasn't the only collegiate to break the 27-minute barrier on Saturday night.
New Mexico's Habtom Samuel, who had already entered the NCAA with an incredible 10k PR of 27:20, returned to his ideal distance on the outdoor oval last night. And sure enough, Samuel thrived in a race that was set up for his skillset. He clearly fed off of the aggressive pace and was even willing to put himself near the front of the field as the race entered its final stages.
In the end, Habtom Samuel produced an incredible time of 26:53 which also crushed Sam Chelanga's old collegiate 10k record of 27:08. Samuel now sits at NCAA #2 all-time.
Despite Nico Young's grand success, one could argue that Samuel is very much an NCAA title favorite for the 10k (and maybe the only other title favorite in addition to Young).
Few men gain more benefit from moving to the outdoor oval than the Lobo star. Not only that, but Samuel doesn't have to worry about the rounds of the Olympic Trials like Nico Young does. Instead, the Eritrea native will await to be selected for the Olympics, something that he should be in a good position for following his recent performance.
The version that you saw of Habtom Samuel on the indoor oval is not the version of Habtom Samuel that you will see during the spring months. In my opinion, he'll be even better, and his recent 10k performance is clear evidence of that. And with the 10k Olympic standard now out of the way, expect Samuel to shift his attention back to the 5k as he chases the Olympic standard of 13:05.00.