Raleigh Relays Recap

The first big meet of the year is now complete. Let's take a look a back and see what we can take away from these high-caliber performances...

800

In a meet filled with top division one talent, we saw division three star Matt Molinaro (Ohio Northern) run a mark of 1:49.30 to hold off Kentucky’s Ian Jones for the win. Jones ended up finishing with a time of 1:49.74 and was closely followed by Stefano Migliorati (Eastern Carolina) who rounded out the top three with a time of 1:49.91.

Although this wasn’t a personal best for Molinaro, it’s certainly a great sign for his fitness. We should also recognize that there was most likely extra motivation for the Ohio Northern junior after finishing runner-up at indoor NCAA’s this past winter.

As for Jones and Migliorati, their coaches have to be happy. 1:49 this early on in the season is pretty respectable and there is still plenty of time for these two to improve on those marks.

1500

In one of the more underrated races of the weekend, we saw Yale’s James Randon emerge victorious over Furman’s Ryan Adams and Troy Reeder as well as NC State’s George Parsons.

Randon finished in a time of 3:42.44 while youngster Ryan Adams (only a sophomore) was close behind in 3:42.90. These are excellent times for a meet in late March and great indicator of what we could potentially see in the future. If these guys can find a fast enough race, sub 3:40 isn’t out of the question for either of them.

Reeder and Parsons ended up a bit further behind the top two as they recorded times of 3:44.52 and 3:44.83 respectively. Both of these performances are actually personal bests and a good sign of potential closing speed as each individual is likely to focus on an event longer than the 1500.

The four athletes just mentioned currently hold the top four spots in the NCAA.

As we examine other performances we see that the Princeton men stacked this event with some of their best guys. Noah Kauppila and William Paulson ran 3:45 and 3:46 respectively. Yet, it was Garrett O’Toole who got the most attention with his 3:47. The junior ran 3:41 last spring and then disappeared for the entire winter. All signs suggest that O’Toole is coming off an injury or illness. Hopefully, he’ll be able to rebound and return to top-form by May.

Another notable performer was Justine Kiprotich of Michigan State who made his season debut with a time of 3:46. The sophomore may have a personal best of “only” 3:45 in this event, but he showed some great signs of speed development after dropping a 1k PR of 2:23. Don’t be surprised to see Kiprotich’s name mentioned again later on in the season.

3000 Steeple

Despite no one breaking nine minutes in this race, we have to give some respect to freshman Christian Noble (Lee) who out-ran a field of experienced division one athletes in an event that typically holds a steep learning curve.

Noble finished with a time of 9:02 while George O’Connor (Oakland) ran 9:05 and Max Benoit (Michigan State) ran 9:06.

5000

Henry Wynne did not flinch despite the field consisting of multiple pro athletes. The UVA senior threw down a 13:43 to finish first overall and effectively put the rest of the nation on notice.

The next collegiate to cross the line was Michigan State’s Sherod Hardt who ran 14:01 after having a relatively quiet indoor season. Hardt hasn’t always been considered a “track guy”, but this is an eight second personal best for the Spartan senior who may continue to find success in the 10k if he decides to pursue the event this season.

Although Henry Wynne gained most of the attention, teammate Thomas Madden had a respectable performance of his own by finishing with a time of 14:05 (eight seconds off of his PR).

Butler’s Euan Makepeace had a great performance as well. In his first-ever collegiate 5000, Makepeace stayed composed enough to finish with a 14:05. The Butler sophomore has quietly built an impressive resume over the past few months. PR’s of 1:54, 4:07, 8:25, and now 14:05 display impressive range.

Other men under 14:10 include Tulane’s Emmanuel Rotich (14:05), Mount Olive’s Adam Craig (14:07), Eastern Kentucky’s Erik Rotich (14:08), and Princeton frosh Connor Lundy (14:09).

10,000

It was the event of the meet (and the weekend) as a mind-boggling 28 individuals ran under 30 minutes. Yet, it was Edwin Kibichiy earning the spotlight as he threw down the hammer to become the NCAA 10k leader with a personal best time of 28:38.

Once a season, there is typically someone who is able to get under 28 minutes. If Kibichiy can drop a time like this in March, what can he do later on in the season? Could we see him go under 28 minutes at Payton Jordan? It is certainly a possible...

Behind Kibichiy was Virginia’s Zach Herriot who ran an outstanding 28:44 to lead four other teammates under the 30 minute barrier. Those five teammates don't even include Henry Wynne or Thomas Madden. Does a meet like this make UVA the deepest distance running program in the nation? That may sound like a bit of a reach, but the argument is certainly there.

Kentucky’s Jacob Thomson also had himself an incredible race as he earned a huge PR of 28:47. After finishing his cross country season without a win or All-American honors, Thomson went M.I.A. for the entire indoor season. Luckily, it seems like that hibernation period benefitted Thomson as he has now posted the third fastest 10k in the NCAA.

While the top three may have all the glory, the more impressive performances came from the fourth and fifth place finishers. Division two star James Ngandu beat his personal best by nearly 40 seconds to finish with a time of 28:50! That is an incredible race for the Tiffin University senior who could now be considered as the favorite for the division two 10k national title.

Another breakout performance came from Michigan State’s Clark Ruiz who bettered his PR by 28 seconds by after finishing with an outstanding time of 28:52. Does a race like this mean that Ruiz could challenge for the 10k conference title this year? If he continues to perform like this, then I will happily entertain that question.

The last finisher to cross the line under 29 minutes was Campbell freshman Amon Kemboi who continues to make Campbell University a scary good distance program. With Raleigh Relays now in the books, Kemboi has now recorded PR’s of 2:29 (1k), 4:09 (mile), 8:02 (3k), 13:52 (5k), and 28:57 (10k) in the span of two months. If he can do this in two months, what can he do in a full academic year?

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