Liberty University
Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational
Chelanga Places Third with 13:28 5K
5/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
Watch Sam Chelanga's 5K race video (courtesy of RunnerSpace.com)
Watch a postrace interview with Sam Chelanga (courtesy of Flotrack.org)
Watch RunnersWorld.com's video recap of the 5K races at Stanford (edited by Liberty alum Josh Cox)
Liberty redshirt sophomore Sam Chelanga placed third in a star-studded men's 5,000-meter field, late Saturday evening at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in Stanford, Calif. Chelanga clocked the second-fastest 5K time in the NCAA this season, 13:28.31, as he defeated five Olympians in the race contested at Cobb Track.
Eight days, three cross-country flights and two final exams removed from setting the NCAA all-time 10,000-meter record, Chelanga (Nairobi, Kenya) ran the second-fastest outdoor 5K in program history. His performance trails only Josh McDougal's 13:20.43 effort from the 2007 season in Liberty and Big South Conference annals. Chelanga's time also ranks No. 15 in the world for the 2009 outdoor season, based upon the IAAF's most up-to-date performance list.
The two runners who defeated Chelanga on Saturday were both 5K finalists at the Beijing Olympic Games. Ireland's Alistair Cragg ran 13:22.36 to edge Matt Tegenkamp of the United States for first place.
Chelanga sat closely behind the race rabbit, Jordan Horn, through the first mile of the race, which was covered in 4:17. After Horn dropped out, however, the pace slowed considerably. The second mile dropped off to 4:24, as a large pack of runners bunched up near the leaders.
With about three laps remaining, Cragg, Tegenkamp and Ian Dobson started a long sprint toward the finish line. Cragg and Tegenkamp clocked approximately 4:06 for the last mile, while Chelanga's 4:12 closing mile enabled him to stave off numerous fast-finishing contenders for third place.
The list of Olympians who finished behind Chelanga includes Dobson (United States), who dropped out before the finish, Bolota Asmerom (Eritrea), Andrew Lemoncello (Great Britain), Jonathon Riley (United States) and Alejandro Suarez (Mexico).
A handful of Liberty athletes will travel to Chapel Hill, N.C., Friday for the Chick-fil-A UNC Elite Meet. The first events at Belk Track/Fetzer Field are set to begin at 10 a.m.
Meanwhile, Chelanga and most of his teammates will return to action at the ECAC/IC4A Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The Liberty men's team will be in search of its third straight IC4A crown at the annual three-day meet, which is set to begin May 15 in Princeton, N.J.
