Liberty University
NCAA Division I Indoor Track Championships
Chelanga Finishes as NCAA Indoor 5K Runner-Up
3/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
For the third consecutive year, Liberty redshirt senior Sam Chelanga finished as the men's 5K runner-up at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships, Friday at Texas A&M's Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium. Chelanga clocked a season-best 13:27.34 but could not catch Iona's Leonard Korir on the final lap.
Korir crossed the line in 13:26.01, as both he and Chelanga broke the meet and facility records. Alistair Cragg of Arkansas had set the meet record at 13:28.93 on March 14, 2003, while Galen Rupp of Oregon established the facility record of 13:41.45 on March 13, 2009.
Chelanga is now an 11-time All-American, with four of the notations coming in this event. Prior to his three straight national runner-up finishes, he placed fourth in 2007 as a freshman at Fairleigh Dickinson.
Chelanga set the pace for the first half of the race, hitting the mile mark in 4:18. After the first 3K was covered in 8:07, the field had been whittled down to a lead pack of five, including Chelanga, Korir, Arizona's Stephen Sambu, Stanford's Elliott Heath and Northern Arizona's Diego Estrada.
The lead then changed hands numerous times during the final 10 laps. Chelanga made a big move with five laps remaining, but Korir and Sambu remained on his tail.
With approximately 700 meters left, Korir took the lead for good. Despite several comeback attempts by Chelanga, the Iona Gael earned his first career NCAA national title. Korir, who covered the last mile in 4:13, raised his right arm in victory as he sprinted down the final straightway.
Chelanga will return to the track Saturday at 7:55 p.m. Eastern, when he competes in the NCAA men's 3K final for the first time in his career. His race may be viewed live on ESPN3.com.
Watch a postrace interview with Sam Chelanga:
Watch more video of 2011 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships on flotrack.org
