BOSTON – Wesley Kiptoo of Iowa State began his defense of the men’s indoor 5,000-meter run in emphatic style Saturday at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener at the BU Track & Tennis Center. TFRRS Results
Kiptoo, who entered the weekend with the No. 11 mark in collegiate history in the event, shot all the way up to No. 3 on the all-time list, after resetting his school record with a 13:14.74 performance in the fast heat.
READ MORE: Watch Newbury Park lead 4 runners breaking high school 5k national record at Garmin RunningLane
Wesley Kiptoo was on a mission?
He is now the eighth man in collegiate history to go sub-13:20 indoors. Only Arizona’s Lawai Lalang (13:08.28) and Stephan Sambu (13:13.74) have gone faster than Kiptoo in the indoor 5000 meters, both running their marks at the 2012 Millrose Games.
The race was all business from the start, with a 62 second first 400 setting the bar for the field. Kiptoo, the top collegiate entrant in the quickest section, was up for it the whole way, taking the first 1,600m in 4:16.75.
In the end, the junior from Marakwet, Kenya, finished third in the elite section of the Men’s 5000 Meters behind former Wisconsin star Olli H oare who ran a new Australian National Record at 13:09.96, and ex-Northern Arizona All-American Geordie Beamish, who broke the New Zealand National Record with his second-place time of 13:12.53.
Is Wesley Kiptoo the early national championships indoor favorite?
Kiptoo, who certainly announced himself as the early favorite to win the NCAA Indoor Championships 5000 meters next March, was posting the fastest collegiate mark in nearly a decade.
He’s coming off a very fruitful cross country season – finishing runner-up at the NCAA DI Cross Country Championships last month
The event at the 2021 Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener saw other outstanding performances by the collegians, with Kiptoo leading 14 collegians to sub-13:40 marks.
READ MORE: Northern Arizona coach credits squad “depth” for cross country championship success
