Ben Shearer victory leads Razorbacks to team title

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Razorback sophomore Ben Shearer defeated the field assembled for the Virginia Pre-Nationals amid an inclement day at Panorama Farms, winning the 8,000m race in a time of 22 minutes, 55 seconds as No. 21 Arkansas claimed the team title with 35 points.

Razorbacks finishing behind Shearer among the top 10 in the field included the trio of Kirami Yego, Patrick Kiprop, and Jacob McLeod as they placed 3-5-6. Wrapping up the Arkansas team score as the fifth finisher was Myles Richter in 20th place.

The 35-point team total enabled the Razorbacks to defeat a field that included a pair of other top 30 nationally ranked teams along with a slew of regionally ranked squads.

Team runner-up was No. 17 Tennessee (89), followed by No. 10 Virginia (112), Montana State (137) and Purdue (215). The rest of the top 10 from the field of 23 teams that field five or more runners included Wyoming (220), Santa Clara (283), Miami of Ohio (323), Virginia Tech (324), and Yale (338).

Shearer alternated between fifth and sixth place through 6,000m, then moved into third place at 7,000m (20:15.6). A final 1,000m split of 2:39.4 moved Shearer past teammate Yego, who led at 7k (20:13.0), as well as Tennessee’s Yaseen Abdalla, who was second at 7k (20:15.3).

Churning up the hill at the finish, Shearer bettered the field chasing him by 3.6 seconds. Adballa finished runner-up in 22:58.6 (2:43.4 final 1k) with Yego third in 23:04.2. Yego led the field at 2k, 4k and 7k.

Chandler Gibbens of Kansas placed fourth in 23:09.6 while the Arkansas combo of Kiprop and McLeod placed fifth and sixth in 23:11.5 and 23:17.1, respectively, in their first races of the season. McLeod finished with a 2:42.2 over the final 1k distance.

Richter also closed well with a 2:52.9 on the final 1k, crossing the finish line in 23:40.0. The sixth and seventh finishers for Arkansas included Lexington Hilton (23:45.7) and Reuben Reina (23:48.5) as they placed 26th and 27th.

Elias Schreml posted a time of 23:54.5 to finish 33rd, while Tommy Romanow clocked 23:55.3 for 35th.

Racing in the B race for Arkansas were Josh Shearer and Jack Williams. Josh finished eighth in 24:34.4 while Williams posted a time of 25:22.0 to place 51st.