No. 3 Razorbacks repeat team victory at Pre-Nationals
MADISON, Wisconsin – For the second consecutive year Arkansas has claimed the men’s team title at the Pre-Nationals meet. A total of 89 points produced the 2024 victory as a trio of Razorbacks finished among the top 10 individuals.
Patrick Kiprop placed fourth in a time of 22:43.0 over the 8,000m course while teammates Kirami Yego and Yaseen Abdalla placed seventh and eighth with times of 22:59.4 and 23:01.5.
No. 3 Arkansas, the top nationally ranked team in field, defeated No. 4 Iowa State (128), No. 9 Stanford (142), No. 8 New Mexico (166), and =No. 6 Northern Arizona (178) among the 32 schools in the seeded race.
The rest of the top 10 included host and No. 10 Wisconsin (199), No. 5 Notre Dame (200), No. 23 Syracuse (258), No. 24 California Baptist (312) and No. 20 Harvard (327).
“That was a really tough field and I’m just really happy with the way our guys approached everything from the time they reported in August up till now,” said Arkansas men’s head coach Chris Bucknam. “They’re doing all the right things training-wise. They’re a great group of guys to work with.
“I really think this is just the tip of the iceberg for us. So, I’m really pleased with all the things around the race. We’ve got a lot more in us.”
Ben Shearer, who won the 2023 Pre-Nationals individual title, placed 18th in 23:10.5. The fifth runner for Arkansas was Timothy Chesondin, who finished 52nd in a time of 23:31.6 after falling down around the 3k mark where he was in 35th place.
Three other Razorbacks competing in the seeded race included Elias Schreml (70th | 23:41.0), Brian Masai (86th | 23:45.8), and Reuben Reina (168th | 24:25.3).
New Mexico’s Habtom Samuel won the race in a course record of 22:33.8, bettering the previous mark of 23:04.0 set by North Carolina’s Parker Wolfe earlier this season. The top nine finishers in the race bettered the previous course record.
Harvard’s Graham Blanks finished runner-up in 22:40.5 while Justine Kipkoech of Eastern Kentucky placed third in 22:41.8.
Kiprop and Yego were leading the race through the first 2,000m while Shearer and Abdalla were stationed in 22nd and 27th place. Abdalla moved into 10th place by 4,000m while Shearer advanced to 15th. At 6,000m, Kiprop moved back into the lead while Yego was sixth and Abdalla eighth.
Team-wise at the 2k splits, New Mexico led Arkansas at the first split 82-87 with Stanford third (110). At 4k, the Razorbacks moved into a decisive lead with 63 points while Northern Arizona was second at 128 with Iowa State in third at 166. The 6k split had the Razorbacks leading with 73 points over Iowa State (148), Stanford (155) and Northern Arizona (162).
“It showed our sign of fitness,” added Bucknam. “You never want to play all your cards, but I our guys ran hard and I think we have more in the tank. We have to make adjustments with some of the guys and maybe back some guys off a little bit.
“It’s a good sign that lead group was able to handle the pace when it picks up since there were a lot of great runners in the field. They were able to respond when they’re tired, and I think that’s the key.”
Competing in the Open race, Tommy Romanow led the Arkansas crew in placing 14th with a time of 24:23.8. Camren Fisher followed in placing 31st with a time of 24:52.0. Jack Williams finished 41st in 25:03.5 while Davis Helmerich placed 66th in 25:40.6.
