Edward Cheserek is out for the season with a "lower back strain" that is a "minor injury," according to the Oregon athletic department. In a release, Oregon head coach Robert Johnson said that "This is a minor injury that could potentially become worse if he runs on it too soon. As much as Edward would like to run, it is our responsibility to make decisions that are in the best interest of our student-athletes and in this case, it means taking Edward out of the regional meet."

Johnson also added that Cheserek is set to graduate from Oregon this summer.

The NCAA West Prelims are this weekend in Austin, and Cheserek not competing in them means that he won't defend his NCAA titles in the 10K and 5K. There will be a new NCAA outdoor 10K champion for the first time since 2013 and new outdoor 5K winner for the first time since 2014.

Oregon distance coach Andy Powell said that the injury was just bad timing and that we'll see King Ches again in 2017. According to GoDucks.com, Powell says that "Edward has a bright future in running and I know he is looking forward to a professional career after college. We had to consider the big picture when evaluating this situation. I anticipate him being able to run fast later this summer and in years to come."

Even without any outdoor titles this season, Cheserek is one of the greatest collegiate athletes of all time, in any sport. His 17 NCAA titles are the most by any male Division I athlete ever. (Stanford swimmer Jenny Thompson won 19 NCAA titles, with nine individual and ten relay wins. Cheserek's 17 includes just two relay wins.) UTEP's Suleiman Nyambui had the previous record for Division I track athletes with 15 NCAA championships.

Indoors, in what turned out to be his final full collegiate season, King Ches broke the collegiate record in the mile and won the NCAA 5K and 3K. He went for an ambitious mile/3K/5K triple and lost to New Mexico's Josh Kerr in the mile. Perhaps Cheserek's single greatest meet was the NCAA indoor championship his junior year. On Friday night, he won the 5K and then just 30 minutes later came back to anchor the winning DMR in 3:52. He won the 3K the next day.

Cheserek's pro career kicks off with no country to represent in international competition. The ​New York Times reported last summer that Ches was on pace to become a U.S. citizen in 2022, and he has never expressed interest in competing for Kenya internationally. Oregon has repeatedly declined to comment about the status of his naturalization process, other than to say that the process is ongoing.

His kick and versatility mean that Ches has the chance to be an excellent pro. He won NCAA titles in the mile, 3K, 5K, 10K, and cross country, and has sterling PRs ranging from 3:52 in the mile to 13:18 in the 5K.