LALANG CLOCKS FASTEST TIME IN COLLEGIATE HISTORY

Senior-to-be Lawi Lalang clocked the fastest time in collegiate history in the 5K  on Thursday in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

 

TUCSON, Ariz. – The University of Arizona Wildcat men’s track and field program had another outstanding performance by senior-to-be (On the track, he will be a junior for cross country) Lawi Lalang. He competed in Ostrava, Czech Republic on Thursday in the men’s 5,000-meter race.

 

At the IAAF Ostrava Golden Spike, Lalang, of Eldoret, Kenya, earned a third-place finish in the 5K with a personal-best time of 13:07.13. That time is the fastest ever by a collegiate athlete, however, it is not the collegiate record since it did not take place during the collegiate season. Henry Rono, who ran 13:08.4, set the previous fastest time in 1978. Lalang’s time is also a school record, his fifth school record. He also holds the indoor records of the mile, 3K and 5K and the outdoor 1,500 meters and now 5K. The previous 5K outdoor record was 13:13.23, set by Robert Cheseret in Oslo, Norway on July 17, 2005. In his Arizona uniform, Lalang clocked the No. 12 time in the world this year. Muktar Edris of Ethiopia won with a time of 13:03.69. Augustine Kiprono Choge of Kenya earned a second-place finish with a time of 13:06.37.

Note: Lalang's 13:08.28 from indoors at the 2012 Millrose Games ranks as the fastest collegiate mark all-time within the collegiate season.