D1 NCAA XC ChampionshipsNov 21, 2015 by Lincoln Shryack
Edward Cheserek Wins 3rd Straight Individual Title, Syracuse Dethrones Colorado
Edward Cheserek Wins 3rd Straight Individual Title, Syracuse Dethrones Colorado
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King Cheserek Blows The Doors Off Tiernan In Last Mile, Syracuse Stuns Colorado:
It was an exciting two-man race up front in the NCAA XC Championship 10,000m on Saturday in Louisville, as Oregon junior Edward Cheserek won his third straight cross country individual national title in a blistering 28:45.8 to become the only man to go back-to-back-to-back in NCAA XC history.
Title #3 matches Henry Rono, Steve Prefontaine, and Gerry Lindgren for the most all-time, but none of those greats were able to string together a run like Cheserek, who now owns nine career individual NCAA titles between XC, indoor, and outdoor track.
Title #3 matches Henry Rono, Steve Prefontaine, and Gerry Lindgren for the most all-time, but none of those greats were able to string together a run like Cheserek, who now owns nine career individual NCAA titles between XC, indoor, and outdoor track.
Cheserek was challenged by an aggressive Patrick Tiernan of Villanova, who led the Oregon superstar through 8,000m in a very quick 22:51. The Aussie set the tone of the race throughout, as he and King Ches broke away around the 5,000m mark. Ultimately though, as has become customary in the NCAA for three years now, Cheserek would prove too much in the final 1.5K as the Nova junior would settle for second in 29:11.1.
Tiernan's last 2K was 6:19, which compared to Ches' 5:54, made all the difference on Saturday.
We wondered who, if anyone, would make the race honest to try and break Cheserek, and Tiernan proved up to the task early, leading the field through 2,000m in a brisk 5:38. The lightning face pace could only be sustained by four men just over 1K later, as Tiernan and Cheserek, plus UTEP’s Anthony Rotich and Syracuse’s Justyn Knight, crossed two-miles in 9:04. Even this early in the contest, the NCAA individual title had only four potential suitors remaining.
Through 2 miles in 9:04! Challenging Ches! #NCAAXC pic.twitter.com/rJwrnmFR10
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) November 21, 2015
Tiernan and Cheserek left Rotich and Knight in their wake by halfway, and the race was on. With just 2K remaining, the pair had gapped the rest of the field by a monstrous 42 seconds. Again, this would not have happened if it weren’t for Tiernan’s heroics.
But with the ease and beauty we’ve grown accustomed to witnessing since 2013, Cheserek made a hard push for home with just under a mile to go, and it was over. The final portion of the race was a reminder of how great this guy truly is, as his 25.3-second win is the largest margin of victory since 1996.
A thrilling team battle went to the Syracuse Orange, who defeated two-time defending NCAA champions Colorado by putting three runners in the top 10— Justyn Knight (4th, 29:46.1), Colin Bennie (8th, 29:55.90), and Martin Hehir (9th, 29:59.5)— en route to the school’s second ever cross country crown. Their last title came in 1951.
Orange sophomore Philo Germano (39th, 30:29.5) and junior Joel Hubbard (47th, 30:31.5) rounded out the scoring to total 81 points for the champs, who hadn’t even finished on the NCAA podium since 1957.
The 2015 #NCAAXC Men's Champions - @CuseXCTF! pic.twitter.com/XZY4LxNanj
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) November 21, 2015
The winner of two-straight NCAA titles, Colorado certainly did not fold in their pursuit of a three-peat. The Buffs would have to settle for second, however, despite finishing with five All-Americans, as senior Pierce Murphy led the Buffaloes with a third-place finish.
Senior Morgan Pearson (25th, 30:16.1), freshman John Dressel (26th, 30:16.4), junior Ben Saarel (31st, 30:19.8), and senior Connor Winter (33rd, 30:21.7) would complete the scoring for Mark Wetmore’s Buffaloes, who finished on the podium for the fifth straight season. Ultimately, Syracuse’s strength up front was just too much for Colorado, as the Orange had a 22-point advantage through each team’s third scorers.
Senior Morgan Pearson (25th, 30:16.1), freshman John Dressel (26th, 30:16.4), junior Ben Saarel (31st, 30:19.8), and senior Connor Winter (33rd, 30:21.7) would complete the scoring for Mark Wetmore’s Buffaloes, who finished on the podium for the fifth straight season. Ultimately, Syracuse’s strength up front was just too much for Colorado, as the Orange had a 22-point advantage through each team’s third scorers.
The Stanford men got great races out of their top three— Jim Rosa (6th, 29:52), Sean McGorty (7th, 29:53.4), and freshman Grant Fisher (17th, 30:07.9), but it wasn’t pretty from there, as the Cardinal’s 4-5 guys were 64th (Garrett Sweatt), and 97th (Joe Rosa) to total 151 points for third.
Led by Cheserek’s individual victory, the Oregon men grabbed a surprising spot on the podium with 183 points for fourth despite having no other All-Americans aside from Cheserek. It’s the school’s highest finish at NCAAs since they were runner-up in 2009, and also their first appearance in the top four since then as well. Travis Neuman was the Ducks’ second scorer in 46th.