What The Hell is Gonna Happen With King Ches?
What The Hell is Gonna Happen With King Ches?
An athlete getting injured—even if it benefits your preferred sports team or adds a little entertainment value—is never a good thing.An athlete who pays his
An athlete getting injured—even if it benefits your preferred sports team or adds a little entertainment value—is never a good thing.
An athlete who pays his tuition with his body suffering an injury is unfortunate.
Since Lawi Lalang graduated in 2014, men's collegiate long distance running has been a one-note dish dominated by 13-time NCAA champion Edward Cheserek.
But Cheserek can be beaten in a championship race for the first time since the legendary 5K against Lalang in 2014. (His loss to Eric Jenkins in the 2015 indoor 3K does not count, thanks.) There's something to watch in the men's 10K and 5K other than how and when Ches will kick. The King's hamstring and calf injuries this spring have added some much-needed spice, even if that spice is as ill-gotten and delicious anything Vasco da Gama acquired.
Is the briefly wounded King back to full strength? He won the 10K at Pac-12s and the West Prelims, and was second in the 5K at West Prelims. So even if he loses the 10K (7:08 PT Wednesday) or 5K (7:25 PT Friday) this week, it likely won't be as lame as his home losses to Colby Gilbert and NAIA runner Sam Atkin.
Duke's Shaun Thompson has said that he wants to push the pace for the Olympic Trials standard, which is 28:15 in the 10K. That doesn't sound insanely fast—but only ten men have ever gone 28:10.32 or faster at NCAAs in the 10K.
A fast race could dethrone the King. A slow one could, too; he's been out-kicked in three of his last five races.
For the first time since 2014, those sentences can be typed by a non-crazy person.
Northern Arizona's Futsum Zienasellassie and Colorado's Pierce Murphy could capitalize on a power vacuum in the ten. Virginia Tech's Thomas Curtin, Villanova's Patrick Tiernan, Syracuse's Justyn Knight, and Stanford's Sean McGorty could win if Cheserek is not himself on Friday night in the 5K.
Or he'll put all this speculation to bed in both races and crush everyone, underscoring the meaninglessness of regular season track & field.
We'll find out tonight.
An athlete who pays his tuition with his body suffering an injury is unfortunate.
Since Lawi Lalang graduated in 2014, men's collegiate long distance running has been a one-note dish dominated by 13-time NCAA champion Edward Cheserek.
But Cheserek can be beaten in a championship race for the first time since the legendary 5K against Lalang in 2014. (His loss to Eric Jenkins in the 2015 indoor 3K does not count, thanks.) There's something to watch in the men's 10K and 5K other than how and when Ches will kick. The King's hamstring and calf injuries this spring have added some much-needed spice, even if that spice is as ill-gotten and delicious anything Vasco da Gama acquired.
Is the briefly wounded King back to full strength? He won the 10K at Pac-12s and the West Prelims, and was second in the 5K at West Prelims. So even if he loses the 10K (7:08 PT Wednesday) or 5K (7:25 PT Friday) this week, it likely won't be as lame as his home losses to Colby Gilbert and NAIA runner Sam Atkin.
Nobody expected Colby would be the one dropping the hammer today! Check out his winning sprint in the 5k: https://t.co/JBDD1MVLWV
— UW Track (@UWTrack) April 9, 2016
WHOA!! Lewis & Clark's Sam Atkin takes down Edward Cheserek in the 3,000m!
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) May 7, 2016
Watch #Pac12TF: https://t.co/YfMNDWLu5w https://t.co/luKmYg0etk
Duke's Shaun Thompson has said that he wants to push the pace for the Olympic Trials standard, which is 28:15 in the 10K. That doesn't sound insanely fast—but only ten men have ever gone 28:10.32 or faster at NCAAs in the 10K.
A fast race could dethrone the King. A slow one could, too; he's been out-kicked in three of his last five races.
For the first time since 2014, those sentences can be typed by a non-crazy person.
Northern Arizona's Futsum Zienasellassie and Colorado's Pierce Murphy could capitalize on a power vacuum in the ten. Virginia Tech's Thomas Curtin, Villanova's Patrick Tiernan, Syracuse's Justyn Knight, and Stanford's Sean McGorty could win if Cheserek is not himself on Friday night in the 5K.
Or he'll put all this speculation to bed in both races and crush everyone, underscoring the meaninglessness of regular season track & field.
We'll find out tonight.