It wasn’t about the time on the clock.That really didn’t matter. It was all about position. It was all about running just enough to earn a trip to the finals.
In his first appearance at the NCAA Division 1 Track & Field Championships, Darius kipyego executed that plan to perfection on Friday at the TRACK at new balance.
The former Saint Raphael Academy standout and current Iowa State junior secured his spot in the 800-meter finals with a solid time of 1 minute, 47.67 seconds in his preliminary heat. He finished third in his heat and seventh among the eight qualifiers.
“It doesn’t matter how I feel. It doesn’t matter what time I run,” Kipyego said. “Just get to the finals and really it’s anybody’s game.”
The truth to that statement is valid. Of the qualifiers, .56 separated the top eight. Overall, 10 were under 1:48.
In the seeded section of the two heats, Kipyego made sure to keep himself with the leaders. He was in fourth place at 400m mark, passed in 53.19. At that point, Kipyego was just settling into his pace.
I felt really good. Going out (53 seconds) is nothing too crazy. I do that a lot in practice. Last time I want out in 53 (seconds) and ran 1:46. I went out in 51 (seconds) high and ran 1:46,” said Kipyego, making reference to two his two sub 1:47 performance this season, including his PR of 1:46.71 at the Iowa State Classic last month. “The pace didn’t matter. I felt good through the whole thing.”
Per usual, the pack was aggressive with some pushing and shoving throughout the four-lapper. Kipyego settled into the inside lane for most of the race and occasional had to fight through to clear himself from any trouble, particularly in the late stages.
With less than 100m remaining, the SRA alum made his final push to make sure his meet would extend another day.
“You’ve got to get out there. I have to win my break. That’s the first thing that i did,” he said. “I got a little boxed in. At that point, I knew there was going to be some pushing and shoving on the track. You just got to work your way through. Stay calm and collective. Obviously a hole was eventually going to open up. I got luck on the inside. Made a move. You got to do all you can. The last 200 (meters), you just got to go with it, and finish hard.”
Kipyego’s effort is believed to be the first time ever that a St. Ray’s athlete has made it to the finals at the NCAA Div. 1 Championships. Now, it try to make it even better with a victory at Saturday’s finals, set for 4:30 p.m.
“I am in really good shape right now,” he said. “I think I can run a really fast time tomorrow.”
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Former Moses Brown great Sophia Gorririan, a freshmen at Harvard, came up just short of qualifying for the women’s 800m finals. She was fifth in her heat and 11th overall with a time of 2:04.61. Also missing the finals was former high school rival and defending champion Roisin Willis of Stanford, who was fourth in the race and tenth overall in 2:03.64.
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UMass Lowell senior and La Salle alum Kenzie Doyle finished 14th in the 5,000m with a time of 15:49.30. The race was won by Florida’s Parker Valby, who blazed to a NCAA record of 14:52.79.
It was Doyle’s third appearance to the NCAAs. She earned a trip to the cross-country and outdoor nationals last year.
Doyle received the biggest applause from the standing-room-only crowd as the PA announcer was introducing the field. The gifted runner earned her trip after clocking a PR of 15:27.42 at the BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener on Dec. 2.
“I was mostly relaxed for the first two-thirds of the race,” said Doyle, who captured three events at the recent American East Championships. “The last third definitely got me. I wanted to be first team All American. I wanted to be top eight. But I’m just happy to be here. I put in a big PR to get here. I put in a lot of high mileage to get here. I am really happy with just getting to this meet and the experience was amazing with my family and friends being here.”
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Former Portsmouth Abbey star Margot Appleton, a senior at Virginia, earned a trip to the finals in the mile. She was third in her heat with a time of 4:35.58.
