TERRE HAUTE — The NCAA championships are more than a month away at LaVern Gibson Championship Course and a favorite for the men’s individual title emerged Saturday in Terre Haute in the 8,000-meter white race.
Kenyan Sam Chelanga of Liberty University one-upped training partner and former teammate Josh McDougal’s 8K record by five seconds with a time of 22 minutes, 51.3 seconds. McDougal went on to win the 2007 NCAA title after his Pre-Nationals showing one year ago.
Chelanga was on another level compared to his competition Saturday.
“I was just trying to push myself and test my ability to compete nationally,” he said. “I feel pretty confident and wasn’t that tired at the end of the race, so I fell like I will be able to do well.”
Chelanga still had plenty left in his tank for a strong kick after leading the massive field out to an opening mile of 4:16. He reached the 5K mark in 14:12 and ran the final 2K in an unofficial 2:44.
Excitement quickly built around the course as the sophomore was making it look easy.
“We basically sprint 3K in 8:15 as a training workout and he ran that pace and just kept on going. It’s in the Kenyans genes. He just floats,” said impressed Indiana State fifth-year senior Kyle Walsh, who finished 139th as the Sycamores took 30th place in a field of 11 nationally ranked teams.
ISU coach John McNichols was equally amazed by Chelanga’s performance.
“That was unbelievable. To see somebody go out in a field like this and make it look like a high school senior running against a junior high team, that’s just unbelievable. That’s the national champion we were looking at. No guarantees obviously, but we sure haven’t seen anyone else in the country that looks like that.”
While Chelanga should definitely challenge 2007 runner-up Galen Rupp of defending team champion Oregon, race conditions could be cooler and/or wet when competitors return to Terre Haute for the NCAA Championships on Nov. 24.
Chelanga overshadowed tenth-ranked Stanford’s impressive showing, the Cardinal defeating No. 7 Iona for the top spot 77-123. Garrett Heath and Chris Derrick finished in third and fourth respectively for that squad.
In the first men’s race of the day, sixth-ranked Alabama won the blue race as Tyson David led three top-10 finishers for with his victory. Augustus Maiyo was fifth and Emmanuel Bor ninth. The Crimson Tide held off Northern Arizona by a score 89-113.
“We really wanted to come out and get on the course and in the flow of a large field atmosphere,” coach Joe Walker said. “It gives us some good quality work on the championship course. We’re looking at the gaps and seeing if we can close it down a little bit.”
Alabama hopes to consider itself a championship contender next month, and so does second-ranked Oklahoma State, which chose to have its top runners compete in the men’s open race that concluded a busy day at the course.
Freshman phenom German Fernandez ran a time of 23:34.57, which would have easily placed him in the top 10 of either race.
“I felt like we were able to run really well today,” Fernandez said. “I’m excited to see what our team can do in the future. We have one of the best recruiting classes in Oklahoma State history.”
Michigan was a solid third in the men’s white race to lead the Great Lakes Region performances on the men’s side.
Illinois State was 24th, and the Redbirds were the main team that Indiana State was shooting to beat, with the Missouri Valley Conference championships two weeks away.
Walsh’s time was his best on the team’s home course, and ISU had just a 39-second gap between its top runner, Scott Keeney, and its fifth runner Scott Koressel. And Eric Schulz has battled an illness, and has been ISU’s No. 1 runner in a couple of races this fall.
“In a race like this, we measure ourselves against certain people,” McNichols said. “Indiana, they just had a great race today [taking 8th place], Illinois State, they had a great race. Overall, we just didn’t have the feel, and the guys are disappointed. The conference meet is a concern. We just have to keep after it. I know that we’re able to go better than we’re going.”
College
Liberty’s Chelanga pushes self to record time in men’s NCAA cross-country race
- College
-
-
MVC’s worst a tantalizing option for ISU
Even though the Indiana State men’s basketball team has played better of late, having won three of its last four games, there’s only one team with a worse record in the Missouri Valley Conference standings than the Sycamores.
-
Sycamores can’t stop Stutz, Shockers
All or nothing. It was that kind of game for Wichita State center Garrett Stutz. Unfortunately for Indiana State’s men’s basketball team, the “all” came in the second half.
-
McWhorter’s fortunes rise with ISU’s
More so than any other Sycamore, Steve McWhorter might embody the decline and the recent rise of the Indiana State men’s basketball team.
-
Johnson dominates again for ISU track
Felisha Johnson continued to dominate women’s weight throw while two Indiana State hurdlers moved into today’s finals after solid performances in the preliminaries Friday at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame.
-
Indiana State women lose at Illinois State
Playing short-handed again, Indiana State’s women suffered their sixth straight Missouri Valley Conference basketball loss Friday night, falling 78-67 to host Illinois State.
-
Indiana, Purdue meet with both looking to regain momentum
Indiana University’s stint in the Top 25 may be coming to an end. Purdue is just looking for a winning streak.
-
ISU women looking to end five-game losing streak at Illinois State
Within a few points in the final minutes, Indiana State had chances to win women’s basketball games at Missouri State and Wichita State last weekend.
But the Sycamores lost for the fourth and fifth straight games, also losing freshman Jessica Valley for the season at Wichita State. The promising backcourt player tore the ACL in her right knee and began strengthening exercises this week in order to make plans for surgery. -
ISU Senior Day game to be televised on ESPN
The Missouri Valley Conference announced Thursday that Indiana State’s regular season finale against No. 12-ranked Creighton on Feb. 25 in Hulman Center has been chosen as the MVC’s “wild card” game that will be telecast on either ESPN or ESPN2.
-
Hoosiers load up on in-state players
With a 1-11 record in his first season as IU football coach, Kevin Wilson knew there were a lot of holes to fill in terms of personnel.
- Wabash Valley verbal commitments
-
It’s on: Sycamores, Bulldogs to play at Hinkle on Feb. 18
How badly did Indiana State want to get Butler as its BracketBusters opponent?
-
METRO ROUNDUP: Four from Rose receive weekly honors
Four Rose-Hulman athletes earned Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference weekly honors, the HCAC announced Monday.
-
Hoosiers reclaim needed offensive momentum
Indiana hadn’t allowed an opponent to shoot better than 40 percent in three straight games heading into Sunday’s home game against Iowa.
-
Sycamores will have to match Aces’ toughness
Indiana State men’s basketball coach Greg Lansing has an enduring respect for the toughness Evansville coach Marty Simmons coaxes out of his Purple Aces.
-
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ROUNDUP: Rose, The Woods post weekend victories
Rose-Hulman relied on a balanced scoring attack and a strong defensive effort to earn a 55-44 women’s basketball victory Saturday over Mount St. Joseph.
-
ISU's Stacia Weatherford sets school record in 60-meter hurdles
Indiana State junior Stacia Weatherford set the school record in the women’s 60-meter hurdles, while sophomore Greggmar Swift dominated the action in the men’s 60 hurdles during competition Saturday at the Indiana Relays.
-
Rose takes first in Engineer Track and Field Invitational
Rose-Hulman relied on nine event victories, 13 top-two finishes and three school records for a strong performance at the ninth annual Engineer Track and Field Invitational on Saturday.
The men’s squad captured first place honors in a meet that featured two of the nation's top 20 NCAA Division III squads and 12 institutions from seven states. The day’s competition also included 10 meet records. -
Mattox’s 31 not enough for ISU women
Indiana State pulled within 63-57 with a 6-0 run with 8 minutes, 50 seconds remaining Friday night at JQH Arena, but the Sycamores lost 84-70 to host Missouri State in a Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball game.
-
Mattox, Sycamores staying positive on road trip to Missouri State, Wichita State
Indiana State seniors Brittany Schoen and Deja Mattox are within striking distance of passing 1,000 points in their women’s basketball careers, and they would join classmate Shannon Thomas in that club. Schoen needs just 16 points, while Mattox is 89 points away.
But Mattox has been on a roll of late, scoring a team-high 15.1 points through ISU’s 4-3 start to Missouri Valley Conference play. -
IU triumphs
When Indiana’s Will Sheehey left the floor after receiving his second technical foul, the Hoosier fans cheered.
-
ISU women nipped at buzzer
Creighton sophomore Carli Tritz — blanketed by Indiana State senior Brittany Schoen — had just two points at halftime Friday in Hulman Center.
-
ISU needs to find chip on its shoulder
When one looks back at the totality of Indiana State’s 2010-11 men’s basketball season, there’s a recurrent theme that tied together the high points in a 20-14 campaign. A recurrent theme that might give ISU a lifeline in what has been a disappointing 2012 season.
-
ISU women look to reverse recent trend vs. Creighton
The Creighton women’s basketball team has won three of their last four games in Hulman Center. While the Bluejays have been one of the winningest programs in the Missouri Valley Conference — with at least 12 league wins in seven of the last nine seasons — the Bluejays’ success in Terre Haute would need to end if the Sycamores want to show that their 4-1 start to league play is not a fluke.
-
Hoosiers, Buckeyes meet after suffering upsets
Ohio State standout Jared Sullinger blames himself for the fifth-ranked Buckeyes’ most recent loss.
“There were times in the Illinois game where I just kind of took a break on the defensive end instead of the offensive end and it cost us,” Sullinger said, referring to a 79-74 setback on Tuesday. -
Rose drops pair to Transylvania
Transylvania withstood a second half charge by Rose-Hulman to earn a 60-46 men’s basketball victory in a battle of Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference co-leaders Saturday.
-
Bradley shoots down ISU women
The Indiana State women’s basketball team ran into a hot-shooting Bradley team on Saturday afternoon, as the Sycamores dropped a road contest 79-58 inside the Renaissance Coliseum.
-
Defense fails ISU again in loss at Southern Illinois
Defense wins championships. So what does lack of defense do?
-
ISU women pick up big road win against defending champion Northern Iowa
Brittany Schoen hit a 3-pointer to begin the second half that put Indiana State ahead 36-25. The senior’s shot and ISU’s stingy defense helped the Sycamores pull ahead by as many as 16 in the second half on the way to a 68-62 triumph at Northern Iowa.
Indiana State moved into a tie for first place with a 4-0 record. -
Grueling stretch of MVC schedule continues at SIU
It’s a stretch of the Missouri Valley Conference schedule Allen Iverson would love.
Indiana State’s men’s basketball team travels to Southern Illinois tonight for a rare Friday night game. It is the second of three games ISU — and the rest of the MVC teams — will play in a six-day span.
Included is a Friday-Sunday swing for each league school. All teams will play one home and one road game in those three days. -
IU suffers first loss this season in Assembly Hall
So much for Indiana’s perfect record at Assembly Hall.
Minnesota held off a late rally by the seventh-ranked Hoosiers to win 77-74 on Thursday night, the Golden Gophers’ first win in the Big Ten this season and the first time since 1985 that Minnesota defeated a ranked college basketball team on the road. - More College Headlines
-
MVC’s worst a tantalizing option for ISU








