EUGENE, Ore. (June 8, 2022) — The Northern Arizona men had quite the day at Hayward Field, as Abdihamid Nur added a 10,000-meter bronze medal to his collection, David Dunlap earned second-team All-American honors in the 200-meter, and George Kusche qualified for 1500-meter finals.
In an incredible effort, Nur places third overall in the men's 10K with a season best time of 28:14.51 to earn first-team All-American and score six points for the Lumberjack men.
Wesley Kiptoo may have gone professional earlier this year but his race strategies have certainly not been forgotten; Athanas Kioko of Campbell filled Kiptoo's shoes from the gun, putting well over 60 meters between himself and the main pack for almost half of the 10,000-meter race.
But, with a steadily increased pace, Nur and the rest of the pack ultimately absorbed Kioko, rounding the final few laps of the track in a tighter formation.
With approximately two laps remaining, Nur positioned himself with Alex Maier (Oklahoma State) and Dylan Jacobs (Notre Dame).
But, at the bell lap Nur started to switch gears with Jacobs staying hot on his trail, running almost shoulder to shoulder with Nur. The two continued to turn up the heat until Jacobs eventually overtook Nur and crossed the line first to finish with a time of 28:12.32 and earn gold.
Earlier today, Dunlap, the first NAU men's sprinter to compete at NCAA Outdoor Championships since 2016, gave his all to place 15th overall in the 200-meter semifinal with a time of 20.51 to earn second-team All-American honors.
Meanwhile, the men's 1500-meter was a fight from the first step, as Kusche battled for positioning out of the gate. With a 700-meter split of 1:43.85, Kusche found his groove near the front of the pack and prepared for the bell lap. Kusche split the last 400-meters of the race in 55.50, just missing the fifth automatic advancing slot, but just fast enough to grab the last qualifying time slot with 3:39.67.
Kusche will compete in Friday's final at 6:12 p.m. (MST) against Jonathon Davis of Illinois (3:37.39), Nathan Green of Washington (3:37.46), Sam Ellis of Princeton (3:37.60), Thomas Vanoppen from Wake Forest (3:37.65), Adam Spencer of Wisconsin (3:37.81), Ryan Schoppe of Oklahoma State (3:37.94), Mario Garcia Romo from Ole Miss (3:39.32), Joe Waskom of Washington (3:39.45), Isaac Basten of Drake (3:39.45), Luke Houser of Washington (3:39.60), and John Petruno from Michigan State (3:39.64); collegiate record holder and this season's NCAA leader Eliud Kipsang (3:43.30) finished 20th overall and will not participate in the 1500-meter final.
