Our very own Patrick Tiernan has finished second in the 2015 Division 1 NCAA Cross Country Championships in Louisville, Kentucky.
Tiernan pushed the pace early and battled alongside Edward Cheserek until the end. Rounding out the top three was Pierece Murphy of Colorado who finished in 29:37. This morning marked the third victory for Cheserek at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
“I was mentally prepared for whatever he did,” Cheserek said of Tiernan’s bold front running. “But the first mile was like 4:27, 4:28, right there. And I was, ‘Wow, this is too quick.’ So I was just hanging there until the last maybe 2K to go and I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll make my move when I get there.’ I just relaxed behind him and tried to save anything I can for the last 2K or mile to go.”
“Back home when I was in high school I always went out as hard as I could,” Tiernan said, “and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. Over here I’ve tried a lot of things, but I’ve never done that, so I figured why not give it a go.”
Hitting his first kilometer in 2:37, Tiernan tried to put it to Cheserek from the gun. “I felt great,” Tiernan said. “My training this year has been a lot of miles and Ks around that sort of pace, so it felt comfortable.” As they passed two miles in 9:04, Tiernan ran just in front of Cheserek and UTEP senior Anthony Rotich with Justyn Knight of Syracuse another step behind. By 6K, Tiernan and Cheserek were running side-by-side, well clear of all challengers.
“I was trying as hard as I could,” Tiernan said, “but there’s that little climb around 8.5K and he broke me there. I just didn’t have the legs to keep going with him. He’s a great athlete and a very deserving champion. But I’m very proud of how I ran today and it’s something to build off.”
Full results of the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships can be viewed on the NCAA website – http://ncaa.com
Top 10 Individual Men’s Results
| Pl | Name | Time | Pts | Split | Move |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edward Cheserek JR – Oregon | 28:45.8 | 1 | 5:54.4 | ↔ |
| 2 | Patrick Tiernan JR – Villanova | 29:11.1 | 6:19.7 | ↔ | |
| 3 | Pierce Murphy SR – Colorado | 29:37.0 | 2 | 6:03.2 | ↑ 1 |
| 4 | Justyn Knight SO – Syracuse | 29:46.1 | 3 | 6:12.5 | ↓ 1 |
| 5 | Jonathan Green SO – Georgetown | 29:49.5 | 4 | 6:11.8 | ↑ 1 |
| 6 | Jim Rosa SR – Stanford | 29:52.7 | 5 | 6:14.9 | ↑ 2 |
| 7 | Sean McGorty JR – Stanford | 29:53.4 | 6 | 6:15.1 | ↑ 3 |
| 8 | Colin Bennie SO – Syracuse | 29:55.9 | 7 | 6:18.1 | ↓ 1 |
| 9 | Martin Hehir SR – Syracuse | 29:59.5 | 8 | 6:21.5 | ↔ |
| 10 | Marc Scott SO – Tulsa | 30:02.6 | 9 | 6:15.3 | ↑ 2 |
Men’s Team Results
| Pl | Name | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Syracuse Pts: 3, 7, 8, 29, 35, (51), (99) | 82 |
| 2 | Colorado Pts: 2, 20, 21, 23, 25, (32), (160) | 91 |
| 3 | Stanford Pts: 5, 6, 14, 50, 76, (172), (194) | 151 |
| 4 | Oregon Pts: 1, 34, 38, 44, 66, (77), (97) | 183 |
| 5 | Iona Pts: 16, 33, 46, 48, 88, (121), (174) | 231 |
| 6 | Arkansas Pts: 19, 30, 36, 69, 90, (137), (143) | 244 |
| 7 | Louisville Pts: 15, 31, 41, 68, 176, (204), (210) | 331 |
| 8 | Washington Pts: 22, 24, 75, 79, 145, (200), (212) | 345 |
| 9 | Michigan Pts: 52, 56, 64, 72, 104, (159), (166) | 348 |
| 10 | Georgetown Pts: 4, 37, 82, 103, 126, (147), (201) | 352 |
