- November 22nd, 2010, 5:59 pm
#330475
Sorry I missed all of the fun today. My little end-around didn't work as planned, so I was only able to get the video. It's actually a good thing that I couldn't post on here. My fingers would have been hurting too much.
The wind played a huge role in the way today's race unfolded. It would have been suicide to go out much faster than Sam did today (it WOULD have been suicide for almost anyone but Sam). I was a little surprised he didn't share the lead more than he did from the 6k-8k. It was pretty clear at that point that it would be down to him and Sambu at the finish. I was kind of worried when they hit the final turn stride for stride, because Sam isn't known for his kick and I didn't know anything about Sambu. My video feed kept cutting in and out at that point and I was about to toss the computer out the window, but it came back on just as Sam started to pull away.
Sam is definitely good enough to be an Olympian. He has only been running for 5 years, so he has a long way to go in terms of his maturity as a runner. I'll bet he sticks with the 10,000 for a few years before moving up to the marathon. Anything can happen at that distance, but the potential is definitely there for something very special.
Liberty has been blessed by having both Josh McDougal and Sam Chelanga. 3 NCAA XC Champions in 4 years by one school has only happened 4 times. Kansas, Oregon, and UTEP are the other 3 (and UTEP had to vacate one of those wins).
By the way, Sam still has a chance to win another 3 national championships this year in track. The only guy that beat him in the 5,000 last year is out of eligibility. We could be looking at a 6 time national champion by the time June rolls around.
Unbelieveable.
NCAA Cross Country National Champions
Josh McDougal- 2007
Sam Chelanga- 2009, 2010