Kipyego Comes Close To Perfection

Texas Tech runner takes Female Track Athlete of the Year honors

June 15, 2007

By Brett Hess

Special to CSTV.com

	Brett Hess Brett Hess covers Cross Country for CSTV.com E-mail here!

        ---   Column Archive   --- TRACK/CROSS COUNTRY 11/19: Kipyego, Stanford Win As Expected 11/19: Blow For Blow To The Finish 11/16: Practically A Sure Thing 11/16: Championship Field Is A History Lesson In Motion 11/6: Irish Hope Shay Is An Inspiration 10/30: Louisville's Emergence Continues 10/23: No Margin For Error 10/16: Kuijken, FSU Race Toward Postseason 10/09: Liberty's McDougal Begins Run For Title 10/02: Rice Women Surprise At Notre Dame 9/25: Invitational Season In Full Swing 9/19: Still Pinching Herself 9/11: Kipyego, Barringer Are Favorites 9/4: Lomong and Rupp Lead Returnees 6/8: Texas Tech's Kipyego Closes In On History 6/7: Arizona's Arnold Sets Record in Decathlon 6/5: FSU Isn't Feeling The Pressure 6/5: Throwers Lead Sun Devils to Sacramento 5/29: Stars Shine at NCAA Regional Meets 5/26: Florida State Primed For East Regional Title 5/26: Top-Ranked LSU Women Trailing At Mideast Regional 5/22: Hastings Does It Her Way 5/15: Wisconsin, Omole Make History at Big Ten Meet 5/8: Notre Dame's Huddle Finishing Strong 5/1: Drake or Penn? Why Not Both? 4/24: Hokies Show Courage In Competing 4/17: Senioritis is Good for Diana Pickler 4/10: Little Longhorn With Big Heart 3/26: Patience Pays Off For Duke's Rowbury 3/20: Just Like The Movies 3/11: Solinsky Leads Wisconsin To First-Ever Track Title 3/11: Front-Running Sun Devils 3/11: Saluki Strong 3/9: The Dual Is On 3/9: Stevens Helps Pace Sun Devils To Early Lead 3/6: Outdoor Champ FSU Favored Indoors 3/5: Sun Devils Look to Take Next Step 2/20: As Belt Leaps Higher, So Does L'ville 2/6: Huskies Running Out In Front 11/19: Stanford's Aiming For Repeat 11/19: Wisconsin Favored To Defend Title

With a little better scheduling at the NCAA Championships, we might be talking about Sally Kipyego's historical season. Without a record-breaking run by Wake Forest's Michelle Sikes, we'd be talking about a first-ever feat by Kipyego.

Instead, like Kipyego, we must simply accept near-perfection.

At Texas Tech, Kipyego won four titles this past scholastic year: the 2006 Cross Country championship, both the 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter runs at the NCAA Indoor Championships in March and finally the 10,000-meter run last week at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. For this, Kipyego is being honored as the Female Track Athlete of the Year by CSTV.com.

The only blemish on Kipyego's year was a runner-up finish to Sikes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Sikes shattered the meet record in 15 minutes and 16 seconds, the second-best collegiate time ever. Kipyego was eight seconds back.

It was obviously a tremendous race by Sikes but it should be noted that Kipyego, in three consecutive evenings, ran in the 5,000-meter preliminaries, the 10,000-meter final and finally the 5,000-meter final. Had the races been broken up over four days, Kipyego may have become the first athlete to win a cross country title and then four track titles all in the same scholastic year.

Kipyego, the Kenyan native, was gracious nonetheless.

"It's just amazing," Kipyego said of her season. "I know it doesn't happen a lot, and I'm just grateful to my coaches and my fans."

Kipyego was recently accepted into Texas Tech's nursing school and according to Tech officials, doesn't plan to turn professional this summer. That doesn't bode well for her competition.

Kerron Stewart, Auburn

Leading the national charts all season long in the 100 and 200, Stewart opted to run only the 200 at last week's NCAA Championships. One and done: Stewart won the national championship in the event.

It was a perfect outdoor season for Stewart, who won every 100-meter and 200-meter race she competed in.

During the Indoor season, Stewart won the national championship in both the 60-meter and 200-meter runs.

Michelle Sikes, Wake Forest

Why not Sikes, the Rhodes Scholar? As a prelude to her record-breaking run last week in the 5,000-meter run, Sikes earned All-America honors in both the 3,000 and 5,000 at the Indoor Championships.

Sikes' race last week was a thing of beauty. She ran in the lead pack for roughly half the race and then sprinted away from her competition. Only Kipyego stayed with her, and that was short-lived.

As the laps wound down, Sikes continued to circle the track with a telling smile on her face. It was as if she knew her fate, all the while the crowd just waited for Kipyego to take off. But with two laps remaining, Sikes began to push even harder. Sikes was still smiling - or was it a grimace - as she sprinted the final lap in 60 seconds.

"I felt like I wanted to see how fast I could go," Sikes said. "I wanted to beat people. The combination of the two just kind of worked."

Jacquelyn Johnson, Arizona State

Johnson won both the pentathlon at the Indoor Championships and then the heptathlon at the Outdoor Championships. In three years, Johnson has three heptathlon national championships and two pentathlon championships. The only championship she didn't win, the pentathlon her sophomore year, she didn't even attempt. That's because she was on the ASU basketball team.

Johnson became only the second woman ever to win three heptathlon championships. Most importantly, Johnson's 10 points last week were part of the Sun Devils' national championship.

Rhonda Watkins, UCLA

Watkins is another Indoor and Outdoor champion in the long jump. Her 22-foot-10 leap in the finals last week would have been a meet record had it been wind-legal. Watkins also finished fifth in the high jump.