Kiptoo Shines at Soggy Nationals

by BRANDON PETERSEN

It was moment of firsts, last Friday in Vancouver, WA, when Westcliff freshman cross country runner Kelvin Kiptoo stepped to the starting line at the NAIA national championships.

It was Kiptoo's first national race in his first year as a Warrior.

It was head coach Justin Johnson's first national race in his first year as the leader of Westcliff cross country.

It was Westcliff University's first chance to send its first athlete to a national championship competition.

Accompanied by Johnson and teammates Cam Blankenship, Mika Vargas, Shackera Samuels and Tanya Hacum, Kiptoo traveled to Washington a few days early to familiarize himself with the course.

"The course is very, very fair," Johnson said. "We were out here Wednesday and Thursday, so we did a couple laps around it. It's not too hilly, like we've been experiencing all season in California and Southern Cal."

One of the biggest questions heading into the race was the weather.

Having rained all week in Vancouver, the course could have been a sloppy disaster. Fortunately, that's not how it panned out. On race day, the track had dried out significantly, and the rain held off.

"It was an amazing race," Johnson said. "Kelvin really ran well with the top of the pack, and we really put on for Cal Pac."

Lined up next to 300 fellow runners, Kiptoo was quick out of the gate, but found it challenging funneling into the entrance of the course with so many athletes crammed into a tight space.

"I was feeling comfortable," Kiptoo said. "But there were a lot of people, and the entrance was a bit narrow. It was muddy. It was easy to fall."

Kiptoo kept a nice pace throughout the race and was consistently at the top third of the massive pack.

Although he didn't finish at the 25-minute mark he was hoping to capture, Kiptoo turned in a 31^st percentile finish – 103^rd out of 330 runners – with a mark of 26:48.1.

After the race, Kiptoo was not satisfied.

"I feel good," he said. "I am proud to be the first Warrior out here at a national competition, but I wouldn't say that (the race) went too well."

Kiptoo is a humble soul, but it's clear in talking to him that he is a perfectionist with a passion for running and a fire to return to the nationals and make even more noise.

"This has been the course for the nationals the past six years," Kiptoo said. "So, for the next three years at Westcliff, I want to be here. When I get back here, I hope to do much better than I did today."

Johnson says that Kiptoo will be the cornerstone piece of the program for the next three years.

"This is literally the beginning," Johnson said. "Like I've said before, Kelvin is going to be the staple, the backbone of the program. He's a quiet leader, a quiet captain. He doesn't say a lot, he's very humble, but he leads from the front, he leads by example, and I'm ready to build the program around him."

The Cal Pac sent 10 runners to the national championship race.

Kiptoo finished fourth among those runners. Two seniors and a sophomore finished ahead of the Westcliff freshman.

Kiptoo was the top freshman finisher in the Cal Pac. The next closest freshmen finished 192nd, and 271st, respectively.

Embry-Riddle, which won the Cal Pac, sent its entire team, half of which Kiptoo beat handily.

UC Merced and Park Gilbert sent lone runners, and they both finished 100-plus places behind Kiptoo.

When Johnson said Kiptoo and Westcliff showed out for the Cal Pac, he wasn't lying.

"By Kelvin being here, it just shows what's possible for Westcliff," Johnson said. "It shows what's possible for everyone – all of our athletes, and all of the new recruits coming in. So, we're going to build it around him, and super soon – like next season – we're going to have five, six, seven guys that are ready to come out and compete for a national championship."

To contact Brandon Petersen, e-mail brandonpetersen@westcliff.edu.