Eaton Earns NCAA Automatic Qualifier in 10,000m at Mt. SAC Relays
Eaton finishes second overall; Kiplagat takes third with provisional
time
WALNUT, Calif. – University of Louisville redshirt freshman Michael
Eaton earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Outdoor Championships with his
school record time in the 10,000-meter run on Thursday night at the Mt.
SAC Relays at Hilmer Lodge Stadium.
Eaton, a native of Bowling Green, Ky., finished with a U of L record
time of 28 minutes, 41.96 seconds to earn second place overall in the
field of 39 runners and finish as the top Division I runner. His
performance, which is the eighth best time in the nation this season,
breaks the previous school record of 29:06.83 set by Wesley Korir in
winning last year’s BIG EAST Championship and is more than three
seconds faster than the automatic qualifying standard for the NCAA
Championships.
Joining Eaton with a strong finish on Thursday night was senior Soimo
Kiplagat, who finished third overall with a personal best time of
29:03.07. The performance, which was also faster than Korir’s previous
school record time, is a provisional qualifier for the NCAA Outdoor
Championships, set for June 11-14 in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Cards will continue the 2008 Mt. SAC Relays on Friday with the
men’s 5,000m run and the women’s 10,000m run. Louisville will
also host the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational on Friday and Saturday
at Cardinal Park.
Mt. SAC Relays – Walnut, Calif.
Thursday Results
U of L Men’s Individual Results
10,000m
2 Michael Eaton 28:41.96 A *
3 Soimo Kiplagat 29:03.07 P
* = School record
A = NCAA Championships Automatic Qualifier
P = NCAA Championships Provisional Qualifier