Edward Kemboi is just 17 years old, but after placing fifth in the 800-meter run at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he is turning some heads and showing a lot of promise.

“He’s got that look in his eyes he’s got that demeanor about him that not too many kids have,” said ISU track and field coach Corey Ihmels. “When you speak to him, he listens and you know he’s listening and he gets it, so I wouldn’t doubt him.”

Kemboi, a freshman from Eldoret, Kenya, has only been at Iowa State since January, but he has already begun to cement a place for himself in ISU track and field history.

In the semifinals at the NCAA Championships, Kemboi clocked a 1 minute, 46.06 second 800-meter run, breaking the previous record or 1:46.3 set by David Korir in 1980.

Despite his early success, Kemboi still sees room for improvement.

“Physically, I was feeling good today,” Kemboi said. “But I missed making my move at the 600-meter mark and couldn’t catch up in time. It was a very fast race, and I’m very happy with fifth. Before coming to Iowa, I hadn’t really trained in the 800-meter run, but I have made a lot of progress since January.”

The scary thing for future opponents is that Kemboi, a young man who use to practice running the 400-meter race at the local air-strip in his home of Eldoret, Kenya, is still learning learning how to be an 800-meter runner.

Kemboi noted that he was a 400-meter runner before he came to Iowa State and is still improving his endurance and stamina in order to reach his full potential in the 800-meter run.

“He was aggressive and he went after it,” Ihmels said after Kemboi ran in the NCAA finals. “That’s going to pay dividends in a couple years when he gets a little stronger, a little older, a little more mature.”

Although Kemboi may have seemed like a prime candidate to be redshirted this year because of his youth, his talent was simply too great to keep off the track.

“I’m excited about what he can do the next three or four years. He’s a very coachable young man and he’s kind of got that aura about him,” Ihmels said. “I’m just excited to have him here for the next three years.”

Sophomore Robby Andrews of Virginia won the national championship in 800-meter run with a time of 1:44.71.