The Iowa State Cyclones ended their indoor track and field season this weekend as Wesley Kiptoo and the Distance Medley Relay team participated in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.

It wasn’t the busiest of weekends for the Cyclones but they put a close on what has been a great indoor season and they now look ahead to their first meet of the outdoor season later this month.

Kiptoo claims All American status in the 5K

Wesley Kiptoo was able to qualify for both the men’s 5,000 meter run and the men’s 3,000 meter run at the NCAA Indoor Championships and he did not disappoint. 

Kiptoo is no stranger to the NCAA stage as last year he was crowned the national champion in the event. He ran a time of 13:23.77 to be named national champion and this season defended his title after being the number three seed for the event.

This year, Kiptoo was able to earn a 12th place finish with his time of 13:41.71. Despite not regaining the national championship Kiptoo was able to earn the status of Second Team All American. 

That meant that Kiptoo was named an All American for the sixth time in his career as he prepared for the 3K on day two of the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Kiptoo named All American again

After being named on the men’s 5K second team All American, Kiptoo earned himself All American status yet again in the men’s 3K. 

While Kiptoo did not participate in the men’s 3K in the NCAA Indoor Championships last year, he was the eighth seed heading into the weekend. He qualified during the Arkansas Qualifiers when he ran a time of 7:43.61 which was enough to book him a spot to the NCAA Championships. 

It took a time of 4:45.80 in order to qualify for the event this year. 

In Birmingham, Kiptoo was able to take 13th with his time of 8:05.53. While he couldn’t crack the top 10 Kiptoo was able to earn another mentioning in the Second Team All American for the event. 

Kiptoo has now been named an All American for the Cyclones seven times in his career and ended the indoor season on a high note. 

DMR team claims first team All American 

The Iowa State DMR team of Frank Hayes, Alex Lomong, Jason Gomez and Nehemia Too represented the Cyclones at the weekend having qualified for the Championships with their great performances during the season. 

The team placed sixth in the event and finished with a time of 9:28.62 which was largely due to the anchor carry of Too which helped the team make up some ground. Too ran a field best 1,600m cary in 3:53.65 which saw the Cyclones jump from 10th to sixth. 

Too’s effort as well as the rest of the team’s was enough to earn the Cyclones First Team All American honors. 

Those events wrapped up the Cyclones indoor season and they now will have a little over a week to prepare for their first outdoor meet of the year. 

The Texas Relays will kick-off the outdoor season for the team and will take place from March 23-26.