WHEN GEOFFREY KIRWA SPED to an unlooked-for 8:08.10 at the Bryan Clay Invite in April, it was first time a collegiate steepler had broken even 8:10 since Henry Rono’s reign 48 years ago when he set the still-standing CR of 8:05.4.
Now the Louisville soph has matched another Rono achievement, even if an obscure one. With his 8:17.46 victory Friday, moving up from 2nd last year, he’s the first since the Washington State legend to run faster than 8:20 in the NCAA Championships in consecutive years.
It took every bit of that performance to fend off Tulane soph Silas Kiptanui, whose enthusiastic 8:18.20 just missed his PR set 2 weeks earlier.
“I knew Silas was capable of even winning this… in fact, the last two laps I was watching him coming close,” said Kirwa. “And I had to execute like [splitting] 64, 63, coming down so I can have him get exhausted during the last lap. I knew he was capable of 8:20 pace, so I was trying to make it faster for him. He’s a good guy, he ran good.”
After Alabama’s Bismack Kipchirchir made a modest move into the lead off a slow opening pace, Kirwa moved ahead with 4 laps to go and started turning up the pace with each successive lap. A 66.47 on the next circuit stretched out the field single file as Kiptanui, Collins Kiprop Kipngok (Kentucky) and Kristian Imroth (Eastern Kentucky) gave the closest chase.
After a 65.97, Kirwa accelerated to 63.15 and got a little separation in the penultimate homestretch. But down the backstretch, Kiptanui launched a long kick, pulling even with Kirwa before the Cardinal responded to move ahead before the final curve. Coming through the water jump, both men kicked into high gear, but Kiptanui could not overtake him. Kirwa looked over his shoulder four times in the last 50 meters, but he had enough of a margin not to worry.
Kirwa’s final lap took just 58.83 to his challenger’s 59.03. He now has four of the fastest 11 performances in collegiate history, one more than Rono.
The champ revealed afterward he was struggling with knee pain the day before the final, but felt much better as he toed the line. “When I was starting the race I was feeling so good and my plan was to win. Obviously, everyone’s plan is to win, but for me, I’ve been the best in the nation from the start of the season, so I was so prepared for the win.”
Kirwa realized in the middle of that final kilo that he needed to measure his effort so he had a fierce final kick in reserve. “I tried to push and no one was leaving me; I was trying to make it faster, but everyone was still by me,” he said. “So I was like, no need [to] just kill myself, then the last lap I maybe run out of gas. So I had to run with a lot of mind today, to reserve the last gas for the last lap.”
While the field didn’t quite match the historic depth of the ’22 and ’25 affairs, the first 6 ran 8:25 or faster. Imroth passed a fading Kipngok before the water jump and kicked home for 3rd at 8:20.91. The Kenyan, in turn, just held off Oregon’s Benjamin Balazs, 8:22.80 to 8:23.03. Virginia’s 8:11.92 performer Nathan Mountain fell back in mid-race and finished 9th in 8:38.01.
The quality was further reflected in that it took a record 8:27.48 to make the final, the first time every qualifier has run faster than 8:30. Defending champ James Corrigan of BYU did not make it out of the regionals.
MEN’S STEEPLE RESULTS
FINAL (June 12)
1. **Geoffrey Kirwa’ (Louis-Ken) 8:17.46 (x, 10 C)
(58.83, 2:01.98, 3:07.94, 4:14.50) (36.94, 69.46 [1:46.40], 68.27 [2:54.67], 68.29 [4:02.96], 66.56 [5:09.52], 65.96 [6:15.48], 63.15 [7:18.63], 58.83) ;
2. **Silas Kiptanui’ (Tul-Ken) 8:18.20 (59.03, 2:02.54, 3:08.54, 4:15.00);
3. Kristian Imroth’ (EnKy-GB) 8:20.91 (61.14, 2:04.70, 3:10.94, 4:17.57);
4. **Collins Kiprop Kipngok’ (Ky-Ken) 8:22.80;
5. *Benjamin Balazs (Or) 8:23.03;
6. **Joash Ruto’ (IaSt-Ken) 8:25.14;
7. Brett Gardner (Va) 8:29.38;
8. **Titus Kimaru’ (TxT-Ken) 8:31.63;
9. Nathan Mountain (Va) 8:38.01;
10. **Bismack Kipchirchir’ (Al-Ken) 8:39.46;
11. Nathan Davis (Army) 8:41.41;
12. **Louis-Lys Fanucchi’ (ND-Fra) 8:55.74.
SEMIS (June 10)
I–1. Kiptanui’ 8:26.74; 2. Imroth’ 8:26.75; 3. Kimaru’ 8:27.17; 4. Gardner 8:27.32 PR; 5. Davis 8:27.48 PR; 6. **Laban Kipkemboi’ (OkSt-Ken) 8:27.99 PR; 7. *Brian Boler (Prin) 8:32.09; 8. **Isaac Briggs (Wa) 8:34.56; 9. Peter Visser (Web) 8:38.93; 10. *Mateo Bianchi (BC) 8:41.84; 11. *Luke Knepp (Ia) 8:45.72; 12. Ryker Holtzen (Wy) 8:48.43.
II–1. Kipngok’ 8:24.39; 2. Balazs 8:24.68; 3. Kirwa’ 8:25.43; 4. Ruto’ 8:25.58; 5. Mountain 8:25.69; 6. Fanucchi’ 8:26.57 PR; 7. Kipchirchir’ 8:26.57 PR; 8. **Emmett Gerres (Mn) 8:33.15; 9. *Jackson Shorten (Prin) 8:33.39; 10. *Billy Carlton (GaT) 8:36.88 PR; 11. *Kole Mathison (Co) 8:38.18; 12. Rob McManus (MtSt) 9:04.31.
