Kerr Captures All-American Honors in 1500 at NCAAs
EUGENE, Ore. — Josh Kerr, a junior on the University of New Mexico track & field team, placed third and earned All-American honors in the 1,500-meter run on Friday as the Lobos closed out men’s portion of the 2018 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
The 2017 champion in the event, Kerr clocked a time of 3 minutes, 45.02 seconds at Hayward Field in Eugene as his patented bell-lap kick fell just short at the line. Kerr finished exactly a quarter of a second behind Wisconsin’s Oliver Hoare, who won in 3:44.77.
Nonetheless, Kerr provided the New Mexico men with six team points in the team standings for the men’s championships.
The women’s championships conclude Saturday. The UNM women, who currently sit tied for 19th place with five team points, will have three athletes in action on the final day.
But Kerr headlined Friday’s activities for the Lobos as he continued to perform as one of the NCAA’s elite middle-distance runners on a rainy and overcast day in Eugene.
The race opened with little separation among the 12 runners as Kerr settled in the near the back of the pack. He eventually moved up to third place two laps into the race and started his final kick with 300 meters remaining.
Kerr, running on the inside lane of the homestretch, looked poised to repeat as champion, but Hoare came up strongly on the outside to nip Kerr at the line.
“It was very tactical and very physical,” Kerr said of the race. “There was a tight pack all the way through. There was a lot of clipping and jumping around. It was a tough race to be in.”
Although short of his NCAA record time of 3:35.01, Kerr’s final clocking underscored a strong outdoor season from the junior who won his third-straight Mountain West title and qualified to his third-straight NCAA Championship.
The Lobos will return to action Saturday with Charlotte Prouse running the finals of the women’s 3000-meter steeplechase and Ednah Kurgat and Weini Kelati running the finals of the 5000-meter run.
Prouse runs at 4:54 p.m. MT, while Kurgat and Kelati compete at 6:25 p.m. MT.
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