2014-15
2014 XC: Placed 11th at the Notre Dame Invitational at 23:35.8 … finished 31st at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational with a showing of 24:12 to lead the Lobos … named MW Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week on Oct. 7.
2015 Indoor: Earned MW Indoor Track & Field Student-Athlete of the Year … earned All-America status after finishing sixth in the 3000m run with 8:02.72 … won both the 3000m (8:11.05) and 5000m (14:30.17) MW titles at the Mountain West Championship … Mountain West Men’s Track Athlete of the Week on Feb. 24 … won the 3000m at the NAU Tune-Up at 8:13.80 … raced to a ninth-place time of 13:50.05 in the men’s 5000 at the Husky Classic … clocked a time of 8:11.64 in the 3000m at the New Mexico Team Invitational.
2013-14
2014 Indoors: Ran at five meets for the Lobos, advancing to the UNM- and Albuquerque-hosted NCAA Championships in March 2014 … opened at the Hoosier Open in December 2013, placing second in the 5000 with a time of 13:44.70 … ran to a time of 8:00.86 at the Husky Classic, placing 11th, before scoring in the mile (fourth place), the 3000 (third) and the 5000 (second) at the Mountain West Indoor Championships … advanced to the NCAA Championships in the 5000, barely missing an All-American plaudit with his ninth-place finish of 13:47.87*.
2014 Outdoors: Competed at six meets, including the NCAA Championships … first action was in the 10000 at the Stanford Invitational, where he placed 18th with a time of 28:50.43 … took sixth in his section at the Payton Jordan Invitational with time of 13:54.48 … captured runner-up honors in the 5000 and the 10000 at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships, with times of 14:01.88* and 29:40.33*, respectively … raced in both long-distance events at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, seizing an NCAA bid in the 10000 via his 11th-place finish … at the NCAA Championships, clocked a time of 29:16.79 to place 10th.
2012-13
2013 Indoors: Competed once, finishing third in the mile at the New Mexico Invitational with a 3:59.83* clocking.
2013 Outdoors: Competed once outdoors due to injury, placing 10th in the 1500 at the Mountain West Championships with a 3:55.91 time.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE
Transfer from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff … finished 4th at the British Universities & CollegesSport (BUCS) Cross Country Championships … took runner-up honors in the 5K at the 2012 BUCS Championships … has then-career bests of 3:43.71 in the 1500; 8:05.16 in the 3K; 13:57.61 in the 5K; and 31:10 in the 10K.
PERSONAL
Son of Colin and Beverley Bitchell … has one sister, Leah … hobbies include watching Arsenal F.C … has an Arsenal tattoo on his right arm.
PERSONAL BESTS
800 meters: 1:54.05
1,500 meters: 3:43.71
Mile: 3:59.83*
3,000 meters: 8:05.16
5,000 meters: 13:54.48
10,000 meters: 28:50.43
TRACK & FIELD HONORS
• USTFCCCA Second Team Indoor All-American, 2014
• USTFCCCA Second Team Outdoor All-American, 2014
• All-Mountain West Indoor Team, 2014 (3000, 5000)
• All-Mountain West Outdoor Team, 2014 (5000, 10000)
• Academic All-Mountain West, 2014
• Mountain West Scholar Athlete, 2014
• USTFCCCA All-Academic Team, 2014
* indicates a performance that has been adjusted based on the NCAA altitude conversion protocol