Northern Arizona freshman Jack Shea, a Cherokee graduate, ran a huge 5,000-meter PR Friday, clocking 14:14.33 at the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa.
That’s a 72-second PR for Shea, whose previous 5,000 PR was 15:26.77, which he ran when he placed second at the 2015 Olympic Conference championships at Gloucester County College, when he placed second to Cherry Hill East’s Aaron Groff [15:13.29].
Shea’s time is No. 5 in NCAA Division among freshmen, although he’s No. 1 among true freshmen (non-red shirts).
The race was run on an over-sized 300-meter track, so the 5,000 is 16 2/3 laps. Shea ran 34.72 for his first 200, then had 300-meter splits of 52.9, 52.2, 51.0, 51.8, 50.7, 52.0, 51.9, 52.1, 52.8, 53.6, 51.3, 50.6, 48.8 and 45.9. So his final 800 was about 2:08.
Shea’s time breaks the Cherokee alumni record of 14:17.77 set by Keith Krieger.
From the Backstretch by Reuben Frank 