Lokedi Shatters School Record at ISU Classic

Lokedi’s 5,000-meter performance ranks 18th in the NCAA this season.
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AMES, Iowa –Sophomore Sharon Lokedi erased the six-year-old 5,000-meter school by nearly 30 seconds and posted one of the NCAA’s fastest times of the year after she competed Friday night at the ISU Classic inside the Lied Recreation Center.
 
Lokedi, who was seeing her first track action since a facility-record-breaking performance in the 3,000 meters at the Jayhawk Classic on Jan. 29, managed to one-up that outing with a historic performance in her first 5,000-meter race of the year. The Eldoret, Kenya product stuck with Notre Dame’s All-American distance specialists Molly Seidel and Anna Roher for the majority of the 3.1-mile race before Seidel, the NCAA’s reigning cross country and 10,000-meter champion, pushed the pace over the final 1,000 meters. Though Lokedi couldn’t stick with the two Notre Dame stars, she still used a strong kick over the final 600 meters to claim third in one of the fastest 5,000 races the 2016 season as seen. Lokedi crossed the tape in 15:57.95, rewriting her previous personal record by over a minute and smashing the school record.
 
Lokedi’s performance topped Amanda Miller’s previous KU record of 16:27.03, which was achieved at the same meet in 2010. It also makes the sophomore one of 18 collegians to break the 16-minute barrier this season in the event. Lokedi now has the Big 12’s fastest 5,000-meter clocking of 2016 and the league’s second-fastest clocking in the 3,000 meters.
 
On the men’s side, senior Evan Landes also saw a career performance on the Lied Center track Friday night. The Mulvane, Kansas product ran to a 26th-place finish by way of a personal best outing in the 3,000 meters. He crossed the finish in 8:09.14 to take third in his heat. The time has only been bested by nine other KU males in the program’s history and ranks Landes third in the conference standings this season.
 
Freshman Dylan Hodgson and sophomore James Hampton joined Landes in career-best outings in the 3,000 meters. Hodgson posted a PR time of 8:12.32 to finish 34th overall, while Hampton to 46th in 8:23.09.
 
Much more action is yet to come on day two of the ISU Classic Saturday. The day will begin with the running of the men’s and women’s miles at 10:35 a.m., and will concluded with the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relays at 4:25 p.m.
 
 
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