Edward Cheserek's March to History
03/10/17 | Track and Field
IN WINNING THE 5K ON FRIDAY AT THE NCAA INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, EDWARD CHESEREK BECAME THE WINNINGEST ATHLETE IN NCAA HISTORY WITH 16 CAREER NATIONAL TITLES
Edward Cheserek stands alone at the top of NCAA history.
After winning the 5,000 meters on Friday at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, King Ches is the winningest track and field or cross country athlete in the history of the NCAA with 16 career national titles.
Cheserek's win in 13:41.20 broke the 35-year-old record originally set by Suleiman Nyambui of Texas-El Paso (1979-82) for the most combined national cross country and track and field championships won, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest to ever grace the track.
"I try to win them all," Cheserek said with a grin on his face. "Sixteen is a lot, but I'm focused on getting 17 and 18 and hopefully more. I'm just focused day by day and, for now, just thinking about the mile tomorrow."MOST. EVER. @KingCheserek takes his throne in NCAA history with his 16th national championship!! #GoDucks #TougherTogether #NCAATF pic.twitter.com/4Y5iRdcCmf
— Oregon Track & Field (@OregonTF) March 11, 2017
The historic win marked Cheserek's third-career natty in the indoor 5,000 meters and eighth-career indoor title, his most in the three disciplines. It also gives him 13 titles in track and field to go along with three cross country national championships.
"Edward is a wonderful young man who has had a phenomenal career," said Rob Mullens, Oregon's director of athletics. "His accomplishments will rank him as one of the best track athletes in the history of collegiate track.WATCH: King Ches cruises to a 5k crown, his 8th NCAA indoor title & his 16th NCAA crown -- most all-time! #NCAATF ?? https://t.co/8MoyBic3Gp pic.twitter.com/2R9eB0VwdG
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) March 11, 2017
"Every time King Ches steps on the track, you can feel the buzz in the stadium as fans anticipate his performance. We are so very fortunate to have him in the Oregon family."
With Cheserek's historic title in the books, we remember each of the 16 that shaped his incredible journey to the top of the NCAA record books.
Freshman Year, 2013-14 (4 titles - Cross Country, 3K indoors, 5K indoors, 10K)
No. 1: Cheserek burst onto the scene for the Ducks in 2013-14 as a freshman out of St. Benedict Prep in Newark, N.J. His potential for greatness was apparent from the outset, as he became the first freshman in Oregon history to win the NCAA Cross Country Championships, in a blazing 29:41.1, immediately putting his name alongside Oregon legends Steve Prefontaine, Alberto Salazar and Galen Rupp.
"He definitely put himself in the book at Oregon, but it's just a matter of how much he is going to rewrite," said head coach Robert Johnson at the time.
Cheserek was just getting started.
No. 2: Four months later, Cheserek would open his terrific indoor career with a highly anticipated showdown against Arizona's Lawi Lalang in the 5,000. After the two put distance between themselves and the field, Cheserek took off and left no doubt with an electric finish down the homestretch to win in 13:46.67, throwing his arms up at the finish in what would become a familiar sight for Duck fans and track and field enthusiasts around the country.
No. 3: On the second day of competition in Albuquerque, Cheserek made it 3-for-3 in NCAA Championship races, finishing with a winning time of 8:11.59 to help clinch the first team indoor title for the Men of Oregon since 2009.
No. 4: Cheserek knocked down another milestone to open his outdoor career, becoming the first freshman to win the 10,000 meters since 1979. He won in 28:30.18 to the delight of a roaring Hayward Field crowd, exploding through the final 200 meters to win. Cheserek's victory would help the Men of Oregon end a 30-year title drought outdoors.
"You just don't get kids like that as freshmen who come in to be as dominant as he is," Johnson said after the race. "He's doing a fantastic job. He's done everything we've asked, and the best thing about him is, he's humble as pie."
Spoiler alert: that never changed.
Sophomore Year, 2014-15 (5 titles - XC, Mile indoors, DMR indoors, 5K, 10K)
No. 5: With four titles already under his belt, Cheserek again put his name alongside UO legend Steve Prefontaine at the 2014 Cross Country Championships. The sophomore phenom jumped to a lead with 2,000 meters to go and won his second straight title, in 30:19.4, joining Prefontaine as the only Ducks to accomplish that lofty feat. Cheserek and teammate Eric Jenkins also became the first teammates to finish 1-2 in the men's championships since 1989.
No. 6: At the Indoor Championships in Arkansas, Cheserek would win his first title as part of a relay team. Taking the handoff in third on the final leg of the distance medley relay, Cheserek made up a formidable gap before creating a gap of his own to claim a win for the Ducks by nearly two seconds.
No. 7: The next day, Cheserek won his first championship in the mile in a scalding 3:57.94. He also finished second in the 3,000 meters, leading until the homestretch when Jenkins passed him for the win.
"This guy's had a hell of a day, let alone weekend," Jenkins said while standing next to Cheserek after the meet. "That mile was something special, something pretty crazy."
Reactions like Jenkins' were rapidly becoming the norm when Cheserek stepped onto the track.
No. 8: Cheserek and Jenkins would mount another 1-2 finish in the 10,000 meters at the Outdoor Championships in June at Hayward Field, this time with Cheserek finishing out front for his second 10,000 title in as many tries. The two led for the majority of the race before Cheserek kicked to the front in the final 100 meters to win in 28:58.92.
No. 9: Yet another 1-2 finish for Cheserek and Jenkins the next day in the 5,000 meters helped the Men of Oregon repeat as champions outdoors to go along with a win on the women's side. Cheserek won in 13:48.67 for his eighth career individual title, and ninth total, moving him past Prefontaine's career total of seven individual championships.
"I think it's amazing," Cheserek said after the race. "I'm trying to write my name, to be a legend like him one day."
He likely had already moved his name well into that conversation, but King Ches was only at the halfway point.
Junior Year (6 titles - Cross Country, 3K indoors, 5K indoors, DMR indoors, 5K, 10K)
No. 10: Cheserek would make NCAA history to open his junior season in November of 2015, becoming the first man ever to win three consecutive individual NCAA cross country titles, with a winning time of 28:45.8. The King shifted into overdrive with 1,500 meters remaining, leaving Villanova's Patrick Teirnan in the dust to claim his spot in the NCAA cross country record books.
Even with 10 NCAA titles, nine individually, on his resume, Cheserek outdid himself with a performance at the Indoor Championships that left a buzz around the country that wouldn't die down for months to come.
No. 11: On the first day of competition, Cheserek stole the show in Birmingham, Ala., with an astounding double in the 5,000 meters and DMR, even with the 3,000 looming the next day. In the 5,000, it was a two-man race before Cheserek pulled away with two laps remaining to win in 13:47.89. It wasn't until Cheserek came off the track that a final decision was made on the DMR.
"I cooled down and talked to my coach and he said, 'Are you sure you want to run the DMR?'" Cheserek said that night. "And I said 'Why not? Let me try it.'"
No. 12: He both tried and succeeded, barely 30 minutes after winning the 5K, running a 3:52.84 anchor over 1,600 meters to lead the Ducks to a meet-record 9:27.27 first-place finish.
No. 13: The next day, Cheserek completed a triple that had only been done once before, winning the 3,000 meters to lead Oregon to a sweep at the NCAA Indoors and the third-straight indoor title for the men. He pushed the pace with 500 meters remaining to claim title No. 13 in 8:01.40, and joined Galen Rupp (2009) as the only person ever to win those three events in the same national championship.
No. 14: Running in an NCAA Outdoor Championship at Hayward Field in June for the first time without Jenkins, Cheserek made it 3-for-3 in the 10,000 meters with a blowout win in 29:09.57 to move within one win of tying the record for NCAA titles.
No. 15: He tied that record held by Suleiman Nyambui the next day with his second-career 5,000-meter championship outdoors. Despite admitting to feeling fatigued, Cheserek surged into the lead with 250 meters to go before powering through the Bowerman Curve to win in 13:25.59 and match Nyambui with 15 career NCAA championships.
"It means a lot," Cheserek said at the time. "But I've got one more year to go, to keep getting more and more."
Senior Year, 2016-17 (1 title and counting - 5K indoors…)
No. 16: Cheserek made his record-breaking win look easy on Friday, putting distance between himself and the field with two laps to go and cruising to the historic title just a few hours after winning the mile semifinals in 3:59.30.
"The 5K felt pretty easy," Cheserek said after the race. "It started out pretty slow from the beginning, and I was able to pick it up a little bit and control it."
Cheserek made history on Friday, but his pursuit of history doesn't stop this weekend as he prepares for the mile and 3,000 meters on Saturday, as well as another outdoor season right around the corner.
Don't close the record books yet. King Ches still has some writing to do.
Players Mentioned
