University of Arizona senior Stephen Sambu placed second in the men's 10,000 meters in Wednesday's first day of action at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
Sambu had a time of 28:09.52, improving on his third-place finish of 2011 and earning eight points for the Wildcats. Southern Utah's Cameron Levins won the race in 28:07.14. Sambu will return to the track on Friday for the 5,000 meters.
“I was feeling really good,” Sambu said. “The last two laps I was feeling a lot of pain, I was just holding on. I wanted the pace to be fast, that was my goal.
"Last year I was third and this year I’m second so I’m feeling really good, I’m happy. For the 5K, finishing in the top five would be good, I would be happy with that.”
“That was a good race by that guy (Sambu),” associate head coach James Li said. “I’m so proud of him. Those guys are tough to run with and he ran a great race.”
Junior James Eichberger finished eighth in his heat with the 15th best time in the 800 meters with a time of 1:48.52. Junior Georganne Moline, who came in with the best time in the women's 400-meter hurdles, failed to advance to the finals. She was leading her heat with two hurdles to go when she hit a hurdle and fell to the track.
After the first day, Texas leads the men's standings with 17 points, and Stanford tops the women with 18.
