Des Moines, Iowa - The 2012 outdoor track and field season ended Friday for Western Kentucky University at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, hosted by Drake University.
Joseph Chebet was the last Hilltopper to run for the Hilltoppers in 2012. In Friday night's 5,000-meter final, Chebet finished 23rd with a time of 14:36.48.
Chebet had a stellar first year on the Hill, earning four all-Sun Belt accolades during the indoor and outdoor campaigns. Indoor, Chebet set a new championship record in the 3,000 meters and took runner-up honors in the mile. At the league outdoor championship, Chebet was the Top Point Scorer in the meet, running a championship record to win the 5,000 meters, while also winning the 10,000 meters and placing fifth in the 1,500 meters.
Of the four WKU track and field athletes who qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championship this week, Ignacio "Nacho" Guerra placed fourth in the men's javelin, Monteka Flowers placed 15th in the women's discus, Chebet finished 23rd in the men's 5,000 meters and Marcus Pope was 24th in the men's 400-meter intermediate hurdles.
During the 2011-12 academic year, the WKU men's program captured the first men's triple crown in Sun Belt history, winning the team titles in all three disciplines – cross country, indoor, and outdoor. The Lady Toppers won the league cross country title this past fall to push "the streak" to 18 SBC titles in-a-row before finishing fifth during the league indoor championship. The women bounced back, however, taking runner-up honors at the outdoor championship, losing out to North Texas for the team title by only four points.
