Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Choge Crowned Male Track Performer of the Meet
2/28/2020 1:03:00 PM | Men's Cross Country and Track & Field, BRAA, Track & Field/Cross Country
Murfreesboro, Tenn. – Senior standout Jacob Choge was named Conference USA Male Track Performer of the Meet for his stellar performance at the conference championships last weekend, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
"I'd probably put a big 'S' on his chest for Superman," said Head Coach Dean Hayes.
The Eldoret, Kenya, native competed in all four distance events at the championships – 800-meter, Mile, 5,000-meter and 3,000-meter – and garnered two gold medals and two silver medals.
On day one of the championships, Choge competed in the 800-meter preliminaries and finished second with a time of 1:54.90 to qualify for the finals. Then, he was the first runner to cross the finish line in the 5,000-meter, an event in which he ranks ninth in the nation, and set a new C-USA meet record time of 14:07.32.
Choge's second gold medal was in the one mile run, finishing with a time of 4:06.88 to add 10 more points to the Blue Raiders' score. He took second place in the 800-meter finals on day two, as well as second in the 3,000-meter behind fellow teammate Kigen Chemadi.
"It was a great performance," Hayes said. "That's the best that I've seen out of anybody in all the years that I've been coaching in the Ohio Valley Conference, which had some great distance runners, the Sun Belt Conference or here in Conference USA. When you do something like that you're doing everything you can for the team, which he is."
After placing first and second in four events, Choge was given the men's High Point Scorer of the Meet award, and was a huge help towards the Blue Raiders' third place finish. The men finished with 102 points total, 36 of which were from Choge's performances alone.
"That's why he has been the conference champion in cross country, why he's been in the NCAA and why he's been an All-American," Hayes said. "He deserves it and he really works hard."
Keep up with Blue Raider track and field on Facebook (Middle Tennessee Blue Raider XC/Track & Field), Twitter (@MT_TrackField) and Instagram (@mt_trackfield).
"I'd probably put a big 'S' on his chest for Superman," said Head Coach Dean Hayes.
The Eldoret, Kenya, native competed in all four distance events at the championships – 800-meter, Mile, 5,000-meter and 3,000-meter – and garnered two gold medals and two silver medals.
On day one of the championships, Choge competed in the 800-meter preliminaries and finished second with a time of 1:54.90 to qualify for the finals. Then, he was the first runner to cross the finish line in the 5,000-meter, an event in which he ranks ninth in the nation, and set a new C-USA meet record time of 14:07.32.
Choge's second gold medal was in the one mile run, finishing with a time of 4:06.88 to add 10 more points to the Blue Raiders' score. He took second place in the 800-meter finals on day two, as well as second in the 3,000-meter behind fellow teammate Kigen Chemadi.
"It was a great performance," Hayes said. "That's the best that I've seen out of anybody in all the years that I've been coaching in the Ohio Valley Conference, which had some great distance runners, the Sun Belt Conference or here in Conference USA. When you do something like that you're doing everything you can for the team, which he is."
After placing first and second in four events, Choge was given the men's High Point Scorer of the Meet award, and was a huge help towards the Blue Raiders' third place finish. The men finished with 102 points total, 36 of which were from Choge's performances alone.
"That's why he has been the conference champion in cross country, why he's been in the NCAA and why he's been an All-American," Hayes said. "He deserves it and he really works hard."
Keep up with Blue Raider track and field on Facebook (Middle Tennessee Blue Raider XC/Track & Field), Twitter (@MT_TrackField) and Instagram (@mt_trackfield).
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
/ Men's Cross Country and Track & Field
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