WALNUT, Calif. — Less than two weeks after running a sub-four-minute mile, Peru native and Liberty junior Josh McDougal blazed to a 13:20.43 time in the 5,000-meter final at the Mt. SAC Relays Friday night. He finished seventh among 34 competitors.
McDougal's time, the fastest by a collegiate athlete this season, puts him at No. 5 all-time in the event among collegiate runners. He entered the race with an overall 5K personal best of 13:37.32 and an outdoor best of 13:52.92.
McDougal maintained an even pace throughout, splitting 4:16 for the first mile and coming through two miles in 8:32. His final time set new school and Big South Conference records.
Mexico's Juan Barrios won the race in a meet-record time of 13:11.37. He edged runner-up Anthony Famiglietti of the U.S. and fellow Mexico native David Galvan by less than a second.
Just two Americans have ever run faster than McDougal prior to graduation from college. Bill McChesney of Oregon ran an American collegiate record of 13:15.77 in 1981, and Rudy Chapa, also of Oregon, clocked a 13:19.22 in 1979. Washington State's Henry Rono ran a collegiate record time of 13:08.4 in 1978, and Alistair Cragg of Arkansas posted a 13:16.98 three years ago, marking the only other collegiate athletes who have ever run under 13:20.
McDougal has now qualified for the NCAA Division I East Regional meet in both the 1,500 meters and the 5,000 meters and currently sits atop the national performance list in both disciplines.
Jordan McDougal, a sophomore, also recorded a personal best, running 29:36.53 for 10,000 meters, which beat his previous best by 23 seconds and moved him up to No. 2 on Liberty's all-time list behind his brother.
Jordan McDougal placed 13th out of the 57 and just missed the NCAA provisional qualifying standard of 29:30. Shadrack Songok of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi broke the tape in 28:16.47 to win by five seconds over Reebok's Reid Coolsaet.
The McDougal brothers will be back in action next weekend as Liberty hosts the Big South Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships Thursday through Saturday.
Mt. San Antonio Community College
MT. SAC RELAYS
Hilmer Lodge Stadium
Walnut, California
Men 5,000-Meter Run
NameTeamFinals
1. Juan Barrios mx int'l13:11.37
2. Anthony Famiglietti adidas13:11.93
3. David Galvan Mexico13:12.18
4. Kevin SullivanReebok13:19.27
5. Ryan Kirkpatrick Reebok13:19.68
6. Ed MoranNike13:20.35
7. Josh McDougalLiberty13:20.43
8. Josh Rohatinsky BYU13:25.53
9. Alejandro Suarez Mexico13:29.30
10. Seth Summerside Arkansas13:30.07