Edward Cheserek Will Carry the Ducks at the NCAA Indoor Championships with Historic Triple

By Adam Kopet, DyeStat Editor

The last athlete to attempt the mile, the 3,000 and 5,000 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships was Arizona's Lawi Lalang in 2014. He finished second in the 5,000 and won the mile. However, the effort was too great and he did not toe the line in the 3,000.

Three years later, Oregon senior Edward Cheserek, the winner of that 2014 NCAA Indoor 5,000 race, will attempt the same trio of individual events, according to the NCAA entry lists released Tuesday. No one has successfully won all three events before.

At the 2016 indoor finals, Cheserek, won both the 3,000 and 5,000, and ran the anchor leg on Oregon's winning distance medley relay. It was an impressive feat that was last accomplished by Oregon's Galen Rupp in 2009.

Interestingly, Cheserek is also currently listed as running the distance medley relay for Oregon. Should he compete in that fourth event, he will have five races, including prelims in the mile, totaling almost eight miles over the two-day meet.

The individual triple has never been done, but Cheserek would place his stamp on the NCAA for all time if he somehow pulled off winning all four events.

The NCAA Indoor Championships are March 10-11 in College Station, Texas.