Tiernan turns pro, produces memorable race for Australia

After strong performance at World Cross Country Championships in Uganda, former Villanova star shifts focus to earning qualifying standards to race in London

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Former Villanova standout Patrick Tiernan, who won the NCAA Cross Country Championship to deny Oregon’s Edward Cheserek his fourth consecutive title in November, confirmed Sunday he had signed a professional contract with NIKE Australia, according to RunNova.com.

Tiernan, 22, placed 13th in the senior men’s 10-kilometer race in 29 minutes, 17 seconds at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala, Uganda. He was the fastest competitor of non-African heritage in the field, as athletes from Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda and American Sam Chelanga comprised the top 12 finishers.

Only Steve Moneghetti (fourth, 1989), Rob de Castella (sixth, 1981 and 1983) and Collis Birmingham (eighth, 2013) have finished higher for Australia than Tiernan in the long-course competition in the 42 editions of the World Cross Country Championships. Craig Mottram placed fifth in the 4-kilometer short-course race in 2002.

Tiernan placed 19th in the 5,000 meters in the Rio Olympics in 13:28.48 and captured the Australian 10,000 title Dec. 8 in 27:59.74. He will return to Philadelphia to train with coach Marcus O’Sullivan, but Tiernan is scheduled to compete again May 5 in the 10,000 at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford and could possibly race May 26-27 in the 5,000 at the Prefontaine Classic.

The standards to compete at IAAF World Championships in London in August are 13:22 in the 5,000 and 27:45 in the 10,000.