Tegenkamp Finishes Fifth in NCAA 5000 Meters
June 11, 2005 | Men's Track & Field
It wasn't quite the finish that he was hoping for but Matt Tegenkamp wrapped up his collegiate career earning his 10th All-America honor at the University of Wisconsin. The senior from Lee's Summit, Mo., placed fifth in the 5000 meters in 13 minutes, 41.07 seconds at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Tegenkamp and sophomore Chris Solinsky, who finished eighth in 13:51.36, led for much of the race. The Stanford duo of Ryan Hall and Ian Dobson took over the lead about halfway through the race. The Badger duo tried to stay with the Cardinal pair but couldn't maintain the pace. Hall won in 13:22.32 while Dobson placed second in 13:22.54. Michigan's Nick Willis, the pre-meet favorite, finished third in 13:27.54.
'We actually came up with a deal with a couple other schools. We were just going to run it honest right from the gun,' explained Tegenkamp of their race strategy. 'Everybody in this field knows that they can 't compete with Willis if there's 600 (meters) to go. Unfortunately, I 'm just not strong enough to handle that pace right now. I've run 13:30 but it's a world of difference from 13:20 to 13:30.'
Hall's time is the fastest by a collegian this year and the fourth fastest in the U.S. this season. He missed the meet record of 13:20.63, set by Villanova's Sydney Maree in 1979, by less than two seconds.
As for Tegenkamp, he will continue to run having qualified for the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 23-26 in Carson, Calif. He will be joined by several other members of the UW team. Tegenkamp also already has his ticket booked for training and competing in Europe later this summer.
'I know it's the end,' said Tegenkamp of his collegiate career. 'I know I won't be running with a Badger logo on me anymore but I know I'm going to keep running; it's not as if I 'm cutting this part of my life off. I'm going to continue on and run professionally. I've loved my five years at Wisconsin. It's been a wonderful experience and I would never change it for the world.'
Tegenkamp is a seven-time All-American in track, setting a UW record for most All-America honors in a career. Considering that he competed in only five of eight possible NCAA championships during his career, Tegenkamp may be wondering what could have happened.
'I know I could have done a lot more; I had a number of injuries that kept me from competing,' said Tegenkamp. 'With the tradition of Wisconsin, there have been a lot of great guys, I'm just happy I 'm one of them.'
Led by Tegenkamp, the Badgers tied for 26th in the men's team race with 12 points. Arkansas won its third-straight outdoor title with 60 points.
Senior Josh Spiker also wrapped up his collegiate career with an 11th-place finish in the 1500 meters at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships. After running a season's best time of 3:41.41 in the preliminaries, Spiker finished the final in 3:42.39.
'The race went out fast and the plan was to be in position with about 500 meters to go,' said Spiker. 'My legs just weren't there. Mentally I was ready but physically I was not. I just couldn't close. '
The race went out in 57.5 seconds for the first lap and 1:56 for 800 meters with Spiker running his usual position in the back of the pack. He slowly began moving up with a little less than 800 meters remaining. The pace of the race really picked up with 400 meters to go but Spiker lacked his usual sprinting speed.
Texas freshman Leonel Manzano won the race in 3:37.13.
For complete results, log on to NCAA Sports.com
