Men's 5000

Final

A fantastic 5K final filled with more subplots than a bad soap opera saw Bob Kennedy return to the winner's circle in 13:28.72 and super prep Dathan Ritzenhein in 11th place run within 0.70 of Gerry Lindgren's High School Record.

To complete the World Champs team, Alan Culpepper, doubling back from making the 10K team last night, shot past Adam Goucher in the last 30 yards to prevail over his former Colorado teammate 13:29.66-13:30.36 for 2nd and 3rd.

Goucher led in the race's early going, with laps in the 66-67 range, but after 5 1/2 laps (2K--5:30.4), Kennedy, who had been leading the followers along with William & Mary's Matt Lane, dashed to the front and dropped in a 63.2 lap. For the rest of the way, the AR holder pressed, then laid back, then pressed again, effectively destroying the kick Goucher used to run him down in the Stanford Open 3K just two weeks ago.

Goucher's last lap was a 61.6, Kennedy's was 60.1. Culpepper unleashed a spectacular last 200 to sprint past first Lane (13:32.91) and then Goucher.

Fan attention was split between the race up front and Ritzenheim's effort in the pack. With 2 laps to go he needed a 2:08 finish to slip past Lindgren's mark of 13:44.0. With a lap to go he needed a 63. And his game effort came oh-so-close. The Hayward Field crowd cheered Ritz's "victory" lap as enthusiastically as Kennedy's.