MARION, Ind. - The good news for Lewis-Clark State College runner Jimmy Oribo is that he won his 10,000-meter heat during the opening day of the NAIA National Track and Field Championships at Indiana Wesleyan University on Thursday.
Even better is that he topped his seed time by nearly a minute, winning the first heat in 30 minutes 46.38 seconds.
The bad news, however, for Oribo is that 13 runners in the second heat beat his time, which mean the junior from Kampala, Uganda had to settle for 14th place.
Oribo shattered his previous school record time that he set earlier in the season of 31:41.59 by nearly 55 seconds in running a solid race. Still, he had the misfortune of being in the wrong heat as the second heat set a much faster pace.
Oribo also wasn't pushed in his heat as his heat's second-place finisher, Devin Lea of Aquinas, was nearly a minute behind in 31:43.52. Oribo will also compete in the 5,000 meters on Saturday.
LCSC's only other competitor on Thursday was freshman Kayla Stewart, who also placed 14th when she threw the javelin 125-feet, 6-inches. Stewart, who is from Pendleton, Ore., hit the mark on her first of three throws. She was seeded 12th in the event after hitting close to 134 feet this season.
Dave Marks was scheduled to run in the 1,500 meters, but dropped out of the event.
Marks is expected to join Oribo for the 5,000 on Saturday. Also on Saturday, LCSC will have three competitors in the marathon. That includes Casey Hampton and Amanda Palmer on the women's side, and Taylor Galusha on the men's side.
LCSC isn't scheduled to have anyone compete on Friday.
