At the 2011 NCAA Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championships, junior Leonard Korir won the 5,000 meter national championship at Texas A&M on March 11. The harrier from Iten, Kenya will forever be remembered as Iona College’s first national champion in any sport.

Korir captured the title in a historic run of 13:26.01 setting a new NCAA Championship and school record. Korir beat the previous record set in 2003 by Arkansas’ Alistair Cragg, which was 13:28.93. Iona’s former 5,000 meter standard was 13:39.87, set by standout Richard Kiplagat in 2006 at the Tyson Invitational.

Liberty’s Sam Chelanga was runner-up in 13:27.34, while Arizona’s Stephen Sambu was third in 13:28.48. The win was huge for Korir, because last cross-country season Korir was fourth at the NCAA Cross Country Championship behind the two runners.

Korir said, “At first when we were at the starting line, I didn’t know that I was going to win that race because it was a competitive event having a lot of strong guys like Samuel Chelanga from Liberty University and Elliot Heath from Stanford. I figured that I was going to get maybe position three but with 400 meters to go I felt strong and said I was going to win.”

“I was encouraged by my coach, Gavin, who was screaming and cheering saying that he is not going to beat you, he is not going to beat you,” Korir added.

“After the race, I thought I was dreaming. I didn’t believe I managed to beat Chelanga, someone who has won two cross country titles and also someone who has ran 27:08 for the 10k. To me, beating him was like Bernard Lagat beating Kenenisa Bekele in the 5k,” he said.

The next day, Korir came back to race in the 3000 meter run. 24 hours from his national championship, Korir was still able to come back and notch a sixth place finish in a very close race. Korir crossed the line in 8:05.76, and Elliot Heath of Stanford was seconds ahead in 8:03.71.

Korir’s two remarkable performances placed the Gaels tied for 16th in the team standings as 64 teams scored during the meet. Iona beat prominent programs such as Arkansas, Oregon, Villanova, Providence, Miami and South Carolina.

Head Coach Ricardo Santos added, “As a coaching staff we felt great about Leonard’s win at Nationals.  It’s good to have Iona’s first national winner, and I think it shows others on the team that it is possible that we can have national champions at Iona.”

Korir’s 2010-2011 running season has been a college athlete’s dream. For the cross-country season, Korir took home a MAAC Championship, NCAA Northeast Regional Championship and All-American honors. In indoor track, Korir ran the fastest 3000 meter race in the world at the time at the Boston University Terrier Invitational and picked up the MAAC’s Most Outstanding Track Performer award at the MAAC Championships.

Coach Santos is looking forward to the spring track season and noted, “For the outdoor season, we are going to get back to basics and get some more base work done early in the season, then start racing. I think the season looks bright, not just for Leonard but for the majority of the team as we finished the indoor season on a good note.”

Upbeat Korir also did not fail to thank all of his teammates for their tremendous support all year and the surprise party that was held for him.