By Mark Wang
On a track that is known for many great distance races, the women’s 10,000 meters Thursday evening at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships didn’t disappoint. Sharon Lokedi of Kansas won in a time of 32 minutes, 9.20 seconds at Hayward Field.
Not only was this Lokedi’s first NCAA championship, but she also broke by 19 seconds the 30-year-old NCAA meet record of 32:28.57, which was held by Sylvia Mosqueda. Lokedi said she felt “pure joy” as she crossed the line.
“It’s been a long time — I’ve worked for it for so many years,” she said. “I had all the emotions that you can just imagine.”
Lokedi beat runner-up Dorcas Wasike, a Louisville freshman, by more than two and a half seconds. The top six finishers all surpassed the previous meet record.
It was an emotional moment for Lokedi even as she did media interviews after the race. She smiled as she said multiple times that she couldn’t believe that she was a champion.
This was also the last season of outdoor eligibility for the Kansas junior, and she was happy to get the win in her last outdoor collegiate race.
Lokedi said her strategy was to “go out there and put it all out on the track,” and she said her coach told her to stay calm and relaxed, and if she saw a chance to go.
She then kept up with the lead group and covered the moves during the race. A group of about eight runners broke away from the main pack with around 17 laps to go, and then that group began to jostle for position as the race continued.
The race had a lot of lead changes toward the end, and with about 600 meters left, Lokedi surged to the lead to get ahead of Missouri’s Karissa Schweizer. At that point, she said afterward, she thought she might win. And she did.
Lokedi will now focus on getting ready for her last collegiate seasons of cross country and indoor track in the fall and winter.
