“When I run fast, the wind blows my hair back like this. I like it.”
Tyler King is in the top 16% of all Division 1 male college cross country runners at the moment.
Running at the NCAA D-1 Championships in Terra Haute, Indiana Saturday, the former Coupeville High School supernova finished 40th in the nation (out of 246 runners).
He covered the 10,000 meter LaVern Gibson Cross Country Course in 20 minutes, 56.7 seconds, the second-fastest of any University of Washington runner.
King, a redshirt junior for the Dawgs, was 14 seconds off U-Dub senior All-American Aaron Nelson.
A state champ during his days as a Wolf, King was in 167th place after 3,000 meters Saturday, then made a run for the front.
He climbed to 91st at the 5,000 meter mark, zoomed to 29th at 8,000 meters, then fell back just a bit at the end.
Edward Cheserek, a sophomore from the University of Oregon, won the individual race, clocking in at 30:19.4
Washington finished 20th as a team, in a field of 31 schools, while #1 ranked Colorado easily won the team title.
Stanford, Portland, Northern Arizona and Syracuse rounded out the top five.
In the womens’ race, Washington junior Maddie Meyers finished 27th, covering 6,000 meters in 20:32.6.
The Huskies placed 23rd as a team, with Michigan State taking the team title.
Kate Avery of Iona won the individual title.
Coupeville Sports 