Saturday, April 23, 2005
At the Kansas Relays, the Gold Zone Invitational is supposed to be a once in a lifetime event. Benson Chesang ran accordingly.
The Ravine, Kenya junior beat KU alumni Charlie Gruber to win the men’s mile invitational. He finished in the time of 4:05.63. Gruber finished in a disappointing 4:07.73. Chesang came from behind after trailing for the first three laps, winning in overwhelming fashion over former leader Christian Smith of Kansas State.
In an invitational format like the Gold Zone, many KU track and field members had the opportunity to match up against some of the sport’s greatest athletes. For Chesang, facing the greats didn't feel any different.
“I usually train with him, so I didn’t feel like it was that much of a difference,” Chesang said of facing Gruber. “It was just like a daily workout."
Chesang doesn’t even make the mile race a priority. He said that he wants to focus on the 5,000 meter run.
“I was just doing this as part of my workout,” said Chesang. “Not bad of a workout."
Gruber said that if he had to lose to anyone, it might as well be a Jayhawk.
“I’m really glad Benson’s there for the victory,” Gruber said.
Gruber's initial goal was to beat the four-minute mile, but couldn’t manage the feat.
“When it came time to go, I didn’t have it in my legs today,” Gruber said. “I just didn’t have that adrenaline going when I needed it toward the end."
Chesang’s progress was pleasing to his training partner, Gruber.
“He’s going to have a great year. He’s going to do some serious damage at nationals,” Gruber said.
Gruber to run at Relays
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