Note: Results were revised again late Thursday night and Oliver finished 17th and his time was also revised to 30:40.74.
Santa Clara senior Kevin Oliver, just the second-ever to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Regional Championships, finished 17th with a time of 30:40.74 at the University of Texas late Thursday night. The top-12 advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. next week.
Oliver came in seeded No. 42 so he well-exceeded Bronco head coach Felipe Montoro's expectations.
"He did awesome," said Bronco head coach Felipe Montoro. "He ran so well and to finish 17th in this field is really good. His strategy was to just run in the pack and those that couldn't deal with the heat started dropping back. It was the typical Kevin race. Run steady and keep picking people off."
Oliver, who carries a 3.97 GPA as a double major in Political Science and Economics, ran yesterday at around 4 pm and with the heat and humidity he felt like he might be "buzzard food today", but said he woke up this morning feeling great.
Oliver was pleased with his race and thrilled three of his teammates took the red eye last night to be in the Texas stadium to cheer him on. "What a great group of people - a bunch of my teammates got together back in Santa Clara and watched the live stream tonight. I got so many good luck texts and Facebook messages today - such a great support system," said Oliver.
"We went out in good enough fashion," added Oliver about the race. "It was tough - the heat helped me honestly. Anything that was more adversity helped me. I dumped water on myself every half lap and drank a lot too. It was really hot, but we knew what we had to do going in. This race was a good capper for the year."
Oliver was excited about his finish and knew he was in the top-20 as the race wore on. "The coaches and my teammates in the stands did a great job of letting me know where I was and yelling splits. Running here was a dream come true and I know I couldn't have done it without the support of all my teammates throughout the last four years. They have really been on my side - it is such a blessing. It has been great."
