Talbi from OCU turns in milestone performance

Sophomore from Morocco clocks No. 2 time by college runner in 10,000 meters

IRVINE, Calif. – Zouhair Talbi of Oklahoma City University posted the second finest 10,000-meter mark by a college runner in the Sound Running Track Meet on Friday night.
Talbi, a sophomore from Tighassaline, Khenifra, Morocco, finished the race in 27 minutes, 20.61 seconds to achieve several milestones, including the top time by a college student-athlete since 2010.
Talbi, running unattached, outlasted Emmanuel Bor, a member of the World Class Athlete Program, by 2.19 seconds and Joe Klecker, a former Colorado all-American by 2.83 seconds. Talbi overcame Bor and Klecker in the final two laps by running the last 400 meters in 59.41 seconds. All three runners surpassed the Olympic standard in the event.
Talbi's time stood second to Liberty's Sam Chelanga, who had a time of 27:08.39 in the 2010 Payton Jordan Invitational. Talbi recorded the seventh-best time in the world in the event this year.
In February, Talbi won the 10,000 meters in the Trials of Miles Texas Qualifier in Austin, Texas with a mark of 28:12.41.
In the NAIA indoor track & field championships, Talbi captured the 5,000-meter national title with a meet-record time (13:44.13). Talbi also anchored Oklahoma City's distance medley relay team, which took the national crown March 6 in Yankton, S.D. Talbi took the outstanding performer of the event.
In the NAIA men's cross country championships, Talbi became the national champion with a course-record 8,000-meter time of 23:45.15 on April 9 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Talbi collected the Sooner Athletic Conference title March 27 at Woodson Park in Oklahoma City with a meet-record mark (24:21.7). Talbi won the J.K. Gold Classic with a course-record time (17:40) in the 6,000-meter race Jan. 23 at 4 Mile Creek Resort in Augusta, Kan.
Talbi's awards include U.S. Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association NAIA men's cross country athlete of the year, South Central Region athlete of the year, SAC runner of the week for March 22-28 and three all-American nods.
The Stars own NAIA men's cross country titles in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019.

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Players Mentioned

Zouhair Talbi: 5' 8"; Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Zouhair Talbi
: 5' 8"; Sophomore