Charles Hicks got a little help from the giant new scoreboard en route to victory. Photo by Kevin Neri
Stanford junior Charles Hicks fought hard to hold off a challenge from University of Washington’s Kieran Lumb in the final 100 meters of the men’s 10,000-meter final at the Pac-12 Championships on Friday.
Hicks won in 28 minutes, 11.17 seconds, .32 ahead of Lumb, and became a two-time Pac-12 Champion. Lumb achieved a personal best by over 14 seconds to finish in 28:11.49.
Aaron Bienenfeld of Oregon finished in third place in 28:14.67.
Hicks, a four-time All-American and a European cross country champion, holds the second-fastest 10K time in Stanford history, 27:40.16.
He said he was a “little scared” going into the race because Lumb has had a strong season. Lumb, the 2021 West Regional cross country champion, has improved his personal bests in every meet this season.
“As I was coming into the last 400, I knew I would be able to see that huge screen. And I was like, I’m going so fast. I know he’s dropping behind me,” Hicks said, shivering in his post-race interview. “And I look up there, and he’s holding step for step.”
Lumb and Hicks sprinted to the finish, but Lumb never managed to close the gap.
“That last lap, I just tried to focus on staying composed and as relaxed as possible, just trying to stick with him and then pass him in the last 100,” Lumb said. “Unfortunately, I didn’t quite get him today. He did an excellent job of shifting gears.”
Hicks said that before he lost sight of the big screen, where he could see Lumb close behind him, he put in one last surge to make Lumb think he had more energy than he did.
“The theatrics ended up working out in my favor,” Hicks said. He ran the final lap in 56.79 seconds.
Hicks spent most of the race in second place behind Bienenfeld, who maintained the lead until the final lap. This was Bienenfeld’s first 10K of the season.
“I would definitely say I’m a little rusty,” Bienenfeld said. “I think I hung on pretty well, but those guys just had another gear.”
Hicks and teammates Cole Sprout and Ky Robinson were attempting to achieve the world championship standard two weeks ago, but Hicks fell short by 12 seconds. He said that for now, he has his sights set on qualifying for NCAAs.
“To be able to run an honest first 24 laps and close in a pace like that — that’s very encouraging to me, especially in this cold weather,” he said.
