Iowa State’s Lagat Named Big 12 Men’s Athlete of the Week

AMES – Thanks to his outstanding 800-meter run at the Sun Angel Classic on Saturday, Iowa State’s Festus Lagat has been named the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Men’s Athlete of the Week, the conference announced Wednesday. This is Lagat’s first Big 12 weekly award of his career, and he is the first men’s track and field student-athlete to earn a conference weekly award since Edward Kemboi on Feb. 18, 2015.

Lagat ran to the NCAA’s fastest 800-meter run time on Saturday night at the Sun Angel Classic at Arizona State. Lagat was able to run down teammate Roshon Roomes at the finish line to take the win and the nation’s top mark, with both running personal bests and matching 1:47.14 times, with Lagat getting the official edge by 0.003 seconds (1:47.131 vs. 1:47.134). They are now No. 3 and No. 4 in ISU history for the event.

A junior from Eldoret, Kenya, Lagat had had an outstanding 2019. A week earlier, Lagat ran his personal best in the 1,500m at Stanford in 3:45.19 to begin his outdoor campaign. During indoor season, Lagat earned First Team All-America honors with the distance medley relay team which finished fifth. At the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Lubbock, Lagat earned silver medals for his efforts in the DMR and in the 800-meter run. At the UW Invitational in Seattle back in January, Lagat just missed out on a sub-4 mile, clocking in at 4:00.83.

Lagat and the Cyclones will be back in action next weekend, Apr. 19-20, at the Cardinal Classic at Stanford.