800-Meter Madness In Boston and State College ::: USTFCCCA

Paul Ereng and Athing Mu have company.

Prior to this weekend, Ereng and Mu were the only man and woman in collegiate history to run faster than 1:44 and 1:49, respectively, for the indoor 800 meters.

That all changed after performances by Penn State’s Handal Roban and Clemson’s Gladys Chepngetich did at the PSU National Open and John Thomas Terrier Classic. Roban ran 1:44.91 to edge Georgetown’s Tinoda Matsatsa (1:45.12) in State College, Pennsylvania, while Chepngetich clocked 1:58.81 in a race in Boston that saw former Stanford standout Roisin Willis set an American record. Roban and Matsatsa are now ranked second and third on the all-time collegiate list, and Chepngetich sits second on hers, just 0.41 seconds from Mu.