Big 12 Outdoor Quotes - Men's 3,000 Meter Steeplechase Champion

Billy Nelson, Colorado, Sr, Bakersfield, Calif.

On His Strategy

“The strategy was to take it easy for first 2 kilometers and we assumed that everyone else would key off of [the Colorado runners]; They did it in the 10,000 meter run and they did it here as well. After the first 2 kilometers, we we’re going to see where everybody was at and then go from there. Some of the guys were a little more tough from the start, and that was surprising.”

On His Team Strategy with Pete Janson

“[Pete] was going to lead the first kilometer and I was going to lead the second and then from their we saw where we were and push it until the last kilometer. It’s kind of a na?ve way to think about the race, but that’s how we ran. There were guys from Iowa State, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech that we didn’t figure would want to push the pace, and that allowed me to go to the front of the lead group to stay with it and look for a kick.

On His Performance

“I didn’t’ realize how fast my time was; 8:53 up here is pretty good. For me going back down to sea level, it is 30 seconds or so, so that’s 823. The NCAA conversion up here is 15 seconds, but we know that is bogus. So for me to run 8:53 up here as comfortable as I did, is good and leads me to make my goal of running under 8:25.”