Running the fifth of six legs on the United States road relay team,
Virginia Intermont College's Fernando Cabada helped the US to a third
place finish and a new North American record at the Chiba International
Ekiden Relay in Chiba, Japan.
The US team, in its highest finish in the 16 years of the event,
finished 62-seconds behind winner Kenya who set a world record, but
only ten seconds behind runner-up host Japan 1:59:08 to 1:58:88.
Three-time defending champion Ethiopia finished fourth, a very rare
defeat by the US.
The US was led off by the extremely competitive opening leg of Ryan
Hall, who posted a time of 13:22 for 5k on the fast downhill leg,
matching leg winner Ethiopian Gabo Burka and putting two seconds on
early leader Josphat Ndambiri of Kenya.
The US dropped back to fourth on the next leg where Matt Gonzales
stayed
close with a 10k 28:15. Hall's former Stanford teammate, Ian Dobson,
pulled the US back into contention on the next 5k leg with a solid
13:46, closing within 11 seconds of Ethiopia who trailed Kenya by
37-seconds.
While Kenya extended its lead on the fourth 10k leg, the US's Brian
Sell, along with the Japanese team, passed a fading Ethiopa with a
personal record of 28:28.
Cabada then took the sash, finishing side by side with Japan, still in
pursuit of leading Kenya. His time for the hilliest 5k leg was 14:11,
nine seconds slower than Ethiopian leg leader Markos Geneti, a World
Indoor bronze medallist with a best of 13:00.
Taking it home for the US in third was Josh Moen, who was not able to
hold of a charging Japanese team over the 7.195 leg, but still bested
Ethiopia with a 21:06 over the hilly course.