LA CROSSE, Wis. – The most accomplished men's distance runner in Cornell history is now a national champion.
Senior
Isaac vanWestrienen was the favorite coming in and the gold medalist going out, crossing the finish in a lifetime-best 28:51.60 for a landslide wire-to-wire victory in the 10000-meter run at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships Thursday night at Veteran's Memorial Field.
VanWestrienen led all 25 laps and finished 17 seconds ahead of runner-up Nathan Tassey of Roger Williams to become Cornell's first-ever NCAA outdoor champion in men's track & field.
Cornell's only other male athlete to reach the top of the NCAA podium was Ronnie Hendred in 1985 (indoor 55-meter dash).
VanWestrienen is the 15th national champion in Cornell history. He's the first Ram in any sport to capture NCAA gold since 2015 (Abrah Masterson, women's cross country).
VanWestrienen's seventh career all-America track performance came with a big target on his back, having run 14 seconds faster than any qualifier in the 22-man field. As it turned out, the race was vanWestrienen against the clock on this 55-degree night.
VanWestrienen recorded the eighth-fastest 10K time in Division III history, lowering his school record by 1.06 seconds and shattering the facility record by a whopping 27 seconds. He's only the third Division III champion ever to break 29 minutes since 1974.
VanWestrienen, who placed third in last year's 10000, set a quick early pace and steadily separated from the field. Wartburg's Isaiah Hammerand hung within one second of Cornell's "flat track king" with 10 laps to go. Hammerand fell back, Tassey made a mild charge, but it was vanWestrienen in total control for the final two miles of his historic win.
Tassey was a distant second in 29:08.50. St. Olaf's Kevin Turlington took third (29:14.15), Lynchburg's Alex Jordan fourth (29:19.10) and Hammerand fifth (29:27.04).
VanWestrienen captured his fourth all-America medal of the academic year. He placed third at the 2025 NCAA Cross Country Championships. VanWestrienen was fifth in the 3000 and seventh in the 5000 at NCAA Indoors in March.
And vanWestrienen has one more collegiate race left. He carries the top time (13:53.13) into Saturday's 5000, which will be contested at 4:25 p.m.
