EUGENE, ORE. - Athanas Kioko earned the best individual event finish in program history at the NCAA Championships after taking third overall in the 5000 meters on Friday evening at Hayward Field.

Kioko earned first team All-America status after running a school and Big South best time of 13:13.47. The time also stands as the fourth-fastest time in NCAA history.

The Machakos, Kenya native maintained in stride with the race leaders for the entirety of the event and was in a three-way battle for the lead on the final lap of the meet.

Kioko took the lead momentarily but was ultimately overtaken by Oregon's Cooper Teare and Northern Arizona's Luis Grijalva.

This is the second time Kioko has earned All-America honors after previously receiving the distinction in 2019 at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.