Tulane track star Silas Kiptanui earned American Conference Men's Track Athlete of the Week after breaking his own program record.
The Tulane Green Wave track and field team had an incredibly successful split-meet weekend of their outdoor campaign, with multiple athletes breaking into the record books – and shattering their own best marks in program history – at the Tom Tellez Alumni Invitational and the Bryan Clay Invitational. The Green Wave came away with four new all-time program marks. One of those was by sophomore Silas Kiptanui, who earned the American Conference Men’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week. He secured the men’s track honor after breaking his own program record to set a new one in California last weekend.
It marks the first career conference honor for Kiptanui and is the first Tulane men’s track athlete to earn a conference weekly award since March 28, 2023, when Bradley Makuvire also took home track honors. Kiptanui is the second Green Wave athlete to win a weekly award this season after Blezzin Kimutai earned American Women’s Track Athlete of the Week last month, all part of a strong outdoor season for Tulane track and field.
Kiptanui secured the honor after competing in the 3,000m steeplechase at the Bryan Clay Invitational on Thursday, April 17, where he finished third with a time of 8:25:16. Past his third-place finish, Kiptanui also broke his own program record of 8:25:51 he set at the 2024 NCAA Division I Outdoor Championships. His new best mark ranks fifth nationally in the NCAA.
Other highlights out in California included multiple top 10 program finishes. In the 5,000m open A race on Friday, Dana Rojas Vazquez finished 42nd with a time of 16:52.11, and Alex Sharp finished 52nd with her time of 16:56.12. The two finishes are now sixth and seventh in program history. Samuel Cohen landed eighth in program history in the men’s 800m open B race, placing fourth with a time of 1:51.19, and Jalen St. Fort snuck in at 10th with a time of 1:52.47 and 23rd place finish. Jasper Newton finished 10th in the women’s 800m with her mark of 2:09.43, which is good for 10th in program history.
And that was just one afternoon of one meet. Notably, at the Tom Tellez Alumni Invitational in Houston, Cara Salsberry broke her own program record of 59.22m in the hammer throw by hurling a 59.54m to win the event and beat her own mark. She also finished runner-up in the discus with a mark of 50.03, good for second-best in program history. There is simply tons of momentum for the Wave as they wrap up their outdoor campaign with their next meet in Baton Rouge on April 25 for the LSU Alumni Gold.