Killburg Crushes School Record in 10K

In what is becoming a magical season, Michael Kilburg shattered the University of Portland's 10,000-meter record and his own expectations in a single race Friday night at Stanford.

Kilburg lopped more than 37 seconds off his personal record and 15 seconds off the school record in what UP coach Rob Conner is calling "the greatest race in Pilot history."

The UP senior finished sixth in 28 minutes, 20.57 seconds, which not only is an automatic NCAA meet qualifier but also is barely five seconds off the "A" (or automatic) qualifying standard for the U.S. Olympic Trials.

Kilburg dusted the UP record of 28:35.95, which had been held by teammate John Moore, his freshman roommate. Not only that, he beat Moore, who finished 11th at Stanford in 28:28.52.

"I'm still at a loss for words for how fast I ran," Kilburg said Monday. "It feels like my brain is trying to catch up with my body. I keep looking at the pace of that race, and it's not registering in my head that it's possible for me."

The UP senior has been a depth runner for the Pilots and was so despondent after his junior cross country season that he almost quit. But he hung in, grinding out 100-mile weeks.

The breakthrough came at the end of the 2008 indoor season, when Kilburg qualified for the NCAA 5,000-meter race in a last-chance meet, then placed sixth in the NCAA final.

Now this, with Kilburg keeping company with the likes of professionals Ian Dobson and Stephen Haas through two-mile splits of 9:06, 9:07 and 9:05.

"I thought I was going too fast," Kilburg said. "When I went through 5,000 in 14:14, I thought, 'Wow, that's insanely fast.' It was freaking me out. I decided to stop paying attention to the splits, just race and let the time take care of itself."

Good decision, because Kilburg closed with a 60-second final lap, finishing behind Dobson, the former Klamath Union star, and ahead of Haas. Sean Quigley of La Salle of Philadelphia won in 28:03.72.

"Kilburg and I are both shaking our heads, to be honest," Conner said. "This is so exciting for him to keep attaining the unattainable."