Former Onderberger smashes the 3 000-metre record in Nebraska
He has done it. Former Onderberger, George Kusche, broke the 3 000-metre record at the Frank Sevigne Invitational this past weekend.
This is the second time at this annual event that Kusche, a Nebraska sophomore who went to Laerskool Malalane and Pretoria’s Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, has delivered on a promise he has made, in part to draw fan attention.
As a freshman, he became the first Husker to run a mile in under four minutes, days after he publicly stated that to be his goal.
This time, he was a bit more brazen in saying he would flat-out set the Nebraska University record in the 3 000 metres and, again, he did not disappoint the more than 2 200 fans in attendance.
David Adams previously held the standard-track school record of 7:58,62, set in 2011. “Thankfully, it was a great race,” Kusche told Huskers, a news website for the University of Nebraska where he studies actuarial science.
“The fans did not disappoint. It was amazing. I love how the crowd reacts to every move you make. If you go faster, they yell. It is a privilege.”
Kusche shattered his previous school record of 7:57,16 on an oversized track, and the Devaney record of 7:58,20 set by Richard Kosgei of Barton County in 1994.
Kusche’s time leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the NCAA this season.
After breaking his university’s record in the mile with a time of 3:57,93 in last weekend’s meet in Washington, Kusche is in solid shape to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. The nation’s top 16 times qualify in both events.
Kusche is the son of the proud local dentist Dr Susan Kusche and Malalane businessman Alf.