Thursday, April 16, 2020

NEW ORLEANS – A three-time national champion, an eight-time All-American and an eight-time GNAC champion in the distances, Micah Chelimo of Alaska Anchorage is one of six 2020 inductees into the U.S. Track and Field & Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Track & Field Athlete Hall of Fame.

A 2014 graduate of Alaska Anchorage, Chelimo won the Division II outdoor championship in the 5,000 meters in 2012 before winning indoor championships in the 5,000 meters in 2013 and the 3,000 meters in 2014. He won five GNAC indoor championships, which included a sweep of the mile, 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters at the 2013 GNAC Indoor Championships, and two conference titles outdoors.

The 2012 GNAC Outdoor Track and Field Male Athlete of the Year and the 2013 and 2014 GNAC Indoor Track and Field Male Athlete of the Year, Chelimo was also named the GNAC Male Co-Athlete of the Year in 2013.

Chelimo won the GNAC outdoor titles in the 5,000 meters in his freshman and sophomore years, setting the stage for his first national title in 2012 in the 5,000 meters in a time of 15:15.85. During the 2013 indoor season, Chelimo became the only male athlete to sweep the three distance events at the GNAC Indoor Championships.

He went on to win the 5,000 meters at the indoor national meet in 12:12.82 and also took fourth in the 3,000 meters. In that nationals race, Chelimo finished just one-thousandth of a second ahead of Kevin Batt of Adams State. In the 5,000 meters, Chelimo placed second to Batt by three-thousandths of a second.

Chelimo went on to win GNAC indoor titles in the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters in 2014 and proceeded to win the 3,000 meters at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships in a time of 8:15.52.

A two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, Chelimo was named a Second Team Academic All-American in 2012.

In addition to his track and field accolades, Chelimo won the 2011 and 2012 GNAC and West Region cross country titles and won the 2012 Division II cross country championship in a time of 28:56.6 over 10,000 meters. Chelimo was named both the USTFCCCA’s Division II Cross Country Male Athlete and Scholar-Athlete of the Year in 2012.

Chelimo is just the second GNAC athlete to earn induction into the USTFCCCA Division II Track and Field Athletes Hall of Fame. Northwest Nazarene’s Ashley Puga was inducted in 2018. Additionally, two Seattle Pacific coaches are members of the USTFCCCA Coaches Hall of Fame: Doris Heritage (inducted in 1999) and Ken Foreman (inducted 2011). The organization also named its Division II Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year award for Heritage in 2016.

Chelimo graduated with an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from UAA and is currently working towards a master's degree in public administration from UAA. He currently works as a facility engineer at UAA. Chelimo live in Anchorage with his wife Joyce and two sons, Ethan and Kevin.