Peter Kosgei '10 finished first in the 800-meter run and the mile at the 2008 NCAA Division III men's indoor track and field championships held at the Ohio Northern University Sports Center in Ada, Ohio, on March 15.

Kosgei's time in the 800 meters was 1:51.97 as he recorded the best time in Division III this season and broke his own school record. The 800 started less than 90 minutes after the completion of the mile. The race was fast-paced from the start. Kosgei took control on the final lap and pulled away from the field on the front stretch.

"The 800 is a shorter race, so I wasn't that concerned about fatigue," Kosgei said. "I'm very happy to have won the race because I was concentrating on the mile run and there are a lot of fast guys in the 800. This was a pleasant surprise."

Kosgei crossed the finish line in 4:11.17 in the mile to break an ONU Sports Center record by nearly three seconds. He edged a runner from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse by just .01 seconds in an exciting and entertaining race.

"The race finished so close I wasn't sure if I had won or not," he said. "I had thought that I may have lost but then the announcer said my name as the champion and that made me happy. It felt good to come in ranked number one as a sophomore but it was a lot of pressure to live up to those expectations. I got a call from my girlfriend last night and it gave me some extra confidence."

The two wins generated 20 team points, which was good enough to put the Continentals in fifth place in the final team standings. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse won the team title with 43 points. A total of 66 teams scored at least one point.

Kosgei is the first men's indoor All-American in school history. He has earned four All-America awards and captured three individual national titles in his Hamilton career. Kosgei won the steeplechase at the 2007 NCAA outdoor championships and finished second at the 2007 NCAA cross country championships.

Today's wins complete a season in which Kosgei set team records in the 800 meters, 1,000 meters, mile, 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters. He was also part of a school record in the distance medley relay at the New York State Collegiate Track Conference championships.

Ohio Northern University sports information contributed to this recap.