INDIANAPOLIS – Former Colorado School of Mines cross country/track & field student-athlete Andrew Epperson was officially announced as one of three men tabbed to race the marathon for Team USA Track & Field at the 2019 IAAF World Championships running Sept. 28 – Oct. 6 in Doha, the capital of Qatar.
 
Epperson will join team captain Shadrack Biwott of Folsom, Calif., and Elkanah Kibet from Benton, Ill., for the 26.22-mile race starting at 2:59 p.m. on Oct. 5. His selection to Team USATF came as a result of his 18th-place finish at the Beppu-Oita Marathon in Japan on Feb. 3 of this year, crossing the finish line in a personal record of 2:13.11. He is the youngest of the three runners by more than four years. All three male athletes were chosen from the three highest-placing performances during the qualifying window, based on marks set on an IAAF approved course from March 7, 2018 to May 5, 2019.
 
The rest of the former Oredigger's profile is impressive as well. He finished #27 in the marathon at the 2016 Olympic Trials in 2:22.21 and also ran the Chicago Marathon twice with a best placing of #12 in 2016. Earlier this year, Epperson set his personal best in the half marathon by running 63:17 at Houston in January. Additionally, he served as the rabbit in the 10,000-meter run at the Mines Kit Mayer Invite on April 13 of this year with the top three finishers coming in under the Stermole Track record pace.
 
Epperson is currently an assistant coach for the Colorado State cross country and track & field teams. Prior to his time with Rams, the Houston, Texas, native served in the same role at Colorado School of Mines. The foundation for Epperson's racing and coaching career was set as a student-athlete at Mines from 2010-14. As an Oredigger, he was a two-time cross country all-American and qualified for the NCAA Division II National Championships in both the indoor and outdoor 5,000-meter run and once in the outdoor 10,000-meter run. Additionally, Epperson appears four times in the Orediggers' track & field record books. He owns the program's #10 time in the indoor 3,000-meter run, the #5 time in the indoor and 5,000-meter run, and the #6 mark in the outdoor 10,000-meter run.
 
The full schedule for the 2019 IAAF World Championships can be found HERE. Competition begins on Sept. 27 and lasts 10 days until Oct. 6. Results from the event will also be available at the same link as the schedule.
 
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