Breker shines at U20 World Athletics Cross Country Championships

Armstrong alum Noah Breker completed a major accomplishment for his cross country career last week, finishing 45th in the U20 World Athletics Cross Country Championships, held March 30 in Belgrade, Serbia. There were 89 runners that finished the race, while three did not finish.

Breker finished with a time of 25:22. The junior race was eight kilometers, or roughly five miles, in length and held at the Park of Friendship, one of the largest parks in the Serbian capital.

Breker, a two-time state track champion in the 3200-meter run, was one of six American runners in the men’s U20 race. He finished in the middle of the pack, 26 seconds ahead of fellow Minnesotan Aidan Jones. Jones graduated from Washburn and competes for the University of Minnesota.

Breker is a freshman at the University of North Carolina, where he redshirted for the current season. He is rostered with both the cross country and track and field teams. His future with the school’s cross country program remains exciting, however, as he continues to impress.

In a social media post following his finish, Breker expressed both a desire to improve on his finish and pride in getting this far.

“[It was an] amazing experience and a huge privilege being able to go to Cross Country World Championships. It was definitely a hard race,” Breker said. “Didn’t end up with quite what I wanted but 45th place against some of the best in the world isn’t too bad. I know I’ve got a lot more to give once I get back into race shape and used to competing again.”

The top three in the U20 race were Kenya’s Samuel Kibathi with a time of 22:40, Ethiopia’s Mezgebu Sime with a time of 22:41 and Kenya’s Matthew Kipkoech Kipruto with a time of 22:46.