How Tayvon Kitchen Led 250 Runners at NCAA Cross Country as a True Freshman—The Psychology of Believing Before You Have Any Proof
THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST
Dominic Schlueter
4.9 • 822 Ratings
🗓️ 12 February 2026
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Tayvon Kitchen joined one of the deepest programs in college running as a freshman, and immediately became top billing.
He kicked the door down, and in just a few months at BYU, he’s gone from high school phenom to All-American, Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and now one of the fastest U20 5,000-meter runners in American history.
Tayvon earned All-American status in his NCAA Cross Country Championships debut in 2025, finishing 32nd overall and as the top BYU runner. He was also named the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and earned All-Big 12 honors.
In his indoor track debut for BYU, he ran an indoor 5,000m time of 13:30.74, which ranked as the American U20 #3 All-Time performance at the time. And then came January of 2026: he clocked an even faster time of 13:19.17 in the 5000 meters at the Boston University John Thomas Terrier Classic.
Tayvon’s other PRs include 3:41.62 in the 1500m, 3:59.61 in the mile, 7:55.48 in the indoor 3,000m, 8:41.21 in the 2 mile, and 29:01.5 in the 10,000 on grass.
From Oregon state records to All-American honors, Tayvon is showing what’s possible when talent meets fearlessness and the right environment. And at BYU, he’s only just getting started.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Today is a conversation with a true freshman in the NCAA who is on his way to becoming one of the greatest runners in NCAA history. |
| 0:09.0 | His name is Taven Kitchen. |
| 0:10.5 | And within the last few weeks, he's run 1319 in the 5K, which is the fastest 5K ever run by a true freshman. |
| 0:16.2 | And if we wind the clock back to this past fall, he placed 32nd in the NCAA cross-country national 10K meet. And if we flip the clock back to this past fall, he placed 32nd in the NCAA cross-country national 10-K meet. |
| 0:22.8 | And if we flip the clock back to this past fall to the NCAA cross-country meet, |
| 0:27.1 | in his first ever cross-country national meet and his first time running a 10K at the national stage, |
| 0:32.0 | he placed 32nd in the country, which was a remarkable performance. |
| 0:35.6 | And he led almost half of that race, which we go into in this race, his fearless mentality, his gutsy racing, the difference between his high school training and his collegiate training, having a coach like the legendary coach Ed Istone, his plans for the NCAA indoor championship meet. If he thinks he can win his future ambitions in the sport and so many other things. If you enjoy this one, the easiest thing you can do to help us out is share it with a friend because if you enjoy it, why not share the love? Why not spread the love? Give us a five-star review. It takes next to no time. And make sure you are following the podcast so you never miss another conversation like this one. With all these notes aside, enjoy the wisdom, the stories, the legend, the aura of the man of the hour, Taven Kitchen. |
| 1:17.9 | Taven Kitchen, Tavon, as people like to call you, even though that's not grammatically correct. |
| 1:22.9 | Welcome back to the podcast. |
| 1:24.6 | Two things, man. |
| 1:26.0 | Lead in NCAAs and Cross as a as a true freshman and then running |
| 1:30.0 | 1319. I think your homecoming is here in the NCAA. How do you feel about it? Feeling good. |
| 1:35.6 | Thank you, Dominic. Yeah, I'm happy to be back on. Yeah, it's been a good year so far. |
| 1:42.9 | We last spoke in the midst of your senior track season you and josiah |
| 1:47.8 | we're kind of ripping it up and the jump between high school and college a lot of times is a big one |
| 1:53.6 | for a lot of people you can do what you and josiah did in high school kind of kind of be the |
| 1:58.6 | the ones with the target on your back show up to every race know that |
| 2:01.8 | you can win either by front running or by kicking uh college is a different ball game you'll have |
| 2:06.7 | people better than you in nearly every skill set because you're just you're underdeveloped which is |
| 2:11.2 | okay uh where'd you get the balls to to lead the entire country and instead of play across |
| 2:16.0 | well um i mean looking back on my high school career, |
... |
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