By Kyle Merber
May 17, 2022
Lee University star Christian Noble has decided to forego the rest of his NCAA eligibility ahead of the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships to turn professional and sign a contract with New Balance. He will train in Boston under coach Mark Coogan and will be represented by Jorge Torres and Global Athletics.
“It’s a dream come true honestly,” Noble told The Lap Count and CITIUS MAG. “For most runners, this is the goal for them. Growing up in the running world, this is the top. It’s super exciting to say that I am a professional athlete — that wasn’t on my radar in high school or at the start of college. Goals have now been reset. I’ve worked hard for it, especially coming out of Division II, but I still have a lot to prove. I’m motivated by it.”
Noble will make his professional debut at the Prefontaine Classic in the International Mile, where he will try to hit the World Athletics standard for the 1,500m. Hayward Field has treated him well this year as the site where he broke the Division II outdoor 1,500m record of 3:37.35 held by Western Oregon’s David Ribich in 2018 with a victory at the Oregon Relays on April 23. Noble won in 3:36.00 and then came back an hour later to run 13:35.61 for the 5000m.
2022 has been the best season of Noble’s career. He’s run personal bests of 1:49.95 for 800m, 3:36.00 for 1,500m (NCAA Division II record), 3:56.10 for the indoor mile (NCAA Division II record) 7:50.98 for the indoor 3000m (NCAA Division II record) and 13:24.78 for 5000m (No. 2 NCAA Division II all-time). He finishes his career at Lee as a three-time NCAA champion and nine-time NCAA Division II All-American.
“We are very excited to see Christian take the next step in his career,” coach Caleb Morgan says. “The Lee University family is very proud of the success he has had. His pro debut will be at the Prefontaine Classic, we are eager to see how he performs in the new competitive environment.”
Kyle Merber
After hanging up his spikes – but never his running shoes – Kyle pivoted to the media side of things, where he shares his enthusiasm, insights, and experiences with subscribers of The Lap Count newsletter, as well as viewers of CITIUS MAG live shows.