Cougs off to Notre Dame for Joe Piane Invitational...

One of the most intriguing stories of the 2024 collegiate cross country season in the state of Washington so far is the emergence of Washington State freshman Evans Kurui (photo courtesy WSU Athletics), who has gone two-for-two so far this season. 

The native of Kenya so far this season won the WSU Alumni Open on August 30th in 16:57 for 6k, then the Cougar Classic two weeks later on the same Colfax Golf Course, traversing 8k in a course record 22:47.

Considering that the course record was formerly held by Oregon's Edward Cheserek, who set it in 2015 while winning the Pac-12 cross country championships en route to winning the NCAA individual crown that season, that accomplishment made followers of the sport take notice.

Kurui's win at the Cougar Classic made the venerable Track & Field News take notice, though very little is known about the freshman.

His Washington State media bio only has a photo of him racing and very little else.

He did do an interview that's posted on the Cougars' Instagram page, which is embedded below:

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Friday, the Cougars head out to South Bend, Indiana for the Joe Piane Invitational, hosted by Notre Dame.

The Cougars will face number 4 ranked Northern Arizona and number 9 Notre Dame at the Piane meet, along with number 29 Cal Baptist, and number 30 Michigan State. Also in the field are number 5 Grand Valley and number 6 Adams State from NCAA Division II in the 19-team men’s blue 8k.

Among the top individuals in the men's field are Corey Gorgas and Florida State transfer David Mullarkey of Northern Arizona; CJ Singleton of Notre Dame; and a group of runners from Texas Tech, led by Ernest Cheruiyot, who was fourth on the track at last year's NCAA championships for the Red Raiders.

On the women's side, Zenah Cheepto leads the Cougars to face a field that includes number 1 Northern Arizona, number 3 BYU, and number 5 Notre Dame.

Also in the field are number 25 Michigan State and D2 powerhouses Adams State and Grand Valley State.

The women's 5k Gold Race begins at 10:30 am Pacific, while the men's 8k Gold Race goes at 11:15 am Pacific.

The link to live results of the Joe Piane Invitational is available here.

NOTE: The sports information offices of Washington State University and the University of Notre Dame contributed to this report.

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