Evans Kurui of WSU finishes second at Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational...
SOUTH BEND, Indiana--Washington State University freshman Evans Kurui (WSU Athletics photo) ran to a second place finish Friday morning at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational.
Kurui, a freshman from Kenya who entered the meet undefeated, opened eyes after winning the Cougar Classic on September 13th, breaking the 8k course record set by Edward Cheserek of Oregon in 2015 by 20 seconds, running 22:47.
Kurui was in a lead group of twelve through the first mile in 4:23, which whittled down to seven when he reached 3k in 8:29.
Freshman Ernest Cheruiyot of Texas Tech took the lead before the 6k mark, which he passed in 16:43, with Kurui a second behind.
Cheruiyot extended his lead over the final two kilometers to win in 22:21, with Kurui finishing in 22:25.
Patrick Kiprop of Cincinnati was third in 22:27, followed by David Mullarkey of Northern Arizona in 22:37, and Valentin Soca of Cal Baptist in fifth at 22:46.
Behind Kurui for the Cougs were Brian Barsaiya in 25th at 23:13, followed by Leif Swanson in 65th at 23:45.
Kelvin Limo in 97th was the fourth scorer in at 24:04, and Evan Bruce was 124th at 24:31.
Washington State's 1-5 split was 2:06.
The Cougars finished 11th with 296 points, as host Notre Dame won the team title with 55 points over Northern Arizona's 68.
In the women's 5k, the Cougars were led by Neema Kimtai, who was 52nd in 17:02, followed one place behind by Alaina Stone Boggs in the same time.
Carolina Jepkorir was 58th in 17:04, with Jessica Duran 116th at 17:44, and Nicole Bissell rounded out their scorers in 123rd in 17:47, giving the Cougars a 1-5 split of 45 seconds.
Team leader Zenah Cheptoo was third through the mile, and sixth at 3k before dropping out with an apparent injury.
Lexy Halladay-Lowry of BYU won in 15:58, followed by Texas Tech's Juliet Cherubet in 16:04.
Leah Jeruto of Oklahoma was third in 16:07, followed by Jenna Hutchins of BYUU in 16:15, and Siona Chisholm of Notre Dame was fifth in 16:15.
The Cougars were 12th with 374 points, as Northern Arizona won with 52 points with BYU second with 65 and Notre Dame third at 70 points.
WILDCATS, BULLDOGS, EAGLES & COUGARS IN ACTION SATURDAY...
Central Washington is the only Washington Division II school in action, as the Wildcats head to Salem, Oregon to compete in the Charles Bowles Invitational hosted by Willamette University Saturday at Bush's Pasture Park and McCulloch Stadium.
Racing gets underway at 9:30 am with the men's 8k, and follows with the women's 5k at 10:20 am.
Central is looking to build upon the momentum from the Pacific Lutheran University Invitational two weeks ago, where Ramon Rodriguez took the win over All-American Johan Correa, running 24:27 to Correa's 24:28, but lost the team title to George Fox by a 62-70 margin.
Head coach Jonathan Hill said, "We're hoping to see Johan, Ramon and Will (McGonigal) compete like this in the post season. This should be a fast run as I know those guys are up for a breakthrough race."
The women are coming off a fourth place finish at PLU, where the Wildcats surprised some folks with a fourth place finish. Their top five runners across the line were all freshmen, led by Payton Conover, who was eighth in 22:54.
Gonzaga, Eastern Washington, plus those runners from Washington State who did not travel to Notre Dame are scheduled to compete in Saturday's Whitman Open in Walla Walla.
The women's 6k gets underway at 11 am, with the men's 8k at 11:30 am.
None of the runners that Gonzaga traveled to last week's Nuttycombe Invitational in Verona, Wisconsin are entered Saturday, as they prepare for next week's Bill Dellinger Invitational (men) in Springfield, Oregon and the Arturo Barrios Invitational (women) in College Station, Texas.
Likewise, Eastern Washington is holding out of the meet those who raced last week at the Gans Creek Invitational in Missouri.
NIKE PRE CLASSIC SET FOR JULY 5TH...
The 50th edition of the Nike Prefontaine Classic is set for Saturday July 5, 2025 at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon.
The Pre Classic, which is part of the Wanda Diamond League series, includes the following events, with additional world-class, non-Diamond Disciplines to be announced at a later date.
Women’s Diamond Disciplines: 100 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, 5000 meters, 3000 meter steeplechase, Long Jump, Discus, Shot Put.
Men’s Diamond Disciplines: 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, Bowerman Mile, 400 meter hurdles, Shot Put.
Competitors in the Diamond League events will earn points to qualify for the Wanda Diamond League finals in Zürich on August 27-28th.
NOTE: The sports information offices of Washington State University, the University of Notre Dame, Central Washington, Gonzaga, & Eastern Washington, along with the Wanda Diamond League and the Nike Prefontaine Classic contributed to this report.
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