OSU cross country runners, coach receive honors
Oklahoma State distance runners Denis Kipngetich and Billah Jepkirui along with Director of Track and Cross Country Dave Smith were each awarded USTFCCCA Midwest Region Men’s and Women’s Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively, the organization announced last week.
Oklahoma State distance runners Denis Kipngetich and Billah Jepkirui along with Director of Track and Cross Country Dave Smith were each awarded USTFCCCA Midwest Region Men’s and Women’s Athlete of the Year and Coach of the Year, respectively, the organization announced last week.
This is the second straight season that OSU has swept the individual awards for the Midwest Region and the third straight year Smith has been named both the men’s and women’s Coach of the Year for the region. Smith led the Cowboys to their fifth NCAA title in cross country with a dominant 49-point performance at the national meet. He also coached the women’s team to a programbest third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Overall, the men’s team won all three postseason meets they competed in and the women’s team picked up an NCAA Midwest Regional title in the process. He has now won 11 Midwest Coach of the Year Awards in his 18 years as the men’s coach and four on the women’s side.
Kipngetich was awarded the Bill Bergan Award as Men’s Midwest Region Athlete of the Year following his fourthplace finish at the NCAA Championships. He also won the NCAA Midwest Regional meet in Stillwater and led the Cowboys to an undefeated postseason with Big 12, Midwest Region and NCAA titles. He is the fifth Cowboy to earn the award and second in a row after teammate Alex Maier won in 2022.
On the women’s side, Jepkirui was named Women’s Midwest Region Athlete of the Year after her dominant season on the grass. After finishing second at the Big 12 Championships behind teammate Taylor Roe, Jepkirui won the NCAA Midwest Regional meet in Stillwater then followed up that performance with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships this past weekend. She also helped lead the Cowgirls to a Midwest Regional title and third-place finish at the national meet, a program best. Overall, Jepkirui is the fourth Cowgirl to earn the award and third in the past four years with Roe winning in 2020 and Natalie Cook in 2022.
