Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Sep 16, 20201 min
Earlier this month, The Stride Report confirmed with multiple sources that Ezekiel Kibichii (Rop) has left Eastern Kentucky and has transferred to Iowa State. He is now listed under the Iowa State 2020 cross country roster as Ezekiel Rop.
According to those sources, Kibichii is expected to sit out of collegiate competition for a year due to NCAA transfer rules.
As just a freshman, Kibichii emerged as one of the top distance runners in the country during the 2019 cross country season. Last fall, the former EKU Colonel finished 9th at Joe Piane and 13th at Nuttycombe before going on to win the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) title. He is currently listed at TSR #24 in our preseason individual rankings.
Kibichii went on to run 8:16 for 3000 meters during the 2020 indoor track season en route to another OVC title.
The newest Cyclone will be joining an Iowa State program that recently lost cross country national champion Edwin Kurgat to expired eligibility (although Kurgat is expected to return for the 2021 outdoor track season).
The introduction of a top low-stick such as Kibichii -- who still has three years of cross country eligibility remaining -- will give the men from Ames, Iowa a massive boost in firepower once he returns to competition.