ANNOUNCED: Eastern Kentucky Adds 3:32 (1500) & 7:38 (3k) Runner Justine Kipkoech

Admin (Garrett Zatlin)
Jul 25, 2024
2 min read

Earlier today, Josh Grenade reported that Kenyan superstar Justine Kipkoech was joining the Eastern Kentucky men for the upcoming cross country season. Kipkoech was previously enrolled at the College of the Sequoias in California. The Stride Report has independently verified the report that Kipkoech has signed his National Letter of Intent with EKU.

To say that Kipkoech is "elite" may actually be underselling him. That's because the 25-year old from Kenya has produced jaw-dropping times of 3:32.93 (1500) and 7:38.19 (3k) on the track. That former mark would have broken the NCAA 1500-meter record if it was run in-season. World Athletics also notes that Kipkoech has produced an 8:13 mark for two miles as well as a 13:22 result for 5000 meters on the roads.

But what truly makes Kipkoech such an unreal prospect is the fact that he is running ultra-fast times while still defeating upper-echelon stars at the pro level. At the Sound Running Sunset Tour in California this past weekend was where the future EKU runner ran his 1500-meter PR (he also won the race).

And if you think that his recent success is just a fluke, then I'd implore you to review his 1500-meter performance at the Ed Murphey Classic from July 12th of this year. On that stage, Kipkoech produced a mark of 3:33 (1500) where he finished runner-up.

His 3000-meter performance of 7:38 came overseas last summer in France.

When it comes to his track prowess, one thing is clear: Kipkoech is going to be a legitimate national title threat on both the indoor and outdoor ovals. That is going to be an interesting storyline to monitor as Colin Sahlman is still seeking his first NCAA title and Nathan Green is looking to further establish himself as an all-time great collegiate miler as well. And don't forget, Oregon's Elliott Cook ran 3:33 for 1500 meters at the USA Olympic Trials in June.

Colin Sahlman (center) & Elliott Cook (right) racing at the NCAA Championships // Photo via Andrew LeMay

From a cross country perspective, it's only fair to assume that the Eastern Kentucky men are overjoyed with their newest addition. While it's still unclear how Kipkoech will handle the cross country scene and the longer racing distances of 8k and 10k, it still seems safe to assume that he will make some sort of significant impact as soon as this fall.

Last year, the Colonels were certainly better than what their 2023 cross country national meet performance would suggest (they finished last). That season, EKU placed 10th at the Virginia Invitational and 17th at the Nuttycombe Invite.

With a large handful of top men set to return from last year -- including a potential low-stick in Taha El Raouy as well as promising track talents such as Mohammed Jouhari and Kristian Imroth -- Kipkoech makes this team look far more complete. Of course, we'll still have to see how much of his recent success can be translated to a very different setting and a very different series of racing distances.