Kenya's Winny Bii of Texas A&M University leaps to a Kenya national triple jump record of 13.92 metres in New Mexico on February 1, 2025.
Sensational student athlete Winny Chepngetich Bii will lead other high flying Kenyans in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Indoor Championships, the final indoor event in the USA schools system, at the Virginia Beach Sports Centre in Virginia Beach on Friday and Saturday.
Sixteen Kenyan students in the USA collegiate sports, participating courtesy of their sports scholarships, will want to end the indoor season with a bang as they eye a piece of this year’s Tokyo World Championships.
Only athletes who are ranked top 16 in NCAA are eligible to compete in the national indoor championships. Kenyans have been shining in their specialties.
Triple jumper Bii has been rising steadily in her favoured field discipline and has in fact written history with her performance for the Texas A&M University where she is studying sports management.
The 21-year-old Bii set a new national record in the triple jump with a leap of 13.49 metres to win the Arkansas Invitational at the Randal Tyson Indoor Centre, Fayetteville, Arkansas in January 2924.
She extended her Kenyan record with an effort of 13.92 metres in New Mexico on February 1.
She is currently ranked 14th in the world this season following a national record extending jump of 14.01m. For the sake of comparison, the world lead effort stand at14.62m and belongs to Leyanis Perez of Cuba.
Since transferring from Oklahoma State University to Texas A&M University in June last, the in-form Bii has lowered her Kenyan record three times.
She won the 214-team Southeastern Conference Championships (SEC) triple jump, is the national leader and indeed favourite to win the event at Virginia Beach.
“I’m so glad with my performance so far and I am really looking forward to competing in the World Indoor Championships. But first things first. I have to do well at Virginia Beach. I want to improve on my performance, push farther than 14.01m,” she told Nation Sport on phone from Virginia, USA yesterday.
Bii added that her target was to attain the qualification mark of 14.55m to represent Kenya at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan on September 13-21.
In the 800m race, Kenya is well represented in the men’s and women’s 800m with Olympian Koitatoi Kidali, Brian Kiptum Kweyei and Gladys Chepngetich, all from Clemson University, eying titles.
Kidali bounced back from injury issues to secure a top-16 finish. Kidali ran 1:46.55 at the Big 10 Championship in Indiana.
Kweyei on the other hand, qualified with a time of 1:46.26 during the Clemson Invitational, ranking third going into the NCAA Championships.
Chepngetich on her side broke the two-minute barrier last year at East Regional meet with a time of 1:59.83.
Although she finished as the runner-up indoors this year, she is one of the top contenders at the national level, especially given Clemson’s strong 800m programme.
The One Mile race will feature pre-nursing student Laban Kipkemboi from Oklahoma State, who won the Big 12 Championship, running an impressive 3:53.29 to qualify for the nationals. He also won the Arkansas Invitational and the Big 10 Championship.
Also in the One Mile event, is his compatriot Collins Kiprotich, a sports management student who earned his spot after a standout performance at the New Mexico home meet, winning the Mountain West Conference (MWC) with a time of 3:53.41.
Judy Kosgei, who is studying Kinesiology at Clemson University is the only Kenyan in the One Mile women’s race. She had an exceptional indoor season setting a personal best of 4:26.32 that placed her in the NCAA’s top 10 all-time list. Additionally, she ran a personal best of 2:02.51 in the 800m.
The 2021 World Under-20 Championships 400m bronze medallist Sylvia Chelangat, a Bachelor of Public Health student from the University of South Carolina will be a person to watch in her specialty.
New Mexico University pre-nursing student Pamela Kosgei, a younger sister to former women’s marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei, will be in action in the 3,000m and 5,000m races and is an obvious favourite.
Kosgei, the World Under-20 women’s 3,000m bronze medallist, has had a super season finishing second at the NCAA Cross Country Championship. She also ran personal bests in the 3,000m (8:44.52) and 5,000m (15:00.36).
Ishmael Kipkurui, studying exercise science at New Mexico, started the season slowly but has gained momentum to run a personal best of 7:40.06 in the 3,000m and 13:11.95 in the 5,000m.
“I have been doing well since I came to the US and as we head to the nationals, I expect to run well,” said Kipkurui.
He will face compatriot Evans Kurui, a Bachelor of Kinesiology student at Washington State University, who broke a 49-year-old school record in men’s 5,000m, running 13:17.16 during the Husky Classic at the University of Washington.
Pre-nursing student Brian Musau and Dennis Kipngetich from Oklahoma State University both had strong cross-country seasons. Musau ran 13:11.29 at the Boston University season opener and went on to win the Big 12 Championship with a 7:40.18, while Kipngetich ran 13:18.33 but was just shy of qualifying.
Patrick Kiprop from Arkansas University will be competing in the 5,000m with Doris Lemngole from Alabama University battling it out in the 3,000m and 5,000m races. Hilda Olelomoi from Florida University should be a strong contender in the 5,000m.
Some of the athletics greats who have featured in the NCAA championship include Athing Mu, Anna Cockrel, Yared Nuguse, Grant Holloway from US, Kenyan-born Sally Kipyego and Betsy Saina, and Kenyans Emmanuel Korir, Emmanuel Rotich and Sharon Lokedi.
