Washington State University Athletics

Josephat Kapkory made the journey from Kenya to Pullman after a recommendation from former NCAA champion runner and fellow Kenyan Coug Samuel Kibiri to legendary Cougar coach John Chaplan and Kapkory didn’t disappoint. The Kapenguria, Kenya, native was a three-time Cross Country All-American, four-time Track & Field All-American, captured three NCAA individual championships, was named Pac-10 Conference Athlete of the Year twice and was one of the best athletes to don the Crimson and Gray. As a sophomore Kapkory won the 1992 NCAA Indoor 3,000m title and the Pac-10 Outdoor 1,500m and 10,000m titles. He went on to sweep the first seven races he competed in as a junior highlighted by winning the 1992 Pac-10 Conference cross country title. In the fall of 1993, Kapkory capped his career with his second straight Pac-10 cross country title and followed with the NCAA Cross Country National Title a couple weeks later before claiming another NCAA Indoor 3,000m title in early 1994. Kapkory added another monumental feat to his resume in the spring of 1994, becoming the first person in conference history to win the steeplechase, 5,000m and 10,000m events at the Pac-10 Championships. Kapkory returned to WSU to complete his degree in chemical engineering and was later one of 12 male runners named to the Pac-12 All-Century Cross Country Team in 2015.