Washington State University Athletics

Peter Koech was one of the dominant collegiate runners during his time at WSU and continued a long line of Kenyan distance runners who thrived on the Palouse. Koech, who won Kenyan cross country titles in 1980 and 1981 and won the national 1500m titles in the same years, earned 11 All-America certificates, captured five Pacific-10 Conference crowns and two NCAA Championships by the end of his time in Pullman. His conference titles include three wins at 10,000 meters, one at 5,000m and a fifth at 1,500m which came in 1985 and was a rare feat as he doubled with a win in the 10,000m at the same meet. In 1984 he won his first NCAA title, a 3,000m victory, and then in 1985 he concluded his Cougar career by winning the NCAA steeplechase, a relatively new event for the talented Kenyan runner. Koech captured the silver medal in the steeplechase at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, only to come back a year later to establish the event’s world record in a time of 8:05.35, bettering the second oldest track record in the record book and taking the steeple title away from Cougar great Henry Rono. Koech graduated in 1986 with a social science degree.