Washington State University Athletics
Cougar Trio Named to Pac-12 XC Team of Century
November 03, 2015 | Cross Country
SAN FRANCISCO -- A trio of Washington State distance legends, Gerry Lindgren, Henry Rono and Josephat Kapkory, were among the 12 men named to the Pac-12 Networks Pac-12 All-Century Cross Country team, announced Nov. 2 on the “Pac-12 Sports Report.”
Lindgren, from Spokane, Wash., was the NCAA Cross Country champion in 1966, 1967 and 1969 and set meet records in 1966 and 1969. He won 11 straight NCAA titles and was never beaten in an official NCAA championship event. Lindgren was also the Pacific-8 Cross Country champion in 1969. Lindgren held the World Record at six miles. While in high school, he set 11 prep distance marks and won a spot on the 1964 United States Olympic team for the Tokyo Games. Lindgren was the first American to beat the Russians in a distance race, accomplishing that feat in the 10,000m race at a 1964 dual meet between the US and Russia.
Henry Rono, from Kiptaragon, Kenya, was the NCAA Cross Country champion in 1976, 1977 and 1979, with a meet record time in 1976. He won the Pac-8 championship in 1976 as a freshman and again in 1978 and 1979. He was also the NCAA West Region Cross Country champion in 1976, 1977 and 1979. Additionally, Rono won the NCAA Indoor 2-mile in 1977, the NCAA Outdoor steeplechase titles in 1978 (NCAA meet record time) and 1979. He held six collegiate outdoor records and four collegiate indoor records. In 1978, Rono was named Track & Field News World Track and Field Athlete of the Year, Sport Magazine Track Athlete of the Year, AP European Sportswriters Sportsman of the Year and was the North America winner of the Helms Athletic Foundation World Trophy. He was a member of Kenya's 1980 Olympic team but did not compete due to a political boycott.
Lindgren and Rono are members of the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame.
Kapkory, from Kapenguria, Kenya, was the NCAA Cross Country champion in 1993. He also earned All-America recognition in cross country in 1991, 1992 and 1993. He was the Pac-10 Athlete of the Year in 1992 and 1993. Kapkory won back-to-back Pac-10 titles in 1992 and 1993, and was named the conference Athlete of the Year both years. He was the NCAA West Region champion for three-straight years, from 1991 through 1993. On the track, Kapkory was the Pac-10 champion in the 1500m and 10k in 1992, the steeplechase, 5k and 10k in 1994. He won an NCAA Indoor champion in the 3000m in both 1992 and 1994,and earned AllAmerica recognition in both those years.
Oregon's Steve Prefontaine and Arizona's Amy Skieresz earned Pac-12 Men's and Women's Cross Country Runner of the Century honors, respectively, with current Colorado coach Mark Wetmore named the Pac-12 Cross Country Coach of the Century.
A total of 24 runners - 12 men and 12 women - were selected for the Pac-12 Cross Country Teams of the Century from a field of 62 nominees submitted by each conference institution. Voting participants represented each institution as well as nationally-recognized writers and broadcasters.
