Billah Jepkirui named to 2026 Bowerman Watch List

March 04, 2026 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State distance runner Billah Jepkirui was named to The Bowerman Watch List ahead of the NCAA Indoor Championships, the organization announced Wednesday.

Jepkirui is the first Cowgirl to be named specifically to the Watch List, with Cowgirl national champion Sinclaire Johnson being named a Bowerman semifinalist after the 2019 outdoor season. She is also the fifth Oklahoma State athlete to be named to the Watch List, joining German Fernandez (2012), Nick Miller (2016), Fouad Messaoudi (2023-24) and Brian Musau (2026).

Jepkirui won the Big 12 High Point Award at the conference championships this past weekend after she won both the 1,000 Meter and Mile titles at the Big 12 Championships, breaking both meet and facility records in the process with her times of 2:43.48 and 4:23.40. Her Mile time also ranks as the fourth-fastest in NCAA history and ranks No. 1 in the NCAA after altitude conversion. In the women's Mile final, Jepkirui kicked past BYU's Jane Hedengren with 100 meters to go to claim her third career Big 12 Mile title in as many tries.

Following the Big 12 Championships, she was named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week for the first time, becoming the third Cowgirl in program history to do so.

Earlier in the season, Jepkirui broke OSU's school record in the Mile at the Husky Classic with her time of 4:22.92, the fourth-fastest mark in NCAA history on tracks of all sizes. Jepkirui also anchored OSU's historic DMR that ran that No. 2 mark in NCAA history at the Arkansas Qualifier with a 4:23 anchor split. She also has an NCAA qualifying mark in the 3,000 Meters as she broke her own school record in the event at the Razorback Invitational.

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