Oklahoma State University Athletics
2026-27 Cowgirl Cross Country & Track Roster
Roster
Billah Jepkirui
- Class:
- Graduate Student
- Hometown:
- Kapsabet, Kenya
https://www.tfrrs.org/athletes/8285251/Oklahoma_State/Billah_Jepkirui.html
Personal Bests
800 Meters – 2:02.63
1,000 Meters – 2:43.48
1,500 Meters – 4:04.59*
Mile – 4:22.92*
3,000 Meters – 8:45.22*
5,000 Meters – 15:42.64
6K (XC) – 19:27.5
* - Denotes school record heading into 2026-27 season
Honors and Awards
2026 USTFCCCA Track & Field Academic All-America
2026 Track & Field Academic First Team All-Big 12
2026 Outdoor All-Big 12 (1,500 Meters)
2026 Outdoor Big 12 Women’s Athlete of the Week (4x800 Meter Relay, April 29)
2026 Outdoor Drake Relays Most Outstanding Performer
2026 Outdoor Drake Relays Champion – Distance Medley Relay
2026 Outdoor Drake Relays Champion – 4x800 Meter Relay
2026 Outdoor Big 12 Women’s Athlete of the Week (April 13)
2026 Outdoor USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week (April 13)
2026 Indoor USTFCCCA Midwest Region Women’s Track Athlete of the Year
2026 Bowerman Watch List
2026 Indoor First Team All-American – Mile (4th), 3,000 Meters (8th)
2026 Indoor USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week (March 2)
2026 Indoor Big 12 Women’s Performer of the Year
2026 Indoor Big 12 High Point Award (20 points)
2026 Indoor Big 12 Champion – Mile
2026 Indoor Big 12 Champion – 1,000 Meters
2026 Indoor All-Big 12 (1,000 Meters, Mile)
2025 Cross Country USTFCCCA All-Academic
2025 Cross Country Academic First Team All-Big 12
2025 Cross Country All-Region
2024 Track & Field Academic First Team All-Big 12
2024 Outdoor All-Big 12 (800 Meters, 1,500 Meters)
2024 Indoor Second Team All-American (3,000 Meters)
2024 Indoor NCAA Runner-Up - Mile
2024 Indoor First Team All-American – Mile (2nd)
2024 Indoor Big 12 Champion – Mile
2024 Indoor All-Big 12 (Mile)
2023 Cross Country Academic First Team All-Big 12
2023 Cross Country All-American (7th)
2023 Cross Country USTFCCCA Midwest Region Athlete of the Year
2023 Cross Country Big 12 Runner of the Year
2023 Cross Country Midwest Regional Champion
2023 Cross Country All-Region
2023 Cross Country All-Big 12
2023 Cross Country Big 12 Runner of the Week (Sept. 26)
2023 Cross Country Cowboy Jamboree Champion
2023 Outdoor Big 12 Women’s Outdoor Outstanding Freshman of the Year
2023 Outdoor First-Team All-American - 1,500 Meters (5th)
2023 Outdoor Big 12 Champion – 1,500 Meters
2023 Outdoor All-Big 12 (1,500 Meters)
2023 Indoor Big 12 Women’s Outstanding Freshman of the Year
2023 Indoor All-American – DMR (6th)
2023 Indoor Big 12 Champion – Mile, DMR
2023 Indoor All-Big 12 (Mile, 3,000 Meters, DMR)
2022 Cross Country All-Big 12
2022 Cross Country Big 12 Runner of the Week (Oct. 18)
2022 Cross Country Weis-Crockett Invitational Champion
2026 Outdoors
Following her historic indoor campaign, Jepkirui showed no signs of slowing down as she hit the track outdoors… She opened her season at the Arkansas Spring Invitational, breaking her own school record in the 1,500 Meters with her time of 4:04.59, which was the fourth-fastest mark in NCAA history at the time… For her performance at the Arkansas Spring Invite, she was named USTFCCCA and Big 12 Athlete of the Week… Jepkirui returned two weeks later at the historic Drake Relays and once again stole the headlines… She was named Drake Relays Most Outstanding Performer after anchoring the Cowgirl 4x800 Meter Relay to the second-fastest time in NCAA history with their mark of 8:16.65, which also demolished the Drake Relays record by almost ten seconds… Jepkirui was also the anchor for the Cowgirl DMR that won by nearly ten seconds with their time of 10:54.94… She was just the third Oklahoma State athlete to be named Drake Relays MOP, joining J.W. Mashburn (1955) and former OSU head coach Ralph Tate (1943)… To wrap up her regular season, Jepkirui stepped up to the 5,000 Meters for the first time in her Cowgirl career and won the Sooner Invitational by nearly 90 seconds with her time of 15:42.64… At the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, she placed second in the 1,500 Meters with her time of 4:10.16… Qualified for the NCAA West First Round in the 5K.
2026 Indoors
Jepkirui completed one of the greatest indoor seasons in the history of the program in 2026, starting off with multiple record-setting performances at the Razorback Invitational in January… She opened by shattering the program record in the 3,000 Meters with her time of 8:45.22 and immediately followed it up with a 4:27.49 anchor leg in the Distance Medley Relay as the Cowgirls set the No. 2 mark in program history at 10:47.84, both performances winning against loaded fields… Two weeks later at the Husky Classic in Washington, Jepkirui clocked the fourth-fastest Mile time in NCAA history with her time of 4:22.92, breaking her own school record by nearly five seconds overall… To round out the regular season, Jepkirui anchored the Cowgirl DMR that set the No. 2 mark in NCAA history with their time of 10:43.10 as she clocked a 4:23.87 anchor to win the Arkansas Qualifier… At the Big 12 Indoor Championships, Jepkirui was nothing short of spectacular… She won the Big 12 High Point Award after completing the 1,000 Meters-Mile double, winning both titles as she broke both meet and facility records with her times of 2:43.48 and 4:23.40, respectively… 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… The next day, Jepkirui was named Big 12 Indoor Women’s Performer of the Year, becoming the second woman in program history to win the award, joining Taylor Roe in 2022… Earned first team All-America honors in both the Mile and 3,000 Meters as she finished fourth and eighth, respectively… Was named to the Bowerman Watch List after the indoor season, the first Cowgirl in program history to be named to the Watch List.
2025 Cross Country
Returned to competition at the historic Cowboy Jamboree, placing seventh overall as the Cowgirls upended No. 3 New Mexico… Finished second at the Weis-Crockett Invitational in October, with the Cowgirls having a perfect score of 15 points… Was 26th at the Big 12 Cross Country Championships before earning All-Region honors with her seventh-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Stillwater… Was the Cowgirls’ third scorer at the NCAA Championships with her 85th-place finish.
2024 Outdoors
Opened her outdoor season at the prestigious Bryan Clay Invitational, clocking the second-fastest 1,500 Meter time in school history at the time with her mark of 4:08.93, which was also a personal best… Set another personal best at the Arkansas Twilight in May in the 800 Meters with her time of 2:02.63, No. 5 in program history before returning to help the 4x400 Meter Relay squad to a meet victory… Earned a pair of All-Big 12 honors in the 800 and 1,500 Meters with marks of 2:04.59 and 4:09.75, respectively… Qualified for the NCAA West Prelims in the 1,500 Meters and punched her ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
2024 Indoors
Followed up her incredible cross country season with one of the best indoor seasons in program history, starting with her performance at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in December… Jepkirui shattered the school record in the 3,000 Meters with her time of 8:49.08, which ranked tenth in NCAA history at the time of the race… Put down one of the best individual performances in program history at the Eagle Elite Invitational in Boston, running what was the second-fastest time in school history in the Mile at 4:29.64 before returning the next day and leading off a Cowgirl DMR that ranked No. 2 in NCAA history at the time of the meet at 10:47.20… Kicked off her postseason by defending her Big 12 title in the Mile for her fourth career conference title before coming back and doubling in the 800 Meters, earning All-Big 12 honors with her time of 2:04.67, which puts her No. 6 in program history… At the NCAA Indoor Championships, Jepkirui finished as national runner-up in the Mile with her time of 4:27.14, which broke a seven-year-old school and was the sixth-fastest time in NCAA history at the time… Returned the same day to earn second team All-America honors in the 3,000 Meters with a 12th-place finish.
2023 Cross Country
Burst onto the scene as one of the top overall distance runners in the NCAA and a low stick for the Cowgirls during the cross country season… Put on a dominant performance to open the season at the Cowboy Jamboree, defeating the rest of the competition by 14 seconds overall and leading the Cowgirls to a near-perfect score of 16 on the day and was later named Big 12 Runner of the Week for her performance… Returned to the grass at the Big 12 Championships, finishing as runner-up behind only teammate Taylor Roe with a time of 19:42.1 as the Cowgirls went on to finish second as a team… Led the team once again at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet in Stillwater, becoming just the third Cowgirl in program history to win the regional meet with her time of 20:28.4, which was nearly identical to her mark at the Jamboree as her and Roe again finished 1-2… Her performance led the Cowgirls to their fifth midwest regional title and second in a row with just 30 points on the day… Jepkirui continued her dominant season at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, finishing seventh in the country with her time of 19:27.5, which is the fastest 6K time ever recorded by a Cowgirl on the grass… Her finish helped the Cowgirls earn their second trophy in program history as they placed third overall as a team, highest in program history… For her performances, Jepkirui became the first Cowgirl to be named Big 12 Cross Country Runner of the Year and the fourth to be named USTFCCCA Midwest Region Athlete of the Year for the cross country season…
2023 Outdoors
Started off her freshman outdoor season with a bang, taking home a pair of individual victories in the 800 and 1,500 Meters at the Stanford Invitational… Won her third Big 12 title of the season, winning the 1,500 Meters with her time of 4:15.74 in the final… Qualified for the NCAA West Prelims in the 1,500 Meters, punching her ticket to the NCAA Championships with just one shoe over the last 150 meters… Earned first team All-America honors in the 1,500 Meters with her fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championships with a personal-best time of 4:10.17, which ranks fourth in program history.
2023 Indoors
Solidified herself as a freshman phenom during her inaugural freshman season… Set her personal-best Mile time of 4:35.82 at the Razorback Invitational, which ranks sixth in program history… Was one of the key cogs in the Cowgirls’ first-ever conference track & field title, winning a pair of Big 12 titles in the Mile and Distance Medley Relay… Was named Big 12 Indoor Women’s Outstanding Freshman of the Year for her performance… Finished her freshman season with first team All-America honors in the DMR with the Cowgirls taking sixth overall.
2022 Cross Country
Opened her Cowgirl career in stunning fashion, scoring big points for OSU in her first three races… Opened her career at the Cowboy Jamboree where she put forth a top 15 performance while helping the Cowgirls secure a team victory… a career outing at the Weis-Crockett Invitational highlighted her freshman season in the orange and black… Took home the individual victory in the invitational’s 6K, crossing the finish line in a blistering 20:15.3… Her performance earned her first Big 12 Runner of the Week and landed her at No. 7 on OSU’s leaderboard… Kept up the momentum into the postseason, where she reached the podium of the Big 12 Cross Country Championships and notched All-Big 12 honors in the process… Her scorching time of 20:16.0 was the second-fastest by any Cowgirl on the day… Wrapped up her season by representing the Cowgirls in the NCAA Cross Country National Championship.
Personal
Born in Kapsabet, Kenya... Majoring in Applied Exercise Science.
