19-year-old who graduated high school this past November and will be eligible immediately to compete for the Lobos … U20 World Cross Country Champion in 2023 before earning the call-up to the Kenyan senior national team for the upcoming 2026 World XC Championships with a sixth-place finish at Kenyan XC Championships and a seventh-place finish at Kenyan Olympic trials in the 5,000m this year … Kenyan U20 record holder in the Two Mile with a 8:09.23 clocking in which he finished second to multi-time Olympian Jakob Ingebrigtsen in 2023 — in that race, he put down a 7:38.06 3,000m split, a time faster than Habtom Samuel’s 7:40.63 UNM program record … 13:05.47 personal best in the 5,000m, set in June of 2023, is also faster than Samuel’s 13:13.14 outdoor school record set in April 2024 … That same year, Kipkurui competed for the Kenyan senior national team in the World Athletics 5,000m Final in Budapest, leading the pack for a full mile before eventually dropping to 10th in the world.
