Transfer sophomore Justine Kipkoech made a strong debut for the Colorado Buffaloes on Jan. 24, finishing third in the mile and recording the third-fastest indoor time in program history during the second day of the Colorado Invitational at the Ford Practice Facility.
Kipkoech completed the mile in 4:00.79, which adjusts to 3:54.92 for altitude, marking not only a personal achievement but also placing him sixth nationally so far this season. His performance comes after just two weeks of settling into Boulder and joining classes.
“The last two weeks have been a bit chaotic for him, getting settled in classes and to be able to open with a 3:54 given the chaos that’s happened with him over the last couple of weeks is really, really impressive,” said Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Sean Carlson. “Over the next two years he’s going to be one of the best milers in the country for sure.”
Kipkoech’s run follows teammate Isaiah Givens’ recent facility and state record at the same distance, giving Colorado a strong presence in middle-distance events. Carlson said, “Obviously, our distance side is very cross country focused. But it just so happens we have some really, really good milers that can run cross country too, which is nice. With Justine and Isaiah shaping up to be two of the better milers in the country right now it sets us up for a really, really good Distance Medley Relay in a couple of weeks. I think we can run one of the top times in the country.”
Other notable performances included junior Antonio Votour achieving a personal-best mark of 8.00 seconds in preliminaries for sixth all-time at Colorado in men’s 60 meter hurdles before finishing fourth overall with an 8.07-second final run. In addition, Jameson Leigh set a personal record with his sixth-place finish (49.44) in men’s 400 meters while Abby Miller finished fourth (58.21) among women.
Looking ahead, Colorado will compete at Boston University’s John Thomas Terrier Classic on January 30 and January 31.
