KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fourth-year Justin Kiplagat (Nairobi, Kenya) is this week's NAIA Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week for his efforts during the period ending on Sunday, September 27, 2026.
Kiplagat, a business student, won his first collegiate cross-country race as a Spartan at the WWU Bill Roe Classic with a time of 24:06.20 on the 8k course at Hovander Homestead Park in Ferndale, Wash. His time is now the third-fastest mark in the NAIA this fall at the 8k distance and a personal best time in his career.
The Spartans will next take to the course at the WWU Padden Invitational in Bellingham, Wash., on Saturday, October 24.
About the NAIA
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small college athletics programs dedicated to character-driven, education-based athletics. Since 1937, the NAIA has balanced high-level competition with holistic student-athlete development through its commitment to The Right Way to Play®. Each year more than 87,000 NAIA student-athletes compete in college athletics, earn over $1.3 billion in financial aid, and pursue opportunities to participate in 30 national championships. naia.org | @NAIA | #TheRightWayToPlay
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes in the NAIA in track and field, cross country, and as an independent team in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 U SPORTS team championships and 33 Canada West team championships.
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
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