MAC Women’s Cross Country Runner of the Week 6

Purity Chepkirui, Toledo

Toledo freshman Purity Chepkirui placed fourth at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational, running 19:22.3 in the 6K and leading No. 20 Toledo to a sixth-place finish in a field that included 17 nationally ranked programs. Her fourth-place finish is Toledo’s best ever at the event, and she finished less than three seconds behind champion Judy Chepkoech of Florida (19:19.5) and runner-up Betty Kipkore of Iowa State (19:19.6). It was Chepkirui’s third consecutive top-10 finish as a Rocket. Her performance helped the Rockets finish ahead of 11 Top 25 programs, including No. 5 Iowa State and No. 11 Stanford, and Toledo’s sixth-place showing is the program’s best ever at Nuttycombe.

Photo: *Kieran Intemann/ISU Athletics*