Purity Chepkirui Named MAC Women's Runner of Week

Freshman Purity Chepkirui (right) was named the Mid-American Conference Runner of the Week for the second time.

Photo by: Kieran Intemann/Indiana State Athletics

10/13/2026 11:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country

Freshman placed fourth at prestigious Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational

TOLEDO, Ohio – Toledo freshman Purity Chepkirui was named the Mid-American Conference Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week, the league office announced on Tuesday morning. It marked the second time that Chepkirui received the weekly honor.

Chepkirui placed fourth at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational with a time of 19:22.3 on the 6K course, 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).

Chepkirui registered her third consecutive top-10 finish as a Rocket and her performance helped the Rockets finish ahead of 11 Top 25 programs, including No. 5 Iowa State and No. 11 Stanford. In addition, Toledo's sixth-place showing is the program's best ever at Nuttycombe.