Jacob Kirwa

Jacob Kirwa

Player Profile

Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Eldoret, Kenya
Last College:
Diné College
Height:
5-10
Event:
Distance
Experience:
1L
Pronunciation:
KEER-wah

Track & Field Honors
• All-Midwest Region (5,000m - '09)
• MWC Outdoor Champion (5,000m - '09, 10,000m - '10)
• 3x Outdoor All-MWC (5,000m/10,000m - '09, 10,000m - '10)
• Indoor All-MWC (3,000m - '10)

NEW MEXICO:

Emerging distance force who was the leader of one of the premier cross country teams in the nation in the fall, earning All-America honors (11th) for the eighth place Lobos at the 2009 NCAA Championships after winning the MWC individual cross country title...began his rise to national prominence late last spring, winning the MWC Outdoor title and finishing second at the NCAA Midwest Regional in the 5,000m...ranks ninth on the Lobos' all-time performers list in the outdoor 5K with a best of 14:02.51...completed the first full track season of his career in 2009 after making a name for himself in cross country, first in his two years (2006-07) at USCAA-affiliated Diné College (Shiprock, Ariz.) and then as the Lobos' No. 1 runner in 2008...two-time first team all-MWC and all-Mountain Region in cross country...transferred to UNM in the fall of 2008 after winning a pair of USCAA national cross country titles at Diné (which doesn't officially sponsor a track team)...made a good living as successful farmer back in Kenya before his father insisted that he get his college degree in the U.S....last name is pronounced KEER-wah.

2010: (outdoor) Finished his senior year as the MWC Champion in the 10,000-meters with a personal best time of 30:43.82...ran a career best time of 13:48.86 in the 5,000-meters at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational to qualify for NCAA Preliminaries and had the 24th best time in the west region...qualified for NCAA Championships where he took 18th with a time of 14:11.83 in the 5K

2009:
(cross country) Capped his cross country career with one of the finest seasons in UNM history...led the nationally ranked Lobos' in all seven races, winning three times and finishing among the top three five times...lowest finish of the year came at the NCAA Championships when he was 11th - the third-highest in New Mexico history at the national meet...ran a career-best and MWC-leading 10K time of 29:46.1 in his All-America performance, leading the men's team to a program-record eighth place tie...outkicked BYU's Miles Batty at the MWC Championships to win the individual title and MWC Runner of the Year honors with a Championship record and league-leading 8K time of 23:34.5...it was also the fastest 8K ever run by a Lobo at a conference meet...led New Mexico to a 29-34 victory over heavily favored BYU on the Cougars' home course, giving the Lobos' their first conference title since 1988 and snapping a five-year BYU winning streak...went on to earn all-region honors with a third place finish - matching the second-best by a Lobo at the meet - to lead New Mexico to third in the team standings (77 points) at the NCAA Mountain Regional in Albuquerque...it was UNM's lowest score ever at the regional and best finish since `88...won the season-opening Lobo Invitational (Sept. 5) by 54 seconds while running unattached...victorious again a month later at Notre Dame (Oct. 2) - the first road win by a Lobo since 2004...seventh at the Pre-Nationals Invitational to earn MWC Athlete of the Week honors for the second time in the season and third time in his career, tying program records in both categories.

2008-09:
(outdoor) Caught fire late in the season en route to an NCAA berth in the 5,000m...he and teammate Rory Fraser were the first Lobos to run the event at the NCAA meet since 1989...finished 18th - 5 spots above his seed - after a 4-hour weather delay in Fayetteville, Ark...time of 14:09.45 was just 5 seconds shy of a spot in the finals...earned all-region honors with a runner-up performance - 11 spots above his seed - at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships at Oklahoma (May 29), recording a career best time of 14:02.51 (9th all-time at UNM)...won the MWC 5K title with an altitude adjusted time of 14:05.31 (May 16) at the highest Division I stadium in the nation in Laramie, Wyo...also earned silver in his lone 10K race of the year (altitude adjusted 30:51.38 - 3rd on the team) to lead the Lobos in scoring (18 points) and help the team to its highest conference finish since 1990...ran under the NCAA regional qualifying standard in the 5K twice in the regular season, ranking 3rd on the team and 5th in the MWC...9 races in 7 meet appearances.

(indoor) Ranked 3rd on the team and 6th in the MWC in the 5,000 (14:07.44) and was 4th on the team in the 3,000 (8:23.97) in the first full track season of his career...8th in the 5K at the MWC Championships and was 9th in the 3K...raced 6 times in 4 meet appearances.

(cross country) Lobos' No. 1 runner in 4 of his 6 races...led UNM with a 5th place finish at the MWC Championships to earn first team all-conference honors...earned all-region honors with a 22nd place finish (team's No. 3) at the NCAA Mountain Region meet...5 top-25 finishes...19th at Pre-Nationals with a season-best 8K of 24:03.9...Lobo Invitational runner-up in his Division I debut.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE:

Attended Diné College in Shiprock, N.M. from 2006-08...two-time USCAA national cross country champion for head coach Abraham Bitok...won the '07 title by nearly 4 minutes, completing the 8K course in 24:45.01 to lead Diné to its third-straight team title.

PERSONAL:

Born in Eldoret, Kenya...full name is Jacob Kirwa Bore...majoring in Business Administration.

PERSONAL BESTS

Outdoor
5,000-meters: 13:48.86
10,000-meters: 30:43.82

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