Published on Show Me Mizzou Aug. 28, 2026
Story by Tony Rehagen, BA, BJ ’01
When the Tiger women’s cross-country team takes to the course this fall, they’ll have a returning All-American setting the pace for the first time in almost a decade. Last November, Monica Wanjiko finished 35th in the 2025 NCAA Cross Country National Championships on the home course at Columbia’s Gans Creek with a time of 19:17.4 over six kilometers, making her the first MU woman to garner first-team All-America honors since national champion Karissa Schweizer in 2017.
A native of Kaimbu, Kenya, Wanjiko is only the second Mizzou woman ever to earn that honor as a freshman, joining Andrea Fischer, who did it in 1981. It’s the 14th time a Tiger woman has finished in the top 40 at the NCAA Championship, and the 22nd time including men. The Tigers’ performance bodes well for the future: Wanjiko and two other freshmen, Mirriam Chepkirui and Kobi Walker, led the team to a 28th-place finish overall in just its 13th NCAA Championship appearance as a team.
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