FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Florida Gulf Coast University men’s cross country program added an experienced runner to its distance roster, securing a commitment from Wichita State transfer Victor Kemboi for the 2026–27 season.

The Eldoret, Kenya, native arrives in Fort Myers as a rising junior with three seasons of eligibility remaining under the NCAA Division I age-based eligibility framework. Kemboi, a graduate of Segero Heralds Adventist School, spent his sophomore campaign competing at the Division I level in the American Athletic Conference for Wichita State following a junior college stint at Iowa Western Community College.

Kemboi established a series of personal bests on the track during the 2024 season at Iowa Western. In February 2024, he clocked an indoor 3,000-meter time of 8:20.45 at the Tyson Invitational, finishing 14th out of 25 runners. Moving to the outdoor season, he finished 23rd out of 155 runners in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 30:27.18 at the Wash U Distance Carnival in March. In April, he placed fourth out of 88 entries in the 1,500-meter race in 3:55.75 at the Wichita State KT Woodman Classic, and finished 12th out of 22 competitors in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:27.72 at the 114th Drake Relays.

In early 2025, Kemboi lowered his short-distance personal marks at Iowa Western. He won the 1,000-meter race at the Cyclone Open in January 2025, finishing first out of seven runners in 2:27.62. In February, he placed 17th out of 54 runners in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:56.35 at the Ichabod Invitational.

After transferring to Wichita State, Kemboi recorded his personal best in the indoor mile in January 2026, crossing the line fourth out of nine runners in 4:11.24 at the Mark Colligan Memorial. He concluded his outdoor track season with the Shockers in May 2026 by placing third out of six runners in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, setting a personal best of 9:18.27.

On the grass, Kemboi began his collegiate cross country career at Iowa Western in September 2024, finishing 38th out of 375 runners with a time of 19:32.0 in the four-mile race at the Augie Twilight. On November 9, 2024, he placed 24th out of 193 runners with a time of 24:35.7 in the 8K at the NJCAA Division I Cross Country Championships. Three days later, on November 12, he finished 15th out of 175 competitors with a time of 1:08:43.1 at the NJCAA Half Marathon Championships. In September 2025, he finished 19th out of 123 runners in the men’s 6K with a time of 18:27.0 at the Platte River Rumble Gold.

Kemboi joins an FGCU roster focused on building depth ahead of the 2026 cross country season set to begin on Friday, Sept. 4 at the Florida Intercollegiate Invitational in Jacksonville, Florida.