Washington State's Rosemary Longisa wins NCAA West quarterfinal 1,500-meter race

May 30-FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Rosemary Longisa will represent Washington State again on the national track and field stage after winning the 1,500-meter quarterfinal race on Saturday in the NCAA West regional at the University of Arkansas.

Longisa qualified for the NCAA Championships in impressive fashion, breaking free from the pack on the final stretch and finishing in a time of 4:07.38 for a comfortable victory. She separated from a trio of Oregon runners after the last turn to win by a couple of strides.

The Cougs' standout sophomore from Kenya, already one of the more accomplished runners in program history who holds multiple WSU records, entered the regional with the nation's fastest time in the 1,500 this year - and the second-fastest 1,500 in NCAA women's history. Longisa recorded a time of 4:02.55 in the event in April at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California.

Longisa will be making her second trip of the year to an NCAA Championships competition when the outdoor event kicks off June 10 in Eugene, Oregon. In March, she finished as the national runner-up in the mile at the indoor finals in Fayetteville.

In the next event Saturday at the West regional, WSU teammate Caroline Jepkorir earned an NCAA Championships berth with an 11th-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase quarterfinals. Jepkorir, also a sophomore from Kenya, finished in 10:10.15 and made the 12-competitor cut with time to spare.

University of Idaho junior Constanze Paoli placed third in that event with a time of 10:02.74. The Germany native set the UI record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase earlier this month during the Big Sky Conference Championships with a title-winning time of 9:50.89 - the sixth-fastest time nationally this season.

In the final individual event of the day, Gonzaga's Rosina Machu broke her own 5,000-meter program record with a 15:38.43 finish in the semifinals, placing 10th overall to qualify for the NCAA Championships. The senior from Boise also punched her ticket to the NCAA finals in the 10,000-meter run on Thursday with a seventh-place finish.

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This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 7:19 PM.