Advertisement

Darius Kipyego's dominance last fall wasn't a surprise. Monday's historic Gatorade announcement wasn't either.

eric rueb, the providence journal
·2 min read
Devan Kipyego (shown winning the 2021 Boys Cross Country State Championship Meet) was the most dominant cross country runner in Rhode Island this fall and Monday was named the Gatorade RI Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Devan Kipyego (shown winning the 2021 Boys Cross Country State Championship Meet) was the most dominant cross country runner in Rhode Island this fall and Monday was named the Gatorade RI Cross Country Runner of the Year.

Devan Kipyego didn’t just win Gatorade Player of the Year. He ran away with it.

Bad puns aside, choosing the 2022-23 RI Boys Gatorade Player of the Year shouldn’t have been that much of a challenge with the year the St. Raphael senior star had. While it was assumed he’d earn the honor, it became official on Monday morning when he was announced as the winner of the award for the second straight year.

Dominant doesn’t begin to describe Kipyego’s season. He tried to set a state record at the Class C Championship and while he missed the mark, his time of 15:06.3 beat East Greenwich’s Nick Martin by 49.1 seconds. Kipyego was methodical at the RIIL State Championship Meet, running a 15:39.3 to top Hendricken’s Troy Silvestri by 5.5 seconds and closed his senior cross country season with a 15:24.7 finish at the New England Championships, good for a 12.5-second win.

Kipyego — who was named to the Providence Journal All-State First Team last week — not only excels on the course, but also away from it. He volunteers at his church as part of multiple community service initiatives and maintained a weighted 3.3 GPA at St. Raphael. In December Kipyego signed his National Letter of Intent and will join his brother Darius on the track team at Iowa State University.

Devan Kipyego (second from left) poses with his family following his Signing Day ceremony where Kipyego announced he would be joining brother Darius (far right) at Iowa State University.
Devan Kipyego (second from left) poses with his family following his Signing Day ceremony where Kipyego announced he would be joining brother Darius (far right) at Iowa State University.

It’s the third time Kipyego has been honored by Gatorade, giving him the most awards for a St. Raphael male athlete. The school’s all-time leader in Gatorade awards is Jackie Fournier, who won three times for softball and once for basketball.

Kipyego is now second among boys for all-time Gatorade honors. While several had earned two awards – most in the same sport – Kipyego’s three Gatorade honors now puts him one behind La Salle track and field star D.J. Principe. From 2014-17 Principe earned three Gatorade awards for cross country and also earned the 2016-17 track and field honor.

It’s the 19th time a St. Raphael boy has been honored by Gatorade. On the heels of classmate Moses Meus earning Player of the Year in football, it’s the fourth time two St. Raphael boys have been honored in the same academic year and third time two different boys were honored. The last were Jason Bennett for basketball and Felix Ramos for baseball in 1995-96.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Devan Kipyego named Gatorade RI Player of the Year in cross country