Shocker track stars to know: Chairo Ogbebor emerges as record-breaking sprinter
In his debut season on the Wichita State track and field team, Chairo Ogbebor showed he had a handle on one event.
The sophomore from Ontario, Canada had arrived as a gifted jumper and quickly proved it. As a freshman, he won the long jump title at the American Outdoor Championships with a mark of 25 feet 1.75 inches, then advanced to the NCAA West Preliminaries.
But while Ogbebor was already producing championship-level results in the field, his sprinting had not caught up yet. He failed to reach the finals of the 60 meters at the American indoor championships and also missed the final in the 100 meters during the outdoor conference meet.
A year later, that part of his profile has changed in a hurry.
Now Ogbebor is no longer just a standout long jumper who can also sprint. He has become the fastest man in program history, the latest Wichita State record-breaker and a major reason the Shockers suddenly have another dangerous weapon heading into the stretch run of outdoor season.
“We were really excited about Chairo when he came to Wichita State,” WSU track and field head coach Steve Rainbolt said. “And he had an excellent freshman year in the long jump, but not in sprinting. Now you’re starting to see him truly look like that legitimate upper-level sprinter that we thought he was.”
The breakthrough began on Wichita State’s home track during indoor season.
At the Coach Wilson Invitational, Ogbebor ran 6.65 seconds in the 60-meter final to break the school record, a result that confirmed his sprinting ceiling had started to match the promise coaches saw when he signed. He followed that by placing second in the 60 at the American Indoor Championships, then wasted no time carrying that momentum into the outdoor season.
In his outdoor debut on March 27 at Emporia State, Ogbebor ran 10.17 in the 100 meters to break Wichita State’s 36-year-old program record, a mark that had stood since 1990. That time currently ranks No. 3 in the American and instantly changed the frame around his sophomore season. Instead of building gradually toward conference relevance in the sprints, Ogbebor has now arrived.
“It’s a really good sign of things to come hopefully,” Ogbebor said. “It lets me know that all of the work that I’ve been doing, all of that is starting to pay off.”
What changed was not one magic fix so much as a full year of physical and personal adjustment finally showing up on the stopwatch.
Ogbebor said last year was the first time in his life he had ever truly lifted weights at this level. He had done some training before arriving from Canada, but nothing close to the demands of a Division I program. The adaptation was significant, especially for an athlete trying to sharpen the smallest margins in an event where hundredths of a second can separate everyone.
“It was really about being more powerful and explosive,” Ogbebor said. “If you move weight faster, then you can move your body faster. So I think just another year of experience has really helped me a lot.”
The adjustment extended beyond the track and weight room. As a freshman living in the dorms, Ogbebor said he did not have the same control over his sleep and eating habits that he has now while living in an apartment off campus. The added structure has helped him settle into the kind of daily routine that elite sprinters depend on.
Rainbolt believes that is only the start.
“He really is just scratching the surface with his potential,” Rainbolt said. “Every single 22-year-old sprinter is way better than they were at 19.”
That growth has also been technical. Ogbebor said the most important part of his race is the drive phase, the first controlled stretch when sprinters stay low and build acceleration. During indoor season, teammate Jason Parrish was so sharp over the first 30 meters that Ogbebor often found himself trailing early. That became a lesson as much as a challenge. He had to learn not to panic, not to rush out of his mechanics, and not to force the race too soon.
“The main thing for me is don’t panic when (others) get out really fast,” Ogbebor said. “You’ve got to relax because if you tense up, you’re going to end up running slower. So you’re still pushing yourself, but you want to stay relaxed and let the race come to you. Trust the work you put in.”
That trust is showing up everywhere now.
Ogbebor still ranks among Wichita State’s best in the long jump, currently sitting No. 6 in the American with a season-best mark of 24-3.5. He has also become a major part of the Shockers’ 4x100 relay team, which ranks No. 3 in the conference with a time of 39.66. But the headline this spring is his emergence as a true sprint threat, the kind Wichita State believed it was getting all along.
The timing matters, too. The Shockers will compete next at Oklahoma this weekend, then at Kansas on May 1-2 and at a home meet on May 8 before traveling to Denton, Texas for the American Outdoor Championships on May 14-16.
But Ogbebor isn’t the only Shocker who is excelling on the track and field team. Here are 10 other athletes who are turning heads this spring for WSU.
Ten Wichita State track and field standout performances
1. Elkana Kipruto, a sophomore from Kenya, smashed a 35-year-old school record in the 10,000 meters with a 28:09.21 in California on April 16, breaking Mornay Annandale’s 1991 mark and giving him his fifth Wichita State record across cross country, indoor and outdoor competition. It also put him atop the American in the 10K. Earlier in the season, Kipruto also set the school record in the 5,000 with a time of 13:35.77 in what was the nation’s top 5K time at that point in the season.
2. Jelese Alexander broke a 16-year-old women’s long jump record with a mark of 20-10.75, then the senior from Trinidad and Tobago turned around and cleared 6-0 in the high jump. Those marks ranked No. 14 nationally in the long jump and No. 9 nationally in the high jump, while her high jump clearance also led the American.
3. Jason Parrish, a junior from Olathe, posted one of WSU’s strongest national marks of the spring in the 400 hurdles, lowering his American-leading time to 50.41 at Oregon. That performance ranked No. 19 nationally.
4. Josh Parrish, Jason’s twin brother, also put himself squarely in the national conversation in the long jump with a conference-leading mark of 25-9.25 at Arkansas that ranked No. 11 in the NCAA at the time.
5. The men’s 400 relay of Josh Parrish, Jason Parrish, Brody Anderson and Chairo Ogbebor ripped off a 39.66 at Oregon, the No. 2 time in school history.
6. Senior Lucy Ndungu ran 33:20.55 in the 10,000 on April 16, the No. 3 time in school history and just 1.74 seconds off the American all-time record.
7. Sophomore Kelvin Kipyego ran 3:42.50 in the 1,500 at Oregon, the second-fastest mark in program history. It also moved him to No. 2 in the American.
8. Sophomores Shellamae Farmer, a Hoisington native, and Kylie Scott both cleared 13-3.75 in the pole vault at Oregon, tying for the conference lead and moving into a tie for No. 6 in school history.
9. Tyler Carroll’s personal-best time of 13.87 in the 110 hurdles at Arkansas kept him at No. 6 in school history and gave him the American lead.
10. Freshman Lilly Charest rounded out the pole vault surge by clearing 12-10 at Oregon, which moved her to No. 10 in school history and No. 4 in the American.
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