CROSS COUNTRY HONORS

After 465-day break from racing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mwaura led Gonzaga to a program-best second-place finish at the West Coast Conference Championships with a runner-up finish in Las Vegas. His 23:02.9 finish set a new program record over an 8K course. That finish got the Bulldogs selected to the NCAA Championships for the first time in program history, where GU placed 27th.

On June 9, 2021, running as the secondever men’s qualifier for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in program history, Mwaura became the second-ever All-American in GU history in his thirdever 10,000-meter race. The sophomore placed ninth in the 10K national final, shattering his own school record time at 27:50.44. He bravely ran with the front pack for the entirety of the 25-lap race. His reward was running under the standard needed to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Trials. Two days later in the 5,000 meters, Mwaura earned honorable mention AllAmerican honors after a 17th-place finish.

A Gonzaga jersey appeared at the 2021 United States Track and Field Olympic Trials in Eugene, as Mwaura placed 14th in the 10,000 meters. Running for a spot in the 2021 Summer Olympics, he ran with no fear, jumping out with the front pack at the beginning of the race. At 4,400 meters, he fell to 17th in the 24-runner field. Just 1,600 meters later, he pushed to the front of the race. Mwaura held that lead and was in first with only 2,400 meters left in the race. He was one of six collegians in the race, and he had the third-best collegiate finish. He finished ahead of eight professional runners.

Following the race Mwaura said, “The way I raced, with trials coming up again in three years, I know I can close that gap, and I can fight for a spot at the next Olympics. Hopefully I can be one of those guys that makes it.”

Mwaura would place second again at the 2021 WCC Cross Country Championships, and then fifth at the NCAA West Regionals. He led the Zags to a fifth-place finish at regionals and 26th-place finish in the program’s second straight appearance at nationals. His 36th-place finish at the NCAA Championships made him the first cross country All-American in program history.

During the 2022 outdoor track season, Mwaura was one of five runners to run the five-fastest 5,000-meter times in the history of the Oregon Relays. His time of 13:30.02 sits as the program record. After finishing 12th in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA West Prelims in Arkansas, he qualified for the national championships for the second straight season. Mwaura would place 15th at nationals, becoming the first Zag runner in program history to finish as an All-American in consecutive seasons. His time of 27:50.44 remains as the program record.

In his final cross country season in 2022, Mwaura helped the Bulldog harriers climb to a program-best No. 12 national ranking. GU placed second at the conference championships, before a best-ever second place finish at the NCAA West Regional Championships. The Zags punched their ticket to its third-consecutive NCAA Championships appearance with the program’s first-ever automatic bid.

Mwaura became the first Bulldog to reach an NCAA Final three times in 2023, after advancing through the NCAA West Preliminaries in the 10k and 5k. In his final meet for Gonzaga, he kept finding new ways to make history. Mwaura raced his way to the best individual finish by a GU athlete and his third-straight All-American honors in the 10,000m Final in Austin, Texas, finishing fourth with a 28:14.64 time that ranks as his fastest of the season. He was the first GU runner to earn AllAmerican honors three times, and the first to make the All-America First Team in the 10K.

Mwaura leaves a legacy of the program’s 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter outdoor track record holder. He owns the school’s fastest time in cross country over an 8,000-meter course. He has the secondbest indoor 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter times in program history, along with No. 4 in the indoor mile, No. 4 over a 10K course in cross country and No. 10 in the outdoor 1,500 meters.

“James Mwaura will leave as arguably of the the most storied athletes in Gonzaga history. Five years ago when James made a visit to Spokane, he was approached by then men’s basketball assistant Tommy Lloyd, who told James, ‘you can go anywhere, a lot of great places, but if you come to Gonzaga, you’ll be the guy.’ He became that guy. We will miss James Mwaura, but his legacy will live on forever in Gonzaga history. Thank you James.

PAT TYSON Director of Cross Country/Track & Field; Head Men’s Coach