Steeplechase champion Kenneth Rooks leaves BYU to start out pro profession

Kenneth Rooks, the 2023 NCAA steeplechase champion and the U.S. champion, will pass on his final track and field season at Brigham Young University and embark early on his skilled profession.

Rooks announced his decision via social media on Jan. 9.

“I’m perpetually grateful to have had the chance to be a student-athlete at Brigham Young University and represent the Y,” he wrote. “It is bittersweet to announce that I actually have chosen to forgo my remaining eligibility for track and field and cross-country at BYU and pursue my running profession professionally.”

Rooks will represent Nike and proceed his running goals in Provo, he wrote.

The Latter-day Saint running star also intends to complete his degree in civil engineering and is planning to get married this yr, in line with citiusmag.com.

“There’s a number of latest beginnings for me this yr,” he told Citius Mag. “I’ve signed an expert contract with Nike and am also going to get married this yr. As I reflect back on 2023, I’m grateful for all of the opportunities that I’ve been in a position to find success with running.”

Rooks will proceed to coach alongside current and former BYU runners and be coached by Ed Eyestone, BYU men’s track and field coach. Eyestone is honored to find a way to proceed working with Rooks.

“I’m excited for this latest chapter in Kenneth Rooks’ running profession because at the school level he did nearly every part that we could have asked of him,” Eyestone said. “Now it’s time for him to take that next step. He’s shown that he can dominate the school scene, and he might be very competitive on the national scene. Now it’s time for him to take one other big step onto the world scene.” 

Rooks gained national prominence after falling and coming back to win the three,000-meter steeplechase crown on the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, last July.

At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Rooks crossed the finish line ahead of Olympic champion and reigning world champion Soufiane El Bakkali within the prelims and went on to complete tenth in the ultimate in August.

Rooks also won an NCAA championship on the Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas, in June.

Rooks served a full-time mission in Uganda and Orem, Utah, for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Rooks spoke about his decision to show pro in an interview with BYU Sports Nation on Jan. 11.