TERRE HAUTE, IND. - The Wichita State University men's and women's cross country teams were at the NCAA Pre-National meet, hosted by Missouri Valley Conference member Indiana State University, on Saturday, Oct. 17.
"The conditions were not the best today on the course, it was very soggy and wet and the wind also helped to contribute to increased times," said WSU head coach Marc Burns. "I was really impressed with how well the women ran. We finished ahead of a couple nationally ranked teams and had a couple women really step up."
The Shocker women competed in the white race where WSU finished 17th out of 37 schools with 444 points. Juniors Tonya Nero and Leah Thompson were the top runners for the Shockers, placing 36th and 38th, respectively, with times of 21:25 and 21:28. Senior Rachel York was the next Shocker across the line in a time of 22:13 to come in 107th while senior Irene Kosgei was 128th in a time of 22:26.
Senior runner Olivia Martinez rounded out the top five for WSU as she finished the 6K course in a time of 22:29 (135th).
"Tonya and Leah were right where they needed to be and Rachel really asserted herself today. I was also really pleased with how well Olivia ran today. She moved up well and I was just very excited with the ladies performance today."
On the men's side, junior Marius Sava was the top finisher for the Shockers, placing 17th on the 8K course in a time of 25:48. Sophomore Trace Kendrick clocked in at 26:16 (34th) while sophomore Scott Ufford was 62nd out of 111 runners with a time of 26:59.
Junior Jake Stecklein came in behind Ufford in 68th place (27:17) with freshman Josh Richardson was the fifth finisher for the Shockers, crossing the finishing line in a time of 27:24 to place 75th.
"The guys ran hard and gave a solid effort to build on as we head into the conference meet in two weeks. We have to be a team that wants it more than the others in the conference as several schools in the Missouri Valley have really stepped up the past two weeks. We'll use today's race as something to build on and learn from."
Next up for the Shockers is the MVC championships on Saturday, Oct. 31, in Peoria Ill.
