LINCOLN, NEB. -- Leah Thompson came in third place (20:48.53) while Marius Sava finished eighth (25:29.10) as the Wichita State University men's and women's cross country teams competed at the Woody Greeno Invitational on Saturday, September 19, in Lincoln, Neb.

The WSU women's team came in second place overall, behind the University of Nebraska. The men's team finished eighth (third in university division) with the Colorado School of Mines claiming the top team spot.

The Woody Greeno Invitational is hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan University.

"Our women competed hard today and put their nose in it from the gun," commented head coach Marc Burns following the race. "There are some strong teams emerging in our conference and we need to be ready for them on Halloween. It is time to get another two solid weeks of training under our belts as we prepare for the next text at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational in Chicago in two weeks."

Tonya Nero was the second runner across the line for the Shockers, coming in sixth place with a time of 21:08.98. Rachel York placed 15th as she clocked in at 21:39.38 with Irene Kosgei coming in at 21:49.88 to finish 17th.

Olivia Martinez was just behind Kosgei in 18th place with a time of 21:51.48.

Cornhusker Lara Crofford was the top individual medalist on the women's side (20:32.68)

On the men's side, sophomore Trace Kendrick was the second Shocker home, clocking in with a time of 26:24.20. Scott Ufford came in 64th place (27:00.04) while the duo of Brandon Haist (27:09.40) and Jake Wike (27:25.00) finished in 70th and 85th places, respectively.

"This was a big race and if you did not get out fast enough you were locked down in the middle of the masses. Unfortunely, that is what happened to our 2-8 guys today. Although they were able to move up throughout the race it was just a little too much ground to make up to make it back to where we thought we could be. We still finished third in the university division but we know we have a lot of work to do. I believe in this team and they will figure it out over the next six weeks and be prepared to battle hard at the MVC Championships."

David Adams of Nebraska was the top male finisher in a time of 24:29.40.

Both the WSU men's and women's cross country teams return to competition on Saturday, October