AUGUSTA, Kan. -- Tonya Nero broke the course record with a time of 13:30.81 as the Wichita State University men's and women's cross country programs opened up the 2010 season by hosting the 62nd annual J.K. Gold Classic on Saturday, Sept. 4.

"For the women, obviously, Tonya ran great," head coach Kirk Hunter said following the meet.  "She had a good race plan and executed it well.  Patrober (Murindat), Leah (Thompson), Megan (Gayer) and the others had very solid races also.  We need to close the gap to Tonya in order to meet our team goals."

Nero was almost a full five seconds faster than her nearest competition, Kansas States' Sydney Messick (13:35.72).  Boglarka Bozzay was third with a time of 14:01.19 while Avery Clifton (14:07.93) came in fourth to give the WildCats three of the top four spots.

Leah Thompson was the second Shocker across the line in sixth place with a time of 14:11.41 while newcomer Patrober Murindat was eighth, crossing the line in 14:31.34.

On the men's side, 2009 J.K. Gold champion Marius Sava was seventh with a time of 18:58.31.  Leading the 126-man field was Javier Ceja (18:24.59) while Cordell Baker of Oklahoma Baptist was second (18:38.65).  Mitch Loring of Kansas State rounded out the top-three with a time of 18:44.39.

"For the men, Jake (Wike) and Marius (Sava) both ran very well.  I was happy [the performances of] with Scott (Ufford) and Ryan (Woodman).  Our freshman will get there once they gain some experience.  We have the ability, but have a lot of work ahead of us.  We also need to get Jackson (Toroitich) and Trace (Kendrick) back to running the way we know they can."

The Shockers will take a week off before traveling to Iowa City, Ia., to compete in the Iowa Invitational.  The women will be running in a 4K while the men will compete in an 8K race.