HAYS—The Wichita State men's and women's cross country teams competed at the FHSU Tiger Open and saw three athletes finish in the top 35 on Saturday morning.
 
Josh Klein, Erin Topham and McKenna Paintin highlighted the Shockers' efforts.
 
Klein led the way for the Wichita State men, finishing the race in 18th place with a time of 25:19.1.
 
Josh Cable and Asher Moen also finished in the top 70 to help the Shocker men finish the team race in eighth place with 260 points.
 
Head cross country coach Kirk Hunter said he thought it was a good experience for the younger group of men.
 
"Every one of these guys is a freshman outside of Josh Klein," Hunter said. "Josh Klein competed well. The rest of the guys are figuring it out. It's about learning, and they've got a good chance to improve from this."
 
On the women's side, Erin Topham and McKenna Paintin finished 24th and 33rd. Topham nearly broke the 19-minute mark, but crossed the line in 19:01.4, and Paintin completed the race with a time of 19:22.8.
 
Hunter said Topham was aggressive throughout the race, but Paintin was running a more conservative race because it was her first race back from an injury.
 
"I was really happy with Erin Topham," Hunter said. "For a walk-on to run that time is really impressive. McKenna Paintin competed tough in her first race back from injury as well."
 
The women's team did not earn a team score because they did not have enough five finishers to complete a team score.
 
The Shockers return to action Saturday at Pre-Nationals in Terre Haute, Indiana, to get a preview of the NCAA Cross Country Championships' course.
 
 
Men's Individual Results
18. Josh Klein - 25:19.1
62. Josh Cable - 26.39.2
68. Asher Moen - 26:56.7
93. Jason Landon - 27:48.6
116. Cade Heikes - 28:52.4
118. Keegan Staats - 29:00.6
 
Women's Individual Results
24. Erin Topham - 19:01.4
33. McKenna Paintin - 19:22.8
84. Emma Stamm - 21:19.1
113. Sharon Kiprop - 29:36.1