STILLWATER, Okla.—The Wichita State men's and women's cross country teams competed at the Midwest Regional on Friday, and Winny Koskei clinched a trip to the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
 
Koskei finished the race in third place, completing the 6K race in a time of 20:34.8.  She was only beaten by the top two runners from the Big 12 (Cailie Logue of Iowa State and Taylor Somers of Oklahoma State).
 
A third-place finish as an individual means Koskei is one of the top four individuals not on a qualifying team, which is what it takes to qualify for the NCAA Championships. Koskei made it to Nationals last year as well where she finished as an All-American.
 
Coach Kirk Hunter said Koskei struggled, but overcame to qualify for Nationals.
 
"That's awesome for her again," Hunter said. "Making it to the NCAA Championships is a huge achievement. I'm really proud of her."
 
Koskei led the women's team to an eighth-place team finish. Rebekah Topham finished 31st and Yazmine Wright took 38th to put three in the top 40 for Wichita State.
 
Abeba Sullivan and Halle Johnson took 84th and 86th, respectively, to fill out the scoring for the Shocker women.
 
The eighth-place performance is tied for the team's second-best performance at a Midwest Regional. The Shocker women had their best finish since 2015 when they also finished in eighth as a team.
 
On the men's side, Ben Flowers capped off his breakout season with a 17th-place finish individually. The junior earned All-Region honors with a time of 31:18.7 in his first 10K of the season.
 
Hunter said he's proud of the control Flowers showed.
 
"He ran the last half of that race as perfect as he could," Hunter said. "I'm really happy that he has figured it out. It's not figuring it out physically, it's about figuring it out mentally and emotionally. In a race this big with this many people, that's all it is, and he looks like he has it now."
 
Flowers' All-Region performance was the low stick for the Shocker men, but Zack Penrod ran a good race as well, finishing in 37th.
 
Ethan Kossover finished in 88th to put three Wichita State men in the top 100. Jed Helker finished in 102nd and Bryce Merriman took 116th place to round out the scoring effort for the Shockers.
 
The Shocker men finished the meet with a total of 352 points, which put them in 13th in the team race. It's the best finish at a Midwest Regional from the Wichita State men's team since 2015 when they finished 10th.
 
Koskei is the only Shocker headed to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, which take place on Nov. 23 in Terre Haute, Indiana.
 
"I just want to get Winny's legs feeling better," Hunter said. "Just like last year, you never know how that meet is going to turn out. It's going to be a tough meet, and for her to become an All-American again will be tough."
 
Men's Team Results
1. Tulsa – 37 points
2. Iowa State – 54 points
3. Kansas – 150 points
13. Wichita State – 352 points
 
Men's Individual Results
17. Ben Flowers* – 31:18.8
37. Zack Penrod – 31:48.8
88. Ethan Kossover – 32:44.9
102. Jed Helker – 32:58.2
116. Bryce Merriman – 33:13.1
147. Josh Klein – 33:59.1
162. Britte Magnuson – 34:25.8
 
Women's Team Results
1. Illinois – 108 points
2. Tulsa – 123 points
3. Minnesota – 130 points
8. Wichita State – 240 points
 
Women's Individual Results
3. Winny Koskei*^ – 20:34.8
31. Rebekah Topham – 21:28.8
38. Yazmine Wright – 21:41.2
84. Abeba Sullivan – 22:20.1
86. Halle Johnson – 22:20.8
129. Rita Schnacker – 22:58.4
165. Danielle Rinn – 23:33.9
 
*Denotes All-Region honoree
^Denotes qualification to the NCAA Cross Country Championships