Meet Notes

The Basics
                  The Shockers split up efforts this weekend with meets in Emporia and Eugene, Oregon. A small group of athletes head to Emporia for the Emporia State Invitational. The other group of Shockers take a trip to the Pacific Northwest for the Bill Dellinger Invitational to face off against ranked teams.
            All-Americans Winny Koskei and Rebekah Topham will lead the charge in Oregon for the Shocker women. JK Gold champion Ben Flowers and other top finishers from the Shockers' home meet take on Oregon as well.
The Shockers send a young group to Emporia for a Friday night meet, which kicks off at 5:15 p.m.
 
Follow the Meet
            Fans can follow along on Twitter at @GoShockersTFXC for updates. A recap will be posted to GoShockers.com as well as full PDF results.
            Fans can also go to the Emporia State Invitational on Friday night at Jones Park in Emporia. The address is 2006 Jones Dr, Emporia, KS 66801.
 
Meet Schedule
            The Emporia State Invitational kicks off at 5:15 p.m. Friday night with the women's 5K. The men's 8K will begin at 6 p.m. in Emporia.
            In Oregon, the men start off the competition with an 8K at 12:30 p.m. CT. The women follow them at 1:30 p.m. CT with a 6K.
 
Last Time Out
            The Shockers hosted the 71st annual JK Gold Classic, and they swept the contest. Wichita State won both men's and women's team titles and both men's and women's individual titles.
            Winny Koskei dethroned fellow All-American Rebekah Topham with a win in the women's race. She crossed the line in 13:48.5 to win the women's 4K. Topham was right behind her teammate Koskei to finish as the runner-up. Yazmine Wright and Rita Schnacker finished third and fourth to help Wichita State secure the victory.
            Ben Flowers won the men's race, but the Shockers' team effort is what stood out. The Wichita State men took four of the top-five spots and six of the top eight. Flowers, Jed Helker, Cory Landon, Adam Moore, Zack Penrod and Bryce Merriman all finished in the top eight to lead the Shockers to victory.
 
The Field
            The Shockers take on a loaded field in Oregon at the Bill Dellinger Invitational. BYU highlights the field. The Cougars have the No. 2 men's team and the No. 6 women's team. The sixth-ranked Portland men and 10th-ranked Oregon women round out the field of four top-10 nationally ranked squads. All in all, 17 teams who are either ranked or have received votes in the USTFCCCA National Rankings are in the field at Oregon.
 
Coach Hunter on the Meet
On his goals and expectations for the meet in Oregon
"Our goals are to run fast. We have two teams that have the ability to be fast teams throughout. We might not be as deep as some other teams around the country, but that's the nature of how we do things and recruit here at Wichita State for our overall goals. This group has the ability, if they stay healthy throughout the year, to be two of the best teams in school history. Given that fact, we're hoping to go in there and make some noise against those ranked teams. Hopefully it'll help us move up in the rankings as we go through the year."
 
On going to the course in Eugene
"I have been out there a few times. The course has always been extremely flat. There's never a bump in it. That doesn't mean it runs fast. It typically does, but if it rains, that can change the way the course runs."
 
Return of the Champs
            The defending champions of women's AAC cross country are back and ready to defend their crown.
            The Shockers bring back five of their top six from last year's conference-winning squad. Winny Koskei, Rebekah Topham, Yazmine Wright, Rita Schnacker and Halle Johnson all come back to help defend the conference title the Shockers won in 2018.
            Koskei figures to lead the way this season for the Shockers. She was an All-American during the 2018 cross country season with a 35th-place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Koskei also comes in as the conference's defending individual champion.
            Topham adds to one of the country's best one-two punches. She is fresh off an All-American finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in June. Topham finished third at last year's AAC Cross Country Championships and won the Missouri Valley individual cross country title in 2016.
            It is going to be a tough task to take away the conference crown form Wichita State in 2019.
 
Almost Identical
            The Shocker men return nearly everyone on the roster from a year ago.
            Wichita State's men's squad brings back six of its top seven from the AAC Championships. The only loss was Pedro Montoya who ran out of eligiblity.
            Zack Penrod was the low stick at the AAC Championships in 2018 and had great seasons on the track to bolster his momentum coming into the cross country season. Penrod won the Mile indoors and the 1,500 meters outdoors at the AAC conference meets. 
            Clayton Duchatschek also returns for the Shocker men. He was the best Wichita State runner at last year's Midwest Regional and at Pre-Nationals. Duchatschek is coming off a redshirt during the 2019 outdoor campaign.
            Ethan Kossover was also in Wichita State's top three at the AAC Championships and Midwest Regional. Kossover barely missed out on all-conference honors with a fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the outdoor conference meet.
            The Shockers hope to improve on last year's fourth-place conference finish with a strong veteran presence.