Meet Notes

The Basics
            The Shockers host the 71st annual JK Gold Classic at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday at the RAFT Course.
            The majority of the Wichita State roster will make its debut, including returning All-Americans Winny Koskei and Rebekah Topham. The men's squad returns six of its top seven from the AAC Championships a year ago, including 1,500 meter and Mile champion Zack Penrod.
            Topham is a four-time winner of the JK Gold Classic. She is the only athlete, male or female, to have won four individual titles. She has a shot to become the only athlete to win five titles on Saturday.
 
Follow the Meet
            Fans can come watch the Shockers run at the RAFT Course, which is located at 13218 SW Tawakoni Rd. in Augusta, Kansas (ZIP Code 67010).  Admission is $5 per person.
            For those who won't be able to make it to the RAFT Course, updates can be found on Twitter (@GoShockersTFXC) and a recap, along with PDF results, will be posted to goshockers.com.
 
Meet Schedule
            The collegiate portion of the meet kicks off with the University/College Men's 6K at 8:30 a.m. The women follow them at 9 a.m. when they run a 4K race.
            A full schedule of the entire event (including high school races) can be found on goshockers.com.
 
Last Time Out
            The Shockers opened their season at the Bob Timmons Classic in Lawrence. The men's and women's squads had four representatives each. Seven of the eight Wichita State runners were true freshmen.
            Miranda Dick and Britte Magnuson were the top performers. Dick led the women's team with a 10th-place finish, completing the 5K race in 20:00.9. Magnuson was the best runner for the men's team, crossing the like in 16th. He completed the 6K in 20:28.1.
 
Coach Hunter on the Meet
On his season outlook
"Our expectations are to win the conference. That's the goal. We want to establish ourselves as the best team in the conference, which is going to be difficult. Our conference is so tough in quality and depth. The women are defending champs, but it's going to be difficult. We only won by two points last year. In order for us to get it done again, we are going to have to be strong on both sides."
 
 
On his confidence after winning a conference title last year
"Well, it is a new year. Knowing that you can win a conference title because you've done it is great, but it also puts a target on our back. Last year, nobody looked at us. We weren't picked for anything at the conference meet, and now they know what we've got. Everyone in the conference knows about Winny and Rebekah, but not everyone knows what we've got behind them."
 
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.