WICHITA—The Wichita State cross country teams opened their abbreviated season Saturday with the JK Gold Classic and saw impressive performances.
 
Winny Koskei won the women's individual title for the second consecutive year. She ran the 5K race in 17:19.13 to set the 4 Mile Creek Resort course record at 5,000 meters. Koskei's performance beat out the record held by Shocker Sports Hall of Famer Tonya Nero.
 
Head Cross Country Coach Kirk Hunter said he thought Koskei had a great finish to come home victorious.
 
"Winny (Koskei) battled to win the race and that was wonderful," Hunter said. "The race itself, Winny was flat. I was really impressed with her spirit and the fact she battled to win that individual title through some struggles."
 
The rest of the women's team did a good job of bunching up and weren't far behind Koskei. The other four scoring Shocker women ended up in the top eight.
 
Yazmine Wright finished third overall with a time of 17:40.03. Hope Saunders, McKenna Paintin and Danielle Rinn finished in spots six through eight.
 
The Wichita State women scored 25 points and beat Cincinnati by seven points. The team victory was the fifth in the last six years for the Shocker women.
 
"I was excited the women were able to win," Hunter said. "Cincinnati is such a good team. When you have a small race, you never know who's going to pull it out because one place could make the difference. Our girls battled well. Our top five did a good job. I was pleased they were able to come out of it (with a win)."
 
On the men's side, the Shockers finished as the runner-up in the team race with 58 points. Cincinnati won the men's team race with 34 points and a 24-point cushion.
 
Jed Helker was the first across the line for the Shockers. He finished sixth overall with a time of 18:22.55. Adam Moore also finished in the top 10 for Wichita State. He came in ninth and completed the 6K race in 18:38.79.
 
Clayton Duchatschek, Bryce Merriman and Ethan Kossover rounded out the scoring effort for the Shocker men with 12th, 13th and 18th-place finishes, respectively. 
 
Hunter said the men's squad needed a fifth man to step up.
 
"Ethan Kossover was dealing with some side cramps and fought through them," Hunter said. "That held him back a little bit. We have guys to be our fifth, but we didn't do it today. Cincinnati is such a terrific team.
 
"Getting Temple by one point (was huge) because I don't think we've ever beaten Temple."
 
The Shocker cross country teams look toward the AAC Championships on Feb. 6. They will play host again at 4 Mile Creek Resort with conference titles on the line.
 
Men's Team Results
1. Cincinnati – 34 points
2. Wichita State – 58 points
3. Temple – 59 points
4. Oklahoma City – 79 points
 
Men's Individual Results
6. Jed Helker - 18:22.55
9. Adam Moore - 18:34.81
12. Clayton Duchatschek - 18:38.79
13. Bryce Merriman - 18:42.07
18. Ethan Kossover - 19:04.21
25. Brittle Magnuson - 19:20.15
26. Trey Rios - 19:21.32
28. Shadrack Chumba - 19:33.00
29. Asher Moen - 20:05.80
 
Women's Team Results
1. Wichita State – 25 points
2. Cincinnati – 32 points
3. Oklahoma City – 77 points
 
Women's Individual Results
1. Winny Koskei - 17:19.13 (course record)
3. Yazmine Wright - 17:40.03
6. Hope Saunders - 18:23.46
7. McKenna Paintin - 18:25.36
8. Danielle Rinn - 18:43.76
14. Rita Schnacker - 19:22.49
19. Destini Eskridge - 20:29.27
20. Sarah Schaar - 20:49.47