WICHITA—The Wichita State cross country teams ran at the American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships on their home course, 4 Mile Creek Resort, on Saturday.
 
Winny Koskei made history Saturday with a win in the women's 6K for her third consecutive conference cross country title. She became the first person, man or woman, in AAC history to win three conference cross country individual titles.
 
Koskei ran with the lead pack the entire way, but waited until about the final 1,000 meters to make her move ahead of the lead pack. She crossed the line with a time of 20:49.24.
 
Koskei punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships as the best-placing individual in the conference.
 
Head cross country coach Kirk Hunter said it's amazing Koskei was able to become the first-ever three-time champion in the AAC.
 
"She looked comfortable I thought," Hunter said. "We talked about moving a lot earlier (this time). There's very few people that will beat Winny up that hill on our course."
 
Yazmine Wright also had a strong performance for the Shocker women, finishing in fifth overall with a time of 21:12.30. Wright earned her second-ever cross country all-conference award and third overall (2019 DMR).
 
McKenna Paintin earned all-conference honors for the first time her career with a 13th-place finish. She crossed the line with a time of 22:03.57 over 6K.
 
Danielle Rinn just missed out on all-conference honors with a 16th-place finish, and Hope Saunders rounded out the Shockers' scoring in 27th.
 
The women's team took second-place behind defending champion Tulsa. The Shockers scored 61 points, which was 21 off of Tulsa's 40.
 
"I'm ecstatic with the women's performance, getting second as a team," Hunter said. "This team has had to deal with a lot of doubters, myself included a little bit. They decided to put it upon themselves to get it done and come in second as a team. I'm extremely proud of what the women did today."
 
On the men's side, Jed Helker showed his strength in cross country. Helker said he hadn't thought of himself as a cross country runner until now.
 
Helker finished 14th overall, completing the 8K 24:58.30. Helker became the second Shocker man to earn all-conference honors under Hunter. The only other Shocker to do it was Ben Flowers in 2019.
 
Helker's performance clinched him his second all-conference honor. He was named an all-conference athlete as a member of the conference champion DMR team at the 2020 AAC Indoor Championships.
 
Clayton Duchatschek and Adam Moore placed in the top 25 overall. Duchatschek placed 22nd and Moore was right behind him in 24th.
 
Ethan Kossover (28th) and Bryce Merriman (31st) rounded out the Shockers' top five.
 
In the men's team race, the 4th-best team in the nation, Tulsa, was nearly perfect. The Golden Hurricane scored 20 points, going 1-2-4-6-7.
 
The Wichita State men improved on 2019's fifth-place finish, coming in fourth this year.
 
"The men didn't have the meet they wanted," Hunter said. "I know they wanted top two, but I was shooting for top three. Jed Helker had a heck of a meet. He's my second-ever all-conference guy and that's a great accomplishment."
 
Winny Koskei is set to run at the NCAA Championships on March 15 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. It will be her third consecutive NCAA Championship meet.
 
"Winny handled it well and did what she needed," Hunter said "Now it's time to move on and look forward to the next one."
 
Men's Team Results
1. Tulsa – 20 points
2. Cincinnati – 54 points
3. Temple – 93 points
4. Wichita State – 112 points
 
Men's Individual Results
14. Jed Helker – 24:58.30*
22. Clayton Duchatschek – 25:07.69
24. Adam Moore – 25:08.33
28. Ethan Kossover – 25:27.81
31. Bryce Merriman – 25:33.04
37. Trey Rios – 25:55.13
40. Britte Magnuson – 26:03.79
43. Shadrack Chumba – 26:17.10
 
Women's Team Results
1. Tulsa – 40 points
2. Wichita State – 61 points
2. Cincinnati – 70 points
 
Women's Individual Results
1. Winny Koskei – 20:49.24*
5. Yazmine Wright – 21:12.30*
13. McKenna Paintin – 22:03.57*
16. Danielle Rinn – 22:06.07
27. Hope Saunders – 22:32.02
41. Sharon Kiprop – 22:56.49
66. Destini Stuever (Eskridge) – 24:08.99
73. Sarah Schaar – 24:52.93
76. Erin Topham – 25:24.34
 
*Denotes all-conference