The Basics
            The Shocker track and field and cross country teams send two athletes to national meets.
            Joseph Holthusen qualified for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the 60-meter hurdles. He will race the semifinals on Friday and if he advances to the final, that race will take place on Saturday. 
            Holthusen will try to become the second ever hurdler to earn indoor All-America status. Shannon Armstrong accomplished the feat in 2004.
            Winny Koskei qualified for the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the third consecutive year. Her race is on Monday morning. 
            She looks to become the second Shocker to earn two cross country All-America honors. She would join the company of Shocker legend and 2021 Olympian Aliphine Tuliamuk.
 
Follow The Meet
            Fans can follow along with updates on Twitter @GoShockersTFXC. A full recap of each day will be posted on Twitter, Facebook and GoShockers.com.
            The NCAA Indoor Championships will be streamed on ESPN3. Friday's broadcast starts at 1:45 p.m. and Saturday's broadcast starts at 12:30 p.m. Direct links to each stream will be available on GoShockers.com
            The NCAA Cross Country Championships will air live on ESPNU. Coverage starts at 11:30 a.m. and will also stream online. A link to that stream will also be available on GoShockers.com.
 
Meet Schedule
            The 60-meter hurdles semifinals will be at 2:15 p.m. on Friday. If Holthusen advances to the final, that race is set for 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.
            The NCAA Cross Country Championships will kick off with the women's race at 11:50 a.m. on Monday.
 
Last Time Out
            The Shockers traveled to Colorado to compete in a championship-style meet at the Air Force Academy and found success.
            The Wichita State women won the team race with 75 points, beating out the likes of Oregon, USC and other elite West Coast teams.
            Winny Koskei took home three individual wins. She won the Mile, 3,000 Meters and was a member of the winning Distance Medley Relay.
            Jacque Darby and Paula Garcia also showed their prowess in the 200 meters. They took third and fourth in the 200-meter final.
            The men's team finished second in the team race.
 
Assistant Director of Track and Field and Cross Country John Wise on the Meet
On the goals and expectations
"Time is certainly not important at this meet. The goal would be to make the final. Mostly, it'll be a good experience to learn and have a positive experience. If you run fast and don't make the final, that's OK too. The accomplishment has already been made of making it there. Now you never want to be satisfied as a participant. For him, it he quickly started to think about what it would take to make the final. Doing what you did to get there will usually make the final. It's a different kind of setting when everyone is that good and there is no margin for error. He's shown to be a big-meet competitor. He has an uncanny ability to make the final in whatever event at whatever meet. We nicknamed him 'Finals Joe' because he was always making the final. He's the kind of guy that rises to the competition."
 
On the lead up to the competition
"We're so close that we're going to practice here on Thursday, drive down Thursday night and compete Friday. For other teams, it'll be difficult to practice. I talked to my friend at Texas A&M and he said they'll be practicing in the hotel. There's no option unless they go to an outdoor track and the weather will be sketchy. It'll be advantageous for him to practice at his home track and then head down to compete."
 
Head Cross Country Coach Kirk Hunter on the Meet
On how special it would be for her to be a two-time All-American
"It would be incredibly special. I feel like Winny has gone through so much over the last few months. Dealing with COVID and having the issues of competition in limbo and disruptions in school, it's been a tough transition for everyone. I've been proud of Winny to maintain her level (of performance) and come back to win the conference meet and qualify for Nationals. That alone makes me so proud of her. Secondly, we're doing cross country and indoor at the same time. There's so many different things happening across the country in cross country and track and field that it's really difficult for these athletes to stay focused. For her to get there is incredible. If she can accomplish her goals, which are very high, definitely to be an All-American again, I would be very proud of her, but I don't even know how to explain how special it would be. It would be amazing."
 
On if her history of hanging back and moving up late in National meets has been her plan or pure coincidence
"I think it's been coincidence. Any athlete that is trying to do well has a goal of being at the front the whole time and finishing well. The NCAA meet has such a shock at the beginning with everyone getting out so aggressively. It's much different than any other meet all year. This meet is aggressive. Any regular season meet, it's just not that way. Not being used to that initial push can get someone behind. It takes an amazing amount of mental strength to understand you just have to keep running. The first year she was way back with 1,000 meters to go and she moved up to become an All-American. Last year, she did the same, but just couldn't move up quite enough. The goal would be to be in the top 20 and stay there. Winny has an ability to move up in the last 1,000 meters very well. Better than most, and that's why she's able to move up. Hopefully she isn't so far back where she has to adjust that much to make the top 30 or 40."
 
Winny Koskei at the NCAA XC Championships
            Winny Koskei is back at the NCAA Cross Country Championships for the third consecutive year.
            Koskei made her first NCAA Cross Country meet appearance in 2018 as a sophomore. She impressed in the bitter cold and snow in Madison, Wisconsin. She hung in with the pack and moved up the field with 1,000 meters to go. She finished the race in 35th, earning All-America honors and became the third cross country All-American under coach Kirk Hunter.
            The 2019 meet didn't go as planned for Koskei, but she still placed in the top 50 with a 47th-place finish. Once again, Koskei made her way up the field late in the race. She was as far back at 74th at the 2K mark and ended up in 47th. She was just seven spots off of All-America status.
            Koskei looks to become the second two-time cross country All-American in program history. The lone other Shocker to accomplish the feat was Shocker legend and 2021 Olympic marathon athlete Aliphine Tuliamuk.
 
Holthusen Season in Review
            Joseph Holthusen put together one of the best hurdling seasons in Shocker history during the 2021 indoor season.
            Hothusen ran the 60-meter hurdles 11 times. He ran 8.00 seconds or faster in all but two of those 11 tries.
            Holthusen placed no lower than fourth in the 60-meter hurdles at any meet he competed, including in an elite field at the Championship at The Peak.
            The Shocker hurdler qualified for the NCAA Championships with his time of 7.78 (converted from 7.74 at altitude). He ranks 12th in the nation going into the meet.
 
Shockers in the National Ranks
            The Shockers end the year with five athletes posting top-50 NCAA marks. A pair of hurdlers, a pair of multi-athletes and a thrower represent the Shockers in the top 50.
            Michael Bryan just missed out on qualifying for the national meet with his No. 20 ranking. He was 58 centimeters off of the qualifying mark for the NCAA meet.
                        12. Joseph Holthusen, 60-Meter Hurdles: 7.78 (converted from 7.74 at altitude)
                        20. Michael Bryan, Weight Throw: 21.17m/69-5.50
                        25. Antonio Norman, 60-Meter Hurdles: 7.83 (converted from 7.79 at altitude)
                        43. Tanner Brown, Heptathlon: 5,284 points
                        48. Nate Vann, Heptathlon: 5,251 points