GREENVILLE, N.C. – Lucy Ndungu claimed the silver medal for the Shockers at the American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, leading the Wichita State women to a fifth-place team finish, while the Shocker men placed fourth behind Jackson Caldwell's record-breaking performance Saturday morning at Overton's Lake Kristi.
 
Three Shockers landed on the all-conference list with Miranda Dick and Jackson Caldwell joining Ndungu in the top 15. The Wichita State men placed fourth with 107 points as Tulsa won its 10^th-consecutive team title, and the Shocker women finished fifth with 128 points while Tulane ended the Golden Hurricane's four-year reign, winning its first AAC team championship.
 
"We didn't have a perfect race all the way through, but I was proud of how both teams battled," head coach Kirk Hunter said.
 
After being out from running for multiple weeks, spending that time cross training, Ndungu toed the line for her first race in a month and battled her way to a runner-up finish in an extremely tough field of runners with a time of 20:45.8.
 
"Lucy showed extreme maturity," Hunter said. "A lot of people would mentally struggle and not be able to come back from that…but she has the strength and the knowledge, and she's smart enough that she knows if she just goes out and does her best, sticks her nose in there and tries, good things might happen, and she did that today. She's extremely impressive."
 
The junior transfer from Cloud County CC moved up from fourth to second over the last 2K to claim the Shockers' sixth-straight top-five individual AAC finish and seventh overall top-three finish.
 
"Those girls in that race are legit competitors; they're top NCAA Division I runners, and Lucy proved she belongs there," Hunter said. "That was an absolutely fabulous race on her part, probably the most impressive race I've seen her run so far."
 
Dick, a redshirt junior from Peculiar, Mo., claimed another top-10 finish for the Shockers, giving the women's team multiple all-conference awards for the sixth-consecutive season. She came through the 4K in 12^th place and passed five people in the final 2K to place seventh with a time of 21:09.6, a 21-second personal best.
 
"That was as good of a performance as Lucy's and maybe better," Hunter said. "That was just an unbelievable performance. The girls that she beat were running low 19s a couple weeks ago at another course, so that shows you what times mean; they mean nothing. You get in there, and you compete, and you battle."
 
Dick just missed the podium a year ago, placing 17^th but has steadily improved through the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons, the summer, and this cross country season to claim her first all-conference award.
 
"It was absolutely fabulous what she did," Hunter said. "I'm so happy for her, and for a girl who struggled earlier in her career to come back and do that, congratulations to her. That's amazing. Really, really proud of her."
 
For the Shocker men, Jackson Caldwell battled to claim the final spot on the all-conference list, placing 15^th and breaking the Wichita State 8K record, set by Clayton Duchatschek in 2022, by three seconds with a personal-best time of 23:31.7.
 
"A cross country course can be short, it can be long, it can be downhill, it can be uphill, muddy, not muddy; you just can't put an asterisk on it," Hunter said. "He did what he had to do. He came in, battled and got himself an all-conference situation, and there should be nobody that takes that away from what he accomplished. From having the school record, to getting all-conference, he deserves all the recognition because he did it."
 
Two first-year Shockers, junior transfer Zander Cobb (23:42.8) and senior transfer Adam Rzentkowski (23:43.5), also finished in the top 20, both running personal bests to finish 18^th and 20^th, respectively.
 
"Zander ran the race I told him today, and here he comes in and he's number two on the team. That's huge for us," Hunter said. "Adam is a guy that's been through the wars, he's been through the battles, he's done this, but he's in a new program and he's still adjusting to us, and yet he was in there battling too. Top 20 in this conference is truly legit running."
 
Trey Rios (23:46.9; PB) and Cesar Ramirez (24:11.9; PB) were the fourth and fifth Shockers across the line, finishing 21^st and 34^th, respectively.
 
"I know they're not ecstatic about some of their performances, but those top four guys and Cesar ran really well, so I'm not disappointed a bit," Hunter said. "Cesar deserves some respect too. He stepped out of his comfort zone today, and we needed somebody in the fifth spot, and he pulled it through and really brought us home to get us where we were. Without him, we would've dropped another place, so it was a spectacular performance for him"
 
Aidan Reyna (43^rd; 24:34.5; PB), Erik Enriquez (45^th; 24:35.9; PB), Jacob Meyers (58^th; 25:04.9) and Riley Vandaveer (71^st; 25:38.4; PB) rounded out the Shocker men's championship finishers.
 
For the women's team, junior Sarah Bertry (47^th; 21:52.2), senior Lubna Aldulaimi (31^st; 21:57.8; PB) and freshman Isabelle Hartnett (62^nd; 22:56.2) completed the Shockers' top five.
 
"As a true freshman, being able to come in and contribute like [Isabelle] has doesn't happen very often," Hunter said. "You don't usually have somebody that can step in that quickly and be a contributor. She's got a lot to learn, but she's going to be a really good runner for us. The future of Wichita State looks a lot brighter because she's on our team."
 
Jenna Muma (73^rd; 23:13.1), Lea Jerkovic (83^rd; 23:29.2) and Peyton Pogge (86^th; 23:45.7) completed the Shocker women's championship finishers.
 
Looking forward, Wichita State will race at the NCAA Midwest Regional Friday, Nov. 10 in Stillwater, Okla. for a chance to qualify to the NCAA Championships.
 
Ndungu looks to have a good chance at earning an individual berth if she continues racing the way she has been.
 
"If she can continue through and get another 10 days of good training in and stand on the line feeling good, she's going to be one of the favorites to make it to the NCAA Championships," Hunter said. "I truly believe she has that chance. She's already beaten girls within the region, people that she has to beat in order to do that. She did it again today, and if she does that again at the regional meet, she's going to position herself extremely well and have a really good shot to go to nationals."

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MEN'S RESULTS

15	Jackson Caldwell*	23:31.7
18	Zander Cobb	23:42.8
20	Adam Rzentkowski	23:43.5
21	Trey Rios	23:46.9
34	Cesar Ramirez	24:11.9
43	Aidan Reyna	24:34.5
45	Erik Enriquez	24:35.9
58	Jacob Meyers	25:04.9
71	Riley Vandaveer	25:38.4

WOMEN'S RESULTS

2	Lucy Ndungu*	20:45.8
7	Miranda Dick*	21:09.6
27	Sarah Bertry	21:52.2
31	Lubna Aldulaimi	21:57.8
62	Isabelle Hartnett	22:56.2
73	Jenna Muma	23:13.1
83	Lea Jerkovic	23:29.2
86	Peyton Pogge	23:45.7

*ALL-CONFERENCE

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MEN'S TEAM STANDINGS

1. Tulsa – 38 pts
2. Charlotte – 44 pts
3. Tulane – 61 pts
4. Wichita State – 107 pts
5. Rice – 135 pts
6. Temple – 169 pts
7. North Texas – 185 pt
8. South Florida – 256 pts
9. East Carolina – 262 pts
10. Memphis – 286 pts
11. UTSA – 291 pts
12. Florida Atlantic – 371 pts

 
WOMEN'S TEAM STANDINGS

1. Tulane – 42 pts
2. Charlotte – 58 pts
3. SMU – 76 pts
4. Tulsa – 102 pts
5. Wichita State – 128 pts
6. Rice – 162 pts
7. East Carolina – 229 pts
8. South Florida – 251 pts
9. Memphis – 258 pts
10. Temple – 275 pts
11. Florida Atlantic – 283 pts
12. UTSA – 292 pts
13. North Texas – 305 pts
14. UAB – 318 pts