HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Wichita State freshman Mercy Jepkoech led the Shockers to their second-straight Terry Masterson Classic team title, recording a runner-up finish in her first collegiate race.
 
Jepkoech finished second in the 3-mile race with a time of 17:51.4 as Hutchinson CC's Mildred Rono took the win with a meet record time of 16:55.63.
 
Three more Shockers finished in the top 10 as Francesca Alavarado took fourth in 18:28.4, Faith Ekart placed fifth in 18:46.9 and Jordyn Picolet took seventh in 19:01.4.
 
"Francesca was awesome," head coach Kirk Hunter said. "She's going to be really good, which I expected."
 
Emily See rounded out the scoring with a 12^th-place finish and a time of 19:53.6 to help the Shockers claim victory with 30 points over Hutchinson CC (73 points).
 

Meet One Hardware 🏆 pic.twitter.com/MeKgrhBPgY

— Wichita State T&F/XC (@GoShockersTFXC) August 30, 2025

Jasmine Stiede and Audrey Parson also finished in the top 15, taking 14^th (20:08.6) and 15^th (20:09.8), respectively.
 
"We some girls that battled well," Hunter said. "The fitness will come [for the newcomers] by the end of the season as long as we can stay healthy and work through the season."
 
The Wichita State men recorded a runner-up team finish with 48 points, only running five men in the season opener.
 
Bennett Meoli had the best individual finish, taking eighth in the 4-mile race with a time of 21:00.1. Aidan Reyna finished right behind him in ninth with a time of 21:06.9. Landen O'Neill and Riley Vandaveer placed 12^th (21:22.3) and 13^th (21:28.8), respectively, and Ian Hunter finished 16^th in 21:53.5.
 
"I thought they ran really well in terms of getting out there and working as a group early, and they maintained it after the two-mile," Hunter said. "Overall, it was a good start. We only ran five guys, and they did their job."
 
Wichita State returns home next weekend for the JK Gold Classic, where more Shockers will open their seasons and race in uniform.
 
"I hope next week that we have a very good team race, that the guys rally around each other and work together," Hunter said. "JK Gold will be a little bit more competitive. The girls are going to have to really race."
 
On Saturday, Sept. 6, the men will race a 6K at 8 a.m., and the women will race a 5K at 8:30 a.m. at Clapp Cross Country Course.
 
"It's building blocks," Hunter said. "We're getting there, and we're just going to keep working week to week."