WICHITA – Wichita State sophomore Elkana Kipruto won the 6K race to help the Shocker men claim their fourth-straight JK Gold Classic team title on a muddy Saturday morning at Clapp Cross Country Course.
The Mosoriot, Kenya native ran 18:41.49 in his Shocker debut to claim Wichita State's first individual JK Gold Classic men's win since Bryce Merriman wo the 2022 title.
Senior
Adrian Diaz Lopez finished close behind in second with a time of 18:46.41. Two other Shockers, freshman
Kelvin Kipyego and senior
Zander Cobb also finished in the top five, and senior
Cesar Ramirez came in ninth to round out the scoring. The Shockers finished with 20 points to beat second-place Washburn by 69 points.
For the women, freshman
Mercy Jepkoech was the first Shocker across the line for the second-straight meet, finishing third in the 5K race in 18:34.9. Senior
Sarah Bertry took fifth with a time of 18:40.4, sophomore
Faith Ekart finished 13
th, junior
Jordyn Picolet placed 20
th and junior
Francesca Alvarado took 21
st, giving the Shockers 58 points to finish third as a team. The fifth-ranked team in the Midwest Region preseason rankings won the meet as Oklahoma scored just 29 points.
Wichita State's next race is Saturday, Sept. 20 in Lincoln, Neb., where senior
Lucy Ndungu is set to make her return to racing at the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational.
