TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Wichita State's Elkana Kipruto recorded a runner-up finish at the Pre-National Invitational for the second-straight season, leading the Shockers to a fourth-place team finish Friday morning at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
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The Shocker men took down two nationally ranked programs, defeating No. 26 Arizona and No. 29 North Carolina to place fourth behind No. 8 Syracuse (1
st), No. 14 Villanova (2
nd) and No. 15 Notre Dame (3
rd). Wichita State also finished ahead of conference rival and American Conference preseason favorite Tulane, who took 11
th.
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Kipruto and
Nicholas Kipchirchir finished second and third behind Tulane's Silas Kiptanui with only one second separating each of the three runners, setting up for what should be a highly competitive American Conference Championship race on Oct. 31. Kiptanui finished the 8K race in 23:17.4, Kipruto ran 23:18.8, and Kipchirchir recorded a time of 23:19.8.
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Dennis Rono and
Kelvin Kipyego finished side-by-side in 57
th and 58
th, respectively, with times of 24:01.9 and 24:02.2, and
Austin Carrera was the final scorer for the Shockers, taking 92
nd with a time of 24:15.6.
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Vivien Kipkorir was the lone Shocker woman to race in the blue division, finishing 63
rd with a 6K time of 20:35.5, while the rest of the Wichita State women raced in the white race as a team.
Francesca Alvarado was the first Shocker to cross the line in the white race, running 21:59.9 to finish 65
th.
Kalyn Willingham ran a personal-best time of 22:25.5 to finish 122
nd, and
Irene Andujar Martinez (129
th; 22:28.3),
Mercy Jepkoech (130
th; 22:28.3) and
Isabelle Hartnett (188
th; 22:57.7) rounded out the scoring to give Wichita State a 16
th-place team finish.
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The Pre-National Invitational wraps up the regular season for the Shockers as they look ahead to the American Conference Championships on Saturday, Oct. 31 in New Orleans, La. at Lake Oaks Park.
MEN'S RESULTS
Blue Race
White Race
WOMEN'S RESULTS
Blue Race
White Race