👟 Jayhawks Set for Two Away Meets This Friday
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas cross country team will be represented at two different races on Friday, Sept. 29. A select group of men will travel to Notre Dame for the Joe Piane Notre Dame Innovational while the rest of the group will head east to Columbia for the Gans Creek Classic, hosted by Missouri.
"I'm excited to see that Lona and Chandler will be competing. both men's and women's teams will have to keep a tight pack, while focusing on being ahead of the competition. This will be the first 6K race of the season for our women and we have to be mentally prepared."
Head Coach Stanley Redwine
The Kansas men are heading into the Joe Piane Notre Dame Classic having won both of the races they have competed in thus far; the Bob Timmons Classic and the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational. This weekend, they will compete against a talented field of 17 other programs as they look for a national-qualifying mark as a collective. The Jayhawks are currently ranked No. 5 in the Midwest Region by the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll, which was announced on Monday.
The group running at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational consists of Chandler Gibbens, Cale Littrell, Tanner Newkirk, Sawyer Schmidt, Tanner Talley, Treyson True, Quenton Walion and Peter Walsdorf. In the 2023 outdoor track season, Gibbens broke the Kansas program’s all-time 5K record (held by Jim Ryun) with a time of 13:28.71, and this weekend will be his first time competing in the cross-country season. The race will begin at 10:15 a.m. CT.
Kansas is bringing both a men’s team and the women’s lineup to the Gans Creek Classic this Friday. Two weeks ago, at the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational, the women placed fourth led by an impressive performance by Kenadi Krueger, who placed fifth overall while pacing towards a new personal record.
In Columbia, KU will be represented by Makenna Anderson, Caroline Burrow, Addie Coppinger, Laya Erickson, Krueger, Lona Latema, Alyson Moore, Eden Schwarz, Abi Street and Tori Wingrove. Two of the freshmen will also be running unattached in Madeline Carter and Bethany Druse.
On the men’s side, Gabe Birkmeier, AJ Green, TJ Robinson, Christopher Stone and Garrett Wilmes will all run in the crimson and blue, while Hobbs Campbell, Isaac Graff, Ryo Higuchi, Mackinon Mokoro, Lenny Njoroge, Carter Stewart and Jack Weber are all slated to compete unattached.
The Gans Creek Classic will begin at 9 a.m.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Fans are encouraged to follow along the official Kansas Track & Field/Cross Country Twitter account for live updates throughout the events. Fans wishing to follow live results, provided by PrimeTime Timing, can follow along here: Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational and Gans Creek Classic.
