LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas men’s and women’s cross country teams are taking a trip to Ames, Iowa to face off in the Big 12 Cross Country Championship this Saturday, Oct. 28, at the Iowa State Cross Country Course.
The men will race in the 8K starting at 10 a.m. CT, while the women will compete in the 6K starting at 11 a.m.
During the regular season, the men’s team claimed two first-place finishes, earning these victories in the first two races of the season, and also added two more top-15 finishes after that. The best finish was at the Bob Timmons Cross Country Classic, where KU saw Tanner Newkirk, Cale Littrell and Tanner Talley sweep the podium.
Senior Chandler Gibbens has been on a tear this season, only competing in two races and sending quite the message in both of them. Gibbens opened his year by finishing first in a loaded field at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational with a time of 23:08.4, topping his previous personal-best by 31 seconds. As a result, Gibbens was named the NCAA Division I National Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, which made him the first runner at KU to ever earn this accolade. He has also garnered two Big 12 Runner of the Week selections.
Representing the Kansas men this weekend will be Gibbens, Littrell, Newkirk, TJ Robinson, Sawyer Schmidt, Christopher Stone, Talley, Treyson True, Quenton Walion and Peter Walsdorf.
The women have finished in the top-ten as a team in every meet they have competed in. Their best result of the regular season came at the Bob Timmons Cross Country Classic, where they placed second. Individually, Kendai Krueger took second place and Addie Coppinger came in third.
Two weeks ago at Pre-Nationals, Lona Latema earned a second-place finish in a field of 117 runners with a time of 20:46.2. Krueger has also earned a top-10 finish in every race she has competed in.
Traveling for the women’s side is Makenna Anderson, Caroline Burrow, Coppinger, Laya Erickson, Krueger, Latema, Alyson Moore, Eden Schwarz, Abi Street and Tori Wingrove.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
The Big 12 Cross Country Championship will be streamed via Big 12 NOW on ESPN+. Live results will be available here, provided by PrimeTime Timing. Fans are also encouraged to follow along the official Kansas Track & Field and Cross Country social media account for live updates throughout the event.
