K-State Cross Country to Race at NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State men's and women's cross country teams will compete in their second postseason competition of the season, as the teams participate in the NCAA Midwest Regional hosted at Newman Golf Course in Peoria, Illinois on Friday.

The regional action kicks off at 11:00 a.m. CT, with the start of the women's 6k race, followed by the men's 10k race at 12:00 p.m.

"At this point in the season I think the expectation is that we keep improving. For the men, the (10k) distance is the first they've raced at this season, but I expect everyone to put it all on the line and run hard," Head Coach Ryun Godfrey said.

The NCAA Midwest Regional comes at an intriguing time for the K-State men, after finishing fifth with 162 points at the Big 12 Championship on October 27. After finishing fourth at the meet a season ago, the K-State men earned consecutive top-five finishes at the Big 12 Championship meet for the first time in program history.

Six Wildcats will approach the start line in the men's race on Friday, including senior Joe Gorthy, redshirt freshmen Dylan Brenneman, Pierce Flanders and Ethan Powell and freshmen Charlie Parrish and Cooper Schroeder. The K-State men will line up in starting box No. 29.

For the K-State women, they will line up in starting box No. 6 on Friday and will be led by senior Emma Wren. In addition to Wren, sophomores Cara Melgares and Kassidy Johnson look to continue their strong seasons. Junior Anna Keeley and redshirt freshman Cayli Hume will also look to round out their seasons with a personal best.

A year ago at the NCAA Midwest Regional, the K-State men earned their best finish at the meet since 2004, placing 10^th with 314 points. The K-State women were led by senior Kayla Doll, as the Wildcats went on to place 19^th.

The Wildcats' trip to Peoria marks their second time racing at Newman Golf Course this season, after competing at the Bradley Pink Classic on October 12. At the Bradley Pink Classic, Wren led the K-State women by finishing in 53^rd in the women's red race, while Gorthy led the Wildcat men with a 26^th place finish in the men's red race.

The NCAA Midwest Regional serves as the preliminary site for the NCAA Championships that will take place in Madison, Wisconsin on November 17. To earn qualification to the NCAA Championships, teams must place in the top two of their region, or an at-large bid. In total, 31 teams will compete as a team at the NCAA Championships.

After the teams have been determined, 38 additional individuals per gender will be selected to compete individually at the Championships, with the top four finishers at each regional automatically selected. Two additional athletes will then be selected from the remainder of the national pool as at-large selections.

For more information on the NCAA Midwest Regional, including directions, schedule of events, course information and more, click here. Live results will be available during the meet by clicking here.

For the latest on K-State cross country, follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter using the hashtag #KStateXC or on the team's Facebook page.

K-State Cross Country to Race at NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday

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Players Mentioned

Dylan Brenneman

Kayla Doll

Pierce Flanders

Joe Gorthy

Cayli Hume

Kassidy Johnson

Anna Keeley

Cara Melgares

Charlie Parrish

Ethan Powell

Cooper Schroeder

Emma Wren

Kansas State University Athletics