Men’s Cross Country Claims Second-Place Finish at Greeno and Dirksen Invitational

Saturday, September 21

Lincoln, Neb.

Kansas State University

Greeno & Dirksen Invite

Men’s Cross Country Claims Second-Place Finish at Greeno and Dirksen Invitational

Sep 21, 2019 | Cross Country

Men's Results (PDF)Women's Results (PDF)Race Highlights Photo Gallery

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Kansas State cross country teams concluded their second competition of the season with a second-place finish from the men's team and an eighth-place finish from the women's squad on Saturday afternoon at the Greeno and Dirksen Invitational at the Mahoney Golf Course.

The Wildcats scored 79 points to finish behind champion Iowa (47) and ahead of host Nebraska (90) and Air Force (153) in an 18-team field. It was the men's team second consecutive runner-up finish, as four runners placed inside the top-25. The injury-plagued women's squad finished eighth with 202 points out of a 16-team field, as a full team of eight runners competed for the first time this season.

"Improvement is not always a linear, but in this case, we did see improvement from our first meet to our second," said Head Coach Ryun Godfrey. "Our focus is always on effort and I believe we had great effort today. We will look forward to the Joe Piane meet and we are excited about the challenges ahead of us."

Sophomore Cooper Schroeder led the K-State men in his 2019 debut as the Manhattan, Kansas native, paced the 8k race at 25:00.6, crossing the line in eighth place. It marked the fourth time in seven meets as a Wildcat that Schroeder has led the team.

Sophomore Ethan Powell and freshmen Hadley Splechter each finished just behind Schroeder in the top-15, as Powell set a new personal best with a time of 25:05.7 to earn an 11^th place finish, while Splechter posted a time of 25:17.4 to place 13^th. Powell bested his personal record by more than 15 seconds from the 2018 Big 12 Championships, in which, he placed 30^th with a time of 25:22.2.

Freshman Kerby Depenbusch rounded out the top-25 for the Wildcats on Saturday morning, finishing 25^th with a time of 25:36.4. In all, 11 men competed in the event included freshman David Lutgen (30^th, 25:40.2), junior Noah Stevenson (42^nd, 25:58.3), freshman Jack Moore (54^th, 26:14.8), sophomore Mike Rohlinger (105^th, 26:55.0), sophomore Dylan Brenneman (108^th, 26:58.0), junior Pierce Flanders (143^rd, 27:49.3) and junior Travis Hodge (148^th, 27:59.2).

Freshman runner Jaybe Shufelberger led the Wildcat women's team with a time 18:26.4 in the 5k race, taking a spot at 23^rd for the race.

Sophomore Cayli Hume, who took the top spot (12^th place) for the women's team at the JK Gold Classic back a few weeks ago, ended her day at Lincoln, Nebraska with a time of 19:05.8 and a 41^st place finish during the 5k race.

Other notable runners on the women's side included senior Anna Keeley (45^th, 19:08.1), freshman Hannah Stewart (53^rd, 19:21.5), freshman Delaney Kemp (71^st, 19:46.1), freshman Sydney Burton (97^th, 20:22.0), freshman Julia Larkin (129^th, 21:05.1) and redshirt sophomore Alex Ferguson (159^th, 22:23.0).

The Wildcats will travel east and head to South Bend, Indiana to compete in the Joe Piane Invitational on Friday, October 4 in preparation for a Pre-Nationals event on October 19 in Terre Haute, Indiana, hosted by the NCAA.

For the latest on K-State cross country follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.

Men's team finishes: 1. Iowa, 47 points; 2. K-State, 79 points; 3. Nebraska, 90 points; 4. Air Force, 153 points; 5. Could County, 155 points.

K-State men's finishes: 8. Cooper Schroeder, 25:00.6; 11. Ethan Powell, 13. Hadley Splechter, 25:17.4; 25. Kerby Depenbusch, 25:36.4; 30. David Lutgen, 25:40.2; 42. Noah Stevenson, 25:58.3; 54. Jack Moore, 26:14.8; 105. Mike Rohlinger, 26:55.0; 108. Dylan Brenneman, 26:58.0; 143. Pierce Flanders, 27:49.3; 148. Travis Hodge, 27:59.2.

Women's team finishes: 1. Iowa, 53 points; 2. Iowa Central, 79 points; 3. South Dakota, 94 points; 4. Nebraska, 109 points; 5. Central Missouri, 157 points; 8. K-State, 202 points.

K-State women's finishes: 23. Jaybe Shufelberger, 18:26.4; 41. Cayli Hume, 19:05.8; 53. Hannah Stewart, 19:21.5; 71. Delaney Kemp, 19:46.1; 97. Sydney Burton, 20:22.0; 129. Julia Larkin, 21:05.1; 159. Alex Ferguson, 22:23.0.