SE: K-State XC Focused on Family Ahead of 2020 Season
Sep 14, 2020 | Cross Country, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
K-State Cross Country never stopped running this summer.
Even with her team scattered across the country, Jaybe Shufelberger convinced a friend to run with her back home in Topeka. Hundreds of miles away, Cooper Schroeder trained in a small town on the border of Colorado and New Mexico.
No matter where in the world they ran, the Wildcats did so with a purpose.
"We're going for a top-four finish at Big 12s, and on an individual level, trying to be better than we were last year," Schroeder said. "Just trying to take K-State even higher up those rankings."
K-State Cross Country will return in 2020 with an adjusted schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wildcats will race at four meets this fall, beginning on Saturday with the Kansas Triangular at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence.
Coming off a sixth-place finish at the Big 12 Championships in 2019, the K-State men will return an experienced roster this season with 12 letterwinners back in the fold.
On the women's side, a talented group of runners are led by Shufelberger, who posted the best time for any K-State freshman at the conference meet since 2003 to cap off an impressive All-Big 12 season.
She also finished 14th out of 86 runners, part of a K-State women's team that notched an eighth-place finish at Big 12s.
Despite all the uncertainty heading into the 2020 season, Shufelberger and the K-State women found plenty of ways to stay motivated throughout the summer.
"We were all very hopeful that we would have a season, so we wanted to make sure that we were at our best," she said. "We logged our runs that we were doing every day and there were a couple time where we did a Zoom meeting to check in and see how everyone was doing."
Even with an adjusted schedule, the Wildcats will have a chance to train together and continue building a program with their sights on improvement in 2020.
That's what kept Cooper Schroeder going during a summer spent running at altitude in the small town of Durango, Colorado.
After growing up in Manhattan, Schroeder's family moved to Durango when he was in college, meaning his offseason runs often take place over a mile above sea level.
"In Colorado, I was training by myself in a small town. Getting back here to be with my team and being back home at the university was so sweet. The atmosphere in Manhattan is a different energy," Schroeder said. "It's pretty motivating."
The men will return a group of four top-40 finishers at the 2019 Big 12 Championships, with Schroeder joined by Hadley Splechter, Noah Stevenson and David Lutgen.
These runners should provide balance to a team with student-athletes from every class ready to contribute in 2020.
"Five years ago, we were finishing towards the bottom of the Big 12 and since then, our seniors really stepped it up and we've been going up and up," Schroeder said. "Now, my goal is just to help pass the torch to the next guy."
Splechter and Lutgen lead a strong sophomore class on the men's side, while junior Dylan Brenneman also ran a personal best at Big 12s. Among the upperclassmen, the Wildcats will be counting on another strong campaign from Stevenson heading into his senior season.
K-State should also benefit from a group of highly motivated runners on the women's side.
"We just have an amazing team this year and so many people are healthy that weren't healthy last year, so that alone brings so much more strength to our team," Shufelberger said. "Everyone has been working hard this summer, like Sydney [Burton] and Cailan [Steward], just seeing where they are at now, or Hannah [Stewart] and Kassidy Johnson, you can just see how much stronger they are this year."
Both Schroeder and Shufelberger talked about the excitement of getting back to the program culture that makes running cross country at Kansas State so special.
For Shufelberger, that means creating memories like a day she spent in Chicago searching for a Friends pop-up shop with a K-State teammate before a weekend meet.
"It was completely random, but we had so much fun," she said.
The travel and all-day experience of race day has also been a special part of Schroeder's time at K-State.
"You wake up and you and your teammates are all kind of nervous but you're all together. Just warming up, whether or not you're going to race, you're warming up as one," he said. "And then after the race, just congratulating each other and looking forward to the next meet."
After the Wildcats focused on staying motivated this summer, returning to Manhattan has been about the opportunity to reunite with teammates and get to know the freshmen runners.
Even in a challenging season, K-State Cross Country is still focused on that sense of family.
"We hang out after practice or on the weekends. Just going over to someone's house to watch a movie or something, it's moments like that when you can tell if you're in the right spot or not," Shufelberger said. "There are different personalities with everyone on the team, so you can bring out a different side of yourself with everyone. I think that's really cool."
K-State Cross Country never stopped running this summer.
Even with her team scattered across the country, Jaybe Shufelberger convinced a friend to run with her back home in Topeka. Hundreds of miles away, Cooper Schroeder trained in a small town on the border of Colorado and New Mexico.
No matter where in the world they ran, the Wildcats did so with a purpose.
"We're going for a top-four finish at Big 12s, and on an individual level, trying to be better than we were last year," Schroeder said. "Just trying to take K-State even higher up those rankings."
K-State Cross Country will return in 2020 with an adjusted schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Wildcats will race at four meets this fall, beginning on Saturday with the Kansas Triangular at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence.
Coming off a sixth-place finish at the Big 12 Championships in 2019, the K-State men will return an experienced roster this season with 12 letterwinners back in the fold.
On the women's side, a talented group of runners are led by Shufelberger, who posted the best time for any K-State freshman at the conference meet since 2003 to cap off an impressive All-Big 12 season.
She also finished 14th out of 86 runners, part of a K-State women's team that notched an eighth-place finish at Big 12s.
Despite all the uncertainty heading into the 2020 season, Shufelberger and the K-State women found plenty of ways to stay motivated throughout the summer.
"We were all very hopeful that we would have a season, so we wanted to make sure that we were at our best," she said. "We logged our runs that we were doing every day and there were a couple time where we did a Zoom meeting to check in and see how everyone was doing."
Even with an adjusted schedule, the Wildcats will have a chance to train together and continue building a program with their sights on improvement in 2020.
That's what kept Cooper Schroeder going during a summer spent running at altitude in the small town of Durango, Colorado.
After growing up in Manhattan, Schroeder's family moved to Durango when he was in college, meaning his offseason runs often take place over a mile above sea level.
"In Colorado, I was training by myself in a small town. Getting back here to be with my team and being back home at the university was so sweet. The atmosphere in Manhattan is a different energy," Schroeder said. "It's pretty motivating."
The men will return a group of four top-40 finishers at the 2019 Big 12 Championships, with Schroeder joined by Hadley Splechter, Noah Stevenson and David Lutgen.
These runners should provide balance to a team with student-athletes from every class ready to contribute in 2020.
"Five years ago, we were finishing towards the bottom of the Big 12 and since then, our seniors really stepped it up and we've been going up and up," Schroeder said. "Now, my goal is just to help pass the torch to the next guy."
Splechter and Lutgen lead a strong sophomore class on the men's side, while junior Dylan Brenneman also ran a personal best at Big 12s. Among the upperclassmen, the Wildcats will be counting on another strong campaign from Stevenson heading into his senior season.
K-State should also benefit from a group of highly motivated runners on the women's side.
"We just have an amazing team this year and so many people are healthy that weren't healthy last year, so that alone brings so much more strength to our team," Shufelberger said. "Everyone has been working hard this summer, like Sydney [Burton] and Cailan [Steward], just seeing where they are at now, or Hannah [Stewart] and Kassidy Johnson, you can just see how much stronger they are this year."
Both Schroeder and Shufelberger talked about the excitement of getting back to the program culture that makes running cross country at Kansas State so special.
For Shufelberger, that means creating memories like a day she spent in Chicago searching for a Friends pop-up shop with a K-State teammate before a weekend meet.
"It was completely random, but we had so much fun," she said.
The travel and all-day experience of race day has also been a special part of Schroeder's time at K-State.
"You wake up and you and your teammates are all kind of nervous but you're all together. Just warming up, whether or not you're going to race, you're warming up as one," he said. "And then after the race, just congratulating each other and looking forward to the next meet."
After the Wildcats focused on staying motivated this summer, returning to Manhattan has been about the opportunity to reunite with teammates and get to know the freshmen runners.
Even in a challenging season, K-State Cross Country is still focused on that sense of family.
"We hang out after practice or on the weekends. Just going over to someone's house to watch a movie or something, it's moments like that when you can tell if you're in the right spot or not," Shufelberger said. "There are different personalities with everyone on the team, so you can bring out a different side of yourself with everyone. I think that's really cool."
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