Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, October 15
Stillwater, Okla.
8:30 a.m. (M) / 9:20 a.m. (W)
Kansas State University
vs
Weis-Crockett Invitational
Cross Country to Compete in Pre-National Meet in Stillwater
Oct 12, 2022 | Cross Country
In another competitive field the Wildcats will face off against Oklahoma State and Arkansas
The Kansas State men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Stillwater, Okla., on Saturday (Oct. 15) for the Weis-Crockett Invitational hosted by Oklahoma State at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course.
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The men will compete in an 8k at 8:30 a.m., CT with the women following in their first 6k of the season at 9:20 a.m., CT. K-State's last ran the OSU course at the 2021 Big 12 Championships when the men placed 4th with 121 points and the women finished 5th with 143 points.
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This will be the second consecutive meet where the Wildcats are going up against hosts that are nationally ranked. Both Oklahoma State teams sit in the top-5 with the women sitting at No. 3 and the men taking residence at No. 4. The field also includes a number of top-25 programs, including the Arkansas' men (No. 21), the Cal Baptist women (No. 19), the Utah Valley women (No. 20) and the Montana State men (No. 25).
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In the team's last meet at the Chili Pepper Festival (Sept. 30), the men captured 2nd place with 177 points behind the Razorbacks who won with 61 points, while the women place fourth with 208 points behind Arkansas, Arkansas State and Big 12 foe Oklahoma. The meet marked the first time the women did not take first after earning the team titles at the Bob Timmons Classic (Sept. 3) and the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational (Sept. 17).
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Senior Stephen Kielhofner ran a new personal-best 8k time of 24:06.6 in a 12th place finish at the Chile Pepper Festival, while also achieving the new fastest time by a Wildcat at Agri Park taking the spot from Jeff Bachman at 26:21.1 in 2014. Junior Hadley Splechter finished 15th at 24:16.8, his third consecutive meet placing in the top-15.
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Junior Sydney Burton led the women's team once again finishing 13th at 16:57.6 in her third consecutive personal-best 5k time this season, shaving off another 30 seconds from her previous best. Freshman Cecilia Fisher broke 18 minutes in just her third collegiate race at 17:59.0, a 65th place finish, a new 5k personal best by 14 seconds.
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Saturday's meet will feature some familiar faces for the team, as head coach Randy Cole will reunite with former school Wyoming where he spent eight years at the helm. For junior Jack Moore his sister, Katie, runs cross country at Iowa and Stephen Kielhofner will compete against his former school, Saint Louis, where he ran his freshman and sophomore seasons.
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In the most recent USTFCCCA Regional rankings released on Oct. 3, both K-State men and women dropped one spot, as the women sit at No. 9 and the men at No. 13. Six other teams in the Midwest Region top-15 will also be competing in Saturday's meet, including Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota State.
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Head Coach Randy Cole
On the pace of this upcoming race…
"It's like riding a wave, you got to paddle, paddle, paddle and to catch the big wave coming you got to get to the flow, that's the pace of that race. It's going to be fast paced, you got to paddle well through the current and then be able to keep the rhythm, to finish strong. That's what we've trained them for, to get that experience to race top teams around the country, really tough teams."
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Sophomore Jack Vincent
On the upcoming competitive field…
"The meet will be the best competition we'll have faced this season so far, so I think it was important to get another race [Chile Pepper] under us and work out how we race as a team as we get closer to the end of the season and Big 12. Pre-Nats will be a good opportunity to go up against and beat some bigger schools that we don't race as often."
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How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on the K-State Track and Field and Cross Country Teams, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
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The men will compete in an 8k at 8:30 a.m., CT with the women following in their first 6k of the season at 9:20 a.m., CT. K-State's last ran the OSU course at the 2021 Big 12 Championships when the men placed 4th with 121 points and the women finished 5th with 143 points.
Â
This will be the second consecutive meet where the Wildcats are going up against hosts that are nationally ranked. Both Oklahoma State teams sit in the top-5 with the women sitting at No. 3 and the men taking residence at No. 4. The field also includes a number of top-25 programs, including the Arkansas' men (No. 21), the Cal Baptist women (No. 19), the Utah Valley women (No. 20) and the Montana State men (No. 25).
Â
In the team's last meet at the Chili Pepper Festival (Sept. 30), the men captured 2nd place with 177 points behind the Razorbacks who won with 61 points, while the women place fourth with 208 points behind Arkansas, Arkansas State and Big 12 foe Oklahoma. The meet marked the first time the women did not take first after earning the team titles at the Bob Timmons Classic (Sept. 3) and the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational (Sept. 17).
Â
Senior Stephen Kielhofner ran a new personal-best 8k time of 24:06.6 in a 12th place finish at the Chile Pepper Festival, while also achieving the new fastest time by a Wildcat at Agri Park taking the spot from Jeff Bachman at 26:21.1 in 2014. Junior Hadley Splechter finished 15th at 24:16.8, his third consecutive meet placing in the top-15.
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Junior Sydney Burton led the women's team once again finishing 13th at 16:57.6 in her third consecutive personal-best 5k time this season, shaving off another 30 seconds from her previous best. Freshman Cecilia Fisher broke 18 minutes in just her third collegiate race at 17:59.0, a 65th place finish, a new 5k personal best by 14 seconds.
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Saturday's meet will feature some familiar faces for the team, as head coach Randy Cole will reunite with former school Wyoming where he spent eight years at the helm. For junior Jack Moore his sister, Katie, runs cross country at Iowa and Stephen Kielhofner will compete against his former school, Saint Louis, where he ran his freshman and sophomore seasons.
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In the most recent USTFCCCA Regional rankings released on Oct. 3, both K-State men and women dropped one spot, as the women sit at No. 9 and the men at No. 13. Six other teams in the Midwest Region top-15 will also be competing in Saturday's meet, including Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota State.
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Head Coach Randy Cole
On the pace of this upcoming race…
"It's like riding a wave, you got to paddle, paddle, paddle and to catch the big wave coming you got to get to the flow, that's the pace of that race. It's going to be fast paced, you got to paddle well through the current and then be able to keep the rhythm, to finish strong. That's what we've trained them for, to get that experience to race top teams around the country, really tough teams."
Â
Sophomore Jack Vincent
On the upcoming competitive field…
"The meet will be the best competition we'll have faced this season so far, so I think it was important to get another race [Chile Pepper] under us and work out how we race as a team as we get closer to the end of the season and Big 12. Pre-Nats will be a good opportunity to go up against and beat some bigger schools that we don't race as often."
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How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on the K-State Track and Field and Cross Country Teams, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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