Cross Country to Compete in NCAA Midwest Regionals

The Kansas State men's and women's cross country teams head to Columbia, Mo., for the NCAA Midwest Regionals on Friday (Nov. 11) at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course hosted by the University of Missouri. The women will run the 6k at 11 a.m. CT, with the men's 10k following at 12 p.m. CT. Tickets can be purchased for spectators.

The Midwest Regionals will be the last opportunity for teams and individuals to advance to NCAA Championships, which are set for Saturday, Nov. 19 at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla. It will be one of nine regional meets across the country with the top two teams in each regional automatically qualifying for the NCAA Championships. The NCAA DI Cross Country Subcommittee will then choose 13 at-large teams to fill out the 31-team field.

For individuals, the first four finishers in each regional who do not belong to the top two teams or one of the at-large teams automatically advance to the championships. All four individual finishers must finish in the top 25 at the regional meet. A total of 36 individuals automatically qualifies for the NCAA Championships, while an additional two individuals are chosen at-large, making for 38 total individuals. The two at-large selections are the highest placing individuals at a regional that were not automatic qualifiers.

K-State will send seven men and seven women to the Midwest Regional Championships, including junior Kerby Depenbusch, sophomore Tommy Hazen, sophomore Kyle Johnston, senior Stephen Kielhofner, junior David Lutgen, junior Jack Moore, junior Hadley Splechter, junior Sydney Burton, freshman Cecilia Fisher, sophomore Helen Giefer, junior Katie Kasunic, sophomore Alexa Rios, junior Cailan Steward and junior Hannah Stewart.

Last season at the Regionals the women finished 6^th with 243 points, Jaybe Shufelberger finishing in the top-20, with All-Region honors at 19^th with a time of 21:13.83. The men's team finished 11th at 332 points, with Depenbusch leading the way with a 43^rd place finish and a time of 31:31.73.

This will be K-State's second time on the Gans Creek Course since last season at the Gans Creek Classic on Oct. 1.

The Wildcats will meet Big 12 opponents again in Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Other familiar opponents the team has already encountered this season include Drake, Creighton, Iowa, Nebraska and Wichita State.

In the latest USTFCCCA rankings released on Nov. 1, the men's team jumped up to the No. 9 spot, the women at No. 14 in the Midwest region. In the national poll the Midwest takes residence in five spots with Oklahoma State's women at No. 3 and men at No. 4, Tulsa's men at No. 6 and Iowa State's men.

The Wildcats are coming off a strong performance at the Big 12 Championships on Oct. 28, as the men's team finished 4^th with 123 points, and the women's team 7^th with 197 points. Both teams placed ahead of Kansas, with the men also topping Baylor and Oklahoma. It marked the men's team third straight fourth-place finish.

During the Big 12 Championships, Kielhofner (16^th, 24:44.2) led the men at the top of the leader board in the top-20, as he narrowly missed All-Big 12 honors. He was followed by Splechter (21^st, 24:54.9) and Moore (29^th, 25:23.6), who each finished among the top-30.

Stewart (23^rd, 21:52.4) led the Wildcat women with a top-25 finish followed by Steward (41^st, 22:29.5), Fisher (42^nd, 22:31.3) and Burton (43^rd, 22:36.9) among the top-50. Fisher ran her new personal best in just her second 6k of the season, shaving 24 seconds off her time.

Head Coach Randy Cole
On the team's goals for this meet…
"I'd say for the men, they're kind of on target. One goal is to be in the top eight, so that's something they're shooting towards. We're pretty much not going to get in any better shape, so it's just a matter of staying rested and sharp and be able to compete to the best of our abilities. The girls probably want to redeem themselves and try to compete a little bit better, the guys saw "Hey we competed, let's go and duplicate that again and see if we can get a good effort at regionals."

Sophomore Tommy Hazen
On improving throughout the season…
"The improvements throughout the season have come from consistent training and focusing on recovery."

On preparing for his first 10k meet…
"I'm excited for it. The race is a little longer but it's something our team is prepared for. We all look forward to competing with every opportunity."

On a personal goal for the meet…
"I'd like to score for the team to help us place well overall."

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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Players Mentioned

Sydney Burton

Kerby Depenbusch

Helen Giefer

Tommy Hazen

Kyle Johnston

Katie Kasunic

Stephen Kielhofner

David Lutgen

Jack Moore

Alexa Rios

Jaybe Shufelberger

Hadley Splechter

Cailan Steward

Hannah Stewart

Kansas State University Athletics