Starting Off Strong and Excited for the Next Opportunity
Sep 23, 2022 | Cross Country, Sports Extra
By: D. Scott Fritchen
It wasn't difficult to spot the Kansas State men's and women's cross country teams at the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska last Saturday: They were both at the front of the pack. That's rare. How rare? It's the first time both teams placed at first in the same meet since 2009.
"Really? That's news to me," K-State junior Sydney Burton said. "That's pretty cool. It's super encouraging to start off the season with some wins. It's cool to see the guys' success, too."
Burton, an Abilene native, took fifth place with a personal-best time of 17:27.4 in the 5K, the best time ever by a K-State women's runner in the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational. She was one of five K-State runners to finish in the top 20.
Earlier in the day, senior Stephen Kielhofner finished seventh with a time of 24:29.0. He was one of three men's runners to place in the top 20. Kielhofner was taken aback when informed of the men's and women's teams joint brush with history.
"That's a pretty cool feeling," he said. "That feels pretty nice knowing I got to be a part of that. Our women's team destroyed it. They're so good this year, and they have some young runners, so they're looking like they'll be good for a while. We finished our race, and they raced second and all of our girls were in the top pack and putting it all out there. I really enjoyed watching their race."
The K-State women's team has now won each of their first two races of the 2022 season. Led by junior Hannah Stewart's second-place finish with a personal-best time of 18:07.8 (the best 5K time ever by a K-State women's runner at Rim Rock Farm), the women's team also finished first in the Bob Timmons Classic in Lawrence on September 3.
The K-State men's team finished second at the Bob Timmons Classic with junior Hadley Splechter taking third with a personal-best 6K time of 18:36.5. Kielhofner finished sixth (a personal best 18:42.74) and sophomore Jack Vincent finished eighth (a personal best 18:52.09).
Competition is about to ramp up, as the K-State men's and women's teams will participate in the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on September 30, and then at the Weis-Crockett Invitational in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on October 15. Those two events should prove telling ahead of the Big 12 Championships in Lubbock, Texas, on October 28.
Burton and Kielhofner are confident.
"I think we have the potential to be up there in the mix with the top dogs at conference and in regionals as well," Burton said. "Realistically, Oklahoma State and Iowa State are tough to beat. Third is up for grabs if we compete and keep improving."
Kielhofner shares similar sentiments regarding the potential for the men's team.
"OSU and Iowa State are pretty dang competitive, but I'd say right now we have our sights set on Texas," he said. "We really want to beat Texas, one of the most renown sports programs in the nation, and they usually place third in the conference. Our sights are on burying KU and trying to see if we can do something against Texas. I don't want to say it's impossible. Anything can happen."
Both cross country teams headed into the 2022 season carrying momentum. The men's fourth-place finish in the 2021 Big 12 Championships tied the 2017 and 2020 teams for the highest in the Big 12 era, while the women recorded consecutive top-5 finishes in 2020 and 2021 for the first time in 20 years.
Former K-State cross country head coach Randy Cole returned to Manhattan this offseason. He previously led K-State from 1997-2004 before assuming the same position at Wyoming (2004-12) and Lindenwood (2012-22). Cole led the K-State women to the 1998 Big 12 Championship, along with runner-up finishes in 1999 and 2000.
The men's team returned its top six runners from the 2021 Big 12 Championship while the women's team returned three runners and added four freshmen.
Their hard work is paying off.
"The men ended up running first and they were a lot more patient at the start and executed a really good team pack," Cole said after the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational. "I'm really pleased with the way we competed in the middle of the race. The guys were hanging tough over that last mile or so and that's when they started picking off a lot of people.
"The women did a super job. We had a lot of people improve from the first meet, they kept their poise, and they didn't get too carried away. They really had a good second half. Sydney Burton ran awesome, and Hannah Stewart as well. They all did awesome."
Burton knew she was in the midst of setting a personal best at the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational. She kept time of mile splits on her watch. She spent the summer training in Manhattan and increased her training, running between 70 and 80 miles a week, and learned to be more patient and consistent in her approach. She has helped forge chemistry among a group that includes several newcomers. They have a movie night, eat meals together, and attend church together.
"We have awesome team chemistry," Burton said. "There's something about grinding it out at 5:30 a.m. with the same people where you just kind of bond over the struggles, and love to see each other do well and succeed. That makes it even sweeter."
Kielhofner is one of the leaders of a squad that has been tight all along, which relies upon teamwork, and is never far apart on or off the course.
"We're all really good friends," he said. "A lot of people don't think of cross country as a team sport, but this is a prime example that when you work together you can do really well."
Kielhofner ramped up his training this summer as well. He has steadily worked on improving his muscles to sustain longer distances, gradually moving to 80 or 90 miles a week.
"If you look at most of the guys in Division I who are really good, those guys are running high mileage. That's a key piece," he said. "I'm not doing crazy miles, but I'm doing a lot more than I used to. I'm trying to put in 80 miles in six days and take Sunday off. I'm on track so far."
Next up? Fayetteville.
"I'm pretty excited," Kielhofner said. "I raced there twice in high school and both times that was my fastest race of the season. It's a quick course, pretty flat, hard dirt, so you have a lot of bounce in your spikes when you run that course. Hopefully, we'll be putting in some fast times and get some good team scores."
Added Burton: "We're ready to roll."
It wasn't difficult to spot the Kansas State men's and women's cross country teams at the Woody Greeno/Jay Dirksen Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska last Saturday: They were both at the front of the pack. That's rare. How rare? It's the first time both teams placed at first in the same meet since 2009.
"Really? That's news to me," K-State junior Sydney Burton said. "That's pretty cool. It's super encouraging to start off the season with some wins. It's cool to see the guys' success, too."
Burton, an Abilene native, took fifth place with a personal-best time of 17:27.4 in the 5K, the best time ever by a K-State women's runner in the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational. She was one of five K-State runners to finish in the top 20.
Earlier in the day, senior Stephen Kielhofner finished seventh with a time of 24:29.0. He was one of three men's runners to place in the top 20. Kielhofner was taken aback when informed of the men's and women's teams joint brush with history.
"That's a pretty cool feeling," he said. "That feels pretty nice knowing I got to be a part of that. Our women's team destroyed it. They're so good this year, and they have some young runners, so they're looking like they'll be good for a while. We finished our race, and they raced second and all of our girls were in the top pack and putting it all out there. I really enjoyed watching their race."
The K-State women's team has now won each of their first two races of the 2022 season. Led by junior Hannah Stewart's second-place finish with a personal-best time of 18:07.8 (the best 5K time ever by a K-State women's runner at Rim Rock Farm), the women's team also finished first in the Bob Timmons Classic in Lawrence on September 3.
The K-State men's team finished second at the Bob Timmons Classic with junior Hadley Splechter taking third with a personal-best 6K time of 18:36.5. Kielhofner finished sixth (a personal best 18:42.74) and sophomore Jack Vincent finished eighth (a personal best 18:52.09).
Competition is about to ramp up, as the K-State men's and women's teams will participate in the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on September 30, and then at the Weis-Crockett Invitational in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on October 15. Those two events should prove telling ahead of the Big 12 Championships in Lubbock, Texas, on October 28.
Burton and Kielhofner are confident.
"I think we have the potential to be up there in the mix with the top dogs at conference and in regionals as well," Burton said. "Realistically, Oklahoma State and Iowa State are tough to beat. Third is up for grabs if we compete and keep improving."
Kielhofner shares similar sentiments regarding the potential for the men's team.
"OSU and Iowa State are pretty dang competitive, but I'd say right now we have our sights set on Texas," he said. "We really want to beat Texas, one of the most renown sports programs in the nation, and they usually place third in the conference. Our sights are on burying KU and trying to see if we can do something against Texas. I don't want to say it's impossible. Anything can happen."
Both cross country teams headed into the 2022 season carrying momentum. The men's fourth-place finish in the 2021 Big 12 Championships tied the 2017 and 2020 teams for the highest in the Big 12 era, while the women recorded consecutive top-5 finishes in 2020 and 2021 for the first time in 20 years.
Former K-State cross country head coach Randy Cole returned to Manhattan this offseason. He previously led K-State from 1997-2004 before assuming the same position at Wyoming (2004-12) and Lindenwood (2012-22). Cole led the K-State women to the 1998 Big 12 Championship, along with runner-up finishes in 1999 and 2000.
The men's team returned its top six runners from the 2021 Big 12 Championship while the women's team returned three runners and added four freshmen.
Their hard work is paying off.
"The men ended up running first and they were a lot more patient at the start and executed a really good team pack," Cole said after the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational. "I'm really pleased with the way we competed in the middle of the race. The guys were hanging tough over that last mile or so and that's when they started picking off a lot of people.
"The women did a super job. We had a lot of people improve from the first meet, they kept their poise, and they didn't get too carried away. They really had a good second half. Sydney Burton ran awesome, and Hannah Stewart as well. They all did awesome."
Burton knew she was in the midst of setting a personal best at the Greeno/Dirksen Invitational. She kept time of mile splits on her watch. She spent the summer training in Manhattan and increased her training, running between 70 and 80 miles a week, and learned to be more patient and consistent in her approach. She has helped forge chemistry among a group that includes several newcomers. They have a movie night, eat meals together, and attend church together.
"We have awesome team chemistry," Burton said. "There's something about grinding it out at 5:30 a.m. with the same people where you just kind of bond over the struggles, and love to see each other do well and succeed. That makes it even sweeter."
Kielhofner is one of the leaders of a squad that has been tight all along, which relies upon teamwork, and is never far apart on or off the course.
"We're all really good friends," he said. "A lot of people don't think of cross country as a team sport, but this is a prime example that when you work together you can do really well."
Kielhofner ramped up his training this summer as well. He has steadily worked on improving his muscles to sustain longer distances, gradually moving to 80 or 90 miles a week.
"If you look at most of the guys in Division I who are really good, those guys are running high mileage. That's a key piece," he said. "I'm not doing crazy miles, but I'm doing a lot more than I used to. I'm trying to put in 80 miles in six days and take Sunday off. I'm on track so far."
Next up? Fayetteville.
"I'm pretty excited," Kielhofner said. "I raced there twice in high school and both times that was my fastest race of the season. It's a quick course, pretty flat, hard dirt, so you have a lot of bounce in your spikes when you run that course. Hopefully, we'll be putting in some fast times and get some good team scores."
Added Burton: "We're ready to roll."
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