Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, October 14
Charlottesville, Va.
7:45 a.m. (M) / 10 a.m. (W)
Kansas State University
vs
Panorama Farms Classic
Wanjiku Wins Women’s Orange Run, Women Claim First Place
Oct 14, 2023 | Cross Country
The Big 12 Championship will take place in Ames, Iowa on Oct. 28
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The K-State men's and women's cross country team both ran in the orange race on Saturday (Oct. 14) in Charlottesville, Va., at the Pre-National, Panorama Farms Classic, where the women claimed first place in the 6k, highlighted by freshman Josephine Wanjiku's first place finish.
Wanjiku shaved over a minute off her previous 6k time with a new personal best of 20:37.3, now no. 7 on the K-State all-time list, to lead the women's team to a first place finish with 116 points. The men's team finished the 8k in fifth place with 139 points.
The women's second place finisher, Richmond, was 23 points behind K-State with 139 points. UMass Lowell claimed the men's win with just 49 points.
The women's team saw lots of improvements from the last race at the Gans Creek Classic (Sept. 29) in Columbia, Mo. Senior Hannah Stewart finished second for K-State, in 18th place with a time of 21:19.0. Sophomore Grace Meyer recorded a new personal best at 21:49.3 in 40th place, not far behind was sophomore Cecilia Fisher in 43rd place clearing 22 minutes at 21:57.2.
Senior Cailan Steward (51st; 22:01.6) finished right outside the top-50 with senior Aubry Donley (57th; 22:07.0) right behind with her fastest 6k. Freshman Paige Baker (78th; 22:22.9) and sophomore Katie Schwartzkopf (142nd; 23:28.1) also recorded new personal bests, Schwartzkopf running her first 6k of the year.
Senior Kerby Depenbusch led the Wildcats with a seventh place time of 24:33.8, his fastest 8k time since his personal best of 24:04.5 in 2020. Junior Matthew Hauser also cleared 25 minutes, finishing 24th with a time of 24:52.8. Juniors Tommy Hazen (39th; 25:09.2) and Kyle Johnston (50th; 25:18.7) also landed in the top-50.
Juniors Jack Vincent (60th; 25:29.1) and Alex Gutierrez (67th; 25:34.4) crossed the finish line just five seconds apart. Junior Will Carroll ran a new 8k personal best, 20 seconds faster than his previous, with a 96th place finish.
K-State starts the postseason with the Big 12 Championship on Saturday (Oct. 28) in Ames, Iowa at the Iowa State Cross Country Course.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head Coach Randy Cole
On the men's team performance…
"A lot of guys were moving up over the second half, we were around 10th place midway through the race, and we moved up to fifth, so I think we were real steady. People may have had some rough patches there in the middle of the race, but they came back strong over the last mile or so, so that ended up getting us fifth place. Kerby Depenbusch had a really strong race, he ran super, probably one of his best races in a couple years, he just charged all the way to a seventh place overall, in a real solid time for an 8k."
On Josephine Wanjiku and aiding the team's overall placing…
"Halfway through the race, fifth of sixth, but they kept moving through and ended up winning the whole thing, so that was exciting. Josephine Wanjiku, she had some bad patches in her first two meets, but she's showed she's legitimate. At about 2k she had moved up with the leader, Lona Latema from Kansas, they started pulling away and there was a real good duel back and forth and over the last 1000 meters, Josephine started pulling away and held it going up the last hill into the finish really looking strong, so came away with the individual title too."
FROM THE COURSE
Senior Kerby Depenbusch
On the team's performance overcoming weather conditions…
"Overall, everyone put forth a great effort and ran tough in difficult conditions. Although everyone didn't perform as good as they wanted, out whole team did a pretty good job moving up over the course of the race."
On his personal performance and best race in years…
"I was very happy with my performance. It was by far my best race in two years. I've endured a heart issue and knee surgery the past two years, so today was very encouraging for me. I am finally beginning to feel like myself again."
On preparing for the Big 12 Championship…
"This race gave us the opportunity to compete against solid competition while overcoming adverse conditions. It will help us race tough in the future. Now we just need to focus on being consistent in our training and recovering well. Having the new teams in the Big 12 is very exciting for us. I think we are all looking forward to competing against some different teams."
MEN'S TEAM FINISHES (8K)
1. UMass Lowell, 49 pts
2. Missouri, 73 pts
3. George Washington, 113 pts
4. William & Mary, 116 pts
5. K-State, 139 pts
6. Richmond, 165 pts
7. Ohio, 171 pts
8. Kent State, 177 pts
9. High Points, 198 pts
10. Queens (N.C.), 215 pts
11. Elon, 291 pts
K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (8K)
7. Kerby Depenbusch, 24:33.8
24. Matthew Hauser, 24:52.8
39. Tommy Hazen, 25:09.2
50. Kyle Johnston, 25:18.7
60. Jack Vincent, 25:29.1
67. Alex Gutierrez, 25:34.4
96. Will Carroll, 26:11.0 (PR)
105. Jacob Norris, 26:16.3
114. Devin Chappel, 26:38.5
WOMEN'S TEAM FINISHES (6K)
1. K-State, 116 pts
2. Richmond, 139 pts
3. Weber State, 146 pts
4. Yale, 148 pts
5. Kansas, 150 pts
6. Cornell, 153 pts
7. High Points, 179 pts
8. George Washington, 182 pts
9. Miami (Ohio), 194 pts
10. William & Mary, 195 pts
11. Charlotte, 244 pts
12. Arizona, 245 pts
13. UMass Lowell, 247 pts
14. Elon, 275 pts
15. Kent State, 435 pts
K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (6K)
1. Josephine Wanjiku, 20:37.3 (PR)
18. Hannah Stewart, 21:19.0
40. Grace Meyer, 21:49.3 (PR)
43. Cecilia Fisher, 21:57.2
51. Cailan Steward, 22:01.6
57. Aubry Donley, 22:07.0 (PR)
78. Paige Baker, 22:22.9 (PR)
142. Katie Schwartzkopf, 23:28.1 (PR)
150. Helen Giefer, 23:41.5
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 X (formerly Twitter, Threads, Facebook and Instagram.
Wanjiku shaved over a minute off her previous 6k time with a new personal best of 20:37.3, now no. 7 on the K-State all-time list, to lead the women's team to a first place finish with 116 points. The men's team finished the 8k in fifth place with 139 points.
The women's second place finisher, Richmond, was 23 points behind K-State with 139 points. UMass Lowell claimed the men's win with just 49 points.
The women's team saw lots of improvements from the last race at the Gans Creek Classic (Sept. 29) in Columbia, Mo. Senior Hannah Stewart finished second for K-State, in 18th place with a time of 21:19.0. Sophomore Grace Meyer recorded a new personal best at 21:49.3 in 40th place, not far behind was sophomore Cecilia Fisher in 43rd place clearing 22 minutes at 21:57.2.
Senior Cailan Steward (51st; 22:01.6) finished right outside the top-50 with senior Aubry Donley (57th; 22:07.0) right behind with her fastest 6k. Freshman Paige Baker (78th; 22:22.9) and sophomore Katie Schwartzkopf (142nd; 23:28.1) also recorded new personal bests, Schwartzkopf running her first 6k of the year.
Senior Kerby Depenbusch led the Wildcats with a seventh place time of 24:33.8, his fastest 8k time since his personal best of 24:04.5 in 2020. Junior Matthew Hauser also cleared 25 minutes, finishing 24th with a time of 24:52.8. Juniors Tommy Hazen (39th; 25:09.2) and Kyle Johnston (50th; 25:18.7) also landed in the top-50.
Juniors Jack Vincent (60th; 25:29.1) and Alex Gutierrez (67th; 25:34.4) crossed the finish line just five seconds apart. Junior Will Carroll ran a new 8k personal best, 20 seconds faster than his previous, with a 96th place finish.
K-State starts the postseason with the Big 12 Championship on Saturday (Oct. 28) in Ames, Iowa at the Iowa State Cross Country Course.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head Coach Randy Cole
On the men's team performance…
"A lot of guys were moving up over the second half, we were around 10th place midway through the race, and we moved up to fifth, so I think we were real steady. People may have had some rough patches there in the middle of the race, but they came back strong over the last mile or so, so that ended up getting us fifth place. Kerby Depenbusch had a really strong race, he ran super, probably one of his best races in a couple years, he just charged all the way to a seventh place overall, in a real solid time for an 8k."
On Josephine Wanjiku and aiding the team's overall placing…
"Halfway through the race, fifth of sixth, but they kept moving through and ended up winning the whole thing, so that was exciting. Josephine Wanjiku, she had some bad patches in her first two meets, but she's showed she's legitimate. At about 2k she had moved up with the leader, Lona Latema from Kansas, they started pulling away and there was a real good duel back and forth and over the last 1000 meters, Josephine started pulling away and held it going up the last hill into the finish really looking strong, so came away with the individual title too."
FROM THE COURSE
Senior Kerby Depenbusch
On the team's performance overcoming weather conditions…
"Overall, everyone put forth a great effort and ran tough in difficult conditions. Although everyone didn't perform as good as they wanted, out whole team did a pretty good job moving up over the course of the race."
On his personal performance and best race in years…
"I was very happy with my performance. It was by far my best race in two years. I've endured a heart issue and knee surgery the past two years, so today was very encouraging for me. I am finally beginning to feel like myself again."
On preparing for the Big 12 Championship…
"This race gave us the opportunity to compete against solid competition while overcoming adverse conditions. It will help us race tough in the future. Now we just need to focus on being consistent in our training and recovering well. Having the new teams in the Big 12 is very exciting for us. I think we are all looking forward to competing against some different teams."
MEN'S TEAM FINISHES (8K)
1. UMass Lowell, 49 pts
2. Missouri, 73 pts
3. George Washington, 113 pts
4. William & Mary, 116 pts
5. K-State, 139 pts
6. Richmond, 165 pts
7. Ohio, 171 pts
8. Kent State, 177 pts
9. High Points, 198 pts
10. Queens (N.C.), 215 pts
11. Elon, 291 pts
K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (8K)
7. Kerby Depenbusch, 24:33.8
24. Matthew Hauser, 24:52.8
39. Tommy Hazen, 25:09.2
50. Kyle Johnston, 25:18.7
60. Jack Vincent, 25:29.1
67. Alex Gutierrez, 25:34.4
96. Will Carroll, 26:11.0 (PR)
105. Jacob Norris, 26:16.3
114. Devin Chappel, 26:38.5
WOMEN'S TEAM FINISHES (6K)
1. K-State, 116 pts
2. Richmond, 139 pts
3. Weber State, 146 pts
4. Yale, 148 pts
5. Kansas, 150 pts
6. Cornell, 153 pts
7. High Points, 179 pts
8. George Washington, 182 pts
9. Miami (Ohio), 194 pts
10. William & Mary, 195 pts
11. Charlotte, 244 pts
12. Arizona, 245 pts
13. UMass Lowell, 247 pts
14. Elon, 275 pts
15. Kent State, 435 pts
K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (6K)
1. Josephine Wanjiku, 20:37.3 (PR)
18. Hannah Stewart, 21:19.0
40. Grace Meyer, 21:49.3 (PR)
43. Cecilia Fisher, 21:57.2
51. Cailan Steward, 22:01.6
57. Aubry Donley, 22:07.0 (PR)
78. Paige Baker, 22:22.9 (PR)
142. Katie Schwartzkopf, 23:28.1 (PR)
150. Helen Giefer, 23:41.5
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 X (formerly Twitter, Threads, Facebook and Instagram.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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