Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, November 10
Stillwater, Okla.
10:30 a.m. (W) / 11:30 a.m. (M)
Kansas State University
vs
NCAA Midwest Regionals
Wanjiku Earns All-Region Honors, Women’s Team Land in Top-5
Nov 10, 2023 | Cross Country
The women's 5th place finish is the highest since 2010
STILLWATER, Okla. – The K-State men's and women's cross country teams competed in the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday (Nov. 10) in Stillwater, Okla., highlighted by freshman Josphine Wanjiku earning NCAA All-Region honors and helping land the women's team in the top-five.
Wanjiku finished in the top-25 with an 18th place time of 21:02.9, earning her All-Region honors. For the first time since 2010 the women's team finished the 6k in fifth place, out of 32 scoring teams, with 241 points. The men's team finished the 10k in 24th place with 580 points. Host Oklahoma State claimed both the men's and women's win with 19 and 30 points, respectively.
The last time the women's team featured an honoree was in 2021 with Jaybe Shufelberger who finished 19th and helped the team to a sixth place finish. Wanjiku has the highest regional women's finish since 2014 when Laura Galvan placed ninth.
Fifth-year senior Hannah Stewart landed in the top-50 in 31st place with a time of 21:26.7. Sophomore Grace Meyer ran in her first NCAA postseason race, finishing outside the top-50 with a time of 21:48.4, in 56th place.
Senior Sydney Burton ran in just her second race of the season, finishing 65th in 21:57.5, improving upon her previous time by 13 seconds and finishing 13 spots higher than last year's regional race. Sophomore Cecilia Fisher finished not too far behind in 71st place with a time of 22:02.7.
Rounding out the women's team was seniors Aubry Donley (94th; 22:19.6) and Cailan Steward (125th; 22:46.5), with Donley also competing in her first NCAA postseason race.
The men raced in the first 10k of the season, with three men competing the first time collegiately. Junior Tommy Hazen led the men with a time of 32:11.1, in 69th place. Sixth-year senior Kerby Depenbusch competed in his fourth 10k as a Wildcat, finishing in 32:30.4, placing 93rd. Junior Kyle Johnston clocked in right at 33 minutes, finishing 124th.
Junior Will Carroll (148th; 33:24.3) led the group of juniors running in their longest race, with Jack Vincent, (154th; 33:34.6) and Alex Gutierrez, (165th; 33:47.5) not too far behind. Junior Matthew Hauser (177th; 34:19.9) also ran in the 10k for the first time since 2021.
The K-State men's and women's team wrap up their second season under head coach Randy Cole, with Wanjiku just shy of qualifying for the NCAA Championship in Charlottesville, Va.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head Coach Randy Cole
On the women's team performance…
"They capped off a real solid season with the fine performance at regionals, they placed fifth. Our goal is to be in the top five and they reached that goal. A solid team performance, we beat a lot of teams that were ranked ahead of us or had beaten us earlier in the year. We ended up placing higher than we were ranked, taking on those teams that had gotten us earlier in the year so that was nice to see."
On individual performances…
"Josphine Wanjiku earned All-Region honors. She might have been about 20 seconds out of, you know, the last qualifying individual. She was up in there, just didn't quite finish it as strong as some of those other girls. Hannah Stewart capped off a really good season, was 31st place and she was about six seconds out of 25th, which is All-Region, so that's a bummer but still she had a good end. Sydney Burton, in her second race of the season for us, really stepped it up and did a nice job. So, all the girls did well we had us a good solid season."
On the men's team running a 10k…
"A bunch of middle distance that are trying to run long, some of our guys this is the first 10k of their life. So, you know, just got what we could out of them. It wasn't that great a finish, going into the year we worked with more middle distance oriented so this will help them do a great background for the spring season."
On the experience in the women's team…
"We're losing some good seniors with Hannah Stewart, Sydney Burton. Cailan Steward and Aubry Donley. Aubry had actually a really nice cross country season. But we've got a nice nucleus with the returning girls."
FROM THE COURSE
Freshman Josphine Wanjiku
On her performance and season overall…
"It was a nice one, I did my best. Kind of challenging but looking forward for track."
Junior Will Carroll
On the team performance in a postseason race…
"I think we competed well. We had some ups and downs individually, but I am proud of both our men and women for battling against some great competition and on a tough course. We were aiming to place a bit higher, but regardless I am proud of our team for the season we had."
On his individual performance in a 10k…
"It was a great challenge for me, but I looked forward to it all week and was excited for it. As an 800 meter runner, a 10k is much further than I am used to! But nonetheless I am grateful for Coach Cole allowing me to race my first full cross country season in college and capping off the season with a 10k with my teammates was very exciting."
On competing in his first full cross country season…
"I want to praise God for giving us the opportunity to compete at such a high level and for keeping us healthy this season. I am very thankful to Coach Cole and all he does for us, as well as my brothers that I compete and practice with every day. I know that we will all use today's performance as fuel to get faster for the upcoming indoor and outdoor track seasons. The best is still yet to come."
WOMEN'S TEAM FINISHES (6K)
1. Oklahoma State, 30 points
2. Iowa State, 75 points
3. Northwestern, 155 points
4. Minnesota, 184 points
5. K-State, 241 points
6. Bradley, 265 points
7. Nebraska, 267 points
8. South Dakota, 289 points
9. Loyola (Ill.), 289 points
10. Illinois, 302 points
11. Tulsa, 318 points
12. Missouri, 352 points
13. North Dakota, 365 points
14. Drake, 374 points
15. South Dakota State, 382 points
16. Kansas, 392 points
17. North Dakota State, 458 points
18. DePaul, 488 points
19. Iowa, 495 points
20. Wichita State, 514 points
K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (6K)
18. Josphine Wanjiku, 21:02.9*
31. Hannah Stewart, 21:26.7
56. Grace Meyer, 21:48.4
65. Sydney Burton, 21:57.5
71. Cecilia Fisher, 22:02.7
94. Aubry Donley, 22:19.6
125. Cailan Steward, 22:46.5
*NCAA All-Region Honors
MEN'S TEAM FINISHES (10K)
1. Oklahoma State, 19 points
2. Iowa State, 56 points
3. Tulsa, 131 points
4. Loyola (Ill.), 131 points
5. South Dakota St., 196 points
6. Illinois, 205 points
7. Drake, 250 points
8. Bradley, 320 points
9. Kansas, 322 points
10. Wichita State, 340 points
11. Missouri, 343 points
12. Iowa, 368 points
13. Saint Louis, 371 points
14. Minnesota, 372 points
15. North Dakota, 408 points
16. Creighton, 409 points
17. Illinois State, 412 points
18. Southern Illinois, 443 points
19. Oklahoma, 443 points
20. Eastern Illinois, 445 points
21. DePaul, 478 points
22. North Dakota State, 485 points
23. Illinois-Chicago, 546 points
24. K-State, 580 points
25. Nebraska, 648 points
K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (8K)
69. Tommy Hazen, 32:11.1
93. Kerby Depenbusch, 32:30.4
124. Kyle Johnston, 33:00.0
148. Will Carroll, 33:24.3 (PR)
154. Jack Vincent, 33:34.6 (PR)
165. Alex Gutierrez, 33:47.5 (PR)
177. Matthew Hauser, 34:19.9
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 finished in the top-25 with an 18th place time of 21:02.9, earning her All-Region honors. For the first time since 2010 the women's team finished the 6k in fifth place, out of 32 scoring teams, with 241 points. The men's team finished the 10k in 24th place with 580 points. Host Oklahoma State claimed both the men's and women's win with 19 and 30 points, respectively.
The last time the women's team featured an honoree was in 2021 with Jaybe Shufelberger who finished 19th and helped the team to a sixth place finish. Wanjiku has the highest regional women's finish since 2014 when Laura Galvan placed ninth.
Fifth-year senior Hannah Stewart landed in the top-50 in 31st place with a time of 21:26.7. Sophomore Grace Meyer ran in her first NCAA postseason race, finishing outside the top-50 with a time of 21:48.4, in 56th place.
Senior Sydney Burton ran in just her second race of the season, finishing 65th in 21:57.5, improving upon her previous time by 13 seconds and finishing 13 spots higher than last year's regional race. Sophomore Cecilia Fisher finished not too far behind in 71st place with a time of 22:02.7.
Rounding out the women's team was seniors Aubry Donley (94th; 22:19.6) and Cailan Steward (125th; 22:46.5), with Donley also competing in her first NCAA postseason race.
The men raced in the first 10k of the season, with three men competing the first time collegiately. Junior Tommy Hazen led the men with a time of 32:11.1, in 69th place. Sixth-year senior Kerby Depenbusch competed in his fourth 10k as a Wildcat, finishing in 32:30.4, placing 93rd. Junior Kyle Johnston clocked in right at 33 minutes, finishing 124th.
Junior Will Carroll (148th; 33:24.3) led the group of juniors running in their longest race, with Jack Vincent, (154th; 33:34.6) and Alex Gutierrez, (165th; 33:47.5) not too far behind. Junior Matthew Hauser (177th; 34:19.9) also ran in the 10k for the first time since 2021.
The K-State men's and women's team wrap up their second season under head coach Randy Cole, with Wanjiku just shy of qualifying for the NCAA Championship in Charlottesville, Va.
FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head Coach Randy Cole
On the women's team performance…
"They capped off a real solid season with the fine performance at regionals, they placed fifth. Our goal is to be in the top five and they reached that goal. A solid team performance, we beat a lot of teams that were ranked ahead of us or had beaten us earlier in the year. We ended up placing higher than we were ranked, taking on those teams that had gotten us earlier in the year so that was nice to see."
On individual performances…
"Josphine Wanjiku earned All-Region honors. She might have been about 20 seconds out of, you know, the last qualifying individual. She was up in there, just didn't quite finish it as strong as some of those other girls. Hannah Stewart capped off a really good season, was 31st place and she was about six seconds out of 25th, which is All-Region, so that's a bummer but still she had a good end. Sydney Burton, in her second race of the season for us, really stepped it up and did a nice job. So, all the girls did well we had us a good solid season."
On the men's team running a 10k…
"A bunch of middle distance that are trying to run long, some of our guys this is the first 10k of their life. So, you know, just got what we could out of them. It wasn't that great a finish, going into the year we worked with more middle distance oriented so this will help them do a great background for the spring season."
On the experience in the women's team…
"We're losing some good seniors with Hannah Stewart, Sydney Burton. Cailan Steward and Aubry Donley. Aubry had actually a really nice cross country season. But we've got a nice nucleus with the returning girls."
FROM THE COURSE
Freshman Josphine Wanjiku
On her performance and season overall…
"It was a nice one, I did my best. Kind of challenging but looking forward for track."
Junior Will Carroll
On the team performance in a postseason race…
"I think we competed well. We had some ups and downs individually, but I am proud of both our men and women for battling against some great competition and on a tough course. We were aiming to place a bit higher, but regardless I am proud of our team for the season we had."
On his individual performance in a 10k…
"It was a great challenge for me, but I looked forward to it all week and was excited for it. As an 800 meter runner, a 10k is much further than I am used to! But nonetheless I am grateful for Coach Cole allowing me to race my first full cross country season in college and capping off the season with a 10k with my teammates was very exciting."
On competing in his first full cross country season…
"I want to praise God for giving us the opportunity to compete at such a high level and for keeping us healthy this season. I am very thankful to Coach Cole and all he does for us, as well as my brothers that I compete and practice with every day. I know that we will all use today's performance as fuel to get faster for the upcoming indoor and outdoor track seasons. The best is still yet to come."
WOMEN'S TEAM FINISHES (6K)
1. Oklahoma State, 30 points
2. Iowa State, 75 points
3. Northwestern, 155 points
4. Minnesota, 184 points
5. K-State, 241 points
6. Bradley, 265 points
7. Nebraska, 267 points
8. South Dakota, 289 points
9. Loyola (Ill.), 289 points
10. Illinois, 302 points
11. Tulsa, 318 points
12. Missouri, 352 points
13. North Dakota, 365 points
14. Drake, 374 points
15. South Dakota State, 382 points
16. Kansas, 392 points
17. North Dakota State, 458 points
18. DePaul, 488 points
19. Iowa, 495 points
20. Wichita State, 514 points
K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (6K)
18. Josphine Wanjiku, 21:02.9*
31. Hannah Stewart, 21:26.7
56. Grace Meyer, 21:48.4
65. Sydney Burton, 21:57.5
71. Cecilia Fisher, 22:02.7
94. Aubry Donley, 22:19.6
125. Cailan Steward, 22:46.5
*NCAA All-Region Honors
MEN'S TEAM FINISHES (10K)
1. Oklahoma State, 19 points
2. Iowa State, 56 points
3. Tulsa, 131 points
4. Loyola (Ill.), 131 points
5. South Dakota St., 196 points
6. Illinois, 205 points
7. Drake, 250 points
8. Bradley, 320 points
9. Kansas, 322 points
10. Wichita State, 340 points
11. Missouri, 343 points
12. Iowa, 368 points
13. Saint Louis, 371 points
14. Minnesota, 372 points
15. North Dakota, 408 points
16. Creighton, 409 points
17. Illinois State, 412 points
18. Southern Illinois, 443 points
19. Oklahoma, 443 points
20. Eastern Illinois, 445 points
21. DePaul, 478 points
22. North Dakota State, 485 points
23. Illinois-Chicago, 546 points
24. K-State, 580 points
25. Nebraska, 648 points
K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (8K)
69. Tommy Hazen, 32:11.1
93. Kerby Depenbusch, 32:30.4
124. Kyle Johnston, 33:00.0
148. Will Carroll, 33:24.3 (PR)
154. Jack Vincent, 33:34.6 (PR)
165. Alex Gutierrez, 33:47.5 (PR)
177. Matthew Hauser, 34:19.9
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
K-State XC | Pre-National Invitational Recap
Saturday, October 18
K-State XC | Coach Bucknam Post-Race Thoughts
Friday, October 17
K-State XC | Joe Piane Invitational Recap
Saturday, October 04
K-State CC | Notre Dame Invitational Post Meet Interviews - Jackson Esquibel
Friday, October 03