Kansas State University Athletics
Saturday, September 16
Terre Haute, Ind.
8 a.m. (M) / 8:45 a.m. (W)
Kansas State University
vs
John McNichols Invitational
Women Finish 3rd, Men 8th at John McNichols Invitational
Sep 16, 2023 | Cross Country
Men's Team Results (.pdf)Men's Individual (.pdf)Women's Team Results (.pdf)Women's Individual (.pdf)
This was K-State's first time running in the meet
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The K-State men's and women's cross country teams ran in their first John McNichols Invitational on Saturday morning (Sept. 16) at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
Â
The women's team finished third in the 5k race with 70 points. The top-3 team finishes were a close race as Belmont won with 60 points followed by second-place Indiana (69), which finished one point ahead of K-State.
Â
The men's team finished the 8k race in eighth place with 198 points. Purdue won with 45 points, followed by Belmont (55) and Indiana (68).
Â
Senior Hannah Stewart completed another top-three finish in consecutive races with a third-place time of 17:29.4. From the first to second race this season she shaved 31 seconds off her 5k time.
Â
Four other women finished the 5k in the top-25, including freshman Joesphine Wanjiku making her debut for K-State and finishing 12th in 17:47.1. Senior Cailan Steward (13th; 17:49.3) was right behind Wanjiku, with sophomores Grace Meyer (19th; 18:06.9) and Cecilia Fisher (23rd; 18:10.1) not far behind.
Â
Senior Aubry Donley (26th; 18:13.9) ran a new personal best, while freshman Paige Baker (53rd; 18:49.1), sophomore Katie Schwartzkopf (59th; 18:52.3) and junior Jessica Caraway (92nd; 19:25.6) also saw their fastest times.
Â
Three men finished the 8k in the top-50 with junior Tommy Hazen (28th; 24:47.4) leading the Wildcats. Junior Matthew Hauser (34th; 24:51.3) recorded consecutive personal bests with an 8k four seconds faster than his previous best in 2021, just five seconds ahead of senior Kerby Depenbusch (38th; 24:56.0).
Â
Juniors Kyle Johnston (57th; 25:17.9) and Jack Vincent (58th; 25:18.4) were just a second apart. Freshman Jacob Norris (67th; 25:28.1) competed in his first collegiate race with junior Alex Gutierrez (62nd; 25:32.6), freshman Devin Chappel (64th; 25:36.7) and junior Will Carroll (126th; 26:31.4) also recording new 8k personal bests.
Â
K-State will next compete in the Gans Creek Classic on Friday (Sept. 29) in Columbia, Mo., hosted by the University of Missouri, at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
Â
FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head Coach Randy Cole
On the men's team running the first 8k of the season…
"First time out for that distance I thought they made a step in the right direction as a team. Overall, our team split was solid and our team averaged, one through five, was solid just need to move that up about 20-30 seconds, which we can do as we move forward, so it's a step in the right direction."
Â
On freshmen in their first 8k…
"Freshman guys, Jake Norris, his first K State race and Devin Chappel they actually did pretty well for themselves for their first 8k. So, a lot of good positive things I know we'll get a lot better. This is a step in the right direction just to learn from."
Â
On Josephine Wanjiku's first race…
"Josephine Wanjiku ran her first race for K State. She's a talent but probably got a little too excited, took the lead from the get-go and had a big lead all the way through about 3k, right before 4k. She was in second that she kind of faded to 12th, but that's a learning experience, she's only been with us for a few weeks."
Â
On the women's team top runners…
"Hannah Stewart ran super, as did Cailan Steward. Hannah was moving up, she was passing people the whole way, all the way up to get third overall, one of her better 5k races. Super job there. Cailan Steward ran really solid from the start she moved up in there, even moved up at the end fairly well. I thought she ran a real solid race. Gracie Meyer and Cecilia Fisher ran real smart. They were passing people over that second half of the race really well. I think in the future they'll be able to get out with Cailan and Hannah and Josephine and have them close the gap even more, even though we're pretty close together."
Â
On running at Indiana State…
"They haven't run here at Indiana State for a while so it was nice to come back and see the nice course. Temperature was nice, it was a dry course not muddy or anything like that, so a real solid course. Good competition, get to see teams that we don't always see from the farther East."
Â
FROM THE COURSE
Junior Matthew Hauser
On starting the season with consecutive personal bests…
"Feels good to be stepping in the right direction. It is definitely setting me and the team up to be in the right spot for our more important races later this season."
Â
On the overall team performance…
"I thought our team worked together well and our spread was small. We advanced significantly since our performance at KU two weeks ago. I'm especially proud of our freshmen for stepping up and taking care of business in their first 8k."
Â
MEN'S TEAM FINISHES (8K)
1. Purdue, 45 pts
2. Belmont, 55 pts
3. Indiana, 68 pts
4. Bellarmine, 122 pts
5. Maine, 161 pts
6. Indiana State, 176 pts
7. Dayton, 188 pts
8. K-State, 198 pts
9. Southern Indiana, 241 pts
10. Milwaukee, 270 pts
Â
K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (8K)
28. Tommy Hazen, 24:47.4
34. Matthew Hauser, 24:51.3 (PR)
38. Kerby Depenbusch, 24:56.0
57. Kyle Johnston, 25:17.9 (PR)
58. Jack Vincent, 25:18.4
67. Jacob Norris, 25:28.1 (PR)
74. Alex Gutierrez, 25:32.1 (PR)
77. Devin Chappel, 25:36.3 (PR)
126. Will Carroll, 26:31.4 (PR)
Â
WOMEN'S TEAM FINISHES (5K)
1. Belmont, 60 pts
2. Indiana, 69 pts
3. K-State, 70 pts
4. Purdue, 85 pts
5. Dayton, 169 pts
6. Southern Indiana, 197 pts
7. SEMO, 206 pts
8. Indiana State, 222 pts
9. Maine, 250 pts
10. Bellarmine, 287
Â
K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (5K)
3. Hannah Stewart, 17:29.4
12. Josephine Wanjiku, 17:47.1 (PR)
13. Cailan Steward, 17:49.3
19. Grace Meyer, 18:06.9
23. Cecilia Fisher, 18:10.1
26. Aubry Donley, 18:13.9 (PR)
53. Paige Baker, 18:49.1 (PR)
59. Katie Schwartzkopf, 18:52.3 (PR)
91. Helen Giefer, 19:25.2
92. Jessica Caraway, 19:25.6 (PR)
127. Kate Kowalik, 20:22.3
Â
Â
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.
Â
The women's team finished third in the 5k race with 70 points. The top-3 team finishes were a close race as Belmont won with 60 points followed by second-place Indiana (69), which finished one point ahead of K-State.
Â
The men's team finished the 8k race in eighth place with 198 points. Purdue won with 45 points, followed by Belmont (55) and Indiana (68).
Â
Senior Hannah Stewart completed another top-three finish in consecutive races with a third-place time of 17:29.4. From the first to second race this season she shaved 31 seconds off her 5k time.
Â
Four other women finished the 5k in the top-25, including freshman Joesphine Wanjiku making her debut for K-State and finishing 12th in 17:47.1. Senior Cailan Steward (13th; 17:49.3) was right behind Wanjiku, with sophomores Grace Meyer (19th; 18:06.9) and Cecilia Fisher (23rd; 18:10.1) not far behind.
Â
Senior Aubry Donley (26th; 18:13.9) ran a new personal best, while freshman Paige Baker (53rd; 18:49.1), sophomore Katie Schwartzkopf (59th; 18:52.3) and junior Jessica Caraway (92nd; 19:25.6) also saw their fastest times.
Â
Three men finished the 8k in the top-50 with junior Tommy Hazen (28th; 24:47.4) leading the Wildcats. Junior Matthew Hauser (34th; 24:51.3) recorded consecutive personal bests with an 8k four seconds faster than his previous best in 2021, just five seconds ahead of senior Kerby Depenbusch (38th; 24:56.0).
Â
Juniors Kyle Johnston (57th; 25:17.9) and Jack Vincent (58th; 25:18.4) were just a second apart. Freshman Jacob Norris (67th; 25:28.1) competed in his first collegiate race with junior Alex Gutierrez (62nd; 25:32.6), freshman Devin Chappel (64th; 25:36.7) and junior Will Carroll (126th; 26:31.4) also recording new 8k personal bests.
Â
K-State will next compete in the Gans Creek Classic on Friday (Sept. 29) in Columbia, Mo., hosted by the University of Missouri, at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course.
Â
FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head Coach Randy Cole
On the men's team running the first 8k of the season…
"First time out for that distance I thought they made a step in the right direction as a team. Overall, our team split was solid and our team averaged, one through five, was solid just need to move that up about 20-30 seconds, which we can do as we move forward, so it's a step in the right direction."
Â
On freshmen in their first 8k…
"Freshman guys, Jake Norris, his first K State race and Devin Chappel they actually did pretty well for themselves for their first 8k. So, a lot of good positive things I know we'll get a lot better. This is a step in the right direction just to learn from."
Â
On Josephine Wanjiku's first race…
"Josephine Wanjiku ran her first race for K State. She's a talent but probably got a little too excited, took the lead from the get-go and had a big lead all the way through about 3k, right before 4k. She was in second that she kind of faded to 12th, but that's a learning experience, she's only been with us for a few weeks."
Â
On the women's team top runners…
"Hannah Stewart ran super, as did Cailan Steward. Hannah was moving up, she was passing people the whole way, all the way up to get third overall, one of her better 5k races. Super job there. Cailan Steward ran really solid from the start she moved up in there, even moved up at the end fairly well. I thought she ran a real solid race. Gracie Meyer and Cecilia Fisher ran real smart. They were passing people over that second half of the race really well. I think in the future they'll be able to get out with Cailan and Hannah and Josephine and have them close the gap even more, even though we're pretty close together."
Â
On running at Indiana State…
"They haven't run here at Indiana State for a while so it was nice to come back and see the nice course. Temperature was nice, it was a dry course not muddy or anything like that, so a real solid course. Good competition, get to see teams that we don't always see from the farther East."
Â
FROM THE COURSE
Junior Matthew Hauser
On starting the season with consecutive personal bests…
"Feels good to be stepping in the right direction. It is definitely setting me and the team up to be in the right spot for our more important races later this season."
Â
On the overall team performance…
"I thought our team worked together well and our spread was small. We advanced significantly since our performance at KU two weeks ago. I'm especially proud of our freshmen for stepping up and taking care of business in their first 8k."
Â
MEN'S TEAM FINISHES (8K)
1. Purdue, 45 pts
2. Belmont, 55 pts
3. Indiana, 68 pts
4. Bellarmine, 122 pts
5. Maine, 161 pts
6. Indiana State, 176 pts
7. Dayton, 188 pts
8. K-State, 198 pts
9. Southern Indiana, 241 pts
10. Milwaukee, 270 pts
Â
K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (8K)
28. Tommy Hazen, 24:47.4
34. Matthew Hauser, 24:51.3 (PR)
38. Kerby Depenbusch, 24:56.0
57. Kyle Johnston, 25:17.9 (PR)
58. Jack Vincent, 25:18.4
67. Jacob Norris, 25:28.1 (PR)
74. Alex Gutierrez, 25:32.1 (PR)
77. Devin Chappel, 25:36.3 (PR)
126. Will Carroll, 26:31.4 (PR)
Â
WOMEN'S TEAM FINISHES (5K)
1. Belmont, 60 pts
2. Indiana, 69 pts
3. K-State, 70 pts
4. Purdue, 85 pts
5. Dayton, 169 pts
6. Southern Indiana, 197 pts
7. SEMO, 206 pts
8. Indiana State, 222 pts
9. Maine, 250 pts
10. Bellarmine, 287
Â
K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (5K)
3. Hannah Stewart, 17:29.4
12. Josephine Wanjiku, 17:47.1 (PR)
13. Cailan Steward, 17:49.3
19. Grace Meyer, 18:06.9
23. Cecilia Fisher, 18:10.1
26. Aubry Donley, 18:13.9 (PR)
53. Paige Baker, 18:49.1 (PR)
59. Katie Schwartzkopf, 18:52.3 (PR)
91. Helen Giefer, 19:25.2
92. Jessica Caraway, 19:25.6 (PR)
127. Kate Kowalik, 20:22.3
Â
Â
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
/ Cross Country
K-State Track and Field | Coach Geopfert Post Meet Comments - NCAA Championships / Women's Finals
Monday, June 16
K-State Track and Field | Coach Geopfert Post Meet Comments - NCAA Championships / Men's Finals
Saturday, June 14
K-State Track and Field | Big 12 Outdoor Championships
Wednesday, May 21
K-State Track and Field | Coach Geopfert Post Meet Comments - Big 12 Day 3
Monday, May 19