Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, November 15
Peoria, Ill.
11 a.m. (W) / 12 p.m. (M)
Kansas State University
vs
NCAA Midwest Regional
K-State Finishes Cross Country Season Strong
Nov 15, 2024 | Cross Country
Meyer, Hazen led the Wildcats in the last race of the season
The K-State men's and women's teams wrapped up the 2024 season on Friday (Nov. 15) with the NCAA Midwest Regional at Newman Golf Course in a field of 30 teams.
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The women's team finished the 6k in 14th place with 427 points while the men completed the first 10k of the season in 19th place with 505 points. Oklahoma State swept both the men's and women's Midwest Regional titles, with 61 and 25 points, respectively.
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In the women's race, junior Grace Meyer was back leading the team, finishing 50th with a time of 20:55.3. Freshman Gracie Jacobs finished second for the group in 86th place with a new personal best time by 13 seconds at 21:22.4. Two more Wildcats landed in the top-100, freshman Christine Jerono (89th; 21:25.0) and junior Cecilia Fisher (94th; 21:27.2).
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Running in their first NCAA postseason, sophomore Paige Baker (110th; 21:36.7) and freshman Bree Newport (128th; 21:55.5) both recorded new bests, with Newport breaking 22 minutes for the first time. Senior Alexa Rios (177th; 22:46.1) also ran her best by over 40 seconds, improvement from her time at the 2022 Regional.
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Senior Tommy Hazen made his mark on the K-State records once again, finishing 52nd in his third career 10k with a time of 30:38.9, no. 10 in the all-time top-25. Freshman Jackson Esquibel continued to run at the front of the pack, finishing 89th just shy of 31 minutes at 31:08.2.
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Senior Alex Gutierrez ran in the second 10k of his career with a time of 31:28.1 in 110th place, almost two minutes better than his time from last season. Not too far behind was sophomore Jacob Norris (119th; 31:37.7), freshman Lucas Holdren (146th; 32:13.7) and sophomore Devin Chappel (177th; 33:15.1) who ran in just his second meet of the season.
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The Wildcats finish their first season under head coach Kate Bucknam, a team that featured eight new faces on the course and guidance from five upperclassmen. They raced in five meets, including a consecutive season of four new additions at the Big 12 Championship.
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FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head Coach Kate Bucknam
On the team's performances this season…
"Really proud of this group. Looking back on this whole season, this group got better in so many ways, we had a lot of personal improvements and we are continuing to set the tone and lay the foundation for what we are going to do in the future."
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On her first season coaching the Wildcats…
"I'm so appreciative of the athletes for buying in. I really feel like they supported me more this season than I did them in a way. Couldn't have walked in to a better group of student-athletes who represent this school so well on so many levels. We obviously have a lot of work to do to get where we want to go, but this season was a hell of a start for our program."
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FROM THE COURSE
Freshman Gracie Jacobs
On her personal race…
"It felt really good. Going into the race, I was really nervous just because it was such a big meet and I really wanted to end the season on a good note and perform as well as I could for my team in such a high-level meet."
Â
On her teammates' encouragement in her first collegiate season…
"I could never be succeeding at this level without the support of my teammates. They are such a positive light in my life and always cheer me on at practices and races. During the race, Cecilia Fisher who I normally race with always encourages me and helps me push through the most difficult parts of the race and is definitely a huge reason why I ran my fastest time so far today."
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WOMEN'S TEAM FINISHES (6K)
1. Oklahoma State, 61 pts
2. Minnesota, 76
3. Northwestern, 103
4. Iowa State, 139
5. Nebraska, 181
6. Bradley, 203
7. Oklahoma, 222
8. Illinois, 260
9. Loyola (Ill.), 261
10. Tulsa, 303
11. Missouri, 316
12. South Dakota St., 393
13. Kansas, 404
14. K-State, 427
15. Northern Iowa, 435
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K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (6K)
50. Grace Meyer, 20:55.3
86. Gracie Jacobs, 21:22.4 (PR)
89. Christine Jerono, 21:25.0
94. Cecilia Fisher, 21:27.2
110. Paige Baker, 21:36.7 (PR)
128. Bree Newport, 21:55.5Â (PR)
177. Alexa Rios, 22:46.1 (PR)
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MEN'S TEAM FINISHES (10K)
1. Oklahoma State, 25 pts
2. Iowa State, 43
3. Tulsa, 124
4. Illinois State, 179
5. Loyola (Ill.), 184
6. South Dakota St., 196
7. Bradley, 229
8. Illinois, 230
9. Missouri, 260
10. Minnesota, 283
11. Oklahoma, 300
12. Kansas, 338
13. Iowa, 389
14. Wichita State, 397
15. Drake, 406
19. K-State, 505
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K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (10K)
52. Tommy Hazen, 30:38.9 (PR)
89. Jackson Esquibel, 31:08.2 (PR)
110. Alex Gutierrez, 31:28.1 (PR)
119. Jacob Norris, 31:37.7 (PR)
146. Lucas Holdren, 32:13.7 (PR)
177. Devin Chappel, 33:15.1Â (PR)
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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), Instagram and Facebook.
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The women's team finished the 6k in 14th place with 427 points while the men completed the first 10k of the season in 19th place with 505 points. Oklahoma State swept both the men's and women's Midwest Regional titles, with 61 and 25 points, respectively.
Â
In the women's race, junior Grace Meyer was back leading the team, finishing 50th with a time of 20:55.3. Freshman Gracie Jacobs finished second for the group in 86th place with a new personal best time by 13 seconds at 21:22.4. Two more Wildcats landed in the top-100, freshman Christine Jerono (89th; 21:25.0) and junior Cecilia Fisher (94th; 21:27.2).
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Running in their first NCAA postseason, sophomore Paige Baker (110th; 21:36.7) and freshman Bree Newport (128th; 21:55.5) both recorded new bests, with Newport breaking 22 minutes for the first time. Senior Alexa Rios (177th; 22:46.1) also ran her best by over 40 seconds, improvement from her time at the 2022 Regional.
Â
Senior Tommy Hazen made his mark on the K-State records once again, finishing 52nd in his third career 10k with a time of 30:38.9, no. 10 in the all-time top-25. Freshman Jackson Esquibel continued to run at the front of the pack, finishing 89th just shy of 31 minutes at 31:08.2.
Â
Senior Alex Gutierrez ran in the second 10k of his career with a time of 31:28.1 in 110th place, almost two minutes better than his time from last season. Not too far behind was sophomore Jacob Norris (119th; 31:37.7), freshman Lucas Holdren (146th; 32:13.7) and sophomore Devin Chappel (177th; 33:15.1) who ran in just his second meet of the season.
Â
The Wildcats finish their first season under head coach Kate Bucknam, a team that featured eight new faces on the course and guidance from five upperclassmen. They raced in five meets, including a consecutive season of four new additions at the Big 12 Championship.
Â
FROM THE HEAD COACH
Head Coach Kate Bucknam
On the team's performances this season…
"Really proud of this group. Looking back on this whole season, this group got better in so many ways, we had a lot of personal improvements and we are continuing to set the tone and lay the foundation for what we are going to do in the future."
Â
On her first season coaching the Wildcats…
"I'm so appreciative of the athletes for buying in. I really feel like they supported me more this season than I did them in a way. Couldn't have walked in to a better group of student-athletes who represent this school so well on so many levels. We obviously have a lot of work to do to get where we want to go, but this season was a hell of a start for our program."
Â
FROM THE COURSE
Freshman Gracie Jacobs
On her personal race…
"It felt really good. Going into the race, I was really nervous just because it was such a big meet and I really wanted to end the season on a good note and perform as well as I could for my team in such a high-level meet."
Â
On her teammates' encouragement in her first collegiate season…
"I could never be succeeding at this level without the support of my teammates. They are such a positive light in my life and always cheer me on at practices and races. During the race, Cecilia Fisher who I normally race with always encourages me and helps me push through the most difficult parts of the race and is definitely a huge reason why I ran my fastest time so far today."
Â
WOMEN'S TEAM FINISHES (6K)
1. Oklahoma State, 61 pts
2. Minnesota, 76
3. Northwestern, 103
4. Iowa State, 139
5. Nebraska, 181
6. Bradley, 203
7. Oklahoma, 222
8. Illinois, 260
9. Loyola (Ill.), 261
10. Tulsa, 303
11. Missouri, 316
12. South Dakota St., 393
13. Kansas, 404
14. K-State, 427
15. Northern Iowa, 435
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K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (6K)
50. Grace Meyer, 20:55.3
86. Gracie Jacobs, 21:22.4 (PR)
89. Christine Jerono, 21:25.0
94. Cecilia Fisher, 21:27.2
110. Paige Baker, 21:36.7 (PR)
128. Bree Newport, 21:55.5Â (PR)
177. Alexa Rios, 22:46.1 (PR)
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MEN'S TEAM FINISHES (10K)
1. Oklahoma State, 25 pts
2. Iowa State, 43
3. Tulsa, 124
4. Illinois State, 179
5. Loyola (Ill.), 184
6. South Dakota St., 196
7. Bradley, 229
8. Illinois, 230
9. Missouri, 260
10. Minnesota, 283
11. Oklahoma, 300
12. Kansas, 338
13. Iowa, 389
14. Wichita State, 397
15. Drake, 406
19. K-State, 505
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K-STATE'S INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (10K)
52. Tommy Hazen, 30:38.9 (PR)
89. Jackson Esquibel, 31:08.2 (PR)
110. Alex Gutierrez, 31:28.1 (PR)
119. Jacob Norris, 31:37.7 (PR)
146. Lucas Holdren, 32:13.7 (PR)
177. Devin Chappel, 33:15.1Â (PR)
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-- k-statesports.com --
 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), Instagram and Facebook.
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
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