K-State Women Give Strong Performances in Joe Piane Blue Division

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The K-State women's cross country team gave an all-around strong performance in the Blue Division race at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on Friday (October 3) at Burke Golf Course.

With three women having record book performances, the team finished 9^th with 291 points, 40 points behind fellow Big 12 member Cincinnati. In the men's first 8k of the season in the Gold Division they finished 6^th with 206 points, just 11 points shy of fifth-place Windsor.

The hosting Fighting Irish won the women's race with 29 points while the University of Chicago men finished first with 126 points.

Seniors Cecilia Fisher and Grace Meyer had another successful 5k race with top-50 finishes from personal bests. Fisher crossed the finish line just under 17 minutes at 16:59.4 in 37^th place, jumping up in the K-State record books to no. 9 from 21. Meyer was just a couple steps behind at 17:06.0 in 44^th place, tying with Deb Pihl (1982) for the no. 12 spot in the school records.

"What they did today wasn't a huge surprise. Grace and Cecilia, they're seniors, and they've been putting in so much work, the whole team has," head coach Kate Bucknam said. "So, I kind of knew they were game, they're ready to go for a fast race, and obviously, with it being a fast course, we took advantage of that. Yeah, I think it was just a good snapshot of where we're at, and we know that as the competition season goes on, it's going to get tougher. So, I think it was really important to take a lot of confidence from this race."

In her second race as a Wildcat, sophomore Stella Miner clocked her first 5k time at 17:17.8 in 66^th place, also landing in the K-State top-25 at no. 19. Two more women also finished in the top-100 finishers, sophomore Christine Jerono at 17:26.6 in 84^th place and junior Vienna Lahner in her first cross country race for K-State at 17:29.9, finishing 92^nd.

While five more women also recorded their fastest 5k times, it was an accomplishment for junior Paige Baker, who crossed the finish line under 18 minutes for the first time at 17:52.0, placing 125^th, and senior Alexa Rios who ran her best time at 18:37.1, a seven second improvement from her sophomore season in 2022.

Experiencing warmer weather during the men's race, sophomore Jackson Esquibel gave a top-10 finish in 5^th place with a personal best time of 24:28.4, the no. 16 fastest time in the K-State records.

"That wasn't a huge surprise for me. I knew he [Esquibel] was in PR shape and knew that he was kind of on this upward trajectory, a little bit, has been looking really good in practice. And you know, for all those guys, they've been putting in a lot of work these last four weeks."

Also, under the 25-minute mark was sophomore Brock Olsen in his first 8k race at 24:39.9 in 14^th place. One more Wildcat crossed the finish line in the top-50, senior Julian Avila with a time of 25:09.0 in 39^th place.

Junior Jacob Norris finished the race at 69^th place at 25:47.8, just six seconds ahead of the first K-State freshman Canyon Buehler who clocked a time of 25:53.7 in 79^th place. Another top-100 finisher was freshman Caleb Prettyman with a time just shy of 25 minutes at 26:03.3 in 88^th place.

In two weeks, K-State will be back on the course for the Pre-National Invitational on Saturday, October 18, in Columbia, Mo., at Gans Creek Cross Country Course hosted by Missouri.

FROM THE COURSE
Head Coach Kate Bucknam
On the personal achievement for Alexa Rios…
"It was great to have her back in the fold, you know, she's just been put through the ringer this year, and to have her come on and run her best races at the end of her career is just really awesome to see and experience definitely, as a coach, I know for her too she's cloud nine."

On the difference in weather conditions affecting the men's race…
"I honestly don't think today was a great snapshot of where we're at with them. It was really hot, you know, they were in a lot tougher conditions than the women were. I think that that definitely got to the freshman guys a little bit. It was rough but I don't think that it paints the whole picture of the men's squad. I think they got a lot more to show. They're staying confident and have a good mental plan moving forward, and know that, hey, they're better than what they show today."

On leadership in a young men's squad…
"I'm really proud of Brock, honestly, just because he's been banged up the last couple weeks and stuck his nose in there and did his job today. So that was really encouraging to see. Same with Julian, again, just the natural leader and somebody that, you know, we can really rely on in that front group."

Senior Grace Meyer
On a second strong race to start the season…
"Achieving two significant personal bests is definitely a huge confidence booster going into the rest of the season. The goal is not to achieve all personal and team goals at the start of the season, but to continuously improve and build confidence at the beginning of the season to set a good tone for conference and regionals. The team and I have put in the work week after week since August pushing each other to our fullest potential and it's extremely exciting and rewarding to slowly see our hard work pay off. Seeing my personal and team progression so far this season is very exciting and I am eager to see what is to come!"

On the team atmosphere with a blend of seniors and freshmen…
"The atmosphere this year is nothing like I have ever experienced on a team before, both girls and guys team! We all mesh and get along so well and just really enjoy each other's time together. The best thing about this team is the balance we have of when to lock in and work hard and when to have fun. It is really nice to have the feeling in races and workouts that us girls are working together and fighting for each other. To be honest I'm really sad that this is my last year. The amount of support and excitement this team has for each other is unbeatable and I am extremely grateful and excited to spend my last year working hard and having fun with all of them!"

Women's Team Finishes- Blue Division (5k)
1. Notre Dame, 29 points
2. South Carolina, 47 pts
3. Boise State, 108 pts
4. Grand Valley St., 161 pts
5. Liberty, 190 pts
6. Ohio, 204 pts
7. Bradley, 238 pts
8. Cincinnati, 251 pts
9. K-State, 291 pts
10. Colorado St., 295 pts

K-State's Individual Results
37. Cecilia Fisher, 16:59.4 (PR)
44. Grace Meyer, 17:06.0 (PR)
66. Stella Miner, 17:17.8
84. Christine Jerono, 17:26.6 (PR)
92. Vienna Lahner, 17:29.9
125. Paige Baker, 17:52.0 (PR)
134. Bree Allen, 18:03.4 (PR)
152. Hanna Keltner, 18:22.3 (PR)
163. Alexa Rios, 18:37.1 (PR)
164. Angie Pondler, 18:37.5 (PR)
171. Anna Pozdeeva, 18:56.2

Men's Team Finishes- Gold Division (8k)
1. U. of Chicago, 126 points
2. St. Thomas (Minn.), 131 pts
3. Western Ontario, 170 pts
4. IU Indianapolis, 185 pts
5. Windsor, 195 pts
6. K-State, 206 pts
7. Indiana State, 208 pts
8. Eastern Michigan, 211 pts
9. Green Bay (Wis.), 224 pts
10. Purdue Fort Wayne, 269 pts

K-State's Individual Results
5. Jackson Esquibel, 24:28.4 (PR)
14. Brock Olsen, 24:39.9
39. Julian Avila, 25:09.0
69. Jacob Norris, 25:47.8
79. Canyon Buehler, 25:53.7
88. Caleb Prettyman, 26:03.3
130. Dylan Plath, 26:55.5
137. Vance Krudwig, 27:06.4
159. Logan Beckman, 28:11.0

-- k-statesports.com --

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Kansas State University Athletics

K-State Women Give Strong Performances in Joe Piane Blue Division

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Players Mentioned

Bree Allen

Julian Avila

Paige Baker

Logan Beckman

Canyon Buehler

Jackson Esquibel

Cecilia Fisher

Christine Jerono

Hanna Keltner

Vance Krudwig

Vienna Lahner

Grace Meyer

Stella Miner

Jacob Norris

Brock Olsen

Dylan Plath

Angie Pondler

Anna Pozdeeva

Caleb Prettyman

Alexa Rios