Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, October 31
Lawrence, Kan.
10 a.m. (M) / 11 a.m. (W)
Kansas State University
vs
Big 12 Championship
K-State Improves in Standings in Bucknam’s Second Season
Oct 31, 2025 | Cross Country
Both the men and women's teams finished one spot higher than last season
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The K-State men's and women's cross country teams started the postseason at the Big 12 Championship on Friday (October 31) at Rim Rock Farm. Both teams finished one spot higher than last season, the men in 11th place with 298 points, 10 points shy of tenth-place Houston, while the women claimed 9th place with 276 points.
Oklahoma State men claimed the title with 20 points, junior Brian Musau claiming his third consecutive Big 12 title. The BYU women won for a third year, clinching every season since joining the conference, freshman Jane Hedengren dominating with a Big 12 6k record time of 18:29.6, 45 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
"There were six teams on the women's side that were ranked in the top 20 in the country," head coach Kate Bucknam said. "And so it's a really competitive race. And overall, I think they approached it with confidence and at the end of the day executed the plan."
The men's team had strong top-three finishers, crossing the finish line within nine seconds of each other. Sophomore Jackson Esquibel led the men's team again in 57th place with a time of 24:51.2, leading the pack every meet so far this season. Five seconds behind him was fellow sophomore Brock Olsen in 60th place in 24:56.7 while freshman Logan Beckman ran a new personal best just shy of 25 minutes at 25:02.1 in 64th place.
Racing in his third conference race, junior Jacob Norris had his best 8k time so far this season at 25:25.0 in 77th place. Freshman Dylan Plath ran his second race under 26 minutes in 86th place with a time of 25:58.3. Senior Julian Avila ran in his first conference race in 90th place at 26:07.3, along with freshmen Canyon Buehler (93rd; 26:12.1) and Caleb Prettyman (95th; 26:20.8).
For the women, senior Grace Meyer took charge in her final conference race in 44th place with a time of 20:59.4. Sophomore Stella Miner finished just two seconds behind in 21:01.8 in 46th place, a top-50 finisher in her first postseason run. Senior Cecilia Fisher was the last Wildcat with a time under 22 minutes in 60th place at 21:33.2.
The rest of the women finished as a pack, starting with junior Paige Baker (80th; 22:11.6), freshman Payton Fink (82nd; 22:14.4) and junior Vienna Lahner (85th; 22:20.0). Freshmen Hanna Keltner and Bree Allen crossed the finish line consecutively at 22:25.1, a new best for Allen, in 89th and 90th place, respectively. Running in her third conference race, senior Alexa Rios was just seven seconds shy of her best 6k at 22:36.5 in 101st place, her best postseason race so far.
The Wildcats will continue the postseason in two weeks with the NCAA Midwest Regional on November 14, in Stillwater, Okla., at the OSU Cross Country Course hosted by Oklahoma State.
FROM THE COURSE
Head Coach Kate Bucknam
On the men's team making moves in packs…
"Logan had a great day, he really went for it. And that was huge for him and for the team, obviously, for the team score. Those guys, they've been consistent all season, and really did a good job of sticking together and just packing up. And same with the guys behind them too."
On the game plan for the race having a familiarity with the course…
"I could just tell on both sides, they were familiar with this course, and they felt like it was a home course advantage a little bit just having run it in high school and all that. And you could tell that that helped a little bit. Both sides, man, we approached this race really well and came in just hungry to fight, you know. And that was kind of one thing I told them, was just, this is all about competing. It's about numbers, not time, you know, it's about placing. So, I think they really understood the mission."
On the women's team advancing without sophomore Christine Jerono…
"Paige and Peyton Fink, those girls really stepped up for our four and five, you know, that was huge. I always talk about the top three, but those back three, on both sides, are extremely important as well. So, then they didn't put themselves in a pecking order, they just knew they had to be close and pass as many people as they can."
Sophomore Brock Olsen
On the game plan for the race having a familiarity with the course…
"For sure, Rim Rock is a course that I raced on many times in high school, which helped me to be familiar with the layout and all of its especially big hills. I used this to my advantage by planning out when to conserve energy and when I should make my moves."
On competing with a young team and running his first cross country season…
"So far, this year has been a good opportunity to lay the foundation for this team for years to come. We've all learned a lot about the drive it takes to be successful in these longer races, especially as a majority of our team had never raced over 5k prior to this season, including myself. Our entire team has already put in countless miles and amazing efforts across the board and it's only going to get better from here."
Men's Team Finishes (8k)
1. Oklahoma State, 20 points
2. Iowa State, 43 pts
3. Colorado, 87 pts
4. BYU, 102 pts
5. Kansas, 171 pts
6. Texas Tech, 191 pts
7. Cincinnati, 194 pts
8. Arizona, 214 pts
9. TCU, 270 pts
10. Houston, 288 pts
11. K-State, 298 pts
12. Arizona State, 343 pts
13. Baylor, 398 pts
K-State's Individual Results
57. Jackson Esquibel, 24:51.2
60. Brock Olsen, 24:56.7
64. Logan Beckman, 25:02.1 (PR)
77. Jacob Norris, 25:25.0
86. Dylan Plath, 25:58.3
90. Julian Avila, 26:07.3
93. Canyon Buehler, 26:12.1
95. Caleb Prettyman, 26:20.8
Women's Team Finishes (6k)
1. BYU, 38 points
2. Iowa State, 71 pts
3. West Virginia, 86 pts
4. Oklahoma State, 86 pts
5. Colorado, 128 pts
6. Utah, 134 pts
7. Cincinnati, 205 pts
8. Texas Tech, 262 pts
9. K-State, 276 pts
10. Houston, 322 pts
11. Kansas, 348 pts
12. UCF, 351 pts
13. TCU, 364 pts
14. Baylor, 365 pts
15. Arizona, 407 pts
16. Arizona State, 496 pts
K-State's Individual Results
44. Grace Meyer, 20:59.4
46. Stella Miner, 21:01.8
60. Cecilia Fisher, 21:33.2
80. Paige Baker, 22:11.6
82. Payton Fink, 22:14.4
85. Vienna Lahner, 22:20.0
89. Hanna Keltner, 22:25.1
90. Bree Allen, 22:25.1 (PR)
101. Alexa Rios, 22:36.5
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), Instagram and Facebook.
Oklahoma State men claimed the title with 20 points, junior Brian Musau claiming his third consecutive Big 12 title. The BYU women won for a third year, clinching every season since joining the conference, freshman Jane Hedengren dominating with a Big 12 6k record time of 18:29.6, 45 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.
"There were six teams on the women's side that were ranked in the top 20 in the country," head coach Kate Bucknam said. "And so it's a really competitive race. And overall, I think they approached it with confidence and at the end of the day executed the plan."
The men's team had strong top-three finishers, crossing the finish line within nine seconds of each other. Sophomore Jackson Esquibel led the men's team again in 57th place with a time of 24:51.2, leading the pack every meet so far this season. Five seconds behind him was fellow sophomore Brock Olsen in 60th place in 24:56.7 while freshman Logan Beckman ran a new personal best just shy of 25 minutes at 25:02.1 in 64th place.
Racing in his third conference race, junior Jacob Norris had his best 8k time so far this season at 25:25.0 in 77th place. Freshman Dylan Plath ran his second race under 26 minutes in 86th place with a time of 25:58.3. Senior Julian Avila ran in his first conference race in 90th place at 26:07.3, along with freshmen Canyon Buehler (93rd; 26:12.1) and Caleb Prettyman (95th; 26:20.8).
For the women, senior Grace Meyer took charge in her final conference race in 44th place with a time of 20:59.4. Sophomore Stella Miner finished just two seconds behind in 21:01.8 in 46th place, a top-50 finisher in her first postseason run. Senior Cecilia Fisher was the last Wildcat with a time under 22 minutes in 60th place at 21:33.2.
The rest of the women finished as a pack, starting with junior Paige Baker (80th; 22:11.6), freshman Payton Fink (82nd; 22:14.4) and junior Vienna Lahner (85th; 22:20.0). Freshmen Hanna Keltner and Bree Allen crossed the finish line consecutively at 22:25.1, a new best for Allen, in 89th and 90th place, respectively. Running in her third conference race, senior Alexa Rios was just seven seconds shy of her best 6k at 22:36.5 in 101st place, her best postseason race so far.
The Wildcats will continue the postseason in two weeks with the NCAA Midwest Regional on November 14, in Stillwater, Okla., at the OSU Cross Country Course hosted by Oklahoma State.
FROM THE COURSE
Head Coach Kate Bucknam
On the men's team making moves in packs…
"Logan had a great day, he really went for it. And that was huge for him and for the team, obviously, for the team score. Those guys, they've been consistent all season, and really did a good job of sticking together and just packing up. And same with the guys behind them too."
On the game plan for the race having a familiarity with the course…
"I could just tell on both sides, they were familiar with this course, and they felt like it was a home course advantage a little bit just having run it in high school and all that. And you could tell that that helped a little bit. Both sides, man, we approached this race really well and came in just hungry to fight, you know. And that was kind of one thing I told them, was just, this is all about competing. It's about numbers, not time, you know, it's about placing. So, I think they really understood the mission."
On the women's team advancing without sophomore Christine Jerono…
"Paige and Peyton Fink, those girls really stepped up for our four and five, you know, that was huge. I always talk about the top three, but those back three, on both sides, are extremely important as well. So, then they didn't put themselves in a pecking order, they just knew they had to be close and pass as many people as they can."
Sophomore Brock Olsen
On the game plan for the race having a familiarity with the course…
"For sure, Rim Rock is a course that I raced on many times in high school, which helped me to be familiar with the layout and all of its especially big hills. I used this to my advantage by planning out when to conserve energy and when I should make my moves."
On competing with a young team and running his first cross country season…
"So far, this year has been a good opportunity to lay the foundation for this team for years to come. We've all learned a lot about the drive it takes to be successful in these longer races, especially as a majority of our team had never raced over 5k prior to this season, including myself. Our entire team has already put in countless miles and amazing efforts across the board and it's only going to get better from here."
Men's Team Finishes (8k)
1. Oklahoma State, 20 points
2. Iowa State, 43 pts
3. Colorado, 87 pts
4. BYU, 102 pts
5. Kansas, 171 pts
6. Texas Tech, 191 pts
7. Cincinnati, 194 pts
8. Arizona, 214 pts
9. TCU, 270 pts
10. Houston, 288 pts
11. K-State, 298 pts
12. Arizona State, 343 pts
13. Baylor, 398 pts
K-State's Individual Results
57. Jackson Esquibel, 24:51.2
60. Brock Olsen, 24:56.7
64. Logan Beckman, 25:02.1 (PR)
77. Jacob Norris, 25:25.0
86. Dylan Plath, 25:58.3
90. Julian Avila, 26:07.3
93. Canyon Buehler, 26:12.1
95. Caleb Prettyman, 26:20.8
Women's Team Finishes (6k)
1. BYU, 38 points
2. Iowa State, 71 pts
3. West Virginia, 86 pts
4. Oklahoma State, 86 pts
5. Colorado, 128 pts
6. Utah, 134 pts
7. Cincinnati, 205 pts
8. Texas Tech, 262 pts
9. K-State, 276 pts
10. Houston, 322 pts
11. Kansas, 348 pts
12. UCF, 351 pts
13. TCU, 364 pts
14. Baylor, 365 pts
15. Arizona, 407 pts
16. Arizona State, 496 pts
K-State's Individual Results
44. Grace Meyer, 20:59.4
46. Stella Miner, 21:01.8
60. Cecilia Fisher, 21:33.2
80. Paige Baker, 22:11.6
82. Payton Fink, 22:14.4
85. Vienna Lahner, 22:20.0
89. Hanna Keltner, 22:25.1
90. Bree Allen, 22:25.1 (PR)
101. Alexa Rios, 22:36.5
-- 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
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
K-State XC | Big 12 Championship Recap
Sunday, November 02
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