K-State Teams Eye NCAA Midwest Regional in Iowa - Kansas State University Athletics

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The K-State men's and women's cross country teams continue the postseason with the NCAA Midwest Regional on Friday (November 13) in Ames, Iowa, at the Iowa State Cross Country Course. The women's 6k kicks off at 11 a.m. CT, while the men's 10k is set for 12 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.

The top two team finishers automatically qualify for nationals on November 21 in Terre Haute, Ind., for a combined 18 teams across nine regions. An additional 14 teams are selected at-large for a total of 32 teams. The top four finishers in each region, not on a qualifying team, will also automatically qualify for nationals. The top-25 finishers in each region will earn USTFCCCA All-Region honors.

K-State will race in Ames for the first time since the 2023 Big 12 Championship. The last time the Cyclones hosted the Midwest Regional was in 2017. This will be the first 10k race of their careers for sophomores Max Larson and Dylan Plath while it'll be the third for junior Jackson Esquibel, who ran his fastest 10k of 31:08.2 in 2024.

All three fellow conference teams in the Midwest are featured in the regional rankings from November 2. On the men's side, no. 1 Oklahoma State, no. 2 Iowa State and no. 11 Kansas. For the women, no. 1 OSU, no. 5 ISU and no. 14 KU.

In the last race on October 31 at the Big 12 Championship, the men's team finished the 8k in 10^th place with 262 points while the women finished in 15^th place with 362 points at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater, Okla. The K-State men recorded the highest team finish since 2023 in the first season led by assistant coach Brent Ewing.

Larson led the Cats in 45^th place with a time of 24:30.4 followed by Esquibel (53^rd; 24:41.6) and Olsen (64^th; 24:59.5) who all ran faster times in the second race in Stillwater this season. On the women's side, freshman Joyce Kiptabut ran the only time under 22 minutes in 21:33.8 in 52^nd place, followed by junior Christine Jerono (78^th; 22:18.2) in her first conference race since 2024.

Last season during Regionals the women's team finished in 19^th place and was led by Grace Meyer (55^th; 21:44.5) while the men placed 21^st and Esquibel (68^th; 32:27.5) crossed the finish line first.

-- 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.

Schedule

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Players Mentioned

Jackson Esquibel

Christine Jerono

Joyce Kiptabut

Max Larson

Grace Meyer

Dylan Plath

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Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Cross Country versus NCAA Midwest Regional on Nov 13, 2026 at 11 a.m.

Upcoming Event: Cross Country versus NCAA Championship on Nov 21, 2026

Results

Completed Event: Cross Country versus Big 12 Championship on October 31, 2026 , , W (15th) / M (10th)

Completed Event: Cross Country versus Weis-Crockett Invitational on October 17, 2026 , , M (2nd) / W (2nd)

Completed Event: Cross Country versus Gans Creek Classic on September 25, 2026 , , M (17th) / W (18th)

Completed Event: Cross Country versus Platte River Rumble Gold on September 4, 2026 , , M (1st) / W (1st)

Completed Event: Cross Country versus NCAA Midwest Regional on November 14, 2025 , , W (19th) / M (21st)

Completed Event: Cross Country versus Big 12 Championship on October 31, 2025 , , M (11th) / W (9th)

Completed Event: Cross Country at Pre-National Invitational on October 17, 2025 , , W (19th) / M (25th)

Completed Event: Cross Country at Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational on October 3, 2025 , , W (9th) / M (6th)