The Charger men’s and women’s cross country teams placed fifth for the men and first for the women overall at the Jayhawk Collegiate Invitational, hosted by Muskegon Community College on Oct.12.
The men’s team finished fifth overall despite seniors Richie Johnston, Ross Kuhn, and others resting for this meet. Freshman Zach Self led the Chargers and finished 23rd, with fellow freshman Thomas Holm behind him in 25th.
Freshman Will Windsor, Junior Emil Schleuter, and Senior Caleb Bigler rounded out the top five runners, bringing the men’s team to fifth overall. Sophomore Rhys Woodard ran his first eight-kilometer race of the season with a personal best time of 27:05, a three-minute improvement from his eight-kilometer time last season.
“This year feels different from last year with how driven and competitive everybody on the team is,” Woodard said. “I think we have been training a lot harder and have definitely done things more as a collective team this year, not just as individual guys trying to get better.”
The women’s team finished first in the five-kilometer race, with freshman Evyn Humphrey coming in first with a personal best of 17:23, marking her second win of the season. Freshman Allison Kuzma followed in second place with her personal best of 17:30, and sophomore Savannah Fraley in third with 18:03. Sophomores Eleanor Clark and Anna Stirton ran personal bests, and both broke 19 minutes for the first time, rounding out the top five finishers and scorers for the women.
“We’ve built up a lot of fitness and endurance these past few months, with a lot of our girls pushing 50 miles weekly,” Stirton said. “I think we got to experience the effects of that in a tangible way this past weekend, which is certainly a confidence boost going into conference championships.”
Sophomore Whitney Wilkinson finished 52nd overall with a time of 19:52, improving from her previous best time of 21:04 in the five-kilometer. Wilkinson said the course was one of her favorites she has raced on and that the conditions were perfect.
“I think all the girls approached this meet in a really good head space,” Wilkinson said. “I think every member of the girl’s team is in the strongest shape we have been in, which should lead to a pretty exciting championship season.”
Both men’s and women’s cross country will compete for the conference title on Oct. 26 at the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Championship, hosted at Hayden Park at 11:30 a.m.