KU Cross Country Announces 2012 Captains
Aug. 28, 2012
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas Head Coach Stanley Redwine and Assistant Michael Whittlesey have selected the cross country team captains for the 2012 season, it was announced Tuesday. The women’s team will be led by senior Kathleen Thompson and junior Natalie Becker, while senior Donny Wasinger and junior Josh Munsch will captain the men’s squad.
Wasinger, who returns for his fifth season after injury cut his 2011 short, was named captain of the men’s cross country team for the third-straight season. The Winona, Minn., native is the only current member of the men’s squad to have competed in the NCAA Cross Country Championships, placing 233rd at the national meet as a junior in 2010. The senior has finished in the top 35 in all three of the Big 12 Championship meets he has participated in and ran to all-conference honors in 2010.
Munsch, who will captain the men’s team for the first time, is coming off a breakout season on both the cross country trails and the track in 2011-12. He was a key runner on the men’s cross country team, finishing as one of the top six KU runners in each of the post season meets a year ago. The junior went on to score at both the indoor and outdoor Big 12 meets for the men’s track & field squad and advanced to the Outdoor NCAA Championships in the 1,500 meters where he garnered All-American honorable mention honors. Munsch was also named to the Academic All-Big 12 First Team in 2011-12 for both cross country and track.
For the women’s team, Thompson, a native of Chesterfield, Mo., will serve as team captain for the first time. Thompson has been in the women’s top seven for most of her first three seasons in Lawrence, has competed in the conference championship meet twice and was the women’s sixth scorer at the 2009 NCAA Regional meet. The senior was also a member of the Academic All-Big 12 First Team in 2011.
Becker will also take on captain duties for the first time as she enters her junior season. The St. Louis, Mo., native was the KU women’s second finisher in all but two races in 2010 and notched top-40 finishes in both the Big 12 Championship and the NCAA Regional meets before injury cut her season short a year ago. Becker was also named to the Academic All-Big 12 Second Team during her redshirt freshman year in 2010.
The 2012 cross country season will officially commence on Saturday with the Bob Timmons Classic at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan. Fans can follow the action at KUAthletics.com and the meet central page as well as on twitter at KU_Track.
