KU Sweeps Bob Timmons Classic
Aug. 30, 2008
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas cross country put on a dominating performance Saturday morning at Rim Rock Farm, sweeping the men’s and women’s races at the annual Bob Timmons Classic.
“I was pleasantly pleased with both teams,” KU head coach Stanley Redwine said. “On the women’s side, I would say it was pretty dominating. They all really looked good. On the men’s side, there was really good competition. We had some people who really stepped up and got the job done. We’re excited about the total team effort on both squads.”
The KU women went 1-2 in the Jayhawks’ only home meet of the season. Leading the way was Lauren Bonds, who crossed the finish line in a 5K personal-best time of 18:53.1.
“I’ve been running at Rim Rock since I was all the way back in high school, and it was my first win out here so that’s really special for me,” the junior from Hutchinson, Kan., said. “That was definitely exciting. Our team did really well today. I think we’re in a really good spot for the start of the season. I think it’s going to go really well this year. It’s just really exciting to see such a good start, and I’m really pumped for the rest of the year now.”
The runner-up to Bonds was teammate Amanda Miller, who likewise finished with a 5K personal record (19:17.2). The sophomore from Overland Park, Kan., also achieved a career-best finish with her second-place performance.
“Our women had very good domination,” Redwine said. “When you talk about 1-2, that’s a great place to finish. But more important than that, you have your three, four and five finish not too far behind. That’s what makes a great team and those are the signs of a great team, and we’re starting to get those things together.”
The Jayhawks also held the fourth through seventh-place spots. Freshman Kara Windisch took fourth, freshman Laura Nightengale finished fifth, senior Megan James placed sixth and junior Alison Knoll had a seventh-place finish.
Because third-place finisher Alex Harkins of the University of Missouri-Kansas City competed for a team that didn’t finish five runners, the Jayhawk women finished with a perfect score of 15 in the final team standings.
The best finish for the KU men’s team came from a freshman, Donny Wasinger. A native of Winona, Minn., Wasinger came in fifth place overall. Being his first collegiate race, he has set his personal 8K record at 25:56.
Bret Imgrund, as expected, had a solid race for Kansas. The junior from Shawnee, Kan., finished in ninth place with a time of 26:19.8. Completing the scoring for the victorious KU men’s team were sophomore Nick Caprario, freshman Kaleb Humphreys, and senior Brock Ternes. Caprario placed 12th in a time of 26:25.6, Humphreys finished 13th with a personal-best 26:39.8 in his first collegiate race, and Ternes came in 14th in 26:44.3.
The Kansas Alumni team put on a show for the many in attendance Saturday. Paul Hefferon came away with the individual victory in a time of 24:49.3, Colby Wissel finished third in 25:42.5, and former Olympian Charlie Gruber came away with a tenth-place finish (26:19.9). Had it been eligible for team placing, the Alumni Team would have finished second behind the current KU men’s team.
With both the men and women getting season-opening wins under their belts, they now get ready to head to Columbia, Mo., for the Missouri Cross Country Challenge in two weeks.
“We weren’t perfect today,” Redwine said. “There’s definitely room to get better. The goal now is to continue to work on that. As we work more and become more fit, I believe that our performances will get better. Our goal is to be really good at the end of the season, and we have a great start.”
