Women's Cross Country Defeats KSU
Sept. 9, 2005
MANHATTAN, Kan. –
The University of Kansas women’s cross country team had the third through sixth place finishers on Friday evening en route to a 20-41 victory over Kansas State in the KSU/KU Dual in Manhattan. The men’s team finished in a tie with the Wildcats.
Dena Seibel, a junior from Emporia, Kan., led the Jayhawks with the third overall finish in a time of 19:44.4 in the 5k race. She was closely followed by teammates Laura Major, Christine Lathrop, and Melissa O’Rourke, who finished fourth through sixth, respectively. Lysaira Roman Del Valle, running unattached, finished first overall in the women’s race in a time of 19:22.7.
“We held Connie (Abbott) out of the race due to some allergies she had been contending with this week,” commented Assistant Coach Doug Clark. “The girls packed well and ran a good race. They will need to continue to do that to be successful.”
The men’s side finished in a tie with Kansas State, with each team earning 28 points. Leading the way for the men for the second straight week was sophomore Colby Wissel. The Elm Creek, Neb., native finished first overall in a time of 15:12.8 in the 5k event. Erik Sloan, a junior out of Glenview, Ill., finished third overall in a time of 16:00.4. Senior Joshy Madathil finished fifth.
“We didn’t run a lot of our top guys that will be competing for a spot in the top seven,” said Coach Clark. “We achieved a tie, but we’re upset we didn’t get the win. If we had just passed one of their runners in the course of the race we would have won. We ran shorthanded, but solid.”
“I thought we had a solid performance from both teams. We need to continue to build on that.”
The Jayhawks will have next weekend off before traveling to Minneapolis, Minn., on September 24 for the Roy Griak Invitational.
