Men Capture First, Women Take Second, at the Missouri Cross Country Challenge
COLUMBIA, Mo.- Kansas country teams competed at the Missouri Cross Country Challenge Saturday, September 12, where the men’s and women’s teams ran strong against Missouri, UMKC and Stephens College capturing first on the men’s side and second on the women’s side.
The Kansas men found their stride placing in all but one of the top five spots, capturing first place overall with a score of 19.
The Jayhawk men were led by junior Donny Wasinger, who took first overall with a time of 25:17.5, in the men’s 8K race. Senior Nick Caprario finished a close second with a time of 25:49.7, followed by crimson and blue teammates Zach Zarda and Austin Bussing, who took fourth and fifth places respectively.
“The men ran very well,” head coach Stanley Redwine said. “There was a great team effort and we are going to continue to get better to prepare for our upcoming competition.”
The women’s team also had a solid showing in Columbia, Mo., finishing second with a score of 31, only six points behind the Tigers.
Allie Marquis made her sophomore debut at the A.L. Gustin Golf Course, where she not only led the 5K race, but also placed second overall with a personal best time of 18:01.90.
Right behind Marquis were sophomores Tessa Turcotte, who placed third with a time of 18:22.69, and Kyra Kilwein, who placed sixth clocking a time of 18:34.39. Both women improved on their times from last year’s race as well as finishing better overall.
“I was really pleased with the women,” assistant coach Michael Whittesley said. “Allie (Marquis) took an early lead and she had great confidence running. It was the first time she ran in a race as the No. 1 runner. Tessa Turcotte did a great job as well for us. We are going to be much better in a few weeks when we get everybody together. It was really tight race, but we did well.”
Rounding out the Kansas cross country teams were junior Cori Christensen, sophomores Natalie Becker and Josh Baden as well as freshmen Jose Munoz and Josh Munsh, who all had strong performances at the meet.
The Jayhawks will race next on October 2, at the Wisconsin adidas Invitational in Madison, Wisc. Check KUathletics.com for Kansas cross country updates.
Post Meet Quotes
Head Coach Stanley Redwine
On the women’s top three runners:
“I think the women ran really well, especially our top two runners (Allie Marquis and Tessa Turcotte). Our third runner today, Kyra Kilwein, was our top runner last week at the Bob Timmons Classic. If you compare their times to their times last year at the Missouri Cross Country Challenge, their times are much stronger.”
On making improvements:
“We had some injuries today and some people who didn’t run. We need those people to contribute to the team in order for us to be great.”
On being prepared to run:
“Last week we didn’t exactly know where everyone was and I think assistant coach Michael Whittlesey did an extremely good job of getting them prepared and ready to run today. We held back some guys last week who did well today.”
On the Kansas men:
“The men ran very well. There was a great team effort and we are going to continue to get better to prepare for our upcoming competition.”
Assistant Coach Michael Whittlesey
On the Jayhawk men:
“I think everyone did a great job and Donny Wasinger did an outstanding job in his race. Austin Bussing and Nick Caprario worked well together. I was really proud with the heart the team ran with. They ran with heart during the whole race.”
On the Jayhawk women:
“I was really pleased with the women. Allie (Marquis) took an early lead and she had great confidence running. It was the first team she ran in a race as the No. 1 runner. Tessa Turcotte did a great job as well for us. We are going to be much better in a few weeks when we get everybody together. It was really tight race, but we did well.”
Junior Donny Wasinger
On running as a pack:
“I am very excited about today; I think we ran really well together. It was a really solid team performance because we only a minute and five seconds between the first and fifth runner.”
On continuing to work hard:
“We are happy with how everything went, but we are not resting here. We are continuing to prepare for the final goal (NCAA Nationals) and keeping that in our minds as we compete throughout the year.”
