Jayhawk Men Resurface at No. 19

Oct. 18, 2006

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

The University of Kansas men’s cross country team reemerged in the USTFCCCA’s national cross country rankings, surfacing as the No. 19 squad in the nation. The Jayhawks had fallen out of the national poll for three weeks, but had an impressive showing at the NCAA Pre-Nationals where the squad defeated six ranked teams.

Juniors Colby Wissel and Paul Hefferon led the Jayhawks to a sixth-place finish in the men’s “white” division race, placing 13th and 14th respectively. Hefferon’s time of 23:50 represented an 8k-PR and Wissel followed closely behind at 23:52. Seniors Benson Chesang (30th), Erik Sloan (101st) and Matt French (121st) rounded out the men’s top-five finishers, scoring 277 points.

In the Midwest region, the Jayhawks currently stand in fourth place, the fourth-consecutive week that they have occupied the spot. The Midwest Regional Championships will occur on Oct. 11 in Minneapolis, Minn.

The team is currently getting ready for the Big 12 Championships on Oct. 27, which will be hosted by KU at Rim Rock Farm. Chesang is the back-to-back Big 12 individual champion and could become the first Jayhawk ever to win the league crown three-straight years. As a team, Kansas placed third, its best finish ever in the Big 12 and best overall finish since 1991, when it placed third as well.

The event is scheduled to being at 10 a.m. with the women’s 6k race and will be followed by the men’s 8k race at 11 a.m. Parking and admission is free to the public. For more information on the event, go to the cross country page on kuathletics.com.

For a complete listing of the USTFCCCA’s cross country rankings, click here.