Kansas Cross Country Completes Season at NCAA Midwest Regional
Nov. 15, 2008
NCAA Midwest Regional Full Results
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Led by top-35 performances from Lauren Bonds, Donny Wasinger, Bret Imgrund and Amanda Miller, the Kansas men’s and women’s cross country teams finished eighth and seventh, respectively, at the NCAA Midwest Regional Saturday in Stillwater, Okla.
“Both teams raced better than they were ranked,” Kansas head coach Stanley Redwine said. “Both teams went in ranked 10th, so it was a good effort by both teams.”
Bonds finished in 16th place with a 6K-time of 21:29.70. The junior from Hutchinson, Kan., has an outside shot of gaining an at-large bid for the NCAA Championships.
“I thought Lauren had a really good race,” Redwine said. “She knew that she had to finish high up in order to have a chance of making it to the NCAA Championships, and right from the beginning she positioned herself there and had a decent race. She has an outside chance of making it. She would have had to have placed in the top eight to ten to have a better chance, but she has an outside shot.”
Wasinger, a freshman from Winona, Minn., was once again the highest finisher for the men’s team in his first career 10K race, placing 29th with a time of 32:09.80. Imgrund, a junior from Shawnee, Kan., was right behind in 31st place, running a career-best 10K time of 32:11.60.
“Bret was leading most of the way and then Donny passed him close to the end,” Redwine explained. “It was a solid effort on their part as the leaders of the team, and everyone else did their job as well.”
On the women’s side, Miller also raced well, finishing in 35th place in a time of 21:53.90. The sophomore from Overland Park, Kan., was not too far behind Bonds as the Jayhawks’ second finisher.
Freshman Kara Windisch finished in 65th place with a time of 22:36.65, junior Alison Knoll placed 70th in a time of 22:40.40, senior Megan James finished 85th in 22:50.60, freshman Rebeka Stowe placed 96th with a time of 22:57.85, and freshman Lindsay Schaefer finished in 138th place at 23:36.35 for the KU women.
For the eighth-place finishing Jayhawk men, freshman Kaleb Humphreys placed 59th in his first career 10K race with a time of 32:46.95, sophomore Dan Van Orsdel finished in 62nd place with a time of 32:49.95, sophomore Nick Caprario placed 64th in 32:50.70, junior Isaiah Shirlen finished in 78th place with a time of 33:06.50 in his first career 10K race, and senior Brock Ternes placed 99th after posting 33:40.35, his first 10K as a Jayhawk.
Oklahoma State won the men’s race, with Minnesota also advancing to the NCAA Championships with a runner-up finish. The Minnesota women also advanced to Terre Haute after earning the team championship at the OSU Cross Country Course. Illinois finished second in the women’s race and will join the Golden Gophers at the NCAA Championships.
Of the 14 Jayhawks that ran Saturday at Regionals, only two (James and Ternes) graduate this year. The future is bright for Kansas, and Redwine is looking forward to it.
“We’re definitely excited,” Redwine said. “We knew at the beginning of the year that it was a young team, and both teams did better. I think when you have a freshman (Wasinger) as your front-runner, you have a special guy No. 1. On the guy’s side we had two freshmen at Regionals, and on the women’s side we had three freshmen. We have a young team for both the men and women, and that means a lot for the future.”
The NCAA Midwest Regional completes the 2008 season for Kansas cross country. The Jayhawk runners will now join their fellow track and field athletes at practice this week to begin preparing for the upcoming indoor season.
