KU Cross Country Announces 2013 Captains
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas head coach Stanley Redwine and assistant Michael Whittlesey have selected the cross country team captains for the 2013 season, it was announced Wednesday. The women’s team will be led by senior Natalie Becker and sophomore Hayley Francis, while senior Josh Munsch and junior James Wilson will captain the men’s squad.
Munsch, who will captain the men’s team for the second-straight season, is coming off a breakout season on both the cross country trails and the track in 2012-13. He was a key runner on the men’s cross country team, as he competed in four of KU’s six meets on the year. He came in as the Jayhawks’ sixth finisher at the Big 12 Championships after finishing at a career-best 34th overall and earned a spot on KU’s NCAA Midwest Regional team, finishing 93rd overall.
Wilson, who was named team captain for the first time, is considered to be another key player in the men’s team’s success this year. Last year, he was among KU’s top four finishers in every race in which he competed. He notched a 30th-place finish at the Big 12 Championships and came in as Kansas’ fourth scorer with his 8K time of 24:50.6. He also opened his sophomore year with a third-place finish at the Bob Timmons Classic after crossing the 6K finish line in 19:49.5. At season’s end he was selected to the Academic All-Big 12 Second Team.
For the women’s team, Becker will take on captain duties for the second time as she enters her senior season. The St. Louis, Mo., native ran in the final four meets for the Jayhawks in her junior campaign and earned her first collegiate victory at the Haskell Invitational in early October. She was KU’s fifth finisher at the 2012 Big 12 Championships and again scored for the Jayhawks at the NCAA Midwest Regional in November.
Sophomore Hayley Francis will step into the captain role for the first time. She saw action in three of KU’s six meets as a redshirt freshman in 2012 and was a member of the Jayhawks’ Big 12 Championship team. In her first race as a Jayhawk last season, she posted a fifth-place finish at the Bob Timmons Classic.
The 2013 cross country season will officially commence on Saturday, Aug. 31, with the Bob Timmons Classic at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan. Fans can follow the action at KUAthletics.com and the meet central page as well as on Twitter at @KansasXC.
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