👟 MEET PREVIEW: Bob Timmons Classic

Date: Saturday, September 19, 2020
Location: Lawrence, Kansas
Course: Rim Rock Farm
Participating Teams: Iowa State, K-State and Kansas
Race Times: 9 a.m. (CT) – Men’s 6K
10 a.m. (CT) – Women’s 5K
Live Results: Prime Time Timing

 

LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas men’s and women’s cross country teams begin their 2020 season on Saturday, September 19 when they host the Bob Timmons Classic at Rim Rock Farm. The Jayhawks will welcome fellow Big 12 Conference foes Iowa State and Kansas State to their home course to compete the men’s 6K race starting at 9 a.m., while the women are scheduled to follow with their 5K at 10 a.m.

The teams returned to campus in mid-August and started practicing right away. Since that first practice on August 15, the student-athletes have had more than a month to prepare for the first of three meets they will participate in this fall. In this season-opening meet for Kansas, 14 of 18 men and 11 of 14 women on the teams’ rosters are expected to compete on their home course at Rim Rock Farm.

The Jayhawks will race against some familiar competition on Saturday in fellow Big 12 teams Iowa State and K-State. Last season, the Cyclones won the 2019 Men’s Big 12 Cross Country Championship, their third title in a row. Five of the top-10 finishers were from ISU, including individual champion Edwin Kurgat. Kansas finished fourth at the league meet while K-State came in sixth of the nine teams which competed.

On the women’s side, Cailie Logue of Iowa State won the 6K, which was her second individual Big 12 title in as many years. She led the Cyclones to a fourth-place team finish. KU landed in sixth place and the Wildcats of K-State came in eighth among the 10 teams competing in Waco, Texas.

KANSAS WOMEN

  • The KU women’s team continued its winning tradition in the Bob Timmons Classic, claiming the meet title for the eighth-straight time in 2019.
  • Last season, the Jayhawks claimed four spots among the top-10 finishers at the Bob Timmons Classic. Ally Ryan won her first individual title of the season with a 5K time of 18:49.7. Other KU runners traversed their home course to cross the finish line in fourth, fifth and seventh places.
  • The Jayhawks return 12 of their 17 runners from last season’s roster and add two freshmen to the mix for 2020.
  • Junior Ally Ryan will look to lead the women’s team again after her outstanding start to 2019 before an injury forced her out of the lineup late in the season. She was undefeated on her home course of Rim Rock Farm after claiming the individual titles at both the Bob Timmons Classic and the Rim Rock Classic, leading the women’s team to first-place finishes as well. Ryan was the first KU runner to cross the finish line at the Pre-National Invitational, where she placed 129th out of 252 runners. At the Big 12 Championship, then-sophomore Lona Latema completed her 6K three seconds faster than Ryan, with the teammates claiming 35th and 36th places, respectively, out of 86 total participants.

KANSAS MEN

  • The Kansas men have a lot of experience heading into 2020, returning 16 runners from the 2019 roster. In addition, two newcomers have joined the team for this fall.
  • The Kansas men made it a clean sweep of the team titles for Kansas at last fall’s season-opening meet, as they won the Bob Timmons Classic for the fourth-straight season.
  • Three KU runners were among the top-10 out of a field of 30 total competitors at last season’s Bob Timmons Classic. Jayhawks held down places three, seven and eight. George Letner was the first Kansas runner to cross the 6K finish line in a time of 19:31.9.
  • Ben Butler is among three seniors who will be looked upon to guide the men’s team. Last November, Butler finished in 20th place individually at the NCAA Midwest Regional, earning All-Region honors and helping the Jayhawk men to a third-place finish at the event. It was the highest finish for a KU men’s team at a Regional meet since 2006.
  • Another All-Region honoree last season was freshman Chandler Gibbens, who came in 21st on the leaderboard, finishing just behind Butler. Competing in his first Big 12 Championship, the freshman was an All-Big 12 honoree after he finished in 12th place and led the Jayhawks for the second meet in a row. Following the conclusion of the 2019 season, Gibbens was named the Big 12 Conference Men’s Cross Country Newcomer of the Year for his outstanding efforts and successes on the trails in his inaugural collegiate cross country season.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks are scheduled to compete in the Gans Creek Classic on Saturday, October 3, in Columbia, Missouri. The men’s 8K will begin at 9 a.m., to be followed by the women’s 6K at 10 a.m., on the Gans Creek Cross Country Course. **All scheduled Kansas Athletics events are tentative and subject to change.**