Jayhawks Dominate Season Opener: Men’s and Women’s Teams Secure Team Titles

Saturday, August 31

Lawrence, Kan.

9:00 AM

University of Kansas

Bob Timmons XC Classic

Jayhawks Dominate Season Opener: Men’s and Women’s Teams Secure Team Titles

8/31/2024 12:31:00 PM | Cross Country, Women's Cross Country

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In their season opener, the Kansas men's cross country team reclaimed the 6K team title for a second-consecutive year, led by standout performances from juniors Tanner Talley and Quenton Walion, who both secured top-three finishes.

Talley set a personal best with a time of 18:33.52, shaving nearly 8 seconds off his previous record, while Walion also achieved a personal best, clocking in at 18:39.4.

Sophomore Sawyer Schmidt came in sixth, and redshirt freshman Ryo Higuchi opened his collegiate cross country career with an impressive eighth-place finish.

"It was great to be at Rim Rock and show the fans our summer work," Talley said. Our plan was to run as a pack, and Q (Quenton Walion), Sawyer (Sawyer Schmidt), and I led the way. The freshmen stepped up too, which was awesome. We stayed together for the first half and then pushed at the end. It felt great."

The women's team followed suit, securing their own team title with three top-10 finishes in the 5K. Senior Kenadi Krueger led the way, crossing the finish line first with a time of 17:28.18 to claim the gold medal. Her time marked a personal best at Rim Rock and was nearly 30 seconds faster than her second-place finish at last season's Bob Timmons Classic.

"'I'm really excited about my finish," Krueger said. "I wasn't originally planning to run this race, so I'm glad I got the chance to be here and compete with my team. I wasn't expecting such a big PR, but I'm grateful we're starting the season off on the right foot."

Freshman Dorcus Kiptanui had an impressive cross country debut with her third place finish, coming off a strong outdoor track season for the Jayhawks, while junior Tori Wingrove closely followed in fourth.

"We wanted to create a focused unit and learn how to run as a team," Kansas Distance Coach Michael Whittlesey said. "On the women's side, I thought our freshmen did a great job of that, especially considering it was their first race. We also had some freshman guys who worked well with our upperclassmen, really packing it in together. From that standpoint, our top runners executed the race plan very well."

Up Next:
The Jayhawks will take a four-week break from meets to prepare for their first away meet, the Gans Creek Classic, held in Columbia, Missouri, on September 27th.