Completed Event: Cross Country versus Bob Timmons Classic on September 5, 2026 , , Men 1st (24) | Women 1st (31)
Final
Cross Country
vs Bob Timmons Classic
Men 1st (24) | Women 1st (31)
Friday, October 16
Terre Haute, Ind.
Women's 6K: 9:00 AM | Men's 8K: 9:40 AM
University of Kansas
at
Pre-National Invitational
Photo by: Arun Halder/Kansas Athletics
Kansas Cross Country Set for Regular Season Finale at Pre-National Invitational
10/14/2026 3:30:00 PM | Cross Country
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Kansas cross country will compete at the Pre-National Invitational for its third meet of the season on Friday, Oct. 16, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana.
"We have been working really hard for the past three weeks, and this weekend will be about taking that increased fitness and putting it out there on the course," Kansas assistant head coach Michael Whittlesey said. "We are going to work really hard to make sure we are working as a team and running in groups, committing to both our fitness and our teammates throughout the race. Especially in a bigger field like this one, it's going to be more difficult to find and stick with teammates, but we have to be able to execute that as the key to our success this season."
The Jayhawks are scheduled to compete with eight runners in the Blue races, with the women's 6K race scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. CT and the men's 8K race set for 9:40 a.m. CT. Following the Blue races, any Jayhawk athletes that did not compete will run in the White races with the women's 6K starting at 10:20 a.m. CT and the men's 8K beginning at 11 a.m. CT.
The Pre-National Invitational will serve as the third, and final, regular season meet for Kansas after hosting the Bob Timmons Classic and competing at the Gans Creek Classic.Â
Last time out, Kansas competed at the Gans Creek Classic, with the men's team finishing 10th and the women's team placing 12th. The men were anchored by freshman Stephen Maroro who placed sixth in his collegiate cross country debut, while the women were led by Emmah Jemutai who opened her season with a 10th place finish. Irine Jepkirui finished alongside Jemutai in 11th.
In the week four USTFCCCA polls, the Kansas men's team was ranked No. 10 in the Midwest Region, while the women's team was ranked No. 12.
The Jayhawks will be looking to compete against a large, talent-filled, field on Friday with seven nationally ranked men's squads and seven nationally ranked women's squads. On the women's side, Kansas will be taking on No. 1 NC State, No. 2 BYU, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 19 North Carolina, No. 23 Clemson, No. 29 Boston College and No. 30 Duke, while SMU, Syracuse and Kentucky all also received votes in the national poll.
On the men's side, the Jayhawks will be taking on No. 8 Syracuse, No. 14 Villanova, No. 15 Notre Dame, No. 20 Iowa State, No. T-26 Utah Valley, No. T-26 Arizona and No. 29 North Carolina, while Utah State also received votes in the national poll.
Kansas will also have the opportunity to go up against a handful of teams in the Midwest region, with the women competing against the sixth ranked team in the region, North Dakota, Illinois (11th), Saint Louis (14th) and South Dakota State (15th). The men will compete against Iowa State (3rd), Wichita State (6th), Loyola-Chicago (7th), Illinois (8th), South Dakota State (11th) and North Dakota (14th).Â
More meet information, including a course map, is available here. Following the meet, a recap and compiled Kansas results will be available on kuathletics.com.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Live results will be available throughout the day via PrimeTime Timing. Fans can stay current with results by following the official Kansas Track & Field and Cross Country X and Instagram accounts @kansastfxc.
"We have been working really hard for the past three weeks, and this weekend will be about taking that increased fitness and putting it out there on the course," Kansas assistant head coach Michael Whittlesey said. "We are going to work really hard to make sure we are working as a team and running in groups, committing to both our fitness and our teammates throughout the race. Especially in a bigger field like this one, it's going to be more difficult to find and stick with teammates, but we have to be able to execute that as the key to our success this season."
The Jayhawks are scheduled to compete with eight runners in the Blue races, with the women's 6K race scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. CT and the men's 8K race set for 9:40 a.m. CT. Following the Blue races, any Jayhawk athletes that did not compete will run in the White races with the women's 6K starting at 10:20 a.m. CT and the men's 8K beginning at 11 a.m. CT.
The Pre-National Invitational will serve as the third, and final, regular season meet for Kansas after hosting the Bob Timmons Classic and competing at the Gans Creek Classic.Â
Last time out, Kansas competed at the Gans Creek Classic, with the men's team finishing 10th and the women's team placing 12th. The men were anchored by freshman Stephen Maroro who placed sixth in his collegiate cross country debut, while the women were led by Emmah Jemutai who opened her season with a 10th place finish. Irine Jepkirui finished alongside Jemutai in 11th.
In the week four USTFCCCA polls, the Kansas men's team was ranked No. 10 in the Midwest Region, while the women's team was ranked No. 12.
The Jayhawks will be looking to compete against a large, talent-filled, field on Friday with seven nationally ranked men's squads and seven nationally ranked women's squads. On the women's side, Kansas will be taking on No. 1 NC State, No. 2 BYU, No. 7 Notre Dame, No. 19 North Carolina, No. 23 Clemson, No. 29 Boston College and No. 30 Duke, while SMU, Syracuse and Kentucky all also received votes in the national poll.
On the men's side, the Jayhawks will be taking on No. 8 Syracuse, No. 14 Villanova, No. 15 Notre Dame, No. 20 Iowa State, No. T-26 Utah Valley, No. T-26 Arizona and No. 29 North Carolina, while Utah State also received votes in the national poll.
Kansas will also have the opportunity to go up against a handful of teams in the Midwest region, with the women competing against the sixth ranked team in the region, North Dakota, Illinois (11th), Saint Louis (14th) and South Dakota State (15th). The men will compete against Iowa State (3rd), Wichita State (6th), Loyola-Chicago (7th), Illinois (8th), South Dakota State (11th) and North Dakota (14th).Â
More meet information, including a course map, is available here. Following the meet, a recap and compiled Kansas results will be available on kuathletics.com.
HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
Live results will be available throughout the day via PrimeTime Timing. Fans can stay current with results by following the official Kansas Track & Field and Cross Country X and Instagram accounts @kansastfxc.
Players Mentioned
Monday, October 01
Saturday, September 01
Saturday, November 11
Saturday, October 28