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, September 25
Columbia, Mo.
Women's 6K: 8:00 AM | Men's 8K: 8:45 AM
University of Kansas
at
Gans Creek Classic
Photo by: Brayden Crest/Kansas Athletics
Kansas Men’s Team Places 10th, Women’s Team Finishes 12th at Gans Creek Classic
9/25/2026 12:00:00 PM | Cross Country
COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Jayhawks competed in their second meet of the season Friday morning at the Gans Creek Classic, running in the Gold Invitational, where the men's team placed 10th and the women's team achieved 12th place.
The Jayhawks were led by freshman Stephen Maroro on the men's side, who achieved sixth place in 22:46.9, while Emmah Jemutai was the top Kansas finisher for the women, placing 10th in 9:43.6. Kansas' Irine Jepkirui finished just outside of the top 10 in 11th in 19:44.9.
"I thought there were some very good performances from a handful of our runners really stepping up and pushing through some unfamiliarity today," Kansas assistant head coach Michael Whittlesey said. "On the women's side, I thought Jael got out a bit fast but still ran a solid, solid race. Irine did a fantastic job once again, this time running with Emmah and pushing the pace and so I was very proud of how they ran. Maureen also did an amazing job in her first ever 6K, battling throughout the race and having to run alone for the majority of it"
The women's team began the morning in the 6K, seeking to build off their win at the Bob Timmons Classic. Throughout the beginning of the race, a pack of three Jayhawks emerged with Jael Cherotich, Jepkirui and Jemutai hovering around the 15th place mark for the first half of the race.
Over the final two kilometers, Jepkirui and Jemutai held steady as a team, with Cherotich following shortly behind. The duo closed strong to finish 10th and 11th, with Jemutai crossing the line in 19:43.6 while Jepkirui finished in 19:44.9. Cherotich placed 38th with a time of 20:30.8.
Following the top three for KU, Maureen Chepkirui finished her first collegiate cross country race with a time of 21:39.8 to place 150th and Naomi Hunter closed out the top five for Kansas in 158th with a time of 21:43.4. All five of the Jayhawks' top finishers set personal best 6K times during the race, as well as nine of Kansas' 10 runners.
After Hunter, Kaitlyn Swartz placed 170th with a time of 21:53.1, Malaika McLeod achieved 188th with a personal best time of 22:02.1, Madelyn Wallace finished in a personal best time of 22:08.4 to place 194th, Bethany Druse placed 207th with a personal best time of 22:22.3 and Sydney Owens rounded out the Jayhawks in 234th with her personal best of 22:54.3.
The Jayhawks finished 12th overall on the women's side with 344 points.
"On the men's side I thought Stephen did an amazing job for his first ever cross country race and he looked very comfortable out there which is a good thing. Barnabas did a great job climbing throughout the race after a slow start, and we really had some guys break out and help us, especially Blake Wohler who was just fantastic and crucial for us today," Whittlesey said.
For the men, Maroro led the charge in his first cross country race, jumping out with the leaders at the beginning of the race. For the first four kilometers, Maroro ran stride for stride with the Arkansas duo of Ernest Cheruiyot and Nick Busienei as a clear top three, and about five seconds faster than the next pack.
Throughout the second half of the race, the pair of Razorbacks pulled ahead, but Maroro maintained his pace and avoided falling out. At the six kilometer mark, Maroro still held third place but had fallen into the chase pack, and eventually finished sixth overall in his first ever cross country race with a time of 22:46.9.
The second Jayhawk finisher was Barnabas Ndiwa, who continually climbed in the race after getting boxed in at the beginning. At the 2 kilometer mark, Ndiwa was stuck in 97th place, and had already climbed 49 spots from the first kilometer to the second. After the third kilometer, he had climbed another 45 places up to 52nd, before jumping another 16 places by the halfway point in the race.
Ndiwa continued to move through the pack, jumping another 14 places to pull into 22nd with five kilometers down, and he would maintain that placement throughout the rest of the race, eventually finishing 22nd with a personal best 8K time of 23:22.3.
Kansas' third men's finisher was Blake Wohler, who placed 63rd with a personal best 8K time of 23:57.6. Wohler was followed by Schmidt in 88th with a 24:11.1 time, and the top five was rounded out by Hobbs Campbell, who finished in 99th place with a personal best time of 24:15.5.
Following the Jayhawks' top five, Parker Walion placed 102nd with a personal best time of 24:17.9, Ryo Higuchi finished 115th in his first race of the season with a time of 24:26.2, Sam Trumble finished the race in a personal best 24:34.9 to place 132nd, Lenny Njoroge placed 154th with a time of 24:47.8 and Ryan Whittlesey achieved 239th with a personal best time of 25:56.4.
As a whole, the men's team placed 10th in the meet with 273 points. Arkansas won the men's race with 69 points.
"As we continue to look ahead, we will tighten up our pack on the women's side so that we don't get stuck running alone, and with more experience for our young runners I think that will really help us be better and have more race sharpness. For the men, it'll be great to get Reagan [Kibet] and Paul [Ngasharr] back, and being able to combine them with the rest of this team that has really stepped up to the challenge will be fantastic. I look forward to us becoming sharper as a team and I have no doubt that we will come together and be really strong on both sides," Whittlesey concluded.
UP NEXT
Kansas will next be in action on Friday, Oct. 16, when they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to compete in the Pre-National Invitational hosted by Indiana State. More information, including a meet preview and a live results link, will be posted closer to the meet date on kuathletics.com.
The Jayhawks were led by freshman Stephen Maroro on the men's side, who achieved sixth place in 22:46.9, while Emmah Jemutai was the top Kansas finisher for the women, placing 10th in 9:43.6. Kansas' Irine Jepkirui finished just outside of the top 10 in 11th in 19:44.9.
"I thought there were some very good performances from a handful of our runners really stepping up and pushing through some unfamiliarity today," Kansas assistant head coach Michael Whittlesey said. "On the women's side, I thought Jael got out a bit fast but still ran a solid, solid race. Irine did a fantastic job once again, this time running with Emmah and pushing the pace and so I was very proud of how they ran. Maureen also did an amazing job in her first ever 6K, battling throughout the race and having to run alone for the majority of it"
The women's team began the morning in the 6K, seeking to build off their win at the Bob Timmons Classic. Throughout the beginning of the race, a pack of three Jayhawks emerged with Jael Cherotich, Jepkirui and Jemutai hovering around the 15th place mark for the first half of the race.
Over the final two kilometers, Jepkirui and Jemutai held steady as a team, with Cherotich following shortly behind. The duo closed strong to finish 10th and 11th, with Jemutai crossing the line in 19:43.6 while Jepkirui finished in 19:44.9. Cherotich placed 38th with a time of 20:30.8.
Following the top three for KU, Maureen Chepkirui finished her first collegiate cross country race with a time of 21:39.8 to place 150th and Naomi Hunter closed out the top five for Kansas in 158th with a time of 21:43.4. All five of the Jayhawks' top finishers set personal best 6K times during the race, as well as nine of Kansas' 10 runners.
After Hunter, Kaitlyn Swartz placed 170th with a time of 21:53.1, Malaika McLeod achieved 188th with a personal best time of 22:02.1, Madelyn Wallace finished in a personal best time of 22:08.4 to place 194th, Bethany Druse placed 207th with a personal best time of 22:22.3 and Sydney Owens rounded out the Jayhawks in 234th with her personal best of 22:54.3.
The Jayhawks finished 12th overall on the women's side with 344 points.
"On the men's side I thought Stephen did an amazing job for his first ever cross country race and he looked very comfortable out there which is a good thing. Barnabas did a great job climbing throughout the race after a slow start, and we really had some guys break out and help us, especially Blake Wohler who was just fantastic and crucial for us today," Whittlesey said.
For the men, Maroro led the charge in his first cross country race, jumping out with the leaders at the beginning of the race. For the first four kilometers, Maroro ran stride for stride with the Arkansas duo of Ernest Cheruiyot and Nick Busienei as a clear top three, and about five seconds faster than the next pack.
Throughout the second half of the race, the pair of Razorbacks pulled ahead, but Maroro maintained his pace and avoided falling out. At the six kilometer mark, Maroro still held third place but had fallen into the chase pack, and eventually finished sixth overall in his first ever cross country race with a time of 22:46.9.
The second Jayhawk finisher was Barnabas Ndiwa, who continually climbed in the race after getting boxed in at the beginning. At the 2 kilometer mark, Ndiwa was stuck in 97th place, and had already climbed 49 spots from the first kilometer to the second. After the third kilometer, he had climbed another 45 places up to 52nd, before jumping another 16 places by the halfway point in the race.
Ndiwa continued to move through the pack, jumping another 14 places to pull into 22nd with five kilometers down, and he would maintain that placement throughout the rest of the race, eventually finishing 22nd with a personal best 8K time of 23:22.3.
Kansas' third men's finisher was Blake Wohler, who placed 63rd with a personal best 8K time of 23:57.6. Wohler was followed by Schmidt in 88th with a 24:11.1 time, and the top five was rounded out by Hobbs Campbell, who finished in 99th place with a personal best time of 24:15.5.
Following the Jayhawks' top five, Parker Walion placed 102nd with a personal best time of 24:17.9, Ryo Higuchi finished 115th in his first race of the season with a time of 24:26.2, Sam Trumble finished the race in a personal best 24:34.9 to place 132nd, Lenny Njoroge placed 154th with a time of 24:47.8 and Ryan Whittlesey achieved 239th with a personal best time of 25:56.4.
As a whole, the men's team placed 10th in the meet with 273 points. Arkansas won the men's race with 69 points.
"As we continue to look ahead, we will tighten up our pack on the women's side so that we don't get stuck running alone, and with more experience for our young runners I think that will really help us be better and have more race sharpness. For the men, it'll be great to get Reagan [Kibet] and Paul [Ngasharr] back, and being able to combine them with the rest of this team that has really stepped up to the challenge will be fantastic. I look forward to us becoming sharper as a team and I have no doubt that we will come together and be really strong on both sides," Whittlesey concluded.
UP NEXT
Kansas will next be in action on Friday, Oct. 16, when they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to compete in the Pre-National Invitational hosted by Indiana State. More information, including a meet preview and a live results link, will be posted closer to the meet date on kuathletics.com.
Players Mentioned
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
/ Cross Country
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