RCW: Sport Spotlight 4.12 (Cross Country)
Headed to Louisville! Sharon Lokedi is the Midwest Regional runner-up for the second-straight year and she’s NCAA Bound for the third time! #KUxc pic.twitter.com/DQN4MTvofz
— Kansas Cross Country (@KansasXC) November 10, 2017
Just a couple of All-Region honorees enjoying a hug. #KUxc
A post shared by Kansas Track and Field (@kutrack) on Nov 10, 2017 at 3:10pm PST
The Kansas men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled to Ames, Iowa to compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on November 10, where junior Sharon Lokedi qualified for the NCAA Championships with a second-place finish.
While Lokedi’s run was a monumental step toward her having the opportunity to become the first three-time All-American in Kansas cross country history, it was to be expected – Lokedi made a name for herself long ago as one of the best cross country runners in the nation. What wasn’t expected, at least not to many outside of the Kansas program prior to this season, was junior Alaina Schroeder’s performance – an 18th-place finish to earn All-Region honors.
Redshirting in 2016 and only running in three meets as a sophomore in 2015, Schroeder was somewhat of an unknown coming into this season, but contributed to the Kansas women’s team all year as a top-two finisher for the Jayhawks at every meet.
Schroeder finished first for the Kansas women at the first two meets of the season and finished second for the Jayhawks in the final three, including her All-Region performance as well as an 11th-place finish at the Big 12 Championship to earn All-Big 12 honors.
Although Schroeder came up short of qualifying for the national meet, Lokedi will look to continue her dominance this season at the NCAA Championships on Saturday, November 18 at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer Park in Louisville, Kentucky.
Schroeder, as well as Kansas coaches Stanley Redwine and Michael Whittlesey, hope she can continue to improve and are excited for her to hit the track. The Jayhawks open the indoor track & field season on December 2 with a home meet, the Bob Timmons Challenge.
