Lawrence, Kan. – On a course that has seen Cross Country National Championships including DI, DII, and NAIA, Big 12 Conference Championships, and numerous High School State Championships; the Kansas University Jayhawks hosted the annual Bob Timmons XC Classic in honor of the originator of the course and former KU legendary head coach. For most of the Pioneers, this scenic, hilly venue was no stranger to them as most of them ran for local high schools including Gardner-Edgerton, Basehor-Linwood, Olathe South, Olathe North, and Christ Preparatory Academy. They were aware of the fun that this prestigious college course offered.
The Pioneer men graced the course first with an odd distance of 6 kilometers, but a welcome beginning on such a tough course for their first race of the season. Leading the group of four Pioneers through the first mile, freshman newcomer from Gardner-Edgerton, Aidan Scherman, set the tone with veteran
Ray Kosgei close behind. Sophomore
Ken Morgan was third on the team with freshman Josiah Robinson out of Ruskin closing out the squad.
While the DI schools of KU and Oral Roberts (ORU) battled for the top team honors, the Pioneers heartily battled the given course through covered bridges, wooded sections, open plains, and steep hills. Never giving up the fight, Scherman fought to the finish line to claim the fifth NAIA competitor spot sandwiched between two DI ORU competitors. He took the 23rd spot overall. Meanwhile Kosgei grabbed the number 9 NAIA spot and 35th place overall. Morgan took 18th in the NAIA, 48th overall, as he held off a Heart of America Conference competitor from Baker. Robinson was the final Pioneer for the men with a strong kick to the line, finishing well ahead of the next competitor.
For the Pioneer women, it was a young group with six sophomores and one freshman lining up against three DI schools, three NAIA competitors (two in the Heart of America Conference) and one community college. However, when the gun was fired, they were ready to compete. At mile one, like the men, ORU shot to the front with KU close behind. For the Pioneers, they were out quick, with
Bella Meili leading the charge, just inside the top twenty.
Anna McKnight was the second Pioneer across the mile marker with freshman Kalana Smittick (Lana) making a strong statement in her college debut, as she followed McKnight. Both McKnight and Smittick were in the top thirty with Riley Filmore and
Julia Swearengin breaking the top forty, in that order. Rounding out the top seven for the Pioneers,
Josie McClung and
Kennedy Krotzinger looked strong and ready to move up. Meanwhile the Pioneers were in a tough battle against conference foes Baker and Park Universities. At this stage of the race, MNU had the lead over their conference opponents.
Climbing the hill at mile marker two, KU was dominating the race with ORU a comfortable second. For the Pioneers, Meili and McKnight had both moved up a few spots with Smittick slipping back a few spots through the hills. Filmore was holding firm as Swearengin grabbed a spot. McClung had tossed the most competitors aside with eight conquered while Krotzinger grabbed an additional four. However, Baker and Park had also done a great job moving through the stream of harriers and were closing in on MNU. MNU still held the lead over the two conference opponents, though.
In the final mile, the Pioneer women were able to hold on with a few moving up and a few slipping back in the final sprint to the finish. Both Meili and McKnight grabbed college best 5k times, finishing 14th and 27th, respectively. Meili was also first among the NAIA competitors. For McKnight, it was also her best time on the course. Newcomer Smittick did what few athletes have done, claimed a 5k personal record on this tough course. Also, McClung, who passed another five athletes in this section, set her personal course best.
Overall, it was a good day for the women as they finished fourth among all teams, but first among Heart of America Conference and NAIA teams.
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