Tiger cross country teams open the season at JK Gold Classic
The nationally ranked Cowley College men’s and women’s cross country teams opened their season at a muddy Wichita State University JK Gold Classic on Saturday in Wichita, KS.
The Wichita State men placed first, while the University of Oklahoma finished first on the women's side.
The Tiger men, third in the NJCAA Division II preseason rankings, placed eighth out of 14 teams and were led by returning All-American Esteban Boisseau, who placed 10th out of 156 finishers in the 6,000-meter run.
Wichita State's Elkana Kipruto won the men's race with a time of 18:41.5.
"Esteban ran incredibly," Cowley head coach Cameron Rieth said. "He is a smart racer and stays within himself. He went blow for blow and beat some talented runners out there."
The Lady Tigers, ranked fifth, did not run enough athletes to figure in the team scores. However, the Cowley women were led by Linda Filipova, placing 54th out of 116 runners.
Fellow freshman Marta Herrero-Lombardo from Spain also ran well and placed 66th in her first collegiate race.
"Marta surprised me with how gutsy she ran," Rieth said. "She put herself out there and hung on."
Fort Hays State University's Emily McCullough won the women's race with a time of 18:11.1.
"We did not race everyone on either side, just to give them more time to train, as well as be careful with others," Rieth said. "The JK Gold was a great opener for us. It was a swampy mud fest from the rain the day before, so times were not great. Overall, it was good to see how we responded to adversity and competed when conditions were not ideal. Some of us handled that better than others, but it was also good to blow off some race rust."
The Cowley men's and women's cross country teams will have some time off before competing at the Missouri Southern Stampede at 8 a.m. on Saturday, September 20, in Joplin, MO.
Cowley results:
MEN
*Esteban Boisseau, 19:11.9, 10th; Wilson Navarrate, 20:14.7, 44th; Alexis Realland, 20:34.9, 55th; Conner Walker, 21:19.9, 91st; Samuel Lovell, 21:53.2, 107th; Eli Roberts, 22:24.1, 117th.
WOMEN
*Linda Filipova, 20:57.5, 54th; Paulina Althoff, 21:32.8, 63rd; Marta Herrero Lombardo, 21:45.8, 66th.