WSU notes: Cross country teams prepare for two tough meets
In August, Wichita State cross country coach Kirk Hunter spoke confidently about his teams, perhaps without obvious reasons. The Shockers lacked front-runners and both the men’s and women’s teams finished near the bottom of the Missouri Valley Conference last fall.
As the cross country season heats up, Hunter’s optimism appears correct.
“We’re definitely running better than we expected, especially with how things ended up last year,” women’s sophomore Sidney Hirsch said. “We’re definitely on the right track.”
The Shockers travel to Pre-Nationals on Saturday in Terre Haute, Ind., site of the NCAA Championships, to face fields of 79 teams that include men’s No. 1 Colorado and No. 2 Oregon and women’s No. 1 Michigan and No. 3 Oregon. Most of the MVC will run in Terre Haute, giving the Shockers a comparison for the MVC Championships on Nov. 1 in Carbondale, Ill.
WSU opened the season sweeping the JK Gold Classic, defeating Kansas State. Then it did the same at the Woody Greeno Invitational to finish ahead of host Nebraska. Two weeks ago, the women finished fourth and the men fifth in the 20-team Chile Pepper Festival.
“We won’t really know what kind of success we’re having until we line up this week,” Hunter said. “Even though the results look good, this is the real deal.”
On the men’s side, newcomers Kilian Schreiner and Ugis Jocis are pushing teammates with their performance and their enthusiasm.
“(Jocis) gives us a whole new dimension,” Hunter said. “When he is in a race, he is yelling at the guys to stay with him. He is pushing them and cheering for them and holding the group together. That’s been spread out through our men’s team, because of him.”
Hirsch is a two-time MVC women’s runner of the week who turned in a personal-best time of 16 minutes, 57.2 seconds, the best 5-kilometer time in the MVC, at the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark. Seniors Ebeissa Nyandwi (17:05) and Kaitlyn McLeod (17:23.4) rank second and third. Freshmen Lycia Hollon, Tiffany Christensen and Jordan Maestas added depth.
“You can add in all these people that haven’t been on our team that are giving us a big push,” Hunter said. “You can tell these girls really put in the miles this summer. They came into the program really fit and ready to run.”
Hirsch finished 24th as a freshman at the MVC meet with a time of 18:26.9. She impressed Hunter by running with the upperclassmen in her first practices.
“When I was looking for a school, I definitely I wanted a team where I would be way in the back, and I also didn’t want a team where I would be on top and couldn’t improve,” she said. “You have that competitive side, so I wanted to be with the top girls and have them push me because I knew I could improve that way.”
Out of Oklahoma — WSU’s men’s tennis team of Tin Ostojic and Tomislav Gregurovic rebounded from their first loss of the fall better than anyone could have expected.
In late September, they lost in the qualifying draw of the ITA Men’s All-American Championship to a team from Virginia, 6-2, 6-2. Two weeks later, they won the USTA/ITA Central Regional Championship by defeating Oklahoma’s Dane Webb and Axel Alvarez 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 in Norman.
The loss forced them to change some of their positioning in the service game. Coach Brad Louderback saw much more than that lifting their play in the Central Regional.
“You could just see their confidence growing each match,” he said. “They played with a lot of composure. In doubles, someone is going to go through a little bit of a slump. The other one made sure they picked it up. That’s really important in doubles.”
Ostojic and Gregurovic, seeded seventh, defeated teams from Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, Arkansas, Drake and Minnesota before defeating the third-seeded Sooners team. Alvarez was No. 3 in singles in the ITA’s preseason ranking and Webb was No. 16. Both played last spring for OU’s NCAA runner-up team.
The reward for the Shockers is a trip to the National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in November in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Twenty of the nation’s top doubles team earn spots or are invited.
“It shows the level that they’re ready to compete at, and that’s at the top,” Louderback said.
Wichita State’s Roberto Saad and Paul Smith won the National Intercollegiate Indoor in 1983.
Worth noting — WSU senior Louis Cohen Boyer was named Missouri Valley Conference golfer of the week. Boyer finished in second place in the Bill Ross Intercollegiate on Tuesday after shooting a first-round 69 and a 76 in the second round.… Women’s golfer Maria Alejandro Villalobos earned the same honor after winning the MSU/Payne Stewart Memorial after shooting a 216 to tie for the best 54-hole score in WSU history. Her first-round 69 is tied for second-best.
Reach Paul Suellentrop at 316-269-6760 or psuellentrop@wichitaeagle.com. Follow him on Twitter: @paulsuellentrop.
Basketball schedules
Wichita State’s men’s and women’s basketball schedules, updated with all TV info and times.
Men
Nov. 8 — Northwood (Fla.) (exhibition) (Cox 22), 2 p.m.
Nov. 14 — New Mexico State (Cox 22), 8 p.m.
Nov. 18 — vs. Memphis (Sioux Falls, S.D.) (ESPN), 1 p.m.
Nov. 23 — Newman (Cox 22), 2 p.m.
Nov. 29 — Tulsa (Cox 22), 2 p.m.
Dec. 3 — at Utah (ESPN2), 10 p.m.
Dec. 6 — Saint Louis (Intrust Bank Arena) (Cox 22), 5 p.m.
Dec. 9 — Seton Hall (ESPN2), 6 p.m.
Dec. 13 — at Detroit (ESPNU), 11 a.m.
Dec. 16 — Alabama (ESPN2), 8 p.m.
Dec. 22 — vs. Loyola Marymount (Diamond Head Classic at Honolulu, ESPNU), 10 p.m.
Dec. 23 — vs. Nebraska or Hawaii (Diamond Head Classic, ESPN2/U), 8 or 10:30 p.m.
Dec. 25 — Diamond Head Classic
Dec. 31 — at Drake (Cox 22), 5:05 p.m.
Jan. 4 — Illinois State (ESPNU/ESPN3), 12:30, 2:30, 4:30 p.m.
Jan. 7 — Bradley (Cox 22), 7 p.m.
Jan. 11 — at Loyola (ESPNU/ESPN3), 2 or 4 p.m.
Jan. 14 — Southern Illinois (Cox 22), 7 p.m.
Jan. 17 — at Evansville (FSKC), 1 p.m.
Jan. 21 — at Missouri State (Cox 22), 7:05 p.m.
Jan. 25 — Drake (ESPNU/ESPN3), 1 or 3 p.m.
Jan. 28 — Loyola (Cox 22), 7 p.m.
Jan. 31 — at Northern Iowa (ESPN/ESPN2), 3 p.m.
Feb. 4 — at Bradley (Cox 22), 7 p.m.
Feb. 7 — Missouri State (ESPN2), 7 p.m.
Feb. 11 — Indiana State (Cox 22), 7 p.m.
Feb. 14 — at Illinois State (ESPN/ESPN2), 5 p.m.
Feb. 17 — at Southern Illinois (Cox 22), 7:05 p.m.
Feb. 22 — Evansville (ESPNU/ESPN3), 1 or 3 p.m.
Feb. 25 — at Indiana State (Cox 22), 6:05 p.m.
Feb. 28 — Northern Iowa (ESPN/ESPN2/FSKC), TBA
March 5-8 — MVC Tournament, St. Louis
Women
Nov. 2 — Newman, 2:05 p.m. (exhibition)
Nov. 15 — Creighton (Cox 22), 2:05 p.m.
Nov. 18 — at Eastern Washington, 8 p.m.
Nov. 22 — Texas Arlington, 2:05 p.m.
Nov. 27 — vs. Florida Gulf Coast, 2:30 p.m. (Paradise Jam, Virgin Islands)
Nov. 28 — vs. Ohio State, 12:15 p.m. (Paradise Jam)
Nov. 29 — vs. Clemson, 12:15 p.m. (Paradise Jam)
Dec. 5 — Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 12:05 p.m.
Dec. 12 — Kansas State (Cox 22), 7:05 p.m.
Dec. 16 —at Tennessee (SEC), 6 p.m.
Dec. 19 — Louisiana-Monroe, 7:05 p.m. (Shocker Winter Classic)
Dec. 20 —Winthrop, 3:05 p.m. (Shocker Winter Classic)
Dec. 28 — Sam Houston State, 2:05 p.m.
Jan. 2 — Indiana State (ESPN3), 7 p.m.
Jan. 4 — Evansville, TBA
Jan. 9 —at Missouri State (ESPN3), 7:05 p.m.
Jan. 16 —at Bradley, 7 p.m.
Jan. 18 —at Loyola, 2:05 p.m.
Jan. 23 — Illinois State, 7 p.m.
Jan. 25 — Southern Illinois, 5:45 p.m.
Jan. 30 — at Northern Iowa (Cox 22), 7 p.m.
Feb. 1 — at Drake, 2 p.m.
Feb. 8 — Missouri State, 2 p.m.
Feb. 13 — Loyola, 7 p.m.
Feb. 15 — Bradley, 2 p.m.
Feb. 20 — at Illinois State, 7:05 p.m.
Feb. 22 — at Southern Illinois, 2:05 p.m.
Feb. 27 — Drake, 7 p.m.
March 1 — Northern Iowa, 2 p.m.
March 5 — at Evansville, 7 p.m.
March 7 — at Indiana State, 1:05 p.m.
March 12-15 — MVC Tournament, St. Charles, Mo.
This story was originally published October 15, 2014 at 7:42 PM with the headline "WSU notes: Cross country teams prepare for two tough meets."