Wichita State freshman wins JK Gold Classic women’s race (+video)

AUGUSTA — Wichita State freshman Rebekah Topham won four high school cross country races in Iowa and nine gold medals in track and field. Little changed in Saturday’s college debut in the JK Gold Classic at the RAFT Golf Course.

Topham, from Griswold, Iowa, won the 4-kilometer race with a time of 14 minutes, 13.9 seconds to become the first Shockers to place first since Aliphine Tuliamuk-Bolton in 2012.

“I usually don’t get too nervous,” Topham said. “I haven’t had a race in like four months and that’s unusual for me, because I’m usually racing all the time. It was nice to train over the summer.”

Topham’s win highlighted a strong day for WSU, which won the NCAA Division I duals with men’s and women’s victories over Kansas State and Oral Roberts. WSU women grabbed six of the top 10 spots and Sidney Hirsch, running unattached, finished third.

Barton County’s Sampson Laari won the men’s 6-kilometer race with a time of 18:36.5. WSU’s Paul Raymond, running unattached, finished second. Ugis Jocis finished third to lead six Shockers in the top 10.

Topham’s commitment to WSU caused a minor stir in Iowa during her well-chronicled career as a home-schooled student who ran for Griswold High. She chose WSU over Iowa State, in part because of family. She was born in Wichita and lived here until age 4 before moving to Iowa. Around 10 family members from Wichita watched her run Saturday.

“I chose Wichita State mostly because of the coaches,” she said. “They’re easy to get along with and super nice. Most important, I liked how they coach.”

WSU cross country Kirk Hunter is thrilled family connections helped him land Topham.

“I think everybody would have wanted Rebekah,” he said. “She’s a superstar in Iowa, so obviously we’re real fortunate to have her here. I don’t think Rebekah is 100 percent right now — I think she’s just on her way up. That’s coming as long as we can keep her healthy.”

WSU’s men’s team won the meet for the fourth straight time. Hunter used the day as a training ground for strategy. His top runners sacrificed time to stay with other runners and push and encourage them.

“They did a great job of packing up,” Hunter said. “Brady (Johnson) stayed way back, a lot, to help out. That’s Brady’s job. When I let him go, Sampson was way too far to catch. You’re not just going to run him down.”

Maize South sweeps high school titles — Maize South sophomore Destini Eskridge won a girls race loaded with Class 5A’s top runners with a time of 19:01.8.

Eskridge, who finished fourth in the JK Gold Classic last season, finished ahead of Kapaun Mount Carmel’s Kelsi Andrews (19:49.1) and Andover’s Carly Flake (19:54). Last fall, Flake finished third in the Class 5A meet with Andrews sixth and Eskridge ninth.

Eskridge’s first crack at the 5-kilometer distance, increased from 4 kilometers this season in Kansas, turned into her first high school victory.

“The start is really nerve-wracking because everyone starts together and you’ve got to be immensely strong,” she said. “You’ve just got to keep pushing. The extra (kilometer) I like. I can pace myself better and figure out how to run it.”

Teammate Sierra Mortensen finished eighth (20:41.8) and Madison Schepis, a freshman, finished 11th (20:48.5) to help the Mavericks win the team title with 56 points. Blue Valley finished second with 64 points. Trinity Academy, the defending Class 4A champion, finished third with 81 points, led by Lulu Mijares’ ninth-place finish.

The Maize South boys took first with 53 points, ahead of Blue Valley’s 77. Kapaun Mount Carmel senior Matthew Wilson, who finished fourth in Class 5A last fall, placed first with a time of 16:39.1.

Maize South’s Ethan Kossover finished third with a time of 16:48.9 with teammates Hunter Thissen in seventh (17:37.6) and Bryce Merriman in ninth (17:49.7).

This story was originally published September 5, 2015 at 2:56 PM with the headline "Wichita State freshman wins JK Gold Classic women’s race (+video)."