Shockers in 2009. A native of Kenya, Kosgei
had two top-10 finishes last season, including
a career-best third place showing at the
Missouri Valley Conference Championships.
Wichita State’s cross country teams were picked to finish first on the women’s side and fourth on the men’s in the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference preseason coaches’ poll.
The four-time defending champion Shocker women received seven of a possible 10 first-place votes and a total of 96 points.
Illinois State picked up the remaining three first-place votes and 86 points while Missouri State rounded out the top-three with 76 points.
On the men’s side, WSU was ranked fourth with 46 points. Southern Illinois, the 2007 and 2008 men’s champions, were picked as the head of the class with eight first-place votes (79 points), while Indiana State garnered the lone remaining first-place vote and 71 points to come in second. Illinois State came in ahead of the Shockers in third place with 66 points.
Shocker Women
Wichita State returns 2008 all-conference and scholar athlete Irene Kosgei and Olivia Martinez, a 2007 all-MVC performer.
Joined by two other senior runners, Rachel York, a 2009 regional qualifier in the steeplechase and an All-MVC selection in cross country, and Megan Gayer, along with a trio of junior college transfers, a junior, a sophomore and three incoming freshmen, the 2009 team is looking to push the Shockers to their fifth straight conference title.
Naomy Kea, Tonya Nero and Leah Thompson are WSU’s three junior transfers, helping make this year’s Shockers a “deep and potentially dynamic” group, according to fourth-year head coach Marc Burns. Kea was the 800M National Junior College Athletic Association national champion while placing second in the 1500M. Nero was the MVP of her cross country and track and field teams at Colby County (Kan.) Community College, and Thompson was sixth at the NJCAA national championships in the 3K.
Danielle Walker, the fourth junior on the squad, ran in four races last year with a season-best 10th-place showing at the JK Gold Classic.
Sophomore Sharon Zeller rounds out the returning Shocker team, with newcomers Laura Burke (Derby, Kan.), Keli Russell (Olathe, Kan.) and Kylie Graves (Delia, Kan.) joining the WSU cross country program after successful prep careers. Burke and Russell each competed in the 6A state championships. Burke finished 10th and Russell 14th. Graves was second overall in the 3A state championships.
Shocker Men
For the men, who finished in fourth place at last year’s championships, sophomore Trace Kendrick (18th at MVC Championships) and fellow second-year runner Scott Ufford (13th at Missouri State Invitational) are two of the top returners. The Shockers are without a senior class on this year’s squad and will rely on a young roster to push them into the MVC top-three.
Juniors Marius Sava, Brandon Haist, Jake Stecklein and Ryan Woodman will each look to improve upon last year’s results and give the Shockers a solid core. Woodman and Haist finished 22nd and 23rd, respectively, at the 2008 JK Gold Classic, while Stecklein notched a pair of top-20 finishes last season.
Sophomores Kevin Pendergast, Ryan Phebus and Joseph Woodward will add depth and help guide newcomers Josh Richardson (Great Bend, Kan.) and Jake Wike (Derby, Kan.). Pendergast finished a season-best eighth at the JK Gold Classic last season, while Phebus and Woodward will try to crack the Wichita State men’s top five.
Richardson and Wike come to WSU with several accolades from successful high school careers. Richardson was a three-time regional medalist in cross country and track and field. Wike, a 2009 6A state champion in the 1600M and 3200M, brings with him a solid résumé in both track and field and cross country.
— WSU Sports Information
