Elkana Kipruto continues his standout sophomore run at Pre-National Invitational

Evan Tong, Multimedia Reporter • October 17, 2025

Wichita State’s women’s cross country team huddles before the women’s 5-kilometer race at the JK Gold Classic on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, at LW Clapp Park. The women’s team placed third out of nine teams during the race.

Wichita State’s cross country team crossed the border into Missouri for the Pre-National Invitational hosted by Missouri on Friday morning.

Women’s 6-kilometer

The women’s team did not have a good showing at the event, placing 24th among the crowd of 38 teams. BYU won on the women’s side with 25 points.

Senior Lucy Ndungu was the first of the Shockers to finish with a time of 20:31.6 in 44th place.

Freshman Mercy Jepkoech was unable to follow up on a 10th place finish in Arkansas, lagging far behind Ndungu with a time of 21:07.9, good enough for 104th place. Senior Sarah Bertry finished in 154th place with a time of 21:33.4.

Men’s 8-kilometer

The men’s team finished in seventh place, just ahead of No. 22-ranked Arkansas. Georgia won the men’s race with 119 points.

Sophomore standout Elkana Kipruto continued his dominant first season at WSU, finishing second in the men’s event with a time of 22:45.6. He was only one second from finishing in first place.

Senior Adrian Diaz-Lopez finished in 18th place with a time of 23:35.7. Sophomore Kelvin Kipyego finished in 39th place with a time of 24:00.4.

No other Shocker finished the race until senior Zander Cobb crossed the finish line with a time of 24:43.1, good enough for 100th place.

Wichita State’s next cross country event will be at the American Conference Championships in Concord, N.C. on Saturday, Nov. 1. For more information on start times, visit goshockers.com.

About the Contributors

Evan Tong, Multimedia Reporter

Evan Tong is a first-year sports reporter, photographer and videographer for The Sunflower. Tong is a junior pursuing a degree in journalism and media production. Tong has experience in high school broadcast journalism and documentary. He once recorded the entire basketball season his senior year at Southeast High School, sans one game in Emporia.

Airianna Sallaz, Multimedia Reporter

Airianna Sallaz is a junior majoring in Media Arts and Filmmaking. Sallaz joined staff in 2025 as a multimedia reporter. In the short-term after graduation, she wants to work in television and film, but in the future she hopes to become a published writer.