Cross country
Both Wichita State cross country teams neared the finish of the fall 2025 season in Concord, N.C. for the American Conference Championships.
The women’s team scored fifth overall out of 13 teams as a whole with a score of 132 (1:46:59) in the 6-kilometer race. The team stood behind Tulane, Rice, Charlotte and Tulsa with scores of 36 (1:43:10), 72 (1:44:36), 78 (1:44:59) and 82 (1:44:53), respectively.
Freshman Mercy Jepkoech impressively broke into the top 10 with a time of 20:44.5. Jepkoech was named the American Conference’s Freshman of the Year.
Seniors Lucy Ndungu and Sarah Bertry landed in the top 20 with a 12th place (20:48.5) and 18th place (21:03.5) finish, respectively.
Sophomore Faith Ekart finished 44th (22:06.2) and juniors Francesca Alvarado, Jordyn Picolet and Isabelle Hartnett took 48th (22:16.3), 51st, (22:16.3) and 55th places (22:28.6), respectively. Outside of the top 60 were senior Lea Jerkovic with a time of 22:31.5 and freshman Jasmine Stiede with a 22:50.3 time.
The men’s team finished third overall out of 12 teams with a team score of 59 (1:59.46) in the 8-kilometer race. The Shockers were behind Tulsa, who had a score of 35 (1:58.57), and Tulane with a score of 41 (1:59.13).
Finishing first overall was sophomore Elkana Kipruto, who had a time of 23:16.6. Kipruto’s gold medal is the first for Wichita State in the American Conference Championships. He was also named First Team All-American Conference.
Outside of the top five was sophomore Kelvin Kipyego, who finished in sixth place with a time of 23:47.0. After redshirting last season due to injury, returning senior Adrian Diaz-Lopez finished 12th (24:00.2) for the team.
Senior Zander Cobb, junior Jacob Meyers, senior Caesar Ramirez and junior Jonah Allison all placed 17th (24:14.8) 23rd (24:27.2), 26th (24:34.7), 28th (24:37.9), respectively. Freshmen Austin Carrera and Greyson Ellensohn had times of 24:41.4 and 25:48.9.
Both teams will next compete in Stillwater, Okla., for the NCAA Midwest Regionals hosted by Oklahoma State University on Nov. 14.
Women’s bowling
Wichita State’s women’s bowlers took to Houston to compete in the Track Kat Klash hosted by Sam Houston State University from Friday to Sunday. The Shockers took their first team title of the season after going 4-0 in the finals against No. 9-ranked Louisiana Tech, ending with a final score of 12,635 total points.
Wichita State competed in eight Baker matches and five traditional matches, where it scored 7,627 and 5,008 points.
The Shockers had a 930-745 win against Alabama State, a 981-900 win against Sam Houston, a 912-930 loss to Louisiana Tech and a 1005-745 win over Jackson State to start the tournament on Friday.
The team came back the next day with a 959-949 loss to North Carolina A&T, then bounced back with four-straight wins. Wichita State won over Maryland Eastern Shore (1077-928), Prairie View A&M (925-701), Southern (1077-734) and Tulane (980-832).
On the final day, the team started with two wins against Texas Southern (933-814) and Oklahoma Christian (930-904), but had a loss to cross-town rival Newman (938-923). The team, however, did qualify for a best-of-seven final against Louisiana Tech. The Shockers went 4-0 and closed off the title match with a clean win.
Sophomore Morgan Kline placed third individually, scoring 1,040 total points. Senior Paige Wagner and junior Ashtyn Woods met Kline in the top 10, placing sixth overall with a total of 1,028 points and 10th with a total of 1,002 points, respectively.
Juniors Aleesha Oden and Sara Duque Jimenez made their way into the top 20 with scores of 994 and 944, respectively.
The Wichita State women’s bowling team will next compete in the Bulldog Classic Invitational hosted by Louisiana Tech. The tournament will take place in Fort Worth, Texas from Nov. 7-9.
