“Catching the vision” is what cross country runner Cesar Ramirez said about how Wichita State will attain its goals of running in the NCAA Championship and bringing home the first American Conference team title in seven seasons.
“(It’s) a mindset of running the extra mile, going the further distance,” Ramirez, a senior, said. “Really build an ‘all in’ mindset (and) culture around here.”
Tulsa and Tulane ran the American Cross Country Championship last season, taking first and second in both the men’s and women’s races on the Shockers’ home turf.
WSU head coach Kirk Hunter thinks it will take a strong core of athletes to topple the conference’s giants this year.
“It’s a competitive group that’s looking to try to battle for that,” Hunter said about his men’s and women’s teams. “We’ve done it before. We’re hoping that that happens again.”
The last time Wichita State won a conference championship as a team was in 2018, when the women’s team took down Tulsa by two points. The Shockers’ men’s team has come as close as second place since joining the American: twice in back-to-back seasons from 2021-22. The Golden Hurricane won both races.
Looking past the rivalries, Hunter said that on paper, this is the best men’s team he’s had during his tenure as head coach. Wichita State has a strong group of returning seniors in Adrian Diaz Lopez, Yared Kidane and Ramirez. Incoming sophomore transfers Elkana Kipruto (Stephen F. Austin) and Kelvin Kipyego (Crowder College) should also help cut the Shockers’ times down.
“Just straight up talent,” Hunter said. “These guys have all run faster or as fast as anybody we’ve ever had. The ability to be successful could be very good.”
Despite Wichita State competing in a Mid-Major conference, Ramirez said the group that’s put together this year could give Power Four teams a run for their money. Kipruto currently ranks 646th in the world in the men’s 5,000-meter according to World Athletics, Kidane was the team’s fastest runner last season, and Diaz Lopez, a 2022 First Team All-Conference member, returns much stronger after nursing an injury.
“It doesn’t matter if you have Mizzou on your jersey or Alabama, we’re going to come to run,” Ramirez said.
On the women’s side, senior Sarah Bertry is returning after her second First Team All-Conference selection a season ago. The sophomore runners have an added year of experience. Senior Lucy Ndungu, the heartbeat of the women’s team, returns for her final season after missing all of 2024 with an injury.
“Having Lucy back is the biggest excitement we have,” Hunter said. “Getting to see her run again is going to be awesome, she’s a huge factor in anything we do as a team. But having Sarah Bertry back, two time All-Conference, for another season — that’s huge.
“Even the girls that were freshmen last year, they are significant girls that were an impact on our team … I think we’ll be just as excited about the women’s team as the men’s team.”
Ndungu said that being medically cleared to run in her final season is amazing, but she still has to take her recovery “one step at a time.”
“That’s the biggest thing: coming back and racing with them, with the team,” Ndungu said about the upcoming season. “I missed that a lot last season. It was very hectic not being able to race with them.”
Both Ndungu and Ramirez are in their final seasons running in a Wichita State uniform. Ramirez said now that he’s realized this, he’s not taking anything for granted — everything has a special meaning.
“When you’re a freshman, everything’s new,” he said. “When you’re a senior, it’s like well, everything is going to be gone. You start getting more and more excited about trips … I’m going to really make sure that I just live in the moment.”
Ndungu wants to leave her mark as one of the best to do it as a Shocker.
“Coach always tells stories about his previous runners,” Ndungu said. “(I want to) at least inspire one, two, three (of them) from things that I have overcame.”
Wichita State’s cross country team will begin its season Friday, Aug. 29 at the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic hosted by Hutchinson Community College. The women’s 3-mile is at 8:30 p.m. and the men’s 4-mile starts at 9:05 p.m.
