No. 22 Toledo Women's Cross Country Finishes in Close Second at Kansas Rim Rock Farm Classic; Men Place Eighth Overall
LAWRENCE, KS - The No. 22 Toledo women's cross country team finished in a close second place at the Kansas Rim Rock Farm Classic 6K Saturday morning. The Rockets led No. 11 Michigan by three points until the Wolverines took the lead in the final 200 meters, edging out Toledo 33-43 for first place. The Toledo men's squad tallied 212 points in the early race, finishing eighth overall.
Toledo and Michigan were the only ranked teams in the women's field and both are ranked top five in the Great Lakes Region.
Sophomore Mackenzie Chojnacky and senior Kaylin Belair led the Rockets, finishing in third and fourth place among 143 runners, respectively. Chojnacky, the Mid-American Conference Runner of the Week two weeks ago, finished as Toledo's top runner with a time of 20:45.10. Belair was right behind her at 20:50.00. Sophomores Megan Wright (eighth overall, 20:58.70), Priscilla Timmons (13th overall, 21:08.40) and Liz Weiler (14th overall, 21:12.10) recorded top-15 finishes to close out the Toledo scoring.
Michigan's Rebecca Addison took first place after running a meet-best 20:29.20. The Wolverines' five scorers placed in the top-11.
Indiana, Air Force and New Mexico State rounded out the top-five team finishers.
Jake Kasperski led Toledo's men in the 8,000-meter race. The sophomore finished 38th among 159 runners with a 24:58.50 mark and has led the Rockets in every race this season. Elliot Livensparger crossed the line next for Toledo at 25:13.80 (50th overall) with Daniel Thompson close behind at 25:15.00 (52nd overall). The other two runners earning scores were Adam Smercina (64th overall, 25:33.20) and Thomas Gibbons (76th overall, 25:54.60).
Texas Tech's Kennedy Kithuka took first place in the men's race at a 22:26.70 mark. Host Kansas claimed first place as a team with 35 points, followed by No. 11 Indiana, Air Force, Texas Tech and Rice.
Pre-Nationals are up next for the Rockets in two weeks on Oct. 13. Louisville will host both races with the men's meet scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. and the women's gun will go off at 10:15 a.m.
