Wichita State's men's cross country team finished third out of 30 teams at the Gans Creek Classic on Friday, Sept. 25, beating No. 28 Missouri and No. 30 Kansas.

Senior Nicholas Kipchirchir and junior Elkana Kipruto powered the Shockers with top-five individual finishes at the Gans Creek Cross Country Course in Columbia, Missouri. Kipchirchir placed third in the men's 8K with a personal-best time of 22:40.5. Kipruto finished fifth at 22:43.5.

Kipchirchir's mark was significant. The Virginia Tech transfer's 22:40.5 beat the previous best Shocker time on the course, a 22:45.6 that Kipruto ran at the 2025 Pre-National Invitational.

No. 16 Arkansas won the team title with 69 points, followed by Tennessee with 75, according to Arkansas Athletics. Wichita State scored 170 points. Missouri placed sixth with 230 and Kansas finished 10th with 273.

Head coach Kirk Hunter said the difference came from his third, fourth and fifth runners closing the gap behind Kipchirchir and Kipruto.

"Austin had an unbelievably fabulous first race of the year, and Dennis ran a lifetime PR," Hunter told GoShockers.com. "Those guys really came through for us."

Junior Kelvin Kipyego finished 51st in 23:51.8. Sophomore Austin Carrera, in his first race of the season, placed 55th in 23:53.9. Junior Dennis Rono ran a lifetime personal record of 23:56.5 to finish 59th.

Hunter said the team needs its pack to close the gap on its front two runners and get under 23:30 if the Shockers want to win a conference title and reach the national meet.

The result marks a major jump for the program. Wichita State finished 19th of 36 teams at the Gans Creek Classic in 2024. The Shocker men were picked third in the American Conference preseason coaches poll and received two first-place votes.

On the women's side, sophomore Vivien Kipkorir placed 17th in the 6K with a time of 20:01.3, more than a minute faster than her previous personal best. The mark ranks second in Wichita State history.

The Shockers have two weekends off before the Pre-National Invitational on Friday, Oct. 16, at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course in Terre Haute, Indiana. The American Conference Championships follow Oct. 31 in New Orleans.