Friday, October 30
Lawrence, Kan.
TBA
Baylor
vs
Big 12 Championships
Baylor Cross Country Set For Big 12 Championships
10/28/2020 8:10:00 PM | Cross Country
Women’s 6K will begin Friday at 10 a.m. CT followed by the men’s 8K at 11 a.m. CT.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Looking for its first top-five finish in three years, the Baylor women's cross-country team will try to cap its fall season with a strong finish at Friday's Big 12 Championship at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan.
"There are some really good teams up top, so we're still going to be fighting for kind of that 5 or 6 slot," associate head coach Jon Capron said. "One of my favorite parts about this season is we actually saw a lot of these teams more often than we normally do. . . . We have those benchmarks, saying, 'Hey, we've already beaten this team, let's aim for the next one up.' I think it does give us a little bit of confidence going into the meet."
While the women are expected to be at full strength with a contingent of 10 runners for the 6,000-meter race that starts at 10 a.m., the men will be without two of their top three runners for the 8K race at 11 a.m.
Scoring runners in each of the first three meets, juniors Ryan Day and Ryan Hodge are both out for the conference championships. Day has been Baylor's lead runner at each of the two previous meets and was the runner-up behind Connor Laktasic at the season-opening dual meet versus Abilene Christian.
"It's definitely disappointing," said Laktasic, who was second on the team at the two bigger meets, including a 17th-place finish at Texas A&M two weeks ago. "It's tough seeing them just as a teammate and as a person sacrificing so much and working so hard and then having those opportunities taken away from them."
Joining Laktasic in the men's lineup will be fellow senior Jeremy Meadows, juniors Cal Johnston and Philip Roxas, sophomore Carson Yarbrough and freshmen Jackson Mazzei and Zach Zawatski. The men have beaten Texas Tech twice this season and also beat TCU at the Arturo Barrios Invitational two weeks ago.
"The guys' side is going to be some tough sledding," Capron said. "I think there are still some teams we can stay ahead of, but there may be some teams that we've raced and beaten already that will be a tough challenge without some of the guys that aren't going to be available."
Laktasic, who run a personal-best 8K time of 24:46.60 in placing first in the ACU meet, said his personal goal is to "just go out and run a great race."
"I know it's a tough course, but go out and try to PR and place very well in conference," he said. "We had some team goals going in, but obviously we're going to miss some guys and we have some things to think about and figure out moving forward."
Capron is more hopeful for the women, who have a solid top three in senior Sarah Antrich, junior Celia Holmes and freshman Lily Jacobs. Making an immediate impact as a first-semester freshman, Jacobs had recorded three top-20 finishes and led the team with a 10th-place showing at the A&M meet.
"I think our 1-2-3 is pretty set. I couldn't tell you the order, but I know they're going to be there," Capron said. "Our top three are going to have to run great, like they've been doing. But, for us to have the results that I really want, we need our 4 and 5 to be a lot closer."
Those next two spots are wide open for any of the other seven runners to grab – senior Madelaine Johnston, juniors Lauren Ammons, Sadie Hamrin and Mazie Larsen, sophomore Chloe Gangnath and freshmen Anna Garner and Kendall Mansukhani. Johnston, Larsen and Mansukhani have each been a scoring runner once, while Garner was in the top five at the first two meets.
"Anna hasn't raced once this year as a freshman and not been in our top five," Capron said. "That would be pretty Herculean, but she's impressed me so far. Whoever ends up in that fourth and fifth slot is going to be really big and have a lot to say about where we end up on the ladies' side."
Since the team tries to group up in practice runs, "if we could translate that to the race, I think that would be really helpful," said Antrich, who was second on the team and 14th overall at the A&M meet.
While a spring cross-country schedule is still up in the air, this will be the final competition for Antrich, who will graduate in December with a degree in biology and has plans of becoming a nurse practitioner.
"It's kind of weird that all of my Baylor experience will end this week, for running," she said. "I think that just puts a little extra pressure on me and makes me want to do my best even more, because I want the four years of hard work that I've put into this program to pay off."
WACO, Texas – Baylor cross country will close the fall 2020 campaign with the Big 12 Cross Country Championships Friday at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan.
"Any time you get to compete with our conference, it's exciting," associate head coach Jon Capron said. "We're excited to get the opportunity to race. We're excited to get on the Rim Rock course, which is great. Racing is exciting, because it's not promised in this season. Any time we get to travel and put ourselves up against our conference, we're excited to do it. We're as excited as ever and as prepared as ever."
The women's 6K will kick things off at 10 a.m. CT, with the men's 8K following at 11 a.m.
The Baylor women's team will consist of Lily Jacobs, Celia Holmes, Sarah Antrich, Mazie Larsen, Sadie Hamrin, Kendall Mansukhani, Anna Garner, Lauren Ammons, Chloe Gangnath and Madelaine Johnston.
On the men's side, the Bears will be taking on three USTFCCCA top-30 teams with a squad of Connor Laktasic, Cal Johnston, Jeremy Meadows, Philip Roxas, Zach Zawatski, Jackson Mazzei and Carson Yarbrough.
"On the ladies' side, there are some really good teams up top," Capron said. "We're going to be fighting for that 5-6 slot. The guys' side is going to be some tough sledding. We've got some that won't be available this weekend and that's going to make it tough. There are still some teams we can stay ahead of."
Friday's meet will be televised on delay via Big 12 Now on ESPN+, and live results will be provided by PrimeTime Timing.
For updates on Baylor cross country throughout the season, follow @BaylorTrack on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Baylor Bear Insider
Looking for its first top-five finish in three years, the Baylor women's cross-country team will try to cap its fall season with a strong finish at Friday's Big 12 Championship at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan.
"There are some really good teams up top, so we're still going to be fighting for kind of that 5 or 6 slot," associate head coach Jon Capron said. "One of my favorite parts about this season is we actually saw a lot of these teams more often than we normally do. . . . We have those benchmarks, saying, 'Hey, we've already beaten this team, let's aim for the next one up.' I think it does give us a little bit of confidence going into the meet."
While the women are expected to be at full strength with a contingent of 10 runners for the 6,000-meter race that starts at 10 a.m., the men will be without two of their top three runners for the 8K race at 11 a.m.
Scoring runners in each of the first three meets, juniors Ryan Day and Ryan Hodge are both out for the conference championships. Day has been Baylor's lead runner at each of the two previous meets and was the runner-up behind Connor Laktasic at the season-opening dual meet versus Abilene Christian.
"It's definitely disappointing," said Laktasic, who was second on the team at the two bigger meets, including a 17th-place finish at Texas A&M two weeks ago. "It's tough seeing them just as a teammate and as a person sacrificing so much and working so hard and then having those opportunities taken away from them."
Joining Laktasic in the men's lineup will be fellow senior Jeremy Meadows, juniors Cal Johnston and Philip Roxas, sophomore Carson Yarbrough and freshmen Jackson Mazzei and Zach Zawatski. The men have beaten Texas Tech twice this season and also beat TCU at the Arturo Barrios Invitational two weeks ago.
"The guys' side is going to be some tough sledding," Capron said. "I think there are still some teams we can stay ahead of, but there may be some teams that we've raced and beaten already that will be a tough challenge without some of the guys that aren't going to be available."
Laktasic, who run a personal-best 8K time of 24:46.60 in placing first in the ACU meet, said his personal goal is to "just go out and run a great race."
"I know it's a tough course, but go out and try to PR and place very well in conference," he said. "We had some team goals going in, but obviously we're going to miss some guys and we have some things to think about and figure out moving forward."
Capron is more hopeful for the women, who have a solid top three in senior Sarah Antrich, junior Celia Holmes and freshman Lily Jacobs. Making an immediate impact as a first-semester freshman, Jacobs had recorded three top-20 finishes and led the team with a 10th-place showing at the A&M meet.
"I think our 1-2-3 is pretty set. I couldn't tell you the order, but I know they're going to be there," Capron said. "Our top three are going to have to run great, like they've been doing. But, for us to have the results that I really want, we need our 4 and 5 to be a lot closer."
Those next two spots are wide open for any of the other seven runners to grab – senior Madelaine Johnston, juniors Lauren Ammons, Sadie Hamrin and Mazie Larsen, sophomore Chloe Gangnath and freshmen Anna Garner and Kendall Mansukhani. Johnston, Larsen and Mansukhani have each been a scoring runner once, while Garner was in the top five at the first two meets.
"Anna hasn't raced once this year as a freshman and not been in our top five," Capron said. "That would be pretty Herculean, but she's impressed me so far. Whoever ends up in that fourth and fifth slot is going to be really big and have a lot to say about where we end up on the ladies' side."
Since the team tries to group up in practice runs, "if we could translate that to the race, I think that would be really helpful," said Antrich, who was second on the team and 14th overall at the A&M meet.
While a spring cross-country schedule is still up in the air, this will be the final competition for Antrich, who will graduate in December with a degree in biology and has plans of becoming a nurse practitioner.
"It's kind of weird that all of my Baylor experience will end this week, for running," she said. "I think that just puts a little extra pressure on me and makes me want to do my best even more, because I want the four years of hard work that I've put into this program to pay off."
WACO, Texas – Baylor cross country will close the fall 2020 campaign with the Big 12 Cross Country Championships Friday at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kan.
"Any time you get to compete with our conference, it's exciting," associate head coach Jon Capron said. "We're excited to get the opportunity to race. We're excited to get on the Rim Rock course, which is great. Racing is exciting, because it's not promised in this season. Any time we get to travel and put ourselves up against our conference, we're excited to do it. We're as excited as ever and as prepared as ever."
The women's 6K will kick things off at 10 a.m. CT, with the men's 8K following at 11 a.m.
The Baylor women's team will consist of Lily Jacobs, Celia Holmes, Sarah Antrich, Mazie Larsen, Sadie Hamrin, Kendall Mansukhani, Anna Garner, Lauren Ammons, Chloe Gangnath and Madelaine Johnston.
On the men's side, the Bears will be taking on three USTFCCCA top-30 teams with a squad of Connor Laktasic, Cal Johnston, Jeremy Meadows, Philip Roxas, Zach Zawatski, Jackson Mazzei and Carson Yarbrough.
"On the ladies' side, there are some really good teams up top," Capron said. "We're going to be fighting for that 5-6 slot. The guys' side is going to be some tough sledding. We've got some that won't be available this weekend and that's going to make it tough. There are still some teams we can stay ahead of."
Friday's meet will be televised on delay via Big 12 Now on ESPN+, and live results will be provided by PrimeTime Timing.
For updates on Baylor cross country throughout the season, follow @BaylorTrack on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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