Friday, November 1
Waco, Texas
10:00 a.m.
Baylor
vs
Big 12 Championship
XC Begins Postseason at Home Hosting Big 12 Championships
10/31/2024 5:30:00 PM | Cross Country
First time hosting Big 12 Championships since 2019
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Nothing Ruth Kimeli has done as a freshman has surprised Baylor cross-country coach David Barnett.
Baylor's best bet at earning all-conference honors at Friday's Big 12 Championships at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course, Kimeli has recorded three top-15 finishes and placed eighth in a loaded field at the Gans Creek Classic last month in Columbia, Missouri.
"I knew she was talented," Barnett said of Kimeli, Baylor's lead runner in the three meets where she competed this fall. "I coached her sister at Auburn (two-time cross-country All-American Joyce Kimeli) and her brother (Patrick Kimeli) is a professional runner. They don't just have all the physical traits, they have the mental traits for it. They expect to be at the front of races.
"You never know exactly when the potential is going to show up. It's always a nice surprise when it happens. But I was always confident that she'd be able to be a really good runner for us."
Coming off an 11th-place finish at Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitatonal, where she ran a 6K time of 19:37.8, the freshman Kenyan and a young Baylor squad will go up against some of the best teams in the country in top-ranked BYU, No. 4 West Virginia, No. 6 Utah and No. 18 Oklahoma State.
"On the women's side, you have a little bit more of a true low stick in Ruth," Barnett said. "She has the ability to be anywhere from top 25 to top 10, depending on the day. . . . In our conference, there's going to be someone who's not in the top 15 (all-conference) who is All-American at the national meet. I would love to see her in the top 25, for sure. And if she would be all-conference, whether that's 15th or 10th, for a true freshman, that would be a really big deal to be in conversation for that."
At the Arturo Barrios, the Baylor women placed 18th in a 41-team field, beating conference foes Arizona State, TCU and Houston. Freshman Ella Perry from Harker Heights has been a consistent No. 2 runner on a team that includes grads Jackie Addy and Anna Garner and seniors Jordan Ledington, Cate Urbani and Alaina Zamorano.
"We have a really good pack of upperclassmen that are kind of in our 3-6 spots," Barnett said. "I think we have a really good No. 1, and then I think by committee, I think our pack can get over the hump and beat some good people. We're trying to ask people to be the best versions of themselves, no matter what that is."
Rounding out the women's lineup for the Big 12 Championships, which starts with the women's 6K race at 10 a.m., are freshman Clara Diepenbrock, sophomore Kat Helmer and senior Rosanna Pugh. Baylor hasn't had an all-conference cross-country runner since 2017, when Anna West and Lindsey Bradley finished 2-3 on the women's side and Devin Meyrer was 12th in the men's 8K race.
Perry has "really been thriving in having some faster women around her and being pushed," Barnett said. "For a true freshman, she's doing really well."
Wisconsin transfer Nick Hruskoci has been a steady No. 1 for the Baylor men, while sophomore Nolan Keenan and freshman Jack Sterrett from nearby Midway High School "have been the two guys that have kind of been putting themselves up there, because it's long races, and it's not easy."
The rest of the Baylor men's lineup includes freshman Caden Biltz, sophomores Ben Archer and Aiden Ramshaw, junior Caleb Ackman and senior Devin Duran.
"For the guys, I feel like the name of the game is to pack up as well as possible, and then just keep moving up the ladder," Barnett said. "It's a very young team on the men's side, but I think they're improving and they're getting comfortable with the distance. Hopefully, they'll be able to pack up and beat some teams."
The field for the men's 8K race is loaded as well, with Oklahoma State No. 1, BYU No. 2, fourth-ranked Iowa State, No. 24 Colorado and 30th-ranked Texas Tech.
WACO, Texas – Baylor cross country welcomes schools across the conference to the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course for the Big 12 Cross Country Championship on Friday morning, Nov. 1. The women will compete in the 6k starting at 10 a.m., followed by the men running the 8k circuit at 11 a.m.
This will be the first time since 2019 and the fourth time in program history Baylor has played host to the Big 12 XC Championship.
With the Big 12 Conference's new additions this year, there will be 14 teams in the mix for the 2024 title. So far this season, the Bears have competed against Arizona State (women), Colorado (women), Houston, Kansas (men), Kansas State, TCU and Texas Tech during the regular season.
Baylor is coming off a successful final regular season meet at the Arturo Barrios Invite in College Station, Texas where freshman Ruth Kimeli continued to make her mark. Kimeli earned her third consecutive top-15 finish at the Arturo Barrios Invite, finishing in 11th place with a personal-best time in the 6k at 19:37.8. The team left College Station with 13 new PB times in the 6k and 8k.
If Kimeli continues her streak of finishing in the top-15, she will earn a spot on the All-Big 12 team and become the first women for Baylor to do so since 2017.
THE LINEUP
Women's 6k: Jackie Addy, Clara Diepenbrock, Anna Garner, Kat Helmer, Ruth Kimeli, Jordan Ledington, Ella Perry, Rosanna Pugh, Cate Urbani, Alaina Zamorano
Men's 8k: Caleb Ackman, Ben Archer, Caden Biltz, Devin Duran, Nick Hruskoci, Nolan Keenan, Aiden Ramshaw, Jack Sterrett
Both men and women will face off against a stacked field, as the Big 12 boasts the top two men's programs in the latest USTFCCCA Division I Coaches Poll and three of the top four teams with Oklahoma State at No. 1, BYU at No. 2 and Iowa State at No. 4. Colorado (No. 24) and Texas Tech (No. 30) added two more teams in the men's top-30 rankings for the Conference. In the women's poll, the league is represented by No. 1 BYU, No. 4 West Virginia, No. 6 Utah and No. 18 Oklahoma State. The Big 12 is the only conference entering conference championship weekend to have multiple teams ranked in the top five in each of the polls.
During the 2023 Championship, the Bears ran in Ames, Iowa at the Iowa State Cross Country Course with Ryan Hodge leading the Bears finishing in spot 46, while Hayden Gold piloted BU women in spot 63. Overall, Baylor women finished 14th and men in 12th.
There will be a live broadcast of the race on ESPN+ on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. commentated by Pete Sousa and John Nownes.
Admission is free to the event. Spectator parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis in the parking lot of Waco ISD Stadium.
- BaylorBears.com -
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Nothing Ruth Kimeli has done as a freshman has surprised Baylor cross-country coach David Barnett.
Baylor's best bet at earning all-conference honors at Friday's Big 12 Championships at Cottonwood Creek Golf Course, Kimeli has recorded three top-15 finishes and placed eighth in a loaded field at the Gans Creek Classic last month in Columbia, Missouri.
"I knew she was talented," Barnett said of Kimeli, Baylor's lead runner in the three meets where she competed this fall. "I coached her sister at Auburn (two-time cross-country All-American Joyce Kimeli) and her brother (Patrick Kimeli) is a professional runner. They don't just have all the physical traits, they have the mental traits for it. They expect to be at the front of races.
"You never know exactly when the potential is going to show up. It's always a nice surprise when it happens. But I was always confident that she'd be able to be a really good runner for us."
Coming off an 11th-place finish at Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitatonal, where she ran a 6K time of 19:37.8, the freshman Kenyan and a young Baylor squad will go up against some of the best teams in the country in top-ranked BYU, No. 4 West Virginia, No. 6 Utah and No. 18 Oklahoma State.
"On the women's side, you have a little bit more of a true low stick in Ruth," Barnett said. "She has the ability to be anywhere from top 25 to top 10, depending on the day. . . . In our conference, there's going to be someone who's not in the top 15 (all-conference) who is All-American at the national meet. I would love to see her in the top 25, for sure. And if she would be all-conference, whether that's 15th or 10th, for a true freshman, that would be a really big deal to be in conversation for that."
At the Arturo Barrios, the Baylor women placed 18th in a 41-team field, beating conference foes Arizona State, TCU and Houston. Freshman Ella Perry from Harker Heights has been a consistent No. 2 runner on a team that includes grads Jackie Addy and Anna Garner and seniors Jordan Ledington, Cate Urbani and Alaina Zamorano.
"We have a really good pack of upperclassmen that are kind of in our 3-6 spots," Barnett said. "I think we have a really good No. 1, and then I think by committee, I think our pack can get over the hump and beat some good people. We're trying to ask people to be the best versions of themselves, no matter what that is."
Rounding out the women's lineup for the Big 12 Championships, which starts with the women's 6K race at 10 a.m., are freshman Clara Diepenbrock, sophomore Kat Helmer and senior Rosanna Pugh. Baylor hasn't had an all-conference cross-country runner since 2017, when Anna West and Lindsey Bradley finished 2-3 on the women's side and Devin Meyrer was 12th in the men's 8K race.
Perry has "really been thriving in having some faster women around her and being pushed," Barnett said. "For a true freshman, she's doing really well."
Wisconsin transfer Nick Hruskoci has been a steady No. 1 for the Baylor men, while sophomore Nolan Keenan and freshman Jack Sterrett from nearby Midway High School "have been the two guys that have kind of been putting themselves up there, because it's long races, and it's not easy."
The rest of the Baylor men's lineup includes freshman Caden Biltz, sophomores Ben Archer and Aiden Ramshaw, junior Caleb Ackman and senior Devin Duran.
"For the guys, I feel like the name of the game is to pack up as well as possible, and then just keep moving up the ladder," Barnett said. "It's a very young team on the men's side, but I think they're improving and they're getting comfortable with the distance. Hopefully, they'll be able to pack up and beat some teams."
The field for the men's 8K race is loaded as well, with Oklahoma State No. 1, BYU No. 2, fourth-ranked Iowa State, No. 24 Colorado and 30th-ranked Texas Tech.
WACO, Texas – Baylor cross country welcomes schools across the conference to the Cottonwood Creek Golf Course for the Big 12 Cross Country Championship on Friday morning, Nov. 1. The women will compete in the 6k starting at 10 a.m., followed by the men running the 8k circuit at 11 a.m.
This will be the first time since 2019 and the fourth time in program history Baylor has played host to the Big 12 XC Championship.
With the Big 12 Conference's new additions this year, there will be 14 teams in the mix for the 2024 title. So far this season, the Bears have competed against Arizona State (women), Colorado (women), Houston, Kansas (men), Kansas State, TCU and Texas Tech during the regular season.
Baylor is coming off a successful final regular season meet at the Arturo Barrios Invite in College Station, Texas where freshman Ruth Kimeli continued to make her mark. Kimeli earned her third consecutive top-15 finish at the Arturo Barrios Invite, finishing in 11th place with a personal-best time in the 6k at 19:37.8. The team left College Station with 13 new PB times in the 6k and 8k.
If Kimeli continues her streak of finishing in the top-15, she will earn a spot on the All-Big 12 team and become the first women for Baylor to do so since 2017.
THE LINEUP
Women's 6k: Jackie Addy, Clara Diepenbrock, Anna Garner, Kat Helmer, Ruth Kimeli, Jordan Ledington, Ella Perry, Rosanna Pugh, Cate Urbani, Alaina Zamorano
Men's 8k: Caleb Ackman, Ben Archer, Caden Biltz, Devin Duran, Nick Hruskoci, Nolan Keenan, Aiden Ramshaw, Jack Sterrett
Both men and women will face off against a stacked field, as the Big 12 boasts the top two men's programs in the latest USTFCCCA Division I Coaches Poll and three of the top four teams with Oklahoma State at No. 1, BYU at No. 2 and Iowa State at No. 4. Colorado (No. 24) and Texas Tech (No. 30) added two more teams in the men's top-30 rankings for the Conference. In the women's poll, the league is represented by No. 1 BYU, No. 4 West Virginia, No. 6 Utah and No. 18 Oklahoma State. The Big 12 is the only conference entering conference championship weekend to have multiple teams ranked in the top five in each of the polls.
During the 2023 Championship, the Bears ran in Ames, Iowa at the Iowa State Cross Country Course with Ryan Hodge leading the Bears finishing in spot 46, while Hayden Gold piloted BU women in spot 63. Overall, Baylor women finished 14th and men in 12th.
There will be a live broadcast of the race on ESPN+ on Saturday starting at 10 a.m. commentated by Pete Sousa and John Nownes.
Admission is free to the event. Spectator parking is available on a first-come, first-served basis in the parking lot of Waco ISD Stadium.
- BaylorBears.com -
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