Baylor XC Opens Postseason at Big 12 Championship
10/30/2025 11:11:00 AM | Cross Country
Sophomore Ruth Kimeli coming off top-10 finish at Arturo Barrios
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Baylor men's and women's cross-country squads will begin postseason on Friday with the Big 12 Championship at Rim Rock Farm, a storied course that has previously hosted conference and national championships.
Presented by Allstate, the meet will begin at 10 a.m. with the men's 8K race, followed by the women's 6K at 11 a.m.
"I think it's a great course; it's a true cross-country course," Baylor coach David Barnett said. "It's challenging, but you can still run pretty quickly on it. Lot of history on that course, so I'm definitely looking forward to it."
Going with the same lineup they used in finishing 27th at Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitational two weeks ago, the men will run sophomores Jack Sterrett and Caden Biltz, juniors Nolan Keenan and Straton Miller, senior Ethan Wrase and freshman Caleb McCarver and Amon Malakewen.
Sterrett has led the Bears in each of the first three meets, running a season-best time of 24:42.8 at the Arturo Barrios.
"We don't want to hang around and hope something good happens," Barnett said. "We want to make something good happen. I think the way we do that is, the top two or three people really need to be leaders, and you've got to take a little pressure off people that are running in the 4, 5 and 6 spots."
Bouncing back from a tough meet at the Gans Creek Classic, sophomore Ruth Kimeli recorded a top-10 finish at A&M, placing eighth individually with a 6K time of 19:44.1
"Missouri was a real rust-buster for her. She wasn't quite ready for that race yet," Barnett said of Kimeli, an NCAA Championship qualifier last year. "A&M was a big step in the right direction. I would love for her to be all-conference (top 15). In our conference, if you're all-conference, you have a chance to be All-American. It's that tough. I think she has enough experience now that she'll be able to mix it up with the people she wants to."
Joining Kimeli in the lineup for the women are sophomores Ella Perry and Sally Corder and freshmen Rachel Haws, Evanna Jacobsen, Mason Murray and Rickeisha Simms. The women placed 16th out of 38 teams at the Arturo Barrios and were 13th at last year's Big 12 meet, beating TCU, Houston and Arizona.
The toughest cross-country conference in the country, the Big 12 boasts four men's teams in the top 10 (1. Iowa State. 2. Oklahoma State. 5. Colorado. 8. BYU) and six women's teams in the top 20 (1. BYU. 6. Iowa State. 7. West Virginia. 11. Oklahoma State. 16. Colorado. 18. Utah).
After another two-week break, Baylor will compete in the NCAA South Central Regional in Fayetteville, Ark., on Nov. 14.
ESPN+ will provide a live stream for the Big 12 Championship starting at 10 a.m., with live results available at PrimeTime Timing.
For the latest news on the Baylor cross country team all year long, follow its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorTrack.
Presented by Allstate, the meet will begin at 10 a.m. with the men's 8K race, followed by the women's 6K at 11 a.m.
"I think it's a great course; it's a true cross-country course," Baylor coach David Barnett said. "It's challenging, but you can still run pretty quickly on it. Lot of history on that course, so I'm definitely looking forward to it."
Going with the same lineup they used in finishing 27th at Texas A&M's Arturo Barrios Invitational two weeks ago, the men will run sophomores Jack Sterrett and Caden Biltz, juniors Nolan Keenan and Straton Miller, senior Ethan Wrase and freshman Caleb McCarver and Amon Malakewen.
Sterrett has led the Bears in each of the first three meets, running a season-best time of 24:42.8 at the Arturo Barrios.
"We don't want to hang around and hope something good happens," Barnett said. "We want to make something good happen. I think the way we do that is, the top two or three people really need to be leaders, and you've got to take a little pressure off people that are running in the 4, 5 and 6 spots."
Bouncing back from a tough meet at the Gans Creek Classic, sophomore Ruth Kimeli recorded a top-10 finish at A&M, placing eighth individually with a 6K time of 19:44.1
"Missouri was a real rust-buster for her. She wasn't quite ready for that race yet," Barnett said of Kimeli, an NCAA Championship qualifier last year. "A&M was a big step in the right direction. I would love for her to be all-conference (top 15). In our conference, if you're all-conference, you have a chance to be All-American. It's that tough. I think she has enough experience now that she'll be able to mix it up with the people she wants to."
Joining Kimeli in the lineup for the women are sophomores Ella Perry and Sally Corder and freshmen Rachel Haws, Evanna Jacobsen, Mason Murray and Rickeisha Simms. The women placed 16th out of 38 teams at the Arturo Barrios and were 13th at last year's Big 12 meet, beating TCU, Houston and Arizona.
The toughest cross-country conference in the country, the Big 12 boasts four men's teams in the top 10 (1. Iowa State. 2. Oklahoma State. 5. Colorado. 8. BYU) and six women's teams in the top 20 (1. BYU. 6. Iowa State. 7. West Virginia. 11. Oklahoma State. 16. Colorado. 18. Utah).
After another two-week break, Baylor will compete in the NCAA South Central Regional in Fayetteville, Ark., on Nov. 14.
ESPN+ will provide a live stream for the Big 12 Championship starting at 10 a.m., with live results available at PrimeTime Timing.
For the latest news on the Baylor cross country team all year long, follow its official Facebook, X and Instagram accounts: @BaylorTrack.
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