The K-State men’s and women’s cross country teams traveled up north to Eugene T. Mahoney State Park in Ashland, Neb., for the Platte River Rumble Gold, where they made history on the course.  

The women opened the morning by dominating the 5k, claiming second through sixth for the Wildcats and securing the team win, 20 to 53, over Creighton. 

Two freshmen took charge, with Emma Baum finishing runner-up in her first-ever race in the purple and white with a time of 17:41, and freshman Joyce Kiptabut coming in third, two seconds behind her to secure her first podium. Christine Jerono and Mckenna Montgomery both went under 18 minutes to close out the top five. 

The men’s 6k followed with K-State sweeping the podium. Sophomore transfer Max Larson led the Wildcat men and took his first win with a time of 18:27. 

“Max really took control of the race with 1k to go and didn’t look back,” assistant coach Brent Ewing said.

Junior Jackson Esquibel was the K-State runner-up with a time of 18:32. Four seconds behind him, another junior, Brock Olsen, with a time of 18:36, rounded out the podium to help claim the 19-point win.

With both teams winning their respective races, the Wildcats made history by sweeping team wins at a meet for the first time since the Woody Greeno / Jay Dirksen Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., in September of 2022. 

“I anticipate our top five will look different from meet to meet and that’s a good problem to have,” Ewing said. “Our first goal of the season was to win the Platte River Rumble. We can walk away from this meet with confidence as we get back to a hard training block these next few weeks.” 

K-State heads to Columbia, Mo., for the second race of the season at the University of Missouri’s Gans Creek Classic on Sept. 25.