The Wildcats traveled north to Ames, Iowa, where the men’s and women’s cross-country teams competed in the NCAA Midwest Regional, marking the end of their season. Even so, both teams delivered strong performances. 

To start the day, freshman Joyce Kiptabut of the K-State women led the ‘Cats to the line in 21:01.2, just seven seconds off her personal best in the 6k. Junior Christine Jerono followed in 21:22.2, marking her first appearance in an NCAA postseason race. Sophomore Payton Fink finished nine seconds behind Jerono in 21:31.1, with senior Paige Baker finishing nine seconds behind Fink. 

The women’s team closed out the season with a 23rd-place finish. 

“I thought our ladies ran really well today, and we knew after conference that that wasn’t our best effort,” assistant coach Brent Ewing said. “We knew that we were better than that, and we had six of our seven girls come out today, and were within about five to 15 seconds of their PR.”

Just a short time after the women’s race concluded, the K-State men got their time to shine in the 10k. 

Max Larson solidified an incredible 2026 season with a 30:13.57, securing a 58th-place finish, putting him fourth all-time in K-State history and making him the fastest Wildcat since 2022. 

Junior Jackson Esquibel and sophomore Logan Beckman also had career days, with Esquibel running 30:20.17 to take the No. 5 spot in school history and Beckman running 30:36.5 to place No. 12 all time. 

Sophomore Dylan Plath and junior Brock Olsen rounded out the top five for K-State, helping propel the team to an 18th-place finish, the best finish for the team since the dominant 2022 team. 

“I’m incredibly proud of our men’s performance. They’ve shown a lot of drive all year to be the very best they can be.” Ewing said. “The chemistry within that group is rare and plays a big part in their success. I couldn’t have asked for a better season” 

While cross country is wrapped up, the running doesn’t stop — in two short months, the indoor track season kicks off Jan. 16.