MANHATTAN, Kan. The Kansas State men’s and women’s cross country teams will renew their in-state rivalries as the University of Kansas teams travel up the river on Friday, Sept. 7, to Warner Park in Manhattan. The women’s race will begin at 6:45 p.m. followed by the men’s race at 7:15 p.m. Both races are 5K distances.

Although this is an early meet in the season, head coach Michael Smith and the Wildcats are not taking this meet lightly.

“Our goal is to try and win,” coach Smith explains. “We wont back off to make that happen, we are not peaking for it in any way, but make no mistake we want to be as competitive as we can be in that meet. To us it is a Sunflower Showdown.”

Last Saturday the Wildcats kicked off their season at J.K. Gold Classic hosted by Wichita State. Both the men’s and the women’s teams captured second place overall. Freshmen Sydney Messick and freshman Anais Galan were the team’s top two runners during their inaugural meet as Wildcats. Messick finished third overall with a 4K time of 14:41 while Galan clocked in at 14:53, good for fourth place. The men’s competition was highlighted by the performance of Alex Umberger, who placed third overall with a 6K time of 18:39.

Last week the Jayhawks took first place in the men’s and women’s competition at the Bob Timmons Invitational in Lawrence, Kan. Sophomore Lauren Bonds, younger sister of K-State runner Morgan, led the Jayhawks with a third place finish overall. 

Awards will be given to the top 10 individuals in each race at 7:45 p.m. Results will be post at www.kstatesports.com as they become available.