LAWRENCE, Kan. Sophomore Liliani Mendez finished 15^th at the Big 12 cross country championships Friday, at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence. The product of Dorado, Puerto Rico, turned in a time of 21:47.48 on the 6K course while leading the Wildcats for the fifth-straight event.

“Liliani ran a good race in a field of competitive runners,” said head coach Michael Smith. “This is a very deep and experienced Big 12 field. (Mendez) continues to run solid in every race she competes in.”

Mendez improved on her 67^th-place finish from a year ago at the championships, beating her previous time by nearly two minutes.

Behind Mendez, K-State saw a solid individual performance by junior Morgan Bonds. The Hutchinson, Kan., native turned in a 60^th-place showing and a time of 23:19.48. Freshman Lindsay Pierson finished 70^th with a time of 23:39.07.

Alex Umberger led the Wildcat men’s squad for the first time this season, crossing the line at 26:27.30 with a 64^th-place finish. This is the first time Umberger, a sophomore from Maize, Kan., has finished as K-State’s top runner during his young career.

Both the Colorado men’s and women’s teams took the Big 12 titles home on Friday. This is the men’s 11^th-straight title and the women’s eighth-straight, last losing to Kansas State in 1998. K-State turned in a pair of 12^th-place finishes this season.

Colby Wissel of Kansas won the men’s 8K event with a time of 24:34.40, securing Kansas’ third-straight individual win at the conference meet. Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech won the women’s race by a margin of 45 seconds.

Men’s Results:                                   Women’s Results:

64. Alex Umberger         26:27.30         15. Liliani Mendez              21:47.48

69. Colin Swaney           26:42.30         60. Morgan Bonds             23:19.48

70. Kory Cool                26:43.10         70. Lindsay Pierson            23:39.07

83. Tyler Fennema         27:13.50         81. Meg Gentry                  24:02.24

87. Danny Schneider      27:30.10         85. Megan-Anne Perrin       24:37.25

97. Hiral Bhakta             28:17.90         98. Emily Dittemore           27:30.69

99. Curtiss Feltner         28:36.70