By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
HUTCHINSON – The Fort Hays State women’s cross country team came away victorious at the Terry Masterson Twilight Classic Thursday evening (Sept. 1), with Gretchen Kuffel winning the race by nearly 20 seconds. The men’s squad, meanwhile, placed second out of 15 teams after placing five runners in the top 15.
The women’s squad totaled 21 points in the team standings, with all five scorers placing in the top seven five out of 142 finishers. The men accumulated 50 points amongst the top five finishers, just two shy of first place Northwest Kansas Tech.
Kuffel was the first across the line in the three-mile race with a time of 17:39.1, just under 20 seconds faster than second place. Sophomore transfer Regan Hodsden was third in her Tiger debut, traversing the course in 18:14.6. Jaycee Vath was close behind in fourth with a time of 18:18.8, while Darian Hudgeons (18:39.6) and Elizabeth Fender (18:45.0) rounded out the Tiger scoring in sixth and seventh, respectively.
The men’s team was led by Grant Bradley, who finished third with a time of 19:49.1. Ethan Fisher also placed in the top 10, finishing ninth in 20:54.7. True freshman Lucas Cisneros finished 11th after crossing the line in 20:59.2, while Jaret Pfizenmaier placed 15th in 21:05.2. Transfer Cori DeBoest rounded out the scoring in his Tiger debut with a time of 21:15.2, good for 17th place.
The Tigers will next compete at the Southern Stampede on Saturday, September 17 in Joplin, Mo.
Full FHSU Women’s Results
1st – Fort Hays State – 21 points
1st – Gretchen Kuffel – 17:39.1
3rd – Regan Hodsden – 18:14.6
4th – Jaycee Vath – 18:18.8
6th – Darian Hudgeons – 18:39.6
7th – Elizabeth Fender – 18:45.0
16th – Emily Salmans – 19:14.7
17th – Brooke Navarro – 19:17.3
20th – Faith Little – 19:18.7
23rd – Ashlyn Harbaugh – 19:30.4
26th – Elka Billings – 19:52.1
31st – Hattie Lukert – 19:59.9
35th – Mya Navarro – 20:09.6
56th – Ursula Billings – 20:54.8
61st – Hannah Wiebe – 21:00.4
Full FHSU Men’s Results
2nd – Fort Hays State – 50 points
3rd – Grant Bradley – 19:49.1
9th – Ethan Fisher – 20:54.7
11th – Lucas Cisneros – 20:59.2
15th – Jaret Pfizenmaier – 21:05.2
17th – Cori DeBoest – 21:15.2
18th – Trever Medina – 21:19.4
22nd – Aaron Mangan – 21:28.7
24th – Ethan Lang – 21:29.3
33rd – Erick Estrada – 21:38.3
34th – Matthew Schrag – 21:40.1
39th – Javyn Contreras – 21:49.9
62nd – Ethan Emmons – 22:46.5
64th – Kaden Wren – 22:49.8