Cross Country

Big 12 XC Championship Set for Friday in Lawrence

The 2020 Big 12 Cross Country Championship is set for Friday, October 30, hosted by the University of Kansas at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence. The meet returns to Rim Rock Farm for the third time in league history and the first time since 2014.

The women’s 6K is set for a 10 a.m. CT start, followed by the men’s 8K at 11 a.m. CT. The awards ceremony takes place at Noon CT.

Friday’s meet will be available to watch on delay via Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Lincoln Rose and Johanna Gretschel will have the call. Live results will be available via Prime Time by clicking here.

This year’s men’s race features three ranked programs in the USTFCCCA Top-30 poll. Oklahoma State appears at No. 5 followed by Iowa State at No. 10 and Texas at No. 24. The three programs have finished amongst the top-three in each of the last four seasons. The Cyclones have won the last three Big 12 team titles since 2017.

In previous 8K events this fall, ISU’s Wesley Kiptoo placed first at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree on Oct. 3 with a time of 23:34.5. Oklahoma State’s Isai Rodriguez finished fourth amongst attached athletes with a run of 23:47.8 at the Oklahoma State Invitational on Oct. 17. Texas sophomore Haftu Knight won the Arturo Barrios Invitational in College Station (Oct. 17) with a pace of 23:52.1.

Texas is ranked 29th in the women’s poll to pace Big 12 teams entering the weekend. Oklahoma State is the defending champion after winning the title by two points over Texas in Waco last year.

Individually, Iowa State’s Cailie Logue aims to join Texas Tech alum and Olympian Sally Kipyego who won the Big 12 title three times from 2006 to 2008. Logue, who won the last two meets, captured the Cowboy Jamboree 6K on Oct. 3 with a pace of 20.38.6. Texas sophomore Beth Ramos finished first at the Arturo Barrios Invitational with a time of 20:23.8 in the 6K, while Oklahoma State’s Taylor Roe ran a pace of 20:38.4 for a second-place finish at the OSU Invitational.

Box assignments have been determined for the Championship and will be the same for both races: No. 1 Texas Tech, No. 2 Iowa State, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 6 West Virginia (women only), No. 7 TCU, No. 8 K-State, No. 9 Baylor and No. 10 Kansas.

A recap and photos of Friday’s Championship will be available at Big12Sports.com.