Halloween brought the scares to all. However, these scares didn’t impact the success of both cross country squads at the Big 12 Championship on Friday.

The men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Big 12 Championship in Lawrence, Kansas, and came home with team and individual wins Friday.

Women’s team continues decade of dominance

The women’s team won the Big 12 Championship for the eighth time in the last decade. This win showed the depth the Cyclones have in every age group and level. There were four Cyclone runners in the top 10 alone. They came off a fourth place finish last year and were eager to get it done in 2020.

Senior Cailie Logue was crowned the Big 12 Champion for the third year in a row. She also became a four-time All-Big 12 runner and is one of the only ones to do so.

Logue has carved a place for herself in Cyclone history, winning each meet she competed in this season.

Brenna Cohoon, a freshman on the Cyclone squad, ran a 21:11.5 to become the top finishing freshman. This finish continues to show the depth the program has in all age levels.

The women’s team took it upon themselves to use the three week period between the Cowboy Jamboree and the Big 12 Championship to prepare lightly so burnout would subside. This strategy worked for the Cyclone women who were able to run as a pack and keep each other together.

Tiebreaker defeat for the men’s team

As for the men’s competition, the 8k race ended in a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The Cyclone men ended up taking second place after a head-to-head tiebreaker was decided by the times of the top five runners from each team.

Wesley Kiptoo, in his first year as a Cyclone, was crowned the Big 12 Champion. He has individually won each meet this season as a newcomer. Kiptoo’s arrival to the Cyclone team has only surged the team effort.

Kiptoo’s run pushed the Cyclones out front as the race went on.

There were seven Cyclone runners in the top 15. Senior leadership stood tall through Mitchell Day, Milo Greder, Festus Lagat and Thomas Pollard.

With seniors exiting the team, there is depth with the likes of Chad Johnson, Kiptoo and Gable Sieperda, who all placed in the top 15.

Both cross country teams end their seasons for now.

The NCAA National Championship will be moved to the spring of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this overlaps with an already beginning indoor and outdoor track and field season, which has members of both cross country teams.

With a season full of COVID-19 procedures, change of schedules and more, both Cyclone cross country teams have locked down their skills and talents to become some of the top-scoring teams in the Big 12 and the nation.