CHEYENNE, Wyo. (August 30, 2024) – Senior Kylie Simshauser ran the fastest 5k in Wyoming cross country history on her way to a first-place finish, junior Jacob White picked up first place and the Cowboys finished first, Cowgirls second, at the Wyoming Invite in Cheyenne, Wyo., Friday morning.

The Cowboys came first as a team in the men's 5k with 28 points. In second was Colorado State with 35 points, in third was 20th-ranked Colorado with 70 points and in fourth was Northern Colorado with 118 points. The scoring five finished in first, third, seventh, eighth and ninth place. This is the third year in a row the men finished first at the Wyoming Invite.

The Cowgirls finished second behind Colorado State, who received national votes, with 35 points. In third was the No. 26 nationally ranked Colorado with 89 points and Northern Colorado coming in fourth with 99 points. The women's scoring five finished first, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth place.

Cowgirls
Simshauser finished first overall in the women's 5k with a time of 17:14.0, a personal best and the fastest time in the Wyoming Invite since 2018, the year the meet moved to the Little America Golf Course. Her time also set the 5k program record, beating out Katelyn Mitchem's time of 17:15 set at the Wyoming Invite in 2022 (records kept since 1990).

"Kylie winning is awesome," said head coach Scott Dahlberg. "She has put in a lot of hard work, and I think it's great for her to see the fruit of that labor."

On Kylie breaking the course record, Dahlberg added, "There has been some really good girls who have run fast so I think that is going to be a huge confidence booster for her. When we get to these bigger races, she belongs toward the front."

Finishing next for the Cowgirls was senior Abigail Whitman at 18:02.5 for seventh place. In eighth place, senior Leah Christians crossed the line finishing at 18:12.5. Junior Madelyn Blazo finished ninth with a time of 18:15.9, a personal best time. Rounding out the scoring five was graduate transfer Marina Trave Ferrer finishing at 18:19.9 in her first collegiate 5k race.

Other finishers for the Cowgirls were junior Hailey Uhre coming in 12th with a time of 18:30.2, a personal best, junior Rozlyn Slichko with a personal best time of 19:13.3, junior Libby Berryhill-Worshek at a personal best 19:21.3, sophomore Taylen Stinson finishing with a time of 19:40.8, senior Riley Frankel running a personal best time of 20:31.6, junior Brooke Holzworth crossing the line at 20:25.1 and sophomore Muriel Jones with a personal best time of 21:18.3.

Cowboys
White ran the fastest men's time, crossing the line at 14:46.8, just 0.5 seconds off his 5k personal best. His time was also the fastest in the meet since he set his personal best at the 2022 Wyoming Invite.

Finishing third was senior Mason Norman with a time of 14:57.3, a personal best. Next for the Cowboys was senior Gus McIntyre, crossing the line seventh at 15:18.5. Senior Asefa Wetzel grabbed eighth with a personal best time of 15:20.1. To cap off the scoring five, junior Ryker Holtzen finished ninth with a time of 15:20.2, also a personal best.

"On the men's side, we saw some really good things. Really happy how the guys worked together and pushed," Dahlberg said. "Both teams were running on tired legs. We pushed them pretty hard the last couple of weeks. To come out here and know that they can push through that and still have success is really good to see."

On the men's side, senior transfer Dylan van der Hock came in 12th with a personal best time of 15:24.6, sophomore Riley Nedrow finished at 15:28.1 for 14th place, a personal best time, coming in at 15th was senior Trevor Stephen, crossing the line at 15:29.8, senior Mac Zastrow finished 17th with a time of 15:33.7, sophomore Jake Bach ran a personal best finish of 15:42.6, sophomore Austin Akers ran a time of 16:10.5, a personal best, sophomore Meyer Smith finished with a personal best at 16:58.2 and rounding out the Cowboy finishers was Oscar Goll with a time of 17:10.0.

Pokes are back in action for the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by Minnesota on Friday, Sept. 20, in St. Paul, Minn.

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