2024-25 Men's XC and Track & Field

[1972Shocker]

Definitely a lot to like with this men's recruiting class not to mention Yared Kidane making his official Shocker debut after redshirting last year.

I really like how Coach Hetzendorf has reloaded his throws group which was not particularly strong last year plus I am assuming he will have Ridge Estes back who did not compete in the 2023-24 indoor season and only competed unattached in the discus in 1 outdoor meet last year. Not sure what was behind him sitting out last year but I'm thinking some kind of injury. If that's the case is he fully recovered?

Looks like the Shocks potentially could be very strong in the long jump and triple jump and they signed a strong high school high jumper to replace All-American Brady Palen.

In addition to helping out in the horizontal jumps Asher Buggs-Tipton appears capable of stepping right in an competing well against Josh and Jason Parrish in the hurdles in addition the Joseph Holthusen's younger brother Luke joining the hurdle group. Just in terms of airport presence Luke appears to be perhaps a little better/bigger athlete than Joseph but he will have to go some to match big bros grit and determination.

[1972Shocker]

Kidane, Shockers Finish Fifth at Bradley Pink Classic

Wichita State's Yared Kidane led the Shocker men to a fifth-place team finish out of 29 teams at Friday afternoon at the Bradley Pink Classic.

Kidane, a redshirt-junior from Sweden, raced to a fifth-place individual finish over 8K, leading the Shocker men to their fourth-straight top-five Bradley Pink Classic team finish. He ran a personal-best 23:57.95, his first career sub-24-minute performance.

Kidane sat in 53^rd through the first 3K and moved up into the top 15 over the next 4K before running the fastest closing 1K of the day in 2:47.95 to pass six people and finish fifth.

Cesar Ramirez and Adrian Diaz Lopez finished 40^th and 41^st, respectively, Diaz Lopez's first complete race since 2022, and Colin Graham and Riley Vandaveer rounded out the Shocker men's top five, finishing 64^th and 75^th.

The Wichita State men knocked off five regionally-ranked teams, including three Midwest programs. The unranked Shockers beat Midwest No. 10 Drake, Midwest No. 14 Bradley and Midwest No. 7 Illinois State, who finished sixth, eighth and 27^th, respectively.

Adam Rzentkowski, who is racing cross country unattached due to exhausted eligibility but will race in uniform during the track and field season, finished third.

The Shockers have one weekend off before hosting the American Athletic Conference Championships on Sat., Nov. 2 at Clapp Cross Country Course. No doubt Tulsa will be the heavy favorite.

---

Yared Kidane has been a surprising development for the Shocker XC team considering he was recruited as a middle distance guy. That middle distance training and background no doubt contributes to his closing kick.

[SubGod22]

Go Shockers - Kidane Tabbed AAC Athlete of the Week

Wichita State's Yared Kidane was named the American Athletic Conference Cross Country Men's Athlete of the Week following his performance at the Bradley Pink Classic.

The redshirt-junior from Sweden raced to a fifth-place individual finish in Peoria, Ill., running a personal-best 8K time of 23:58.0 to lead the Shockers to a top-five team placement.

This marks Kidane's second top-five individual finish of the season and third-consecutive personal-best time.

A mid-distance specialist during the track and field season, Kidane has led the Wichita State men in every cross country race this season.

Kidane and the Shockers are set to race in the AAC Cross Country Championships at home in Wichita on Saturday, Nov. 2 at Clapp Cross Country Course.

[SubGod22]

The American - American Cross Country Championships Rescheduled for Friday in Wichita

The 2024 American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships have been rescheduled to Friday, November 1 in Wichita, Kansas.

The women’s 6K race is scheduled for 5:05 p.m. ET/4:05 p.m. CT with the men’s 8K race to follow at 5:50 p.m. ET/4:50 p.m. CT. The meet will air live on ESPN+.

The 2024 event was originally slated for Saturday, but severe weather expected in Wichita forced a move to Friday.

[1972Shocker]

Quite a human interest story. Can't help but cheer for this guy.

RH: Diaz Lopez Determined to Help WSU in AAC Meet

Adrian Diaz Lopez is happiest when running long distances. When injuries took that joy for almost two years, he substituted loading drinks on the bus, food runs and cheering for teammates.

He did so much teammates nicknamed him "Sherpa," for the famous mountain guides.

"All year, when he's not competing, he's at the meets working pole vault for hours," Wichita State distance coach Kirk Hunter said. "He continually told us last year 'Work me as much as you can, because I have to contribute somehow. Tell me what I can do to help.'"

Diaz Lopez is running again, although the injuries to his foot limit his training and fitness. He ran his first cross country meet of the fall on Oct. 18 at Bradley and placed 41^st. He finished his first complete race since 2022 with a time of 24 minutes, 32.30 seconds in the 8-kilometer race.

On Friday, Wichita State competes in the American Athletic Conference Championship at Clapp Cross Country Course. The women's race begins at 4:05 p.m. with the men's race at 4:50.

While struggling through the injuries, Diaz Lopez drew inspiration from his parents. Maria, his mother, died in 2016 from cancer. Javier, his father, is a cancer survivor.

"The last time I saw her – I came back from winning a cross country race – and she told me 'You're the best runner and I know you can be the best,'" he said. "She is watching me, and she knows that I can do it."

Diaz Lopez, a junior from Cazorla, Spain, felt compelled to contribute to the team when not running to pay back what he gets from the track and field. His injury problems began late in the 2023 indoor season. He competed sporadically that spring. He did not compete in 2023-24.

"Wichita State has given me everything I need to succeed," he said. "I can always help with my experience running and in life. I can help the help the trainer, the coaches, the team. I'm injured, but they are taking care of me. I like to give everything for my people."

He credits Wichita State with improving his academics – he carries a 3.6 grade-point average and will graduate in December with degrees in business administration and marketing. Then he will work on his master's degree in business analytics. While his goal is to run professionally and make Spain's Olympic team, he plans on returning to Cazorla to continue his family's restaurant business.

"Running changed my life," he said. "Running allowed me to come to the U.S. Running allowed me to have a really good GPA."

A year ago, teammate Yared Kidane needed reassurance when he couldn't run for Wichita State in 2023-24 due to eligibility issues. He strongly considering leaving school and returning to Sweden. Diaz Lopez helped convinced him to trust Shocker coaches and stay. Kidane, who ran against Diaz Lopez in junior college, is Wichita State's top runner.

"Good teammate," Kidane said. "When he told me everything was going to be all right, everything was all right."

Diaz Lopez aims to finish in the top 15 in the meet to earn all-conference honors and add that to a ninth-place finish in 2022 with a time of 24:12.8. In 2023, he volunteered to run the 10,000 at the AAC outdoor meet for the first time that season. While shorter distances are his specialty, he finished second to help the Shockers to the team title.

"You can tell when they're passionate," Hunter said. "He's somebody you would never count out. It's Adrian. You don't count him out."

Diaz Lopez is excited to wear the yellow jersey that the Shockers traditionally wear in championship meets. He has worn that jersey in three AAC meets as a Shocker and earned all-conference honors each time. He is excited to run at home in front of fans and teammates.

"On Friday, I'm ready to give everything that I have," he said. "I don't know what's going to be next. Every race I try to finish with everything. Be empty."

[1972Shocker]

Wichita State placed fourth in the men's team competition as Tulane ended the Tulsa men's 10-year run on the top of the podium in a tiebreaker win.

Redshirt-junior Yared Kidane was the first Shocker across the line in the men's 8K race, finishing 21^st with a time of 25:00.5.

"It was the hardest 8K race of my life. The first 2K was strong, but the last 4K, I was dead," Kidane said. "But we did well as a team getting fourth."

The Wichita State men have now finished in the top five as a team in all eight AAC Cross Country Championships.

Four of the Shockers' top five finished in the top 30 with Adrian Diaz Lopez finishing a few seconds behind Kidane in 23^rd (25:04.6), Cesar Ramirez taking 27^th (25:10.0) and Jonah Allison finishing 28^th (25:12.5). Colin Graham completed the scoring five with a 36^th-place finish (25:22.7).

"Our top six men competed at a really tough level today," Hunter said. "They were battling in there."

https://goshockers.com/news/2024/11/1/cross-country-bertry-named-all-conference-shocker-men-place-fourth-at-aac-championships.aspx

[SubGod22]

[1972Shocker]

SHOCKER MULTI PREVIEW - WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4TH & 5TH - HESKETT CENTER - 1:30 PM START (WOMEN'S PENTATHLON STARTS AT 1:00 PM THURSDAY)

Four Shocker men will compete in uniform at the 2024 Shocker Multi. Rounding out the field of 12 is an athlete from D-2 Southern Nazarene plus athletes from an assortment of NAIA schools.

The big news for the Shockers is that Adria Navajon the 3-time defending AAC heptathlon champion and a 2-time AAC decathlon champion has apparently taken his talents to Nebraska for his final collegiate season. That's a major blow to the Shocker men's team. The Shockers simply can't compete with Nebraska's facilities and NIL bags.

After earning all-conference recognition at the 2024 AAC Indoor Championships, senior Hudson Bailey will compete in his first heptathlon of the season. Bailey won the Shocker Multi heptathlon in 2022 and placed second in 2021 and 2023 and holds a personal best of 5,186 points from last year's Shocker Multi.

Sophomore Luke Czarnecki will also compete in the Shocker Multi heptathlon, as well as freshman Rikard Trogen-Hedin, out of Sweden, and sophomore Holden Atwood, a Okie State transfer, who will be making their Shocker debuts. Junior Luke Porter, who as the 2nd best heptathlon PR on the Shocker roster at 4752 is not competing in this meet.

I am particularly interested in how the freshman Rikard will fare. He won gold in the 2024 Swedish U20 Championship Decathlon…Also competed in biathlon, cross country skiing, handball, floorball and soccer. Apparently, floorball is a skateless version of whiffle ball hockey.

[ShockTalk]

I couldn't watch much of that.

I don't mind some of these new sports. My wife plays a lot of pickleball, and I also find it fun to watch on TV. However, so many of them are unwatchable.

By the way, no, I don't play pickleball. I used to play a lot of racquetball and was one those types who dove for shots and bounced off the walls. Unfortunately, my days of diving for balls are over, but if I played pickleball, I know I'd end up with my face planted on the floor. Probably because I'd trip over my own feet.

[SubGod22]

I was the pickleball king of my PE class in high school. Haven't played since then I don't think.

I'm not diving for **** these days.

[1972Shocker]

Shocker Multi Heptathlon - Day 1:

After 4 events 60m, long jump, shot put and high jump the Shocks hold down the top 3 spots:
1. Sr. Hudson Bailey - 2,989
2. So. Luke Czarnecki - 2,933
3. Fr. Rikard Throgen-Hedin - 2,751

I think Hudson and Luke both have a good shot at setting new PRs. 5,300 is possible for Hudson and 4.950 perhaps is reachable for Luke. The freshman from Sweden hung in their with the leaders over the first 3 events trailing Hudson by only 31 points but he dropped off the pace only clearing 5-8 in the high jump vs 6-8 for Luke and 6-5.5 for Hudson.

Sophomore Holden Atwood withdrew after clocking a decent 7.24 in the 60.

[1972Shocker]

Shocker Multi Heptathlon - Day 2:

The heptathletes finished off with 60m hurdles, pole vault and the 1000m run. The Shocks maintained their positions from Day 1 finishing as follows:
1. Sr. Hudson Bailey - 5,317
2. So. Luke Czarnecki - 5,076
3. Fr. Rikard Throgen-Hedin - 4,935

So both Hudson and Luke exceeded the targets I set after Day1 and both set new PRs. Hudson by 131 points and Luke by 371 points. Since it was he first collegiate meet freshman Rikard also established a new PR with a very respectable 4,935 point effort.

Rikard actually tied for the most 1st place finishes bookending the event with wins in the 60m dash and the 1000m run and tying Hudson for the top mark in the pole vault. Hudson also won the long jump and the 60m hurdles. Rikard's weakest event by far was the high jump he was just so-so in the long jump and the 60m hurdles. But all-in-all a nice debut for the freshman from Sweden.

Looking back at last year's AAC Indoor Championships it would appear that Rice So. Vincent Arousell will be the odds on favorite in the heptathlon with the Shockers' Adria Navajon transferring to Nebraska. Hudson might be able to push him a little bit. Luke's score and Rikard's scores would also be to 5 finishes in last years AAC Indoors.

Nice start to the season for this group.

[SubGod22]

[1972Shocker]

As a freshman at Crowder CC Kelvin Kipyego had PR's of 1:52.34 in the 800, 3:52.76 in the 1500, and 15:04.13 in the 5000. Those marks would have ranked 1st, a closed 2nd, and 3rd on the Shockers team last year although he has some improvement to do to move into scoring position in the AAC Championships. Calling Coach Hunter.

[WuDrWu]

As a freshman at Crowder CC Kelvin Kipyego had PR's of 1:52.34 in the 800, 3:52.76 in the 1500, and 15:04.13 in the 5000. Those marks would have ranked 1st, a closed 2nd, and 3rd on the Shockers team last year although he has some improvement to do to move into scoring position in the AAC Championships. Calling Coach Hunter.

Is this someone that is enrolling at semester or next season?