AUGUSTA, Kan. - The K-State cross country teams kicked off their 2008
seasons at the J.K. Gold Classic on Saturday, Sept. 6, with a pair of
first-place finishes.

On the sloppy R.A.F.T. Golf Course, due to rain, Kansas State runner
Beverly Ramos captured first in the women?s 4K race, while Silas
Kisorio of Oklahoma Christian crossed first in the men?s 6K race.

It was a dominating victory for the women?s team, which was lead by
Ramos with a time of 13:33.97, nearly 30 seconds ahead of the next
competitor. Following Ramos, a pack of Wildcat runners crossed the line
in places three-four-five-seven, -Liliani Mendez, Megan-Anne Perrin,
Emily Dittemore, Emilee Morris- proving a wide spread victory over
second-place team and host Wichita State.

?Beverly is an All-American in the steeplechase, so you would expect her
to compete at a pretty high level in cross country,? said head coach
Michael Smith. ?She showed a great deal of competitiveness today and
ran by herself largely the entire race. She took the race over after 1K
and never looked back.?

Competing in her first collegiate event freshman Emilee Morris finished
seventh with her best 4K time of 14:34.21 to date. Megan-Anne Perrin
bettered her time a year ago at this meet by one minute, showing Smith
that his women?s team?s hard work over the summer is just beginning to
pay off.

?I was very excited to see her (Megan-Anne Perrin) run the way she did.
She ran a minute slower here last year and that is what a summer of
good hard training will do for you,? said Smith. ?For Emilee Morris to
come from being a high school senior and come in and run this well this
early is great for us.?

Following the women?s race, the men finished with an overall score of 38
to earn first in the 6K race. A race virtually between Wichita State
and the Wildcats, the men found themselves trailing the Shockers with a
mile to go. With a late serge by senior Danny Schneider and sophomore
Taylor Coate in the closing 200 meters, the Wildcats? finished with a
three-point advantage.

?It was raining throughout the race, the course was all torn up from
previous races, and I thought our men ran really well,? said Smith.
?With Colin (Swaney) not running we were looking for some of younger
guys to step up and they did. Tyler (Fennema), Kevin (Edwards), and
Taylor (Coate) showed a little bit of maturity today and I was happy to
see that and it is encouraging to see Danny (Schneider) and Alex
(Umberger) to run up front.?

Schneider ran a 6K time of 19:17.62 to capture his first victory of his
college career. Senior Alex Umberger continued his success by starting
the season with a fifth-place overall finish and a time of 19:37.24.
Kevin Edwards, Tyler Fennema and Taylor Coate rounded out the top-five
for the Wildcats and helping the average team time to 19:46.14.

K-State will continue action on Sept. 20, at the Woody Greeno
Invitational in Lincoln, Neb.

KSU Women?s Results Women?s Team Results
1. Beverly Ramos 13:33 1. Kansas State 20
3. Liliani Mendez 14:07 2. Wichita State 39
4. Megan-Anne Perrin 14:26 3. Southwestern College 84
5. Emily Dittemore 14:26 4. Oklahoma Christian 104
7. Emilee Morris 14:34 5. Hutchinson CC 148
13. Meg Gentry 15:20 6. Cloud County CC 165

KSU Men?s Results Men?s Team Results
2. Danny Schneider 19:17 1. Kansas State 38
5. Alex Umberger 19:37 2. Wichita State 41
9. Kevin Edwards 19:50 3. Oklahoma Christian 65
10. Tyler Fennema 20:00 4. Southwestern College 80
12. Taylor Coate 20:05 5. Cloud County CC 149
21. Sam James 20:47 6. Hutchinson CC 160
30. Jason Collett 21:16

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