Rim Rock Farm is a special place for Kansas University cross country runner Colby Wissel.
Saturday, the senior conquered the course – and the competition – one last time in winning the Bob Timmons Invitational.
Prior to this weekend, the last time Wissel had raced Rim Rock was the 2006 Big 12 Conference cross country championship.
He won that race, too.
“It was kind of – I wouldn’t say it was emotional – but I definitely did think, ‘This is my last time competing for a team here,’ so it had a little extra meaning today,” said Wissel, who Saturday had a time of 25:49.97. “I was joking around that in my career I’ve had four wins here and three losses after today. So it was good to break .500.”
This year’s finish had a similar feel to the 2006 Timmons Invite, in that Wissel and fellow senior Paul Hefferon approached the finish line side-by-side.
Last year, Wissel told Hefferon to take the title. This time, Hefferon returned the gracious act.
“We could have tried to break each other at the end, and I guess for the fans that probably would have been more entertaining,” said Hefferon, who had a second-place time of 25:50.59. “Still, KU going 1-2 is something everyone can be excited about. I have good memories on this course, but Colby has as many, if not more, so he owns this. I feel like this course is as much a part of him as it is for me.”
Sophomore Bret Imgrund was the third Jayhawk runner to cross the line, finishing 10th in 26:50.97.
KU freshman Nick Caprario, who hails from Kearney (Neb.) High – also Wissel’s alma mater – scored a 17th-place finish in his first college race in 27:20.48.
“Nick is my Kearney boy,” Wissel said. “I thought he would be a pretty good runner for us, but I thought he would be more of a guy that kind of took his time to develop. He came out here today and competed very well, right away.”
Sophomore Lauren Bonds set the pace for the KU women’s squad with a third-place finish. KU won the women’s team title, too.
With a total of 53 points, the Jayhawks claimed their third secutive title at the Timmons event.
“I got a second wind for the last 200 meters,” said Bonds, who finished in 22:52.40. “It was nice just to get out there, and once I got tired I just held on for as long as I could.”
Alicia McGregor was the only other KU runner to place in the top 10. In her final race at Rim Rock, the senior finished eighth in 23:23.89.
Fellow senior Lisa Morrisey, an Ottawa High graduate, crossed in 23:49.91 to place 13th. She was followed by freshman Amanda Miller in 14th at 23:55.36 and senior Haley Harbert with a 15th-place time of 24:02.13.
Oral Roberts’ Faithy Kamangila won the women’s race in 22:16.72 and had two teammates in the top 10, but the Golden Eagles could only manage a third-place finish in the team results.
Former Eudora High runner Brittney Graff had an impressive start to her college career.
Competing as a freshman for Pittsburg State, the former Cardinal was the top Gorillas finisher with a 10th-place time of 23:43.90.
“I didn’t know what to expect at all,” Graff said.
“But I’m happy with 10th. This is my first college race, and it’s awesome that it got to be here at Rim Rock, back to a course that I’ve been on many times already.”
Pitt State came in second in the team results, finishing 42 points behind Kansas and 26 ahead of Oral Roberts.
