Mean Green XC Tallies Five Top-10 Finishes at JK Gold Classic

WICHITA, Kan. – Five UNT runners recorded top-10 finishes in their season debuts, leading both the men's and women's cross country teams to runner-up finishes in the team race Saturday at the JK Gold Classic in Wichita, Kansas.

A total of 10 student-athletes made their first starts of the season, including six who were competing for UNT for the first time in their careers.

The JK Gold Classic, which was hosted by Wichita State at the location of the 2024 American Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships, began with the men's 6K where Victor Neiva opened his senior season.

The two-time NCAA Championships qualifier led the Mean Green with an eighth-place finish and a time of 18:25.38. Connor Bartek and Logan Tauch followed close behind Neiva as they rounded out the top-10 individual finishers, while Matthew Norton claimed 13^th place and Iain Salter finished 52nd.

The women's side saw similar success led by transfers Betty Bajika and Ximena Lopez de Escalera. A former all-conference runner at West Texas A&M, Bajika took eighth in her first race for UNT, smashing her personal best in the 5K by nearly 25 seconds at 17:55.26. Memphis transfer Lopez de Escalera came in one spot behind Bajika as she also finished under 18 minutes.

Sophomores Trinity Trotter and Aditi Silwal provided solid finishes in the top 15 to help the Mean Green claim second in the team race. Trotter has drawn high praise from head coach Erik Stevens for her improvement during the offseason and showed it on Saturday, taking her personal best time from 18:41.6 last year to 18:16.06 in her first meet this season. The Mean Green also had London Culbreath take 27th place and Maggie Cuppett finish in 48th place in her first college 5K race.

"I thought we had a very solid performance today on both sides," Stevens said. "The men executed really well running very controlled through the first 3K and into 4K and just had a nice gentle push over the last 2K just as we had planned. It gives me some good insight on where we're at at the moment and where we can be moving forward. The ladies got a little excited early and were slightly ahead of our plan, but we were able to manage it really well and finish in a really solid position. I'm really excited for both of our groups moving forward."

UNT will continue its fast start to the season with a trip to College Station for the Texas A&M Invitational on Friday, Sept. 13.

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Mean Green XC Tallies Five Top-10 Finishes at JK Gold Classic

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Players Mentioned

Betty Bajika

Connor Bartek

London Culbreath

Maggie Cuppett

Ximena Lopez de Escalera

Victor Neiva

Matthew Norton

Iain Salter

Aditi Silwal

Logan Tauch

Trinity Trotter

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