Senior Baidy Ba placed fourth with a time of 23:57.8 in the men’s 8k race at the Mid-American Conference Champions in Muncie, Ind., Saturday. His effort earned him All-MAC First Team honors for the third season in a row despite injury concerns days prior.
Ba is the third KSU runner to earn three All-MAC First team honors.
The men’s team placed eighth out of nine teams. Last season, the team placed sixth out of nine teams.
The women’s team placed 11th out of 12 teams in the women’s 6k, one step up from they 12th place finish at the 2023 MAC Championships.
Even with Ba’s top performance, coach Laura Rybka said the men’s results were not all they had hoped.
“The men were mentally in it and unified in that way the whole time,” Rybka said. “But the race went out faster than we were prepared for, giving us places and times below what we were expecting.”
The second runner to cross the finish line for the men’s team was graduate student Ethan Yost, running a time of 25:41.8 for 44th place.
Rybka noted Yost and senior Jonah Cuestas, who placed 62nd with a time of 26:53.6, as having standout performances in this race.
“Yost took big risks at the beginning and also led the team very well going into the race,” Rybka said. “Cuestas ran the most confident I have seen him all year.”
On the women’s team, freshman Giada D’Agostino led the pack, finishing in 76th place with a time of 23:17.4.
“The mental fortitude and focus was huge for the women,” Rybka said. “D’Agostino has had a lot of setbacks the last few years, but her determination and fight to not give up has really shown through in her growth as a runner.”
Close behind D’Agostino in 78th place was senior Sydney Miller, running a time of 23:19.6. Junior Nicole Kuehner also ran sub-24 minutes at 23:53.3 for 88th place.
“Miller did a wonderful job of leading the team the last few days and making sure everyone was ready,” Rybka said. “Kuehner fought more than I have seen in competition, times don’t always tell the whole story.”
With the completion of the team’s first postseason meet, Rybka is staying positive using their results as a tool for improvement.
“This was not necessarily the result we hoped for, but I am also not discouraged,” Rybka said. “This season has been a lot of learning on many ends, and we will only be better because of it. Every result, good or bad, teaches us something, and I feel we are establishing the commitment and unity that leads to long term success not only on the course but in life.”
The Flashes’ next meet is Nov. 15 at the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals at Silver Creek Cross Country Trails in Norton, Ohio.
Rybka still believes her team has achieved a lot throughout the season and is excited to see what the NCAA regionals meet and track seasons bring.
“To me, success is doing the best we can do on any given day and I believe we’ve done that, Rybka said. “We are working to get better as a team, but that takes months and sometimes years. People could see this result as a negative thing, but for us, it was a success. This leaves us ready to focus in for regionals and track.”
Kailyn Tibolla is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].
