Senior Aaron Caldwell and junior Lauren Jaqua have been two of the top competitors for the Baker University cross country team throughout their careers, and the pair struck again Friday and Saturday.
Caldwell broke the school record in the 8,000-meter run with a time of 25:34 Saturday at the Rim Rock Farm Classic in Lawrence. He had an average mile time of 5:08.
Jaqua led the Wildcats by finishing fifth overall Friday at the Emporia State Planet Sub Invitational with a time of 18:28 in the 5,000-meter race.
Sophomore Kerry Kurta and juniors Ashley McBride and Megan Rosa joined Jaqua in the top 20, helping lead the Wildcats to a second-place finish at Emporia. Fort Hays State University was the only team to finish ahead of the Wildcats.
McBride, Kurta and Rosa packed together during the race finishing 14th, 16th and 19th respectively.
Senior Lindsey Brown finished 31st with teammates Jenna Stranbrough following in 38th-place and senior Dana Loveland finishing 71st.
After the women’s performance Friday, the No. 25 men’s team finished tenth Saturday in the Rim Rock Classic only behind NCAA Division I teams.
Freshman Jeremy Bryan surpassed the previous 8,000-meter race record as well finishing four seconds behind Caldwell.
Seniors Eric Larson and Taylor Nall also finished in the top 100 with times of 26:04 and 26:22, respectively.
Freshman Justin Bryan, who finished as the Wildcats No. 3 runner in both of Baker’s previous meets, was unable to compete Saturday due to a foot injury. However, the Wildcats were still able to contribute a team average of 26:13.
The men’s and women’s team will compete in the Haskell Invitational Oct. 6 in Lawrence. The race will be the second to last meet before the Wildcats compete in the Heart of America Athletic Conference Championships in Lamoni, Iowa.
