Cross Country/Track & Field | 10/14/2025 11:15:00 AM

Fort Hays, KS - The men's and women's teams took to the campus of Fort Hays State University for the FHSU Tiger Open. On a warm breezy morning in Western Kansas the the Panther harriers had an up and down day. On the men's side 2 newcomers in Jayden Jones and Curtis Smilko ran nice personal best to help steady the ship on a tumultuous race for the men that saw 2 of the teams top 5 finish well back in the pack compared to usual. Levi Waring also had a stellar day helping push along the team. The freshman really stepped up and kept the team time from slipping more than it could have with the challenging performances for some of the usually steady front runners.

The women's side was a bit more exciting. Bethany Barger once again lead the team just missing her personal best time by 3 seconds. However, the real highlight was Melania Turaga running a season best time of 21:22 to earn her an individual spot at the National Championships in Fort Dodge, Iowa in a months time. Even though the women didn't score a full team again it was still a great race for the other ladies. Barbara Gurrola ran a season best along with Freshman Jazzlynn Vargas running a personal best time in the 5k.

Next up is a prep race for the Panthers at Baker University, Friday, Oct 17th. The meet will serve as a spring board as the Panthers head into post season competition at the Region Championships hosted by Colby Community College the following week.