Kentucky cross-country traveled to Missouri on Friday to compete in the Gans Creek Classic where Kentucky sophomore Ed Bird took home his first win of his collegiate career, finishing first in the men’s Division-I 8-kilometer, setting a new course record in the process.
Bird, a Dorchester, England, native, crushed the course record in his first race of the 2024 season by nearly 30 seconds, finishing with a time of 23:07.6. Bird also topped his former personal best of 24:11.7 by over a minute.
“I’m obviously ecstatic with Ed’s race,” assistant coach Hakon DeVries said to UK Athletics. “To win in his season opener, especially considering the quality of the field, was something really exciting for our team.”
The previous course record of 23:33.5 was set in the 2021 SEC Championship by Alabama’s Eliud Kipsang and was cleared by many as 15 runners finished under that mark in the race.
Included in that bunch was Kentucky freshman Collins Kiprop Kipngok, who bested that time by just half of a second, completing the race with a time of 23:33.0. Kiprop Kipngok, who hails from Nakuru, Kenya, finished fifteenth.
All 10 of Kentucky’s men finished with a personal best, including seniors Jackson Watts and Jack Pendergast, who rounded out the top 50 for the Cats, finishing 38th and 50th respectively with times of 23:58.2 and 24:07.7.
The field for the Gans Creek Classic, the site of the 2025 NCAA Division-I Cross Country Championships, was made up of 36 men’s teams and 40 women’s teams and featured nine ranked teams across the races such as Stanford, Florida and Tennessee.
Kentucky junior Ally Kruger finished seventeenth in the Division-I 6-kilometer with a time of 20:25.6, the best of the Wildcat women. Senior Phoebe McCowan, who finished 38th, also crossed the finish line in 20:52.9, marking her new personal best in the distance.
“Ally was very patient and really ran like a veteran,” DeVries emphasized to UK Athletics. “She moved up well through the race and closed great. Some of our women had off days, but our depth really showed and we still finished well.”
On the men’s side, No. 10 Stanford took home first with 31 points while finishing over Tennessee (163 points) by over 130. Auburn finished third with 167 points and Missouri grabbed fourth with 180. Bird’s time boosted Kentucky to a fifth place finish with 185 points.
The women’s Division-I 6-kilometer saw No. 8 Stanford finish first with 44 points, winning over No. 9 Tennessee (91 points). No. 26 Ole Miss (120 points), No. 6 Florida (131 points) and Georgia Tech (164 points) rounded out the top five. Kentucky took home ninth with 243 points.
“I’m excited about the direction our team is headed and I am already looking forward to our next chance to race,” DeVries said.
Kentucky will next travel to Peoria, Illinois, to compete in one more regular season meet this year on Oct. 18 at the Bradley Pink Classic. A few weeks later, the team will head down to Bryan-College Station, Texas, to begin postseason races at the SEC Championship on Nov. 1.
