Minneapolis ? Juniors Colby Wissel and Paul Hefferon scored top-20 finishes to guide the Kansas University men’s cross country team to a ninth-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational.

The women’s squad placed 23rd in the 31-team field.

Wissel, the Big 12 runner of the week for Sept. 13, ran the challenging 8k race in a time of 24:54. Hefferon followed closely on his heels, finishing in 25:05. Senior Benson Chesang, in his first race of the year, placed 44th in a time of 25:45.

“We need to keep training hard with the intention of performing our best at the end of the season,” said KU senior Erik Sloan, who finished 109th. “Unfortunately, this race was a rude awakening for the competition we will face for the rest of the season.”

Juniors Lisa Morrisey and Melissa O’Rourke paced the women’s squad, placing 100th and 114th in the 5k race.

“Our expectations were to do better,” coach Stanley Redwine said. “This was not a great meet for us.”

The Jayhawks have a three-week layoff until they return to the course Oct. 14 in Terre Haute, Ind., for the NCAA Pre-Nationals.