OSU Weekly All-Sports Release

Men's Cross Country

Last Week: at NCAA Cross Country Championships

Chuck Sloan finally received the honor that was missing from his trophy case - an All-America award in cross country. Sloan, who had won All-America honors in both indoor and outdoor track (distance medley relay once and 3,000-meter steeplechase twice), finished the NCAA Championships in 43rd place here at the IU Golf Course today.

His time of 31:23.00 in the 10-kilometer race was less than one minute, 17 seconds off the pace set by champion South Alabama's David Kimani. The top 44 runners of the 248 that competed at the meet received All-America honors. The Cowboys finished 16th as a team in their seventh straight appearance at the national meet. Arkansas won the team honors, while Wisconsin finished second.

Jerry Rainey, who was the second Cowboy to cross the finish line, completed the race in 21:55.60, good enough for 84th place.

Women's Cross Country

Last Week: at NCAA Cross Country Championships

For the second year in a row, Cowgirl Hanna Smedstad's finish in the NCAA Cross Country Championships has secured her status as an All-American. Smedstad placed 18th with a time of 17:13.90 in the 1999 national meet this morning in Bloomington, Ind. She improved from last year's 28th-place finish, with a time of 17:31.53 in the 5,000m run.

Last year's 28th-place finish gave Smedstad All-America honors. She was the first member of the Cowgirl Cross Country Team to receive such honors since 1989. She also received All-American status after her superb performance in the 1999 indoor track season.

The Cowgirl Cross Country team ended its season on Nov. 13, with a 16th-place finish at the 1999 District V Championships. Smedstad's third-place finish at Districts qualified her to compete in today's NCAA Championships. Her performance today marked the end of the cross country season. She, as well as the rest of the Cowgirl team, will now begin to prepare for the indoor track season, scheduled to begin Jan. 15.

Men's Basketball (2-0)

This Week: Tuesday at Arkansas-Little Rock, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday vs. North Texas, 8:05 p.m.
Last Week: Won at home vs. Global Sports, 91-63
Won at home vs. Appalachian State, 87-75
Won at home vs. Idaho, 81-50

OSU, ranked 23rd in the latest Associated Press poll and 25th in the preseason USA Today/ESPN poll, hits the road for the first time when the Cowboys visit Arkansas-Little Rock on Tuesday. It's a night of firsts for UALR: The Trojans are opening their season, it's the first game for new head coach Sidney Moncrief (a star player on Eddie Sutton's best Arkansas teams), and UALR is playing its first game in the new Alltel Arena.

Oklahoma State has perhaps its most experienced roster ever, with six scholarship seniors, and last week, the Cowboys started five seniors in their season opener for the first time on record. 6-5 swingman Desmond Mason has been tabbed as a preseason All-America and All-Big 12 selection, point guard Doug Gottlieb led the nation in assists last year and holds or shares every OSU and Big 12 record in that category. The Cowboys have won 22 or more games in each of the past two years and reached the NCAA Tournament's second round those seasons as well.

Women's Basketball (2-1)

This Week: Sunday vs. Tulsa at Norman, Okla., 6 p.m. Monday vs. Oral Roberts in Norman, Okla., 6 p.m.
Last Week: Won at home vs. Northern Iowa, 73-55
Lost on the road vs. Illinois, 77-62
Won at home vs. Lamar, 68-49

Oklahoma State will take nine days off for the Thanksgiving holiday before returning to the court on Sunday, Nov. 28, at 6 p.m. in Norman, Okla., in the Bertha Teague Memorial Classic vs. Tulsa. The Cowgirls then play Oral Roberts at 6 p.m. on Monday in Norman, Okla.

The Cowgirls are 2-1 after a busy week of basketball last week. OSU defeated Northern Iowa 73-55 in the first round of the Women's NIT tournament on Monday night, but they were eliminated from action with a 77-62 loss to Illinois on Wednesday. Finally, the Cowgirls capped the week with a 68-49 triumph over Lamar on Friday afternoon.

Equestrian

Last Week: at West Texas A&M 1st/6

Oklahoma State's Cowgirl Equestrian team closed out its fall western season by winning all three shows at the West Texas A&M western show last Friday and Saturday in Canyon, Texas.

Oklahoma State also ends the fall season leading the regional points in both the western and hunt seat divisions. The Cowgirls lead the hunt seat by 11 points and the western competition by 13 points.

Lara Phillips and Trista Armstrong led the Cowgirls on the weekend, winning reserve high point honors in the first show and the second show, respectively. Both Phillips and Armstrong also won their classes in the show.

Several other Cowgirls received top honors in their classes for the shows, including Megan Walentine, Casie Cavanaugh, who won their classes twice over the weekend. Amy Eastty, Stacey Sullivan, Erika Wint, and Kristen Thomas also placed first in their respective classes.

The Cowgirls will return to action January 29, 2000 as they travel to Nashville, Tenn. to compete in the Tournament of Champions Hunt Seat Invitational.

Football (4-5 Overall, 2-4 Big 12)

This Week: Saturday at Oklahoma, 2 p.m.
Last Week: Won on the road vs. Baylor, 34-14

Oklahoma State wraps up the 1999 regular season with a Thanksgiving weekend battle with Oklahoma in Norman. The stakes are clear for the Cowboys. A win gives OSU a bowl-eligible sixth win and would also give the Pokes a fourth win over their state rivals in the last five years.

Oklahoma State and Oklahoma are meeting on the final weekend of the regular season for the first time since 1984. It's only fitting that these long-time rivals square off in the final game. From 1944 through 1974, OSU met the Sooners on the final regular-season Saturday. Nine of those games were even played on the first Saturday in December. Since 1975, Oklahoma has been OSU's final regular-season opponent just five times.

If Oklahoma State can defeat Oklahoma on Saturday afternoon, it would mark the first time since 1988 the Cowboys closed out a regular season with three straight wins. In '88, OSU defeated Kansas, Iowa State and Texas Tech (in Tokyo) to close out the regular season and went on to defeat Wyoming in the Holiday Bowl.

Wrestling

This Week: Saturday at Oklahoma Open
Last Week: Won on the road vs. Missouri, 34-3

The Cowboy wrestling squad will take part in the Oklahoma Open this weekend in Norman. The wrestling team competed unattached on Saturday at the Cliff Keen Athletic Kickoff Classic and dominated the event, winning all ten weight classes, and Oklahoma State routed Missouri 34-3 in their first dual of the year.

The Cowboys extended their dual winning streak to 69 matches defeated Missouri 34-3 here Thursday night at the Hearnes Center Arena in Columbia, Mo. On Thursday the Cowboys picked up their first win of the season moving to 1-0 overall and 1-0 in Big 12 action. OSU also extended its consecutive dual winning streak to 69.

The Cowboys also continued its dominance of the Missouri Tigers. OSU now holds a 26-0 lifetime record in the series.

However, Missouri did manage to score, breaking a scoreless streak against OSU that dated back to the 1997 season. The Cowboys have now outscored the Tigers 115-3 over the past three seasons.

Dominating from the start, OSU won the first nine matches before Tony Gansen was decisioned 8-3 by Missouri's John Kopinsky.

OSU received major decisions from both Pat Popolizio at 184, and Charles Walker at 133. Sophomore Ty Wilcox also had a technical fall at 165. Dave Anderton, Mark Mu?oz, Shane Roller, Jerrod Sanders and Reggie Wright all picked up regular decisions.

The Cowboys will next be in dual action when the fifth-ranked Oklahoma Sooners travel to Stillwater for the 138th renewal of Bedlam wrestling.

Oklahoma State University Athletics