Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl Cross Country Kicks Off Season At UTEP Opener
August 31, 2000 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Aug. 31, 2000
STILLWATER, Okla.- For the second year in a row, Oklahoma State's women's cross country team will kick off its season at the UTEP Opener in Santa Teresa, N.M.
The Cowgirls will run the 2.8 mile (4.5 km) race at 5:45 p.m. Friday night.
The majority of the Cowgirls' regular season races will be a distance of 5,000m.
"I think it is going to be interesting to see what the girls do at this race," said Catrina Acosta, head coach. "I like it that we will be running a strange distance. This way, the girls can't compare their times in this meet to the times that they have been running in practice."
Seniors Araceli Davila and Sara Wells return as the top contenders to represent OSU this weekend. They will run with several sophomore returners and the 11 new freshmen who have been added to the team.
However, Sophomore Alexandra Lindquist, who was the 1998 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, will not be competing this weekend.
"Alex just ran in the Swedish Championships last weekend and I want her to have some time to mentally prepare for cross country season. Her absence will require some freshmen to step up and compete for a spot among the top five," Acosta said.
According to Acosta, many of the freshmen are capable of running on the heels of Davila and Wells.
"Practice has been very exciting. I am looking forward to seeing the results on Friday. Every single one of the new freshmen are running very well. I don't know who is going to step up and run in the top spots. This is a nice position to be in - with everyone running so well.
"We're going to go out and do our best. This is an opportunity to determine our level of fitness," Acosta said.
