Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Prepare For Big 12 Indoor Championships
May 16, 2003 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
The meet, which is at the Harry Hoak Track in the Lied Recreation Athletic Facility, is Friday and Saturday. Both track and field events start at noon Friday, while field events start at noon and track events at 1 p.m. Saturday.
OSU coach Dick Weis said the Cowboys should have a strong outing this weekend despite being such a young team.
"The kids are running well," Weis said. "They've been practicing well. Like I've said all along, they're a young team. Chuck Sloan and David Greenshields are our only seniors. They rest are mainly freshmen and sophomores. We're looking for a good performance from the team."
At the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 12, Sloan, who has already provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in the mile, reach the provisional mark for the 3,000m race as well. Sloan finished third in the invitational race with a time of 7:58.54. Clyde Colenso from South Africa won the race in 7:56.25, while Georgetown's Corey Smith finished second in 7:58.02.
Sloan was just barely off the mark of 7:58.00 needed for an automatic qualification. An 8:12.00 is needed for a provisional qualification.
He will be competing in the 3,000m again this weekend and trying to repeat as the Big 12 champion in the event. The race will begin approximately at 4:05 p.m. Saturday.
Jason Woolhouse, a freshman who joined the team in early January, will also compete in the 3,000m. Woolhouse has come out strong since becoming a member of the team. He finished second in the 800m at the Wildcat Invitational to start the season. He also finished second in the mile run at that meet and at the Missouri Southern Invitational I.
Woolhouse has finished in fifth both times he has competed in the 3,000m, but he has recorded the best time on the team in the event after Sloan. His time of 8:19.00 in the collegiate event at the Tyson Invitational is just seven seconds away from the time needed to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Championships.
Derek Tate, Trey Vernon and Bruce Wright are supposed to compete in the 3,000m race Saturday also. They are schedule to run in the 5,000m run Friday.
The Cowboys are looking for a repeat crown in the distance medley relay too. Sloan and Cam Katchuk, members of last year's championship team, will compete on the DMR team again this year. Ben Lake, Jerry Rainey or Greenshields will fill the remaining two spots.
Weis said the Cowboys have a good chance at being the repeat champions in the relay despite only having half of last year's team back. The DMR is scheduled to begin at 7:05 p.m. Friday.
Rainey, the only junior on the team, will compete in the 1,000m race, and Lake will be in the mile event.
After the Big 12 Championships, the Cowboy squad go back up to Ames, Iowa, to compete in the NCAA Qualifying meet on March 3 before heading to the NCAA Championships on March 10-11 in Fayetteville, Ark.
