Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Prepare for Big 12 Championships
October 27, 2006 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
Two seniors, Joe Gray and Michael Breshears, will compete for the Pokes. They will be joined by juniors David Jankowski and Brian Ehlis, sophomores Matt Barnes-Smith, Alejandro Ruiz and Brian Gosnell, and redshirt freshmen Peter Doroshuk and Daniel Watts.
The Cowboys will need some of their younger runners to step up as injuries have left the team without two of their top five runners. Senior Ryan Ripley is out for the season with a stress fracture in his right leg, and sophomore Ryan Vail will miss the meet due to soreness in his leg. Senior Joe Gray and junior David Jankowski have been hampered by injuries but will compete in the conference meet.
“Obviously, we are a little banged up going into the conference meet, and we would like to have everybody healthy,” said Cowboy head coach Dave Smith. “Having Vail and Ripley out will make it tougher, and we need some of our younger guys to rise to the occasion and have a big day.”
The Cowboys finished fourth at last year's conference meet in Waco, Texas, behind a strong performance from Gray. The Tacoma, Wash. native finished 12th with a time of 24:21. Colorado captured first-place honors for the tenth-straight year, while Texas and Kansas finished second and third, respectively. Kansas' Benson Chesang won his second consecutive individual championship.
The 8,000-meter race will kick off at 11 a.m. on Friday at the historical Rim Rock Farm course in Lawrence. It will mark the first time ever that Kansas has hosted the event.
