Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Set for Season Opener
August 31, 2006 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Oklahoma State's women's cross country team will open the 2006 season on the road Saturday at the Hurricane Cross Country Festival at Mohawk Park in Tulsa. The field is also expected to include Tulsa, Oklahoma, Missouri Southern and Central Oklahoma.
OSU will be represented primarily by its “B” team and newcomers, as most of its top returnees will continue to prepare for the Cowboy Jamboree on Sept. 30. Junior Kim Blomkvist, and sophomore's Brittany Mason and Maria Trejo will look to lead a pack of inexperienced runners that includes six freshmen.Freshmen Tone Hjalmarsen and Leah Schroeder will be faces to watch, as the duo could play a major role leading into the season.
OSU will look for added support from senior Mary Barnett, sophomore's Jennifer Clarke, JennaRae Downs, Kalea Tam and Meghan Sullivan.
The University of Tulsa will host the two-mile race with the start time set for 9:00 a.m.
RECAP OF LAST YEAR'S HURRICANE FESTIVAL: The Cowgirls finished fifth at last year's meet with Jennifer Clarke leading the squad with a 25th-place finish. For the Pokes, Meghan Sullivan and Allison Erzinger both claimed top-30 finishes.
A LOOK AT OSU IN 2006: With a plethora of talent returning that includes five letterwinners, two All-Big 12 and four all-region runners, success is an expectation for fourth year head coach René Sepulveda, as he and the Cowgirls embark on the 2006 season.
After finishing in the top three at the conference meet in the two previous seasons, Sepulveda has been able to build the program into not only one of the best in the conference, but also in the country.
OSU, which is projected to be ranked near the top 10 when the preseason rankings come out next week, is just one of three Big 12 teams that finished last season nationally ranked.
With a top five possibly set for the Cowgirls, the 2005 Midwest Region Coach of the Year hopes to find runners that could challenge and give added support to the hopeful returnees. Leading the pack of challengers are incoming freshmen Leah Schroeder and Tone Hjalmarsen as both are prime candidates to fill the void left by last year's departed seniors.
The talented recruiting class also includes freshmen Hanna Holst, Irene Masai and Stillwater native Breanna Tharp. Sepulveda said the young runners will help carry the success into the future of the program.
Having a strong group of returnees along with the talented newcomers, Sepulveda feels that he will be able to have enough potential to compete an “A” team and a “B” team each week.
Among the top returning runners, two-time NCAA qualifier junior Mary Davies is expected to carry on what has been an impressive young career at OSU.
Sophomore's Anissa Angelosante and Nina Andersson, who were two of the top young guns in the conference last season, are both candidates for postseason recognition. The duo will provide OSU with valuable experience leading up to the national meet.
Along with Davies, Andersson will help fuel a talented squad with postseason success as she also earned All-Big 12 and all-region honors.
Czech Republic natives, senior Eva Slavikova and junior Eva Tomankova will play a critical role as the Cowgirls search for their first conference championship.
The Cowgirls return plenty of depth including junior Kim Blomkvist and sophomore Brittany Mason. Blomkvist was a top five runner in 2004, but looks to re-gain confidence and challenge the expected top runners for a spot into the postseason.
DAVIES AMONGST THE BEST: Davies has proved to be one of the elite runners in the conference. She was the first runner in the history of the conference to capture titles in all three distance events (10k, 5k, 3,000-meter steeplechase) at the 2006 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Waco, Texas. After a fall at the 200-meter mark at last year's NCAA Championships kept her from earning All-American status, the two-time All-Big 12 and all region runner is a strong candidate for postseason honors in 2006.
2005 SEASON IN REVIEW: Last season, head coach Rene Sepulveda constructed a team that produced more postseason honors than any OSU team had done in the 29 years of the program.
The Cowgirls were spotlighted behind a group of talented student-athletes, which included four All-Big 12 runners - Mary Davies, Nina Andersson, Barbora
Kuncova and Valentina Medina – and six all-region runners – Davies, Andersson, Medina, Kuncova, Anissa Angelosante and Eva Slavikova.
Throughout the season, OSU was not only being led by the veterans, but also by its young athletes. Of those, Andersson and Angelosante sprung into the Cowgirls top five line-up. The duo posted impressive top 25 finishes at the Cowboy Jamboree before gaining needed experience at the Chile Pepper Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., when they scored for the Cowgirls.
During the postseason, numerous Cowgirls exploded into a different level from where they were competing just a month before. A goal for Sepulveda was to enter the postseason with fresh legs, after competing OSU's top runners in just three meets before the conference meet.
The method paid off for Sepulveda and the Pokes, as they finished second at the Big 12 Championships in Waco, Texas. The finish tied the highest placing by an OSU team at the conference meet, as they finished behind Big 12 powerhouse Colorado.
After an impressive outing at the conference meet, the Pokes captured their second-ever NCAA Midwest Regional Championship in Austin, Texas. It was also the Cowgirls first title since the 2001 campaign. OSU added more credentials to the memorable season, as it had six runners earn regional recognition, all of who helped Sepulveda garner his first Midwest Regional Coach of the Year honor.
The Cowgirls were able to run a well-balanced game plan at the NCAA Championships as they claimed a 10th-place finish, its highest finish since the 1989 season when OSU finished fifth.
