Oklahoma State University Athletics
Midwest Region Champ OSU Competes At NCAAs Monday
November 18, 2007 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's cross country team won an automatic bid into the NCAA Championships after winning the Midwest Region last Saturday. The Cowboys travel to Terre Haute, Ind., where they will run the 10,000-meter race at noon at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
OSU Lineups
Running for the Cowboys at the NCAA Championship will be David Chrichir, Ryan Vail, David Jankowski, Daniel Watts, Matt Barnes-Smith, Sean Fleming and Brian Ehlis.
Last Time Out
At the NCAA Midwest Regional last Saturday, the Cowboys took first place, beating Minnesota by 10 points. Five Cowboys, lead by David Chirchir and Ryan Vail, finished in the top 15, all within 10 seconds of each other.
Event History
At the 2006 NCAA Championships, the Cowboys came in 10th place and were led by then-senior Joe Gray, who finished 52nd with a time of 31:59.6. Daniel Watts and David Jankowski also finished in the top 100.
Coaches Corner
“Making the NCAA Championship is kind of our goal every year,” Smith said. “Our ultimate goal is to win championships and trophies at the national level. The first step in doing that is to make the championship race. We did that.
“The guys did a good job of approaching the regionals with a very business-like attitude and we accomplished exactly what we needed to there.
“This year will be an unusual year at the championship because there are six or seven teams that have a possibility of winning. Usually there is a group of four schools, Colorado, Stanford, Wisconsin and Arkansas, that are pretty much separated from rest of the group as the top four. But this year the top is all jumbled up and we are up there too.
“We're definiiely not a favorite to win but I do think we should be on people's radars. If we have a good day, we have a shot to win. We want to finish in the top 10 and improve from the eighth place finish from two years ago.
“I hope that we can get a trophy which would mean a top four finish. It would take an exceptional run from our guys. But I think this is the best team we've had in the last 10 or 11 years by far.”
Cross Country Honors and Awards
Seven Cowboys were named first team Academic all-Big 12 including sophomore Tucker Weems who had a perfect 4.0. The other six cowboys were seniors David Jankowski and Ryan Vail, juniors Matthew Barnes-Smith and Brian Gosnell, and sophomores Ryan Birkholz and Daniel Watts.
Oklahoma State led all Big 12 schools with five athletes being named to the 2007 all-Big 12 cross country team. Ryan Vail, David Chirchir, Sean Fleming, David Jankowski, and Matt-Barnes Smith finished in the top 15 at the Big 12 Championships to earn the spot and freshman David Chirchir was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
The Oklahoma State men's cross country team won an automatic bid into the NCAA Championships after winning the Midwest Region last Saturday. The Cowboys travel to Terre Haute, Ind., where they will run the 10,000-meter race at noon at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course.
OSU Lineups
Running for the Cowboys at the NCAA Championship will be David Chrichir, Ryan Vail, David Jankowski, Daniel Watts, Matt Barnes-Smith, Sean Fleming and Brian Ehlis.
Last Time Out
At the NCAA Midwest Regional last Saturday, the Cowboys took first place, beating Minnesota by 10 points. Five Cowboys, lead by David Chirchir and Ryan Vail, finished in the top 15, all within 10 seconds of each other.
Event History
At the 2006 NCAA Championships, the Cowboys came in 10th place and were led by then-senior Joe Gray, who finished 52nd with a time of 31:59.6. Daniel Watts and David Jankowski also finished in the top 100.
Coaches Corner
“Making the NCAA Championship is kind of our goal every year,” Smith said. “Our ultimate goal is to win championships and trophies at the national level. The first step in doing that is to make the championship race. We did that.
“The guys did a good job of approaching the regionals with a very business-like attitude and we accomplished exactly what we needed to there.
“This year will be an unusual year at the championship because there are six or seven teams that have a possibility of winning. Usually there is a group of four schools, Colorado, Stanford, Wisconsin and Arkansas, that are pretty much separated from rest of the group as the top four. But this year the top is all jumbled up and we are up there too.
“We're definiiely not a favorite to win but I do think we should be on people's radars. If we have a good day, we have a shot to win. We want to finish in the top 10 and improve from the eighth place finish from two years ago.
“I hope that we can get a trophy which would mean a top four finish. It would take an exceptional run from our guys. But I think this is the best team we've had in the last 10 or 11 years by far.”
Cross Country Honors and Awards
Seven Cowboys were named first team Academic all-Big 12 including sophomore Tucker Weems who had a perfect 4.0. The other six cowboys were seniors David Jankowski and Ryan Vail, juniors Matthew Barnes-Smith and Brian Gosnell, and sophomores Ryan Birkholz and Daniel Watts.
Oklahoma State led all Big 12 schools with five athletes being named to the 2007 all-Big 12 cross country team. Ryan Vail, David Chirchir, Sean Fleming, David Jankowski, and Matt-Barnes Smith finished in the top 15 at the Big 12 Championships to earn the spot and freshman David Chirchir was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
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