Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gray Leads Cowboys on Day Two of Midwest Regional
May 27, 2007 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
DES MOINES,
Gray finished fifth with a time of 8:56.54 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to secure a spot at the 2007 NCAA Championships.
“This is a very talented region and Joe ran a great race today,” said Cowboy assistant coach Dave Smith. “He came out and knew exactly what he needed to do to go to Nationals. He ran a very smart race.”
Gray says that he felt good going into the race, despite the emotion of being in the last qualifying race of his collegiate career.
“I knew I was going to make it to nationals because my time going into the race was already good enough, but I was still thinking a lot about being in my last qualifying race in college,” said Gray. “It felt good to go out and show that I could receive an automatic bid. There was a lot of contact at first, but I was able to position myself where I wanted to be and run a good race.”
Two other Cowboys seniors were also in action on Saturday. Michael Breshears, a native of
Ryan Ripley, a senior from
“Ripley ran a great race today,” said Smith. “To (set a personal record) by two seconds doesn't happen much in the 1,500-meter run. It is disappointing that this was his last race in college because he is just now running at the level that we knew he could run at, but he missed virtually two years with injuries.”
The NCAA Championships will be held June 6-9 at
