Oklahoma State University Athletics
Coach's Update: Dave Smith
October 16, 2008 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
As the Cowboys enter the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Saturday, coach Dave Smith breaks down the team's strategy for the meet and how the athletes are performing.
On the team goals for the Pre-National meet:
“After the way the guys looked at the Jamboree, we feel that they are really ready to compete and the older guys don't need too many more races to be in top form so we will rest our veteran guys, Vail, Barnes-Smith, Chirchir and Watts, that have already raced on this course several times. Really, our main goal in this meet is to give the young guys and newcomers a chance to preview the national championship course and to experience a race with incredible intensity and competition so that the national championship race isn't the first time they see something like that. It can be overwhelming the first time through. The other thing we are trying to do is solidify our line-up for the Big 12 championships. We have a lot of depth in our line-up. There is very little separation from the seventh to 14th men and since we run nine at the Big 12 meet, we want to give each of those guys a fair shot to make that top nine. We will divide up our squad at Pre-Nat's and run some guys in the main race and others in the "B" race in a way to give us fair head to head competition among those guys vying for the seventh, eighth and ninth positions.”
On the team's momentum from the Cowboy Jamboree carrying over to the rest of the season:
“I have no doubt that the team's performance at the Jamboree was an important first step in what could be a very special season for us. I think the level of excitement and expectation among the group of guys racing at Pre-Nat's will be even higher than normal because of the performance of the full squad at the Jamboree and that we will be able to keep that momentum rolling based on what our depth does in Terre Haute this weekend.”
On the Cowboys' practice routine:
“We are sticking to our season-long plan for the most part. We are tweaking things here and there on an individual basis, but, in general, our fitness and race readiness looks good right now so no need for major changes.”
On the impact the Pre-National race will have on the National race:
“Since most of our top seven has run this course on several occasions in the past, there isn't a lot they can gain from racing it right now. For the younger guys, who could have a huge impact on our team finish at nationals, this meet is very important, more so from a psychological aspect than from a physiological one. Every cross country course runs a little differently based on the layout, weather, terrain, footing, etcetera. To have a major race on a course a guy has never seen before; cannot visualize in his race planning and preparation, can be a little stressful. We like the guys to see the course, to run it in a race situation so that when we are developing strategies on how to attack the national championship race they can see the specific hills and turns we are talking about. Also, as I said before, Pre-Nat's is a very intense, stressful and highly competitive race. The pressure for teams trying to gain at large positions to the national championships can be enormous and that creates a sense of urgency surrounding the race that cannot be duplicated. We like the guys to see that, so that when they are in the same situation at nationals it is just a little less stressful than it might otherwise be.”
On where the team is at right now:
“This is the best team I have ever been around at this point in the season and that is really exciting. I would like our front seven to be a little tighter. We had a 10 second one to five gap at the Jamboree and that is outstanding, however, there was another 30 second gap from five to six and seven and I would like that to be a little tighter. In the past, we have done a good job tightening up over the second half of the season and we need to do that again this year. We still have some work to do in terms of even the top of the line up, but we are on schedule to be where we need to be by mid-November.”
