Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cross Country Season Opens This Weekend
August 28, 2008 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's and women's cross country teams open the 2008 season Saturday as they compete in Tulsa, Okla., at the Hurricane Festival, hosted the University of Tulsa at Mohawk Park.The men's four-mile race is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m., followed by the two-mile women's race at 8:35 a.m. Local High schools will also compete in the event.
OSU Lineups
Running for the Cowgirls this week will be freshmen Victoria Fratczak, Heather Estetter, Melanie Funke, Kristen Gillespie, Brittani Johnson, Courtney Schultz, Camille Schultz, Laura Heaton and Kaitlin Scepanski. Several other members of the Cowgirl track and field team will be running for training purposes.
Running for the Cowboys this week will be Ryan Birkholz, Brian Gosnell, Ryan Little, Peter Wood and Ryan Lusk.
Returning Stars
The Cowboys return All-Americans Ryan Vail and David Chirchir as well as all-Big 12 performers Vail, Chirchir, Matt Barnes-Smith and Sean Fleming from a team that placed third at the NCAA Championships last year.
The women's team returns all-Big 12 and all-Midwest Region honoree Mihaela Susa and consistently solid performer Tone Hjalmarsen.
Newcomers
Perhaps no team in the nation loaded up quite like the Oklahoma State men this past offseason. Coach Dave Smith added the Gatorade National High School Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year in freshman German Fernandez and the high scorer at last year's Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships In LSU transfer John Kosgei. Also joining the Cowboys were Colby Lowe and Ryan Prentice, both of whom were considered as prep stars in their own right.
On the women's side, Brittani Johnson, Victoria Fratczak and Kristen Gillespie could all step In and be key contributors after standout prep careers, with USC transfer Natalia Kovtun expected to make a difference as well.
