Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State To Play The Spoiler
September 12, 2008 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
By Brett Hess, NCAA.com In sports, everybody loves the underdog. And this fall is no exception. While the men of Oregon, cross country's version of the New York Yankees, are heavily favored to repeat as NCAA Division I champions, Oklahoma State is the popular pick to play spoiler. But no matter what happens over the next few months and ultimately on Nov. 24 in Terre Haute, Ind., one thing is guaranteed: you will see the Cowboys coming. Not that it'd be tough to miss them in the first place, with their bright orange uniforms. "Unfortunately we won't be able to sneak up on anybody this year," said OSU coach Dave Smith. "Last year we kinda flew in under the radar. But this year there's a target on our backs. It's sort of a double-edged sword: you work to gain respectability, but then you can't sneak up the competition." Smith and the Cowboys return five of their seven runners from last year's third-place finish in Terre Haute and bring in the nation's top recruiting class. Yet Smith still plays the underdog card. "We're in the mix, yes," Smith said about a national title. "But Oregon is clearly No. 1 and they deserve to be. But then there are plenty of others like Alabama, Georgetown and Colorado. It seems people underestimate Colorado every year and they prove people wrong. There are seven to eight teams that, if all goes well, could win the title. We're happy to be one of them." New on the scene. Sort of. "There is a lot of tradition here," said Smith, now in his third year as head coach. "There was enough recent success to recruit with." Smith took over for longtime coach Dick Weis, who remains on the staff. In fact, Smith came to Stillwater in 2002 as assistant and the transition was so steady and seamless that Smith had to think twice about when it was exactly that he became head coach. "Dick coached so many All-Americans (10 runners to 14 honors in cross country alone). It was a great program to come to," Smith said. "My first year was the only year we didn't make it to nationals." Smith said his first recruiting classes at OSU were full of "9:30 guys", noting their prep times for 3,200 meters. "We'd bring them in, red-shirt them and over five years develop them," Smith said of the patient, steady approach he still subscribes to. "As we got better, we started getting 9:20 guys. Then 9:10 guys." Then came this year's recruiting class. "We've never had a kid come in under 9. And we get three of them," Smith said, referring to German Fernandez (the nation's top recruit), Colby Lowe and Ryan Prentice. "And we got our first-ever Foot Locker finalist (Fernandez and Lowe)." Success this season starts with Vail "Ryan is great – just great," Smith said. "He's been our leader for a couple of years. No one is more dedicated, over the course of a year or, in his case, five years, than Ryan." This year the Cowboys will need Vail's steadying influence off the course probably more than on. With five key runners back, the recruits, along with key transfer John Kosgei, could be seen as a threat. "It's not going to be easy for any of the guys," Smith said. "If guys went home (over the summer) thinking they had a spot reserved, then they've already lost it. But I don't think Ryan let anyone do that." Smith said Vail is "confident and a strong personality." "He's the kind of guy who will keep this team together," Smith said. Vail said the closeness of the returnees David Chirchir, Sean Fleming, Matt Barnes-Smith and Daniel Watts has served as a strong foundation. "We're a pretty close-knit group and nothing is changing," Vail said. "We've been together for three and four years and we know what's at stake." Bright orange pack "You can definitely see our guys out there moving up through the field," Smith said. "We've got a tradition going now. The alumni have told us that we can't quit wearing them." As for the pack running style, Smith says it's a psychological boost. "When we run in a group the first 5K of a race, it's take the pressure off the guys," Smith said. "When they're out there, together moving up through the field, it takes the stress off." Smith said at last year's national meet, OSU runners 3-7 came through the halfway mark in over 100th place, or middle of the field. With Vail and Chirchir on their own, finishing eighth and 15th respectively, the Bright Orange Pack attacked the field. Watts moved all the way up to place 42nd while Barnes-Smith was 48th and Jankowski was 67th. "It was a perfect race for us," Smith said. "It's always more fun to move up rather than fall back."
It was only a few years ago that OSU wasn't "one of them" when it came to national title aspirations. While the Cowboys have been to the national meet 14 of the last 15 years, last year was the first time they placed in the top five since 1996.
It's likely that none of those runners, of course, would have come to Stillwater if not for the success of current senior Ryan Vail or his teammates. Vail was the leader of the Cowboys last year, both on the course and off. He led OSU at the national meet with an eighth-place finish. He was also eighth as the Cowboys won the Midwest Regionals and he placed third at the Big 12 meet.
Oklahoma State's trademark uniforms make them impossible to ignore in even the biggest races. And considering the Cowboys' pack-running style, it is surely intimidating to the competition.
"We had a senior, (David) Jankowski, as the brains of the group," Smith said. "He kept everybody under control. All they had to do was follow him."
