Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Cross Country Meets Obama
October 18, 2010 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
Oct. 18, 2010
By Sean Maguire
OSU Media Relations
On Sept. 13, the reigning NCAA champion Oklahoma State men's cross country team got the chance to experience something that few people have the opportunity do.
In a tradition that has been going strong for several years now, the Cowboys, along with other NCAA championship teams from the 2009-10 academic year, were invited to the White House to be publicly honored by President Barack Obama.
“President Obama came out and gave a speech and then shook everyone's hand,” coach Dave Smith said. “It was an incredible experience. It's not every day you get to see the White House and meet the President. It was just a really fun day.”
Junior athlete Colby Lowe echoed his coach's words, realizing that the opportunity to shake hands with the commander in chief of the United States is an honor that few receive.
“It was just one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that doesn't come around very often,” Lowe said. “To be right up next to the White House in person and know that there's been a lot of really great people there – that was really cool to be able to see. Meeting the President was cool. You see him all the time on TV, but to actually meet him in person was just a whole other experience.”
As exciting as it was to meet the president, the Cowboy cross country team also made the most of its time in Washington by visiting other historic locations.
In addition to the reception on the White House lawn, the OSU squad was guided through the U.S. Capitol building on a tour and spent some time sightseeing around the area.
“It was a very honoring experience,” junior German Fernandez said. “Getting to tour the capitol with the team and seeing everything was great. Seeing the White House in person was a big shock. It was a weird feeling to shake the President's hand. It was fun.”
The Cowboys deserved to have fun, too.
The team earned its invitation to the reception after dominating the rest of the field at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Winning a national title is an extremely difficult task that takes countless hours to prepare for and an outstanding work ethic to achieve, but that's just what the Oklahoma State men's cross country team did last year, and in commanding fashion.
OSU won by a comfortable 16 points over second-place Oregon, claiming the 49th national title in school history.
The Cowboys weren't the only successful team last year, however, as several other teams were honored at the event, all of which claimed NCAA titles in their respective sport.
“It was fun to get to hang out with the other national championship teams,” Smith said. “Being around all that talent in one place was a pretty fun experience.”
As much fun as being around other all-star athletes and meeting the president was for the Cowboys, don't be surprised if they get the chance to do the same thing again next year after winning a national title in 2010.
OSU returns several of its top runners from last season and is just as motivated to defend its title this year as it was to win it last year.
There are 10 returning letterwinners on the roster, including All-Americans Fernandez, Lowe and Girma Mecheso, who were key to the Cowboy's title run.
In addition to those three, several other All-Big 12 performers will carry the load, including Raul Botezan, Johnathan Stublaski, Tom Farrell and Taylor Monaghan.
The Cowboys have already carried their success into the 2010 season after rolling over the competition in the first meets of the year, and with the hard work they put in, they will definitely be tough to beat.
