Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Meet President Obama at the White House
September 13, 2010 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
Sept. 13, 2010
WASHINGTON – The reigning NCAA champion Oklahoma State men's cross country team met President Barack Obama today at the White House in a reception honoring NCAA championship teams from the 2009-10 academic year.
The Cowboys spent the day touring the U.S. Capitol building and sightseeing in Washington before being honored at the reception on the White House lawn.
“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. It was also fun to get to hang out with the other national championship teams.”
After their event-filled day in the nation's capital, the Cowboys knew they had experienced something that few people get the opportunity do.
“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 were among several other teams honored at the event, all of which claimed NCAA titles in their respective sport.
“It was just one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that doesn't come around very often,” junior Colby 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.”
The team earned its invitation to the reception after dominating the rest of the field at the 2009 NCAA Cross Country Championships, winning by 16 points over second-place Oregon to claim the 49th national title in school history.
Oklahoma State, who has already carried its success into the 2010 season after rolling over the competition in its season-opening meet, resumes competition Sept. 25 in Stillwater for the Cowboys Jamboree, the oldest consecutively-held cross country meet in the nation.
The NCAA-title teams invited to attend the White House reception included:
Augusta State University Men's Golf
Boston College Men's Ice Hockey
Duke University Men's Lacrosse
Fairleigh Dickinson University Women's Bowling
Oklahoma State University Men's Cross Country
Pennsylvania State University Women's Volleyball
Pennsylvania State University Men's & Women's Fencing
Purdue University Women's Golf
Stanford University Men's Volleyball
Stanford University Women's Tennis
Texas A&M University, College Station Men's and Women's Outdoor Track and Field
Texas Christian University Men's & Women's Rifle
University of California, Los Angeles Softball
University of California Los Angeles Women's Gymnastics
University of Denver Men's & Women's Skiing
University of Florida Men's Indoor Track and Field
University of Florida Women's Swimming and Diving
University of Iowa Wrestling
University of Maryland, College Park Women's Lacrosse
University of Michigan Men's Gymnastics
University of Minnesota Duluth Women's Ice Hockey
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Field Hockey
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Women's Soccer
University of Oregon Women's Indoor Track and Field
University of South Carolina Baseball
University of Southern California Men's Tennis
University of Southern California Men's Water Polo
University of Southern California Women's Water Polo
University of Texas at Austin Men's Swimming and Diving
University of Virginia Men's Soccer
University of Virginia Women's Rowing
Villanova University Women's Cross Country
Villanova University Football
Players Mentioned
