Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU Cross Country Hosts the Cowboy Jamboree
September 23, 2010 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Sept. 23, 2010
The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's and women's cross country teams host the 74th Annual Cowboy Jamboree at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater Saturday, continuing the tradition of holding the oldest consecutively run cross country race in the nation.
The event will serve as one of the few chances OSU fans will have to watch Cowboy stars such as German Fernandez, a junior world record holder, compete in Stillwater.
Admission is free and the first race is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. with the last collegiate race slated for 9:45 a.m.
OSU Lineups
Nearly all of Oklahoma State's men and women are registered to run Saturday, including several key men's athletes from last year's national championship team.
“I think we're going to run everybody,” coach Dave Smith said. “If they're dinged up at all then they won't run, but everybody that's healthy will run.”
Last Time Out
The Oklahoma State cross country program started its season with a bang at the Hurricane Invitational Sept. 4, as the men's team went 5-0 in dual competition and the women's team finished at 4-1.
On the men's side, a trio of Cowboys led the rest of the field across the line, as freshman Tom Farrell claimed first place in the four-mile run with a time of 19:54. Kate Kujawa was the top female finisher, finishing the two-mile race in third place with a time of 11:05.
2009 in Review
The 2009 season was perhaps the best season in the history of Oklahoma State cross country for the men's team. The Cowboys captured their second Big 12 Championship in two years, and added their second NCAA Championship, their first since 1954. Senior Ryan Vail won the individual Big 12 championship and was joined in the top four by three of his teammates. OSU went on to win its fifth NCAA Regional Championship before winning the NCAA Championships.
The Cowgirls were led all season by star runner Mihaela Susa who narrowly missed out on notching her third straight All-Big 12 honor. Susa showed up strong at regionals to win her third straight All-Region honor and an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
OSU in the Polls
The USTFCCCA rankings have listed the Oklahoma State men's cross country team at the No. 2 spot in each 2010 poll. This week the Cowboys sit only five points behind top-ranked Stanford. The men have also been the No. 1-ranked Midwest region squad in each poll this year.
The Cowgirls are the No. 10 team in the Midwest region.
Pokes' Quotes
Coach Dave Smith
“This is a big race because we don't run very many races and we have a really limited schedule. It puts pressure on us to get a lot done in these races. You can't waste opportunities to improve. The No. 1 thing from this race is to get out there and see that we can develop a race plan and execute it. It's easy to talk about how this is how want to run, but sometimes it's hard to temper yourself and hold back when everyone around you is running hard and going crazy. It's easy to get lost in the shuffle and not execute the race plan that you were supposed to do. I think that's what we're going to do this weekend. I'm going to give them specific time marks where I want them to be and it's probably going to be slower than they want to run at the beginning of the race then I'll cut them lose at the end of the race.”
Johnathan Stublaski
“It's pretty important just to see where we're at right now. We can see if we need to make any adjustments for training. If everyone doesn't do too well then that means we need to back up and get in some work and see where we're at.”
“It's exciting because this is our only home meet and we don't host any track meets here. There's a lot of fans that support us here.”
“We're hosting Big 12s this year, so it will prepare us for that. This course is extremely tough and I think we have an advantage over a lot of teams because we train on it.”
German Fernandez
“It feels great just getting back to myself and running with the team and being at where I was my freshman year. It feels great. I think I'm in a lot better shape now and I'm just ready to get out there Saturday.”
“My expectations are just to have a good race as a team. We're probably going to run as a team so we're going to see who's going to make our top seven. Right now it's pretty unclear who's going to be our top seven so I'm just trying to help the team out and hopefully come away with a win.”
“It feels very nice to be home. I have a lot of schoolwork so it's nice not traveling. It should be exciting. It's our only home meet – besides Big 12s this year – and we should make something out of it.”
“It's great to be home with our fans here. Bright orange always stands out. It really helps. A lot of people might think that they don't help, but they do.”
Felicity Milton
“We've got a race plan. I think the big thing for me is learning to race as a pack. I'm pretty new to the scene, really. Certainly racing as part of a team is nothing I've done before. It's going to be a race simulation for the nationals, which we're hoping to make as a team.”
“It's nice to be at home, especially with work and everything. It's pretty busy at the minute. Everyone knows the Jamboree. It's the oldest in the U.S., so it's a big meet. That's another pressure, but it's a pressure to do well."
