Game Notes-Cross Country at Hurricane Festival

August 30, 2012 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track

Aug. 30, 2012

2012 HURRICANE CROSS COUNTRY FESTIVAL
September 1, 2012 | Mohawk Park | Tulsa, Okla.

The Basics
The Oklahoma State cross country teams will open the 2012 season when they travel to Tulsa, Okla. this Saturday to compete in the annual Hurricane Festival at Mohawk Park.

Teams competing in the men's four mile race are host Tulsa, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Northwestern State, John Brown University and Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

For the women's two-mile race, host Tulsa, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Northwestern State, John Brown University, Oklahoma Wesleyan University and Missouri State are entered into the field.

Representing the Cowboys will be junior Taylor Monaghan, redshirt sophomores Kevin Colón, David Osborn and Nick Thorp, and redshirt freshmen Tommy Casey, Brian Gohlke, Justin Vilhauer and Zach Wills.

For the women, seniors Jackie Campos and Kate Kujawa will lead the way for the Cowgirls. Juniors Ruth-Anne Hadjis and Victoria Hanna, sophomores Jenny Dyer, Caileigh Glenn, Monika Juodeskaite, and Taylor Light, red shirt freshmen Alex Ervin, Janelle Martinez and Chelsey Phoebus will also start their season in Tulsa. Freshmen Adela Hofmannova and Moncia Lake will make their Cowgirl debut.

OSU Season Preview
After finishing second at Nationals a year ago, the Cowboys enter 2012 ranked No. 2 nationally and figure to be in the title hunt yet again. The return of All-Americans Girma Mecheso, Shadrack Kipchirchir, Kirubel Erassa and Fabian Clarkson and two-time All-Big 12 performer Joseph Manilafasha gives the Cowboys a nucleus as strong as any team's.

The Cowgirls look to build on their third-place finish at the 2011 Big 12 Championships. Junior Natalja Piliusina is the unquestioned leader of the squad and is joined by sophomore Monika Juodeskaite, who earned All-Big 12 honors and was recognized as the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year after placing 15th at the 2011 conference meet. Senior Kate Kujawa and junior Caileigh Glenn round out a solid core of runners who will have a say in OSU's postseason finish.

OSU in the Polls
The Cowboys open the 2012 campaign ranked No. 2 in the initial U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll directly behind Wisconsin. The Pokes are No. 1 in the Midwest Region, edging out Oklahoma for the top spot. Meanwhile, the Cowgirls begin the season No. 24 in the nation and No. 2 in the Midwest Region, behind Iowa State.

From Coach Dave Smith
On the Hurricane Festival
"This meet is kind of a rust-buster for us every year. It's also a way to check out a lot of the kids who redshirted last year as freshmen. It's kind of their first race in uniform in cross country so we'll get to look at them. Even this early, we start working on trying to see who might be top seven to ten type athletes for us at the Big 12 meet, Regionals and Nationals and we start to set the line-up that way. "

On the men's lineup
"On the men's side, we're not going to race our top six to seven guys because I think we know who they are and what their abilities are. But, a lot of the younger guys we'll get a look at to kind of see where they stack up against each other. This, the Jamboree and the Chile Pepper will give us three chances to see these guys against each other and then see who makes out top seven to 10 for those championship meets."

On the women's line-up
"On the women's side, we're running a lot more of our lineup and resting a couple, Natalja Piliusina, most significantly. Again we know where she is, we know she's probably our top athlete. But, for the rest of them, it's a good chance to see where they are compared to last year. See where they are compared to each other and start formulating some kind of inter-team rankings for how we'll proceed throughout the year."