Cowboys Take Third In Terre Haute

Nov. 23, 2013

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. -

Oklahoma State men's cross country finished in third place as a team, and Monika Juodeskaite took home All-America honors on the women's side at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, in Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday.

This is the seventh time in history the OSU men have made the award podium with a top-three finish, the fifth year in a row and the sixth time in the last seven years.

Tom Farrell (30:23.5) took 16th overall to earn his fourth-straight All-America honor, and Shadrack Kipchirchir (30:37.8) took 31st, his second-straight All-American performance.

Farrell becomes the first four-time cross country All-American in OSU history, and Kipchirchir is the 12th Cowboy with multiple cross country All-America honors.

Craig Nowak (62nd), Kirubel Erassa (83rd) and Brian Gohlke (91st) rounded out the scoring for the Cowboys, who put up a final total of 230.

The conditions were a factor, as the wet and muddy course produced the highest-winning score in NCAA history—149.

“A couple things went wrong for a couple guys, and we got rattled,” OSU coach Dave Smith said. “They were five to 10-second mistakes that turned into 30-second mistakes, because we let it get to us. We had a couple guys fall, lose a lot of ground and weren't able to get it back. You have to be mentally prepared to deal with situations like that—they're going to happen. We weren't far off from being in the hunt for the win. We had five guys in the top 100 and we've won doing that. We didn't underperform, it just didn't go our way.”

On the women's side, Monika Juodeskaite ran an incredible race, finishing 23rd overall, taking home the first All-America honor of her career, after she missed it by one spot in 2012.

Juodeskaite is the first OSU women's cross country All-American since Sara Wells in 2000.

“The toughest athletes run well on the toughest courses,” Smith said. “Monika [Juodeskaite] is one of the toughest athletes I've ever coached, male or female. She never gives in. She keeps fighting and battling, and on a day like today, that toughness served her well. She was bouncing around and smiling all week. She was in a good mood. I could tell she was going to run well. She is our first female cross country All-American since 2000. I'm really proud of her. She does a great job.”

NCAA Cross Country Championships

Nov. 23, 2013/ LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course/ Terre Haute, Ind.

Men's Individual Results

16. Tom Farrell – 30:23.5*

31. Shadrack Kipchirchir – 30:37.8*

62. Craig Nowak – 31:00.2

83. Kirubel Erassa – 31:10.1

91. Brian Gohlke – 31:15.1

141. Shane Moskowitz – 31:42.9

211. Joseph Manilafasha – 32:29.4

Men's Team Results

1          Colorado -                              149
2          Northern Arizona                   169
3          Oklahoma State                    230
4          BYU                                      267
5 Oregon 274
6          Iona                                        284
7          Portland                                 293
8          Indiana 306
9          Wisconsin                               326
10        Syracuse                                 329

Women's Individual Results

23. Monika Juodeskaite – 20:33.3*

* - Cross Country All-American