Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Prepare For NCAA Championships
November 20, 2014 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
STILLWATER, Okla. -
Nov. 20, 2014
STILLWATER, Okla. -- The Oklahoma State men's cross country team and individual qualifier Monika Juodeskaite will travel to Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday to compete at the 2014 NCAA Cross Country Championships at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course.
Meet Notes - NCAA Championship 
FOLLOW THE MEET
Fans can watch each meet live at http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule/2014/11/22?DB_OEM_ID=600, and can view results following the conclusion of the race by following @run4okstate on Twitter. Final results will also be posted on www.okstate.com.
MEET SCHEDULE
Monika Juodeskaite will take the starting line for the women's 6K race at 11 a.m. CT. Following the conclusion of the race, the Cowboys will hit the course for the 10K competition, set to begin at 12 p.m. CT.
ROAD TO NATIONALS
For the fourth-consecutive season, the Cowboys achieved an automatic berth to the NCAA Championships by coming out victorious at the regional meet. By finishing 14 points clear of second-place Tulsa, Oklahoma State booked its trip to Terre Haute while also enjoying individual success, as Kirubel Erassa became the first Cowboy to win the men's 10K race since 2010.
For Monika Juodeskaite, the qualification process was delivered through a third-place finish in Peoria, helping her earn an individual qualifier selection for the second-straight year. In her final cross country meet as a Cowgirl, Juodeskaite will look to match her performance at last season's NCAA Championships, where she earned All-America honors through a 23rd-place finish.
LAST TIME OUT - NCAA MIDWEST REGIONAL
The Oklahoma State men's cross country team finished 14 points ahead of second-place Tulsa at the 2014 NCAA Midwest Regional Championship in Peoria, Ill., on Nov. 14, to give the Cowboys their fourth-consecutive regional title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
After capturing an individual title at the Big 12 Championships on Nov. 1, Kirubel Erassa led the way again for the Oklahoma State men's squad, recording a first-place time of 30:09.5 in the men's 10K competition. The Cowboys opened the race with a conservative approach, but took the lead at the 5K-mark and never looked back, placing all seven runners in the top 35.
Erassa's first-place effort was backed by a new personal best from Craig Nowak, who finished in eighth with a run of 30:17.6, as well as strong performances from Shane Moskowitz (11th), Brian Gohlke (21st) and David Osborn (22nd). Vegard Oelstad and Cerake Geberkidane, both newcomers to NCAA Division I competition, rounded out the pack of Cowboys with respective finishes of 28th and 37th.
With the win, Erassa also becomes the first Cowboy to earn an individual title at the regional championships since Colby Lowe's first-place finish in 2010.
On the women's side, Monika Juodeskaite repeated her all-region performance at last season's meet with a third-place effort in the women's 6K race, handing her an individual qualification to next week's NCAA Championships.
HEAD COACH Dave Smith - MEET COMMENTS
On his expectations at the national meet:
"My hope and my expectation is that we run our best race of the season on Saturday. I want us to compete hard, I want us to run smart and I want us to run tough. I think the guys' attitude shows that they're running to win. They don't want to play for second or third or play it safe, and I even presented that to them. I told them we could play it safe and try and protect a trophy with a top-ten finish, or we could kind of swing for the fences and go for the win. They want to go for it, and that's what you want in a team."
On being the underdog:
"It's a different approach. It's the first time since around 2008 that we haven't gone into it with at least some expectation from outside our program of us winning. Most prognosticators wouldn't think we could win this championship, but it's nice to kind of come in as the "hunter", instead of coming in as the "hunted". It's also good to have the opportunity to outperform expectations, which we haven't had in a while."
On Monika Juodeskaite and her final cross country race as a Cowgirl:
"Monika is super competitive. I keep saying this, but she is really focused on her improvement. She always compares herself to herself in previous years and previous races. She finished 23rd here last year, which gave us our first All-American in the last ten years, but I know 23rd [this year] will not be satisfying to her. She wants to improve, but I don't even think 22nd would be satisfying to her. She wants major improvements and she wants to jump up in the field. I also think she's running with a chip on her shoulder like she doesn't get the respect that maybe she deserves, and that's kind of a powerful motivator."
EXTENDING HISTORY
Since 2008, the Oklahoma State men's cross country team has captured the most conference championships amongst teams in the six power conferences (ACC, Big East, Pac-12, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12). The Cowboys' seven Big 12 titles between 2008 and 2014 outnumber multiple cross country powerhouses, including Wisconsin (6), Arkansas (5), Colorado (4), Syracuse (4) and NC State (2).
CHAMPIONSHIP SUCCESS
Since 2007, the Oklahoma State men's cross country team has produced more Division I All-America performances than any school in the country. The Cowboys' 22 selections over the last seven seasons top some of the country's top programs, including Wisconsin (17), Oregon (16), Colorado (15) and Northern Arizona (13). OSU has been consistent over the stretch as well, as the Cowboys are one of only five DI teams to produce at least one All-American in each season since 2007.
A LOOK BACK - 2013 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
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.
This was the seventh time in history the OSU men had 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 became 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.
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 was the first OSU women's cross country All-American since Sara Wells in 2000.
