OSU Cross Country Completes Perfect Regular Season

Friday, October 16

Tuscaloosa, AL

9 a.m.

Oklahoma State University

Crimson Classic

Geberkidane cruises to third win of the season.

October 16, 2015 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The Oklahoma State cross country program capped off a perfect regular season with team wins at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Friday.

In the first result of the day, the No. 28 Cowgirls picked up five top-10 finishes in the 5K race, led by senior Natalie Baker who finished second in 16:46.95, less than a second behind the winner from Texas A&M.

"I felt great out there," Baker said. "I knew I had to stay with the Bama girls, so I didn't think about where I was. I just kept telling myself to keep going. We came out here and wanted to win as a team, and we did that."

Indoor All-American Kaela Edwards took fourth and school record-holder Ingeborg Loevnes came in fifth. The Cowgirls ran away with the team title, scoring 30 points, while second place Alabama finished the day with 71. Anna Boyert and Aurora Dybedokken rounded out the top-10 with ninth and 10th place finishes, respectively, and Molly Sughroue finished 11th.

"Natalie had an exceptional day," coach Dave Smith said. "She came from way back and almost got the win. She really ran well toward the end and came within a second of doing it."

True freshman Katie Spencer ran a 17:40.34 to finish 23rd in her collegiate 5K debut. Overall, eight Cowgirls finished in the top-25. Alabama and Auburn tallied the second-most top-25 finishers with four each.

"We didn't stick to our normal strategy of being conservative," Smith said. "We wanted to be aggressive and take some chances and I think the women ran really well today."

The No. 6 Cowboys cruised to big team win in the 8K race, as Cerake Geberkidane wrapped up his regular season with three wins in three events. Like the Cowgirls, the Cowboys managed to put five runners into the top-10 as Vegard Oelstad finished third, NCAA champion Chad Noelle finished sixth, newcomer Josh Thompson grabbed eighth and Brian Gohlke finished ninth to join Geberkidane.

"I thought Cerake had a phenomenal day," Smith said. "Getting the individual win against a tough group of guys is a big accomplishment for him."

David Kilgore made his Cowboy debut and finished 25th. Overall, the Cowboys ran away with the team win, scoring just 27. Second place Texas A&M finished 68 points behind the Pokes with 95 total points.

"The men did a really good job, but I think we've still got some work to do," Smith said. "We have two weeks until the Big 12 Championships, so we've got time to fix some things."

The Cowboys and Cowgirls will take a week off before lacing up for the 2015 Big 12 Championships on Oct. 31 at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater. It will be the first time Stillwater has hosted the Cross Country Championships since 2010.

Crimson Classic | Harry Pritchett Running Course | Oct. 16, 2015

Women's 5K

2. Natalie Baker – 16:46.95
4. Kaela Edwards – 16:58.30
5. Ingeborg Loevnes – 17:02.11
9. Anna Boyert – 17:06.82
10. Aurora Dybedokken – 17:17.36
11. Molly Sughroue – 17:20.36
23. Katie Spencer – 17:40.34
24. Abbie Hetherington – 17:41.18
39. Savannah Camacho – 17:59.71
49. Janelle Martinez – 18:08.46

Men's 8K

1. Cerake Geberkidane – 23:40.78
3. Vegard Oelstad – 24:19.49
6. Chad Noelle – 24:39.78
8. Joshua Thompson – 24:43.59
9. Brian Gohlke – 24:45.42
20. Anthoney Armstrong – 25:05.19
25. David Kilgore – 25:22.32
43. Matthew Fayers – 25:42.53
48. Craig Nowak – 25:45.98
59. Noah Gade – 25:54.16