Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirl, Cowboy Cross Country Squads Top Midwest Region
August 29, 2016 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
NEW ORLEANS – The Oklahoma State Cowgirl and Cowboy cross country teams are the top-ranked programs in the Midwest Region in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association preseason poll, the organization announced Monday.
The Cowgirls take the No. 1 ranking after finishing first in the regional rankings following their seventh-place finish at the NCAA Championships in 2015.
Although the Cowgirls lost their only All-American from a year ago in Ingeborg Loevnes, OSU returns a number of top-performers in 2016.
Natalie Baker and Kaela Edwards are the two highest returning finishers from the NCAA Championships, and outdoor 5,000-meter runner-up Aurora Dybedokken leads a deep field of Cowgirls fighting for a spot in the top-seven. Baker was less than a second away from earning an All-America honor and Edwards took 70th.
Anna Boyert and Molly Sughroue rounded up the top-five at NCAA Championships a season ago, and both earned all-conference honors, while Katie Spencer finished 25th at the Big 12 Championships and 55th at the Midwest Regional before handing her number to Abbie Hetherington at the NCAA Championships.
The Cowgirls lead three other Big 12 teams in the region including four-time regional champion Iowa State (3), second-ranked Kansas and Oklahoma (9).
On the men's side, despite finishing in an uncharacteristic 18th at the 2015 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the Cowboys are back at the top of the region where they have been for more than a decade under coach Dave Smith.
OSU seeks consecutive regional title No. 12 led by Joshua Thompson and Cerake Geberkidane. The Cowboys lost Big 12 champion Vegard Oelstad and NCAA 1,500-meter champion Chad Noelle to graduation, and All-American Craig Nowak, who will compete in the spring, but the Pokes hope to fill their departures with newcomers and rising sophomores including Sylvester Barus, Hassan Abdi and Christian Liddell.
Barus and Abdi were sought-after junior college transfers who both finished in the top-five at the NJCAA Cross Country Championships in 2015, with Barus taking second and Abdi claiming fifth. OSU has had success with turning JUCO transfers into Big 12 contenders with their most recent NJCAA acquisition Josh Thompson earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Year a season ago.
The Pokes lead second-ranked Oklahoma and in-state rival Tulsa at three, as well as fifth-ranked Iowa State and No. 9 Kansas.
The Cowboys and Cowgirls kick off their season at home for the second consecutive season with the Cowboy Duels Sept. 1.
OSU will welcome OU, Wichita State, Tulsa and top-ranked South Central squad Arkansas to the OSU Cross Country Course for the opening-day event.
