Oklahoma State University Athletics
The Cowgirls won the Big 12 Cross Country title for the first time in 2015
Cross Country Seniors Seek Perfect Finish to Home Careers
September 21, 2016 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
For Cowgirl seniors Natalie Baker and Anna Boyert, this Saturday's 80th running of the Cowboy Jamboree is more than just a race. It's the final time they will take to the OSU Cross Country Course in competition.
Although the Cowgirls and Cowboys have run on the course for decades, Boyert suggests that practice is never enough when preparing for the daunting Jamboree course.
"Nobody is ever prepared for it," Boyert said. "I think we're lucky that we practice on it and we do the last 3K loop because it's pretty hilly and in the woods. I think when you aren't familiar with it, you kind of get lost in there. It can get pretty mentally hard back in that part because you think you're almost done but there's another hill, and you turn the next corner and there's another hill."
In 2015, the Cowgirls won the Big 12 title for the first time. After years of coming up just short of the trophy, the OSU women ran wild on the rest of the conference at home, on the grueling OSU Cross Country Course.
Their unexpected performance catapulted them into the national spotlight where they have remained since, earning the Midwest regional crown and a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships in the same season.
"There's definitely added pressure," Boyert said. "You always hear [coach Dave Smith] talk about how our greatest strength is each other, and I think right now we have a lot of added pressure because there are higher expectations for ourselves, both individually and as a team. Even so, I think we do a pretty good job of coming together."
The Cowboys haven't lost on the OSU Cross Country Course since 2009, when Northern Arizona left with the trophy and OSU took fourth. Since then, the Cowboys have won three national titles, seven Big 12 titles and gone unbeaten in Stillwater, racking up 10-straight top-finishes.
"It's a very difficult course," OSU track and field and cross country director of operations Danny Stults said. "It's one of those courses that makes it hard for a runner to get comfortable."
The long incline followed by the lengthy flat stretch allows runners to become settled in before steep hills, sharp turns and woodchips break up their smooth strides and force them to adjust.
"It's the same course we've used for a while, now," Stults said. "But because of the way it's laid out, it's definitely one of the more difficult in the NCAA."
The sentiments about the course are different when it comes to rookies like NCAA Indoor All-American Danielle Coleman and redshirt freshman Sukhi Khosla.
Coleman, a junior sprinter, made her OSU Cross Country Course debut at the Cowboy Preview back on Sept. 1 and finished 32nd as the Cowgirls' seventh-best finisher.
"I've heard it's very challenging, but it's fun and different," Coleman said. "A lot of people around the country know about it. Even my high school coach used to come here to run it, so I'm just more excited than nervous."
This weekend, the women who take to the course will run a 5K. The last time a Cowgirl ran a time good enough to crack the course's top-five was 1988 at the Big 8 Championships. Since then, only two Cowgirls have broken into the course's top-25, with Heather Garrett doing it two years after, and Monika Juodeskaite doing it back in 2014.
But running fast isn't how you defeat the course, it's running smart.
Baker has top-five times in the 6K and 5K in school history, but has yet to put up those times at home, and Boyert has the 10th-best 5K time, also from an away meet.
"You definitely have to start off more conservatively," Baker said "Then you can go hard at the end because the last 3K is pretty tough. You hit those hills and those woodchips and you have to hold on."
For Khosla and the other freshmen accepting the challenge for the first time this weekend, completing the Jamboree course serves as a chance to make an impact on the talented Cowboy squad.
"Last year I took 10 days off and I raced unattached as my second day back and it was really, really awful," Khosla said. "I just struggled through the hills and the woodchips – they're not very forgiving, especially when you're having a bad day. I just want to do better."
Khosla ran the Jamboree unattached last year like many of the freshman will do this year, hoping to earn a spot on the team come the postseason.
"We've got a really good group this year and they're really motivated," Khosla said. "A lot of them want to make the team and it's going to be really hard this year, but I'm just trying to do the same. Race after race, I want to keep progressing and break into that top-seven or top-five even."
Coach Smith, who has led his teams to perfect records at the Cowboy Jamboree, always sees the meet as a big stepping stone for his squads.
"We've run it every year so we know what the times mean from year to year," Smith said. "We can look back and figure out what happened the year before or in 2012 when we last won a championship and get an idea of where our group is. It's our first real big elite competition, so we'll throw out our best team available."
That Cowgirl team will include Boyert and Baker, in their final race on the course.
 A 5K that is dreaded by many, after years of practicing, competing and winning in Stillwater, their final run, Baker said, will be an emotional end to a dominant defense of their home turf.
"It'll be exciting because I love the Jamboree and it's just a fun meet overall," Baker said. "We all get to go out and run in front of our supporters, but it's going bittersweet too because it's my last one."
The Cowboy Jamboree is scheduled for Saturday and expected to kickoff at 8 a.m. with the women's college 5K.
Baker and Boyert, both seniors, will run at 9 a.m. in the university section, looking to finish their careers with a perfect Jamboree record and maybe an elusive spot on the course's top-25 list.
"Some of the seniors have already talked about how they can't believe how fast time has gone," Smith said. "It seems like when they first put on the spikes and got on the course they couldn't imagine having to run it three more times, but now they're thinking they wish they had three more to go."
Â
Although the Cowgirls and Cowboys have run on the course for decades, Boyert suggests that practice is never enough when preparing for the daunting Jamboree course.
"Nobody is ever prepared for it," Boyert said. "I think we're lucky that we practice on it and we do the last 3K loop because it's pretty hilly and in the woods. I think when you aren't familiar with it, you kind of get lost in there. It can get pretty mentally hard back in that part because you think you're almost done but there's another hill, and you turn the next corner and there's another hill."
In 2015, the Cowgirls won the Big 12 title for the first time. After years of coming up just short of the trophy, the OSU women ran wild on the rest of the conference at home, on the grueling OSU Cross Country Course.
Their unexpected performance catapulted them into the national spotlight where they have remained since, earning the Midwest regional crown and a top-10 finish at the NCAA Championships in the same season.
"There's definitely added pressure," Boyert said. "You always hear [coach Dave Smith] talk about how our greatest strength is each other, and I think right now we have a lot of added pressure because there are higher expectations for ourselves, both individually and as a team. Even so, I think we do a pretty good job of coming together."
The Cowboys haven't lost on the OSU Cross Country Course since 2009, when Northern Arizona left with the trophy and OSU took fourth. Since then, the Cowboys have won three national titles, seven Big 12 titles and gone unbeaten in Stillwater, racking up 10-straight top-finishes.
"It's a very difficult course," OSU track and field and cross country director of operations Danny Stults said. "It's one of those courses that makes it hard for a runner to get comfortable."
The long incline followed by the lengthy flat stretch allows runners to become settled in before steep hills, sharp turns and woodchips break up their smooth strides and force them to adjust.
"It's the same course we've used for a while, now," Stults said. "But because of the way it's laid out, it's definitely one of the more difficult in the NCAA."
The sentiments about the course are different when it comes to rookies like NCAA Indoor All-American Danielle Coleman and redshirt freshman Sukhi Khosla.
Coleman, a junior sprinter, made her OSU Cross Country Course debut at the Cowboy Preview back on Sept. 1 and finished 32nd as the Cowgirls' seventh-best finisher.
"I've heard it's very challenging, but it's fun and different," Coleman said. "A lot of people around the country know about it. Even my high school coach used to come here to run it, so I'm just more excited than nervous."
This weekend, the women who take to the course will run a 5K. The last time a Cowgirl ran a time good enough to crack the course's top-five was 1988 at the Big 8 Championships. Since then, only two Cowgirls have broken into the course's top-25, with Heather Garrett doing it two years after, and Monika Juodeskaite doing it back in 2014.
But running fast isn't how you defeat the course, it's running smart.
Baker has top-five times in the 6K and 5K in school history, but has yet to put up those times at home, and Boyert has the 10th-best 5K time, also from an away meet.
"You definitely have to start off more conservatively," Baker said "Then you can go hard at the end because the last 3K is pretty tough. You hit those hills and those woodchips and you have to hold on."
For Khosla and the other freshmen accepting the challenge for the first time this weekend, completing the Jamboree course serves as a chance to make an impact on the talented Cowboy squad.
"Last year I took 10 days off and I raced unattached as my second day back and it was really, really awful," Khosla said. "I just struggled through the hills and the woodchips – they're not very forgiving, especially when you're having a bad day. I just want to do better."
Khosla ran the Jamboree unattached last year like many of the freshman will do this year, hoping to earn a spot on the team come the postseason.
"We've got a really good group this year and they're really motivated," Khosla said. "A lot of them want to make the team and it's going to be really hard this year, but I'm just trying to do the same. Race after race, I want to keep progressing and break into that top-seven or top-five even."
Coach Smith, who has led his teams to perfect records at the Cowboy Jamboree, always sees the meet as a big stepping stone for his squads.
"We've run it every year so we know what the times mean from year to year," Smith said. "We can look back and figure out what happened the year before or in 2012 when we last won a championship and get an idea of where our group is. It's our first real big elite competition, so we'll throw out our best team available."
That Cowgirl team will include Boyert and Baker, in their final race on the course.
 A 5K that is dreaded by many, after years of practicing, competing and winning in Stillwater, their final run, Baker said, will be an emotional end to a dominant defense of their home turf.
"It'll be exciting because I love the Jamboree and it's just a fun meet overall," Baker said. "We all get to go out and run in front of our supporters, but it's going bittersweet too because it's my last one."
The Cowboy Jamboree is scheduled for Saturday and expected to kickoff at 8 a.m. with the women's college 5K.
Baker and Boyert, both seniors, will run at 9 a.m. in the university section, looking to finish their careers with a perfect Jamboree record and maybe an elusive spot on the course's top-25 list.
"Some of the seniors have already talked about how they can't believe how fast time has gone," Smith said. "It seems like when they first put on the spikes and got on the course they couldn't imagine having to run it three more times, but now they're thinking they wish they had three more to go."
Â
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Distance
/ Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Sprints
/ Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Distance
/ Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Distance
/ Cowboy Cross Country & TrackFriday, June 05
Friday, May 29
Wednesday, May 27
Monday, May 18
