Cowboy Cross Country Goes for Eighth Consecutive Jamboree Victory

Saturday, September 30

STILLWATER, OK

9:15 AM

Oklahoma State University

Cowboy Jamboree

The Cowboys after winning their seventh-straight Jamboree title

The Cowboys after winning the 2016 Cowboy Jamboree.

Cowboy Cross Country Goes for Eighth Consecutive Jamboree Victory

September 27, 2017 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

MEET NOTES

THE BASICS
Oklahoma State looks to sweep the Cowboy Jamboree titles again this year after narrowly missing out on the sweep last year. OSU will be racing against the likes of Kansas State and Tulsa and looking to improve to 24-2 at home meets since 2009.
A win for the Cowboys would give OSU its 23rd Jamboree title and eighth consecutive top finish.
A Cowgirls' victory would put them at 12 wins overall after finishing second behind Tulsa last year.

FOLLOW THE MEET
Fans can keep up with the action live on Twitter by following @run4okstate for updates. Final results will be published on www.okstate.com along with a recap of OSU's day on the course.

MEET SCHEDULE
8:00 a.m. - Women's Black 5K
8:30 a.m. - Men's Black 8K
9:15 a.m. - Women's Orange 6K
9:45 a.m. - Men's Orange 8K

LAST TIME OUT
Sylvester Barus took the individual title home for the Cowboys at last year's Jamboree, with Josh Thompson coming in fourth and Christian Liddell in sixth for the men's top-three.
The ninth-ranked Cowboys swept the dual-meet, defeating Tulsa, Kansas State, Stephen F. Austin and ORU handily thanks to an eighth-place finish from Luis Martinez and 12th-place finish from junior Anthoney Armstrong.
Tulsa's Clara Langley won the women's 5K and led Tulsa to a 6-0 performance. Savannah Camacho was OSU's highest finisher at eighth in front of a posse of Cowgirls, including Aurora Dybedokken in 10th.
Molly Sughroue and Anna Boyert took 12th and 13th, respectively, and Kaylee Dodd took 20th to wrap up the OSU top five and give the Cowgirls a 5-1 dual record on the day. Gintare Zenkeviciute and sophomore Jennifer Celis crossed the line in 21st and 22nd.
Sophomore Kaytlyn Larson, senior Natalie Baker and junior Emily Helms also all finished in the top 35 for the Cowgirls.

COACH BOBBY LOCKHART - MEET COMMENTS

On what he expects to see from the men's team:
"We obviously want to see a very good effort. We're not really sure because we have a couple of guys who are proven, but we have a lot of youngsters who have yet to prove themselves. I'm excited to see where they are and how far they've come in a year. We have some guys who have redshirted last year or were injured or banged up, but from what we can tell in practice they have made some pretty big strides. So I'm really excited to see how they do."

On what he expects to see from the women's team:
"A lot similar to the men. We have some up-front power that looks very good and is proven, but there are also some unproven people who may have been accomplished in high school. We see them in workouts day-in and day-out, but we want to see them against other competition and in a situation where it might be a little more stressful than a practice."

On his thoughts of hosting the Jamboree:
"It's the one and only time we get to run in front of our home crowd so obviously we look forward to it every year. We don't have any track meets here or anything like that so we're excited to host it. We take a lot of pride in it."

On what the Jamboree does for the team:
"This is really our first test. We have a very small meet early on, but we're really testing ourselves out and seeing where we are at this time of the year. We intend to run hard. There are a lot of very good teams here in Ole Miss, Penn State, Stephen F. Austin and Oklahoma. For us, we're not only testing ourselves, but really testing against some of the better programs and athletes in the country."

OKLAHOMA STATE IN THE RANKINGS
The Oklahoma State Cowboy cross country team remained at No. 9, and the Cowgirls dropped to No. 22 in the third regular season United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Poll.
Leading the Midwest region for the 56th-consecutive week, the Cowboys have held steady at No. 9 since the week one rankings.
Although the Cowboys haven't competed since the season opener Cowboy Preview, expectations in Stillwater, and around the country, are still high as they have moved up a spot without competition since their preseason debut at 10.
Among the other Big 12 programs, OSU still leads conference-rival Iowa State sitting at 14th and Texas receiving votes.
The Midwest No. 3 Cowgirls are ranked 22nd nationally in the third regular season poll. The Cowgirls have remained in the top 25 since the preseason rankings.
OSU's competition in-conference is stronger on the women's side, with Iowa State holding their No. 17 ranking and sitting at No. 1 in the region, and Baylor and West Virginia just outside the top 30.
After a long break from competition, both cross country teams return to action Saturday at the 81st Cowboy Jamboree where they will run against (25/16) Ole Miss, Kansas State and other teams at the OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater.

DEFENDING HOME TURF
The Oklahoma State cross country teams look to build upon their success at home with team wins at the 81st Cowboy Jamboree this Saturday.
Since the first running in 1937, the Cowboys have won 22 Jamboree titles with seven-straight coming since 2010. The last loss was to Northern Arizona in 2009, the year OSU won its first NCAA title under coach Dave Smith. With a win this Saturday, the Pokes would tie the second-longest win streak in Jamboree history with Arkansas' eight straight from 1975-82.
The Cowgirls are looking to rebound after coming in second at the Jamboree last year, snapping the six-year Jamboree win streak. The win streak was the longest women's streak in the event's history.
Last year, after winning the Cowboy Jamboree, the Cowboys then went on to win the Big 12 Championships, which marked their ninth-straight conference title.
This season, the Cowboys went 2-1 in the Cowboy Preview to open the season and the Cowgirls went 0-3, narrowly falling to SEC powerhouse Arkansas and in-state rivals Oklahoma and Tulsa.
Last year Sylvester Barus won the men's 8K race to give the Cowboys their third-consecutive individual champion, and Savannah Camacho was the Cowgirls' highest finisher, crossing the line in eighth.

NEWCOMERS' FIRST BIG TEST
The Cowboy Jamboree course has been often labeled as one of the more difficult courses in the NCAA and across the country, making Saturday's race the first real chance for the newcomers to make an impression on head coach Dave Smith.
Some of OSU's freshmen participating in the race will run unattached but will still be fighting for an orange jersey as the top-seven has yet to be set in stone for both the Cowboys and Cowgirls.
Last year, the Jamboree served as a coming-out party for sophomore standout Sylvester Barus and talented freshman Michelle Magnani, who finished first and second, respectively. Magnani then earned a spot on the team going into the Big 12 Championships.
Two of the biggest names for the Cowgirls are four-time Gatorade Oklahoma Cross Country Runner of the Year Cheyenne Walden and Sinclaire Johnson, who earned her first All-Big 12 honor after taking seventh in the outdoor 800 meters at the Big 12 Championships a year ago.
While their history and resume have all but secured them a spot on the OSU squads come November, the Jamboree will serve as some runners' first chance to compete in orange and figure out where they fall into Smith's plan to return to the NCAA Championships for the fourth title in his tenure.