Cross Country Sweeps Arturo Barrios Individual Races

Saturday, October 13

College Station, Texas

9 A.M. CT

Oklahoma State University

Arturo Barrios Invitational

Sinclair Johnson at Arturo Barrios Invite

October 13, 2018 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS—Sinclaire Johnson and Ashenafi Hatte won the individual races for the Oklahoma State cross country teams at the Arturo Barrios Invitational on Saturday at the Dale Watts Cross Country Course.

Johnson took to the front of the race early and never let up en route to her second victory of the season. She finished the 6,000-meter race with a time of 19:58.5. Her cross country season has been one to remember. She also won the Hurricane Invitational and finished 15th in a loaded field at the Nuttycombe Invitational.

The women's team finished second in the team race. The Cowgirls finished with four runners in the top 25. Including Johnson's victorious performance, Molly Born finished 17th, Taylor Somers was right behind the freshman in 19th, and veterans Kaylee Dodd and Ariane Ballner rounded out OSU's scoring effort with 21st- and 27th-place finishes, respectively.

Johnson said the conditions in College Station weren't ideal, but it was a learning experience for her team.

"We wanted to win as a little bit of a boost for the postseason, but this will be a little bit of a wake up call today," Johnson said. "We have a few things that we will clean up, but I think we'll be great going into the postseason."

On the men's side, Hatte and Rodriguez crossed the finish line hand in hand, finishing the race almost simultaneously. Hatte was recorded as the winner by one-tenth of a second, finishing with a mark of 23:52.7 with the freshman right behind him at 23:52.8.

It was Rodriguez's first cross country race in uniform for the Cowboys and it was an impressive debut. He said he felt blessed to be able to run with his teammates and friends.

"I've had a lot of injuries to go through to get here," Rodriguez said. "It was great to finish with Ashenafi (Hatte) and we held hands at the end."

In the team race, the OSU men's squad also finished in second place. Jorge Perez bounced back with a 14th-place finish after coming in 158th at the Nuttycombe Invitational. Bryce Quigley came in 35th and Sukhi Khosla finished 41st to cap off the Cowboys' scoring effort.

Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Dave Smith said Johnson, Hatte and Rodriguez ran really well.

"They competed well," Smith said. "They had great race plans and executed them perfectly and looked good doing it."

Up next for OSU is the Big 12 Championships at 10 a.m. on Oct. 26 in Ames, Iowa. Smith said despite runner-up finishes for both teams, improvements can be made before the conference champions are crowned.

"I thought the men ran really well," Smith said. "When Ryan Smeeton and Luis Martinez get back in there, they improve our team significantly. On the women's side, we've still got work to do. We've got to get a little better before conference if we want to win it. Sinclaire is where she needs to be, but we need to tighten up and get some of our upperclassmen to run with Sinclaire."

Men's Race – Individual (8K)

1. Ashenafi Hatte – 23:52.7
2. Isai Rodriguez – 23:52.8
14. Jorge Perez – 24:46.2
35. Bryce Quigley – 25:17.9
41. Sukhi Khosla – 25:25.1
70. Owen Krewson – 25:51.7
90. Ayrton Ledesma Fuentes – 26:08.6
113. Garrett Calhoun – 26:30.7
135. Nick Kenville – 26:44.9

Women's Race – Individual (6K)

1. Sinclaire Johnson – 19:58.5
17. Molly Born – 21:12.9
19. Taylor Somers – 21:22.6
21. Kaylee Dodd – 21:26.6
27. Ariane Ballner - 21:35.6
35. Grace Baker – 21:45.7
42. Kami Hankins – 21:51.4
57. Abbie Hetherington – 22:09.1
67. Morgan Szekely – 22:17.0
111. Katherine Ruck – 22:58.5
133. Cheyenne Walden – 23:21.0
142. Haley Geissler – 23:34.5
148. Anna Gunter – 23:41.1

Men's Race – Team (8K)

1. Guelph – 56 points
2. Oklahoma State – 93 points
3. Texas – 98 points
4. Tennessee 113 points
5. UT-Rio Grande Valley – 231 points

Women's Race – Team (6K)

1. Florida – 46 points
2. Oklahoma State – 85 points
3. Vanderbilt – 138 points
4. Texas – 156 points
5. Cal Baptist – 186 points