Isai Rodriguez Wins Big 12 Newcomer of the Year

November 21, 2018 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track

IRVING, TEXAS—Oklahoma State cross country runner Isai Rodriguez was honored for his phenomenal freshman season with the men's Big 12 Newcomer of the Year award, the conference announced Wednesday.

Rodriguez's landmark freshman campaign was capped off Saturday with a fourth place finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships. His finish was the best of any Cowboy cross country runner at that event. He also became the 50th cross country All-American in program history and the 27th under Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Dave Smith.

This is the sixth time a Cowboy has won a Big 8 or Big 12 Newcomer of the Year in the cross country season and the first since Josh Thompson won the award in 2015.

Rodriguez led the final race of the season at times and came down the final straightaway of the Thomas Zimmer Championship course neck-and-neck with national champion Morgan McDonald, Pac-12 champion Grant Fisher and Big 12 champion Edwin Kurgat.

Prior to the NCAA Cross Country Championships, Rodriguez earned runner-up finishes in all three of his races: the Big 12 Championships, the Midwest Regional and the Arturo Barrios Invitational.

At the regional meet, Rodriguez jumped up 21 spots in the second half of the race, but couldn't catch Kurgat for the regional title.

In Ames, Iowa, at the Big 12 Championships, Rodriguez ran at the front with Kurgat and teammate Ashenafi Hatte, but Kurgat took control of the race late and won the conference title.

At the inaugural Arturo Barrios Invitational, Rodriguez and Hatte crossed the finish line holding hands, but Hatte was awarded the victory by less than one-tenth of a second.

Smith has now produced five of the six athletes who have claimed the award in their debut seasons.