OSU Cross Country Attempts to Qualify for National Championships at Midwest Regional

OSU Cross Country Attempts to Qualify for National Championships at Midwest Regional

November 07, 2018 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

Meet Information
• Event – NCAA Midwest Regional
• Times – Women's 6K: 11 a.m.; Men's 10K: Noon
• OSU Entries – Men: Alec Haines, Ashenafi Hatte, Sukhi Khosla, Ayrton Ledesma Fuentes, Luis Martinez, Jorge Perez, Bryce Quigley, Isai Rodriguez and Ryan Smeeton; Women: Grace Baker, Ariane Ballner, Molly Born, Kaylee Dodd, Abbie Hetherington, Sinclaire Johnson, Kaytlyn Larson, Jenny Martinez and Taylor Somers
• Course – Newman Golf Course
Meet Notes

The Basics
               The OSU cross country teams continue their postseasons after runner-up finishes at the Big 12 Championships.
               This time around, the Cowboys and Cowgirls make the trip to Peoria, Illinois, for the Midwest Regional.
               OSU has been a consistent contender for Midwest Region titles with the men placing in the top two for the past 15 years and the women have been one of the best two teams in the region for six of the past eight years.
               A top-two finish in this race earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Cross Country Championships on Nov. 17 in Madison, Wisconsin.
               If OSU doesn't finish in the top two, it will have to rely on earning one of 13 at-large bids. Teams who earn at-large berths are chosen based on points earned from their regional finish and victories against qualifying teams.

Follow the Meet
               Fans can follow 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 (All times in CT)
               The NCAA Midwest Regional kicks off with the women's 6K race at 11 a.m. and the men's 10K follows at noon. It's the first 10K race for the OSU men this season.

Coach Smith on the Meet
On the goal going into Regionals
"Well you never want to go into a race and not want to win, but, in my mind, this is a prelim. All we're trying to do is survive and advance. It doesn't have to be pretty. It doesn't have to be by a lot. We want to get to the next round. The way our season has gone, we think that any place in the top four, we're a pretty safe bet for nationals. We'd like to be in the top two for an automatic qualifier, but we don't want to sacrifice a good race at the national championships eight days later in order to get a win at a qualifier. There is really no trophy for this meet. I guess you could call yourself the regional champion, but the NCAA doesn't even hand out a trophy for it. We are just focused on getting through to the national championships and getting through this meet with as little damage as possible."

Sophomore slump? No, thanks.
               In her second season on the cross country course, Sinclaire Johnson has been thriving.
               The native Floridian has run in all four of the Cowgirls races and has impressed in each of them. She earned victories at the rust-busting Hurricane Invitational and the Arturo Barrios Invitational. Her second-place finish at the Big 12 Championships was the first Cowgirl peroformance to seriously threaten for a conference title since 1989. She also finished 15th overall at the Nuttycombe Invitational.
               At last week's Big 12 Championships, Johnson ran with the front pack the entire way and ended up beating out two-time champion Sharon Lokedi, who finished the race in fifth place. Despite a great race, Johnson couldn't beat out Cailie Logue of host school Iowa State.
               In Madison, Wisconsin, Johnson ran stride for stride with some of the nation's elites at the front of the 230-runner field. Defending national champion Ednah Kurgat was among the runners at the front of the massive pack.
               Johnson again figures to be toward the front of the race in Peoria, Illinois, and has the chance to become the first Cowgirl to win a regional title since 2001.

OSU Duo Making Statement On National Level
               Isai Rodriguez and Ashenafi Hatte have proved to be All-American contenders this season.
               Rodriguez is in his first cross country campaign after sitting out last year and redshirting. The native Oklahoman has seen success in both of the races he has run in this season. At the Arturo Barrios Invitational, Rodriguez finished hand-in-hand with Hatte, but on the results page, he was the runner-up.
               At the conference championships, Rodriguez also finished second. He ran in the front of the race for a majority of the 8K race, but Edwin Kurgat of Iowa State took control late in the race.
               Ashenafi Hatte is also a newcomer to the Cowboys' sqaud and performing at an outstanding level. Hatte has run in three races this year and finished in the top 15 in each race. In his second cross country race as a Cowboy, he won the Artuto Barrios Invitational. He finished third at the Big 12 Championships and ran in the lead pack almost the whole race and he finished 13th at the Nuttycombe Invitational, a race that played host to some of the nation's elite runners.
               Both Rodriguez and Hatte have legitimate shots to win the Midwest regional and would be the first to do so since Kirubel Erassa claimed the title in 2014.