Oklahoma State Tops Tulsa In OSU Winter Open Dual Meet

Tuesday, February 23

Stillwater, OK

Oklahoma State University

OSU Winter Open

February 23, 2021 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

STILLWATER – With individual event wins from Isai Rodriguez and Molly Born, the No. 6 Cowboys and the No. 22 Cowgirls combined to sweep Tulsa and earn a pair of event wins in the dual meet-style OSU Winter Open.

On an unusually warm February day in Stillwater, Oklahoma, OSU and Tulsa – along with individuals from Iowa State – took to the course for a final time in the regular season, brushing off the dust and sorting out their top-seven in preparation for the NCAA National Championships, to be hosted in Stillwater on March 15.

In the first race of the day and the first race for the Cowboys in the spring portion of the cross country season, Isai Rodriguez took the men's 8K crown with an event-winning time of 23:57.6. Today's race marks the fourth straight dating back to the Cowboy Jamboree on October 3 that Rodriguez has paced the Cowboys.

Joining Rodriguez in the top 10 of the men's 8K was Alex Maier in 5th (24:16.8), Victor Shitsama in 6th (24:27.2) and Kevin Mulcaire in 7th (24:29.3). Ryan Schoppe, Jonas Price and Adam Dayani, in 11th, 12th and 16th place respectively, finished ahead of Tulsa's fifth finisher, Shay McEvoy in 17th, and locked up the event win over the No. 4 Golden Hurricane.

"I like that we saw some guys that had some hiccups in the past who hadn't really competed well in the fall step up today and run well," men's distance coach Justin Duncan said. "Particularly Kevin Mulcaire, he absolutely stepped up and ran a great race. Seeing him get back into form and do the sort of things we expect from him and know that he's able to do, I thought that was encouraging."

For the Cowgirls, their team performance in the women's 6K, headlined by first and second place finishes from 2019 All-American Molly Born (21:48.7) and 2020 All-Big 12 honoree Gabby Hentemann (21:52.6), was more than enough to earn them their first team win of the season by a healthy 18-37 margin.

For Born, her individual win is her first of the season. After spending the fall portion of the season recovering from injury, women's distance coach Anna Boyert-Thorp said she is certainly a welcome addition back into the Cowgirl lineup.

"It's good for Molly and good for the women on our team," Boyert-Thorp said. "It gives them confidence to have her back. Especially for Taylor [Roe] and Gabby [Hentemann], who will be running right next to her in the one, two and three spots. I think they all feel a bit more confident. They're running with the best of the best and establishing themselves as a team of top-40 women in the country."

A trio of underclassmen were close behind Born and Hentemann, contributing majorly to the Cowgirls' win. Sophomore Taylor Roe finished in 4th place (22:23.4), freshman Heidi Demeo clocked in at 5th (22:25.6) and freshman Sivan Auerbach rounded out the Cowgirl top-ten finishers in 6th place (22:26.3).

With a pair of wins over a team that both the men and women will likely see again at Nationals, the Pokes will spend the final days of their season fine tuning their best racers and preparing to host the NCAA National Championship on March 15.

Men's Race - Individual (8K)
1. Isai Rodriguez - 23:57.6
5. Alex Maier - 24:16.8
6. Victor Shitsama - 24:27.2
7. Kevin Mulcaire - 24:29.3
11. Ryan Schoppe - 24:56.2
12. Jonas Price - 24:58.9
16. Adam Dayani - 23:35.4
18. Will Muirhead - 25:48.5
20. Ryan Smeeton - 26:12.3
22. Isaiah Priddey - 26:17.8
24. Bryce Quigley - 26:47.4
25. Alec Haines - 26:59.5
26. Chris Middleton-Pearson - 27:15.7
28. Kian Davis - 28:18.8
29. Nick Kenville - 28:32.1
30. Wyatt Landis - 30:39.1

Unattached:
15. Alex Stitt - 25:22.1

Women's Race Individual (6K)
1. Molly Born - 21:48.7
2. Gabby Hentemann - 21:52.6
4. Taylor Roe - 22:23.4
5. Heidi Demeo - 22:25.6
6. Sivan Auerbach - 22:26.2
13. Rilee Rigdon - 23:20.8
15. Molly Humes - 24:20.4
16. Claire Workman - 24:41.1
17. Michelle Magnani - 25:29.7

Men's Race - Team
1. No. 6 Oklahoma State - 28
2. No. 4 Tulsa - 29

Women's Race - Team
1. No. 22 Oklahoma State - 18
2. Tulsa - 37