Natalie Cook and Alex Maier Sweep Big 12 Runner of the Week Honors

September 27, 2022 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State cross country runners Natalie Cook and Alex Maier continue to rack up the awards following their victories at the Cowboy Jamboree, with the pair being awarded Big 12 Runners of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.

Cook is the 11^th Cowgirl to be named Big 12 Runner of the Week and the first since teammate Taylor Roe earned the honor last season. She won the Cowboy Jamboree in impressive fashion this past weekend, winning the women's 6K with a time of 20:17.1 in her first collegiate race. Her time is the sixth-fastest 6K time recorded on the new iteration of the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course and helped lead the Cowgirls to a dominant victory over six fellow top-10 squads.

Alex Maier joins a long list of Cowboy greats, becoming the 17^th Cowboy to earn Big 12 Runner of the Week honors, with teammate Isai Rodriguez earning the previous three Cowboy honors in 2020 and 2021. Maier dominated the final 1,000 meters last Saturday at the Cowboy Jamboree, defeating several cross country All-Americans and taking home the title with an 8K time of 23:16.9. His winning time was the second-fastest 8K time in Jamboree history after Rodriguez's performance in 2021

This is the fifth time in program history that OSU has swept the Big 12 Runner of the Week awards, with all five occasions listed below.

Sept. 19, 2000 – Junior Vasquez and Sara Wells
Sept. 10, 2002 – Jason Woolhouse and Marie Nilsson
Oct. 16, 2018 – Ashenafi Hatte and Sinclaire Johnson
Sept. 21, 2021 – Isai Rodriguez and Taylor Roe
Sept. 27, 2022 – Alex Maier and Natalie Cook

The Cowgirls and Cowboy take to the course again on Oct. 15, for the Weis-Crockett Invitational on the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course in Stillwater.

For more information on the Cowboys and Cowgirls, continue to check back with okstate.com.