STILLWATER, Okla. – The Oklahoma State cross country program won the men’s and women’s team championships at the Cowboy Jamboree Saturday for the second-consecutive season.
The men recorded a team score of 54, 35 points better than second-place Indiana. The Cowboys were led by a second-place finish from senior Colby Lowe, who completed the 8,000-meter race in 23:47.96.
“It’s wonderful,” Lowe said of running in his final Cowboy Jamboree. “It’s more than anything I could ask for from the guys, just coming out here and proving they’re working hard and their work is paying off. Everybody is ready to get back in there and get racing again and they’re really pushing hard.”
Three other Cowboys finished in the top 10, as sophomore transfer Shadrack Kipchirchir placed fourth in his first race as a Cowboy with a time of 23:57.76. Senior German Fernandez finished fifth, completing the race in 24:01.56, while sophomore Tom Farrell placed seventh with a time of 24:12.45.
Redshirt freshman Kirubel Erassa, who took first at the Hurricane Festival on Sept. 3, rounded out the Cowboys’ scoring five with a 36th-place finish.
“With those first four guys, I was thrilled,” coach Dave Smith said. “I think they did a great job. We had a strategy for the race that was run conservatively for the first half and finish strong, and I think they executed that to perfection. I’m excited for them.”
Diego Estrada of Northern Arizona took the top spot in the university men’s race with, clocking a 23:34.34.
The Cowgirls posted a team score of 73, defeating second-place Indiana’s score of 81. The Cowgirls were led by a fourth-place finish from sophomore Natalja Piliusina, as she completed the 6,000-meter race in 17:26.64.
“We won last year and I think it was important for all of us to win it again this year as a team, as well,” Piliusina said. “We’re ranked 23rd right now, so I think it’s a good push for all of the girls for motivation to keep going, keep winning and make our way to nationals.”
Kate Kujawa finished 14th with a time of 17:52.77, while senior Victoria Fratczak finished 16th in 17:55.57. Senior Teran Mixon was right behind, finishing 17th with a time of 17:56.81. Freshman Monika Juodeskaite rounded out the scoring five at 22nd with a time of 18:06.17.
Lauren Kleppin of Western State took the individual title, recording a time of 17:09.90.
In the college men’s 8,000-meter race, Hillary Kirwa of Cameron College took first place with a time of 25:00.93, while New Mexico Highlands took the team title with 54 points, beating second-place Southwestern (Kan.) by 67 points.
Friends University won the team and individual championships in the college women’s 5,000-meter race. Friends’ team score of 33 beat second-place Iowa Central Community College by 59 points. Jordan Arnold took first in the race with a time 18:11.17.
University Men Top 10 Finishers 1. Diego Estrada (Northern Arizona) - 23:34.34 2. Colby Lowe (Oklahoma State) - 23:47.96 3. Stanley Kebenei (Iowa Central CC) - 23:57.32 4. Shadrack Kipchirchir (Oklahoma State) - 23:57.76 5. German Fernandez (Oklahoma State) - 24:01.56 6. Silas Kisorio (Oklahoma Christian) - 24:08.19 7. Tom Farrell (Oklahoma State) - 24:12.45 8. Eric Fernandez (Arkansas) - 24:13.80 9. Nathaniel Sellers (Adams State) - 24:15.45 10. Cosmas Ayabei (UMKC) -24:16.69 (Other OSU runners) 36. Kirubel Erassa - 24:53.76 46. David Osborn - 25:03.03 75. Nick Thorp - 25:26.70 84. Neal Smith - 25:33.23 87. Taylor Monaghan - 25:36.38 112. Klaus Schmidt - 25:56.02 118. Johnathan Stublaski - 26:09.43 131. Kevin Colon - 26:20.26 239. Mark Nelson - 27:45.27
University Men Team Scores 1. Oklahoma State - 54 2. Indiana - 89 3. Northern Arizona - 129 3. Adams State - 129 5. Arkansas - 135 6. Tulsa - 147 7. Western State - 177 8. Oklahoma Christian - 228 9. Eastern New Mexico - 309 10. UTSA - 314 11. New Mexico St. - 329 12. East Central - 356 13. Pittsburg St. - 422 14. UMKC - 425 15. Nebraska-Kearney - 454 16. Missouri Southern - 461 17. Iowa Central CC - 477 18. Wayland Baptist - 492 19. Friends - 495 20. Oklahoma Baptist - 525 21. Southwest Baptist - 542 22. Texas Wesleyan - 656 23. TAMU-Commerce - 674 24. Abilene Christian - 681 25. Drury - 706 26. North Texas - 751 27. Texas Christian - 785 28. Oral Roberts - 801 29. Texas-Permian Basin - 912
