Oct. 3, 2009

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STILLWATER, Okla. -- The No. 5-ranked Northern Arizona Lumberjacks claimed the individual winner in Jordan Chipangama and the team title at the 73rd Cowboy Jamboree on Saturday at the OSU cross country course.

Oklahoma State, which competed without its top-two athletes German Fernandez and Ryan Vail, turned in two top-four performances with senior John Kosgei's third-place finish and sophomore Colby Lowe's fourth-place finish. However, the second-ranked Cowboys had no other runners finish higher than 18th on the 8,000 meter course and posted a fourth-place showing in the team standings.

"Northern Arizona probably is one of the top two or three teams in the country," Cowboy coach Dave Smith said. "They didn't run their No. 1 runner today and still beat us. They're a very tough team. They add in their No. 1 runner and they get a lot better. We add in Fernandez and Vail and we get a little bit better."

William & Mary, which is ranked No. 13 in the USTFCCCA rankings, claimed second-place in the team standings while No. 1-ranked Division II team Adams State took third place.

John Stublaski finished in 18th place for OSU, while transfer sophomore Girma Mecheso turned in a 22nd-place showing. Senior Daniel Watts finished 27th to round out the Cowboys that counted toward the team score.

Top 10 Teams
1 Northern Arizona - 52
2 William & Mary - 59
3 Adams State - 69
4 Oklahoma State - 73
5 Western State - 126
6 Kansas - 216
7 Central Missouri - 275
7 Stephen F. Austin - 275
9 Texas Tech - 290
10 Missouri Southern - 318

OSU Individual Finishers
3 John Kosgei - 23:53.60
4 Colby Lowe - 23:54.60
18 John Stublaski - 24:31.30
22 Girma Mecheso - 24:38.20
27 Daniel Watts - 24:49.00
29 Ryan Prentice - 24:54.90
43 Ryan Little - 25:12.60
58 David Chirchir - 25:22.20
150 Peter Wood - 26:50.20
176 Sean Fleming - 27:18.30

University Women

Texas Tech placed three runners in the top four and four in the top nine and cruised to the team title in the women's division of the Cowboy Jamboree. Tech's Lillian Badaru finished the 5,000 meter course in 17:10.50 to win by more than nine seconds.

Oklahoma State's Mihaela Susa turned in the best performance for the Cowgirls with a sixth-place finish in 17:34.90. It was the junior's best finish at the Cowboy Jamboree.

"She looked amazing," Smith said. "She has never raced the way she raced today. It was uncomfortable for her and made her nervous, but I like them to start conservatively and move through the field. She's used to going out, running her hardest and hanging on as long as she can. She executed very well."

Sophomore Victoria Fratczak finished in 32nd place for the Cowgirls. Melanie Funke posted a 66th-place showing while Jacqueline Campos Teran Mixon rounded out the Cowgirl scorers with an 80th- and 91st-place finishes, respectively.

The Cowgirls finished in 11th place overall, 14 points behind 10th-place finisher New Mexico State.

Team Standings
1 Texas Tech - 36
2 Kansas - 107
3 William & Mary - 128
4 Northern Arizona - 137
5 Missouri Southern State - 141
6 Adams State - 147
7 Alabama - 186
8 Tulsa - 219
9 Stephen F. Austin - 241
10 New Mexico State - 247
11 Oklahoma State - 261
12 Oral Roberts - 313
13 Western State - 362
14 Cal State Fullerton - 367
15 UT-Arlington - 451
16 Pitt State - 465
16 TCU - 465
18 San Diego - 496
19 Texas State - 506
20 Missouri-Kansas City - 531
21 Central Missouri - 625
22 Drury - 638
23 Louisiana-Lafayette - 699
24 Texas A&M-Commerce - 782

OSU Individual Finishers
6 Mihaela Susa - 17:34.90
32 Victoria Fratczak - 18:14.70
66 Melanie Funke - 18:46.00
80 Jacqueline Campos - 19:02.40
91 Teran Mixon - 19:08.10
93 Alyse Goldsmith - 19:08.50
149Brandi Andrews - 20:08.40
171Laura Heaton - 20:41.70
176Kelli Quimby - 20:55.50
190Kaitlin Scepanski - 21:45.80

College/Junior College

NiCaise Kazingo of New Mexico Highlands took first-place honors in the college/junior college men's division, while Eastern New Mexico edged Colorado College for the team title. Caroline Jepleting of New Mexico Junior College led her team to an easy title in the women's division, as it finished 49 points ahead of Cowley College.