FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -
The Oklahoma State men's cross country team won its third straight meet of the 2012 season and the women's team finished in second place this morning at the Chile Pepper Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
The No. 2 Cowboys took six of the top 10 spots in the 10,000-meter race. Girma Mecheso finished in second place with a time of 30:13.8. Teammates Kirubel Erassa (30:17.4), Shadrack Kipchirchir (30:19.0), Shane Moskowitz (30:25.6) and Fabian Clarkson (30:25.9) finished in third through sixth place, respectfully. True freshman Craig Nowak rounded out the top 10, crossing the finish line at 30:38.6.
"They ran really well and they did exactly what I wanted to see," said coach Dave Smith. "We're right where we need to be this time of the year. We have two weeks until the Big 12 meet and three weeks after that is nationals. We are right where we need to be right now."
Monika Juodeskaite once again led the No. 22 Cowgirls in the 6,000m race, battling to a second-place finish with a time of 20:54.3. That time moved Juodeskaite into ninth all-time on OSU's 6,000m records list.
"We ran pretty well, but Natalja Piliusina got hurt and didn't finish so that hurt our team chances," said Smith. "She was running in second or third place with a little over a mile to go and suffered an injury so she couldn't finish and that hurt us a bit. She'll get better and she'll be back by the Big 12 meet. We're a much better team when we have her in there."
Both teams return to action Oct. 27 when they travel to Austin, Texas for the 2012 Big 12 Championships.
2012 Chile Pepper Invitational October 13, 2012/Agri Park/Fayetteville, Ark.
Men's team standings - top 10 out of 34
1. Oklahoma State - 20
2. Texas Tech - 109
3. Texas A&M-Corpus Christian - 173
4. LMU - 181
4. South Dakota State - 181
6. Texas at Arlington - 207
7. Stephen F. Austin State - 227
8. Richmond - 241
9. High Point - 259
10. Oklahoma Christian - 289
