Erassa Wins 10,000 Meter Heat At Stanford Invite

April 05, 2014 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track

April 5, 2014

STANFORD, Calif. -

Oklahoma State's Kirubel Erassa won his heat of the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational, in Stanford, Calif., late Friday night.

Erassa, in his first outdoor competition of the season, didn't seem to be affected by the scheduled start time of 10:45 p.m. PT, which equated to 12:45 a.m. CT, back in Stillwater. He ran a smooth and easy race, finishing in 29:02.77, which was almost eight seconds better than the rest of his heat. He ran the seventh-fastest 10,000 meters in OSU history.

“Kirubel looked good,” OSU coach Dave Smith said. “I think he can run a whole minute faster, but he sat back and put together a relaxed race. We wanted to get the qualifying mark out of the way early in the season, and that's what he did. Can't ask for much more.”

Also in that heat for the Cowboys was Brian Gohlke, who took fifth, with a personal-best time of 29:17.41. Gohlke, who was an All-Big 12 performer in this event in 2013, would have claimed the No. 10 spot on OSU's 10,000 meter list, had it not been for Erassa's run.

On the women's side, indoor All-American Kaela Edwards (4:26.83) took 12th in a 1,500 meter heat that featured multiple professional runners. Adela Hofmannova took fifth in her section, with a time of 4:29.65.

In the 5,000 meters, Gintare Zenkeviciute took seventh in her section, finishing in 16:39.21.

OSU track & field resumes action today in Stanford in a couple field events, but most of the competition will take place at the Arkansas Spring Invitational, in Fayetteville, Ark.

Stanford Invitational

April 4-5, 2014/Cobb Track At Angell Field/Stanford, Calif.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Men's Individual Results

1,500 Meters (Section 4)

7. Matthew Fayers – 3:50.85

11. Justin Vilhauer – 3:52.94

1,500 Meters (Section 6)

10. Luis Martinez – 3:57.42

3,000 Meter Steeplechase (Section 3)

9. Anthoney Armstrong – 9:00.16

3,000 Meter Steeplechase (Section 2)