Cross Country Opens 2017 at Cowboy Preview

Friday, September 1

STILLWATER, OK

8:00 AM

Oklahoma State University

Cowboy Preview

September 01, 2017 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State men's and women's cross country squads ran their first races of the 2017 season Friday morning at the Cowboy Preview in Stillwater.

The 10th-ranked Cowboys finished 2-1 in the dual format 5k race, knocking off Oklahoma and No. 20 Tulsa while narrowly falling to No. 4 Arkansas. Sophomore Christian Liddell led the way for the Cowboys, finishing second overall with a time of 15:31.7.

Noah Gade and Ryan Smeeton were the next finishers for OSU, finishing fifth in 15:44.4 and seventh in 15:50.3, respectively, to give the Cowboys three top-10 finishers.

"It was good just to get out here and run against someone other than our teammates for a little bit," Liddell said. "We just wanted to go out there and get a nice effort in and focus on that more than anything."

The Cowboys rounded out their scoring with a 12th-place finish from Nic Butts in 15:58.5 and a 21st-place spot from Bryce Balenseifen.

"I think it was a great opener," coach Dave Smith said. "It was a mixed bag. There were some positives, but we have some work to do. I think it's a good starting point. We'll have something to look back at in four weeks at the Jamboree."

The OSU women also competed in a 3k race among the same field of Tulsa, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Cowgirl sophomore Ariane Ballner was OSU's highest finisher in sixth place with a time of 10:50.5.

The 21st-ranked Cowgirls also got a good showing from Sinclaire Johnson, taking eighth overall in 10:56.2.

"It felt really good, so I'm excited for the next race," Ballner said. "We wanted to stay together, then the last 1k just race. I felt good after 2k, so I started to get a little bit faster and it worked out."

Kami Hankins, Emily Helms and Jennifer Celis took 25th, through 27th, respectively, to wrap up the OSU top-five.

In the dual scores, the Cowgirls fell to No. 12 Arkansas, Tulsa and Oklahoma.

"More than anything, it's just a starting point and a reference point to look back on the rest of the year," Smith said. "So, this is a good measuring stick."

With the opening race of the season behind them, the Cowboys and Cowgirls turn their attention to their next race and the final home race of the year with the Cowboy Jamboree on Sept. 30.

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