Women Post Best Finish Ever at Big 12 Meet

TOPEKA, Kan. The University of Oklahoma women's cross country team posted a best-ever finish of seventh today at the Big 12 Cross Country Championships. The men's team was ninth.

Colorado's Renee Metivier won the women's 6K race in 20 minutes, 28.05 seconds as the Buffaloes swept the conference championships for the eighth time in nine years. Kansas's Benson Chesang won the men's 10K in 24:07.43.

Sophomore Jessica Eldridge earned her second All-Big 12 honor is as many years after finishing 12th with a time of 21:54.53.

Women's Results | Men's Results

“I was pleased with Jessica's performance today,” OU head coach Rodney Rothoff said. “She really battled through some adversity during the race. She showed a lot of character today.”

Sophmore Nicola Maye finished 25th in 22:31.26. Maye was followed by Catherine Odell (31st, 22:43.22), Aja Clark (61st, 23:41.12), Jackie Dubois (64th, 23:43.71) and Emily Leonard (93rd, 29:26.46).

“I was pleased with our effort today,” Rothoff said. “We finished just short of our goals, but I'm excited about the next two weeks. Our team has a great future four of our top five runners are sophomores and we have everything we learned today to prepare for the regional.”

Sophomore Jason Coleman led the OU men with a 26th-place finish in 25:26.59. Coleman ran with the lead group, but was tripped just after two miles and finished the race with a seven-inch cut in his calf.

“Jason had a misfortune where he was tripped and spiked going up a hill,” Rothoff said. “He had a hard time regaining his focus and rhythm. Otherwise, he would have been in the top 15.”

The men's team was completed by Salah Hussein (46th, 25:57.53), Tyler Schmiedeberg (47th, 25:58.57), Jason Penland (63rd, 26:29.66), Andrew Call (69th, 26:37.52) and Blake Culp (74th, 26:52.53).

The men's team finished just one point behind host Kansas State for ninth place.

“We were just off the cusp of where we wanted to be,” Rothoff said. “I though Salah ran great. Like our women's team, the men are very young and I can't wait to see how well they improve.”

It is the second consecutive year that the women's team has posted a best-ever conference finish. The previous best was ninth in 1997, 1998 and 2003.

The Sooners have next weekend off before heading to Peoria, Ill., for the NCAA Midwest Regional Saturday, Nov. 13.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Women Post Best Finish Ever at Big 12 Meet

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