Red River Relays a Success

DALLAS The first ever Red River Relays, hosted by Southern Methodist, turned out to be quite a success.

“This event was quite a kickoff to the weekend,” OU head coach Rodney Rothoff said. “All the competitors had a wonderful time competing in a different type of race.”

The OU women raced against teams from No. 13 SMU while the men competed against the Tigers of Paul Quinn College.

The Red River Relay format veered from the norm of a cross country meet. Groups of two competed as a team with each runner racing the 2,000-meter loop three times.

“I believed this format helped all teams train well and keep sharp in the middle of the season,” Rothoff said. “Hopefully this event will serve as a building block that we will improve each year, attracting more and more competitive squads.”

Sooner teams were the fastest in both the women's and men's divisions. The team of sophomores Aja Clark and Catherine Odell were the fastest in the women's division, running the combined 12K in 43 minutes, 15 seconds. OU's Blake Culp and Salah Hussein were the fastest men's group, finishing their 12K in 36:45.

Several Oklahoma fans made the trip to Norbuck Park to watch the Sooner cross country teams in competition Friday afternoon before the Red River Shootout at the Cotton Bowl. Many witnessed their very first collegiate cross country competition.

“I'm sure the fans got a kick out of it,” Rothoff said. “There were two very competitive races on a difficult course. The SMU coaches did a fantastic job setting up this course and it will only get better each year.”

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors