XC Heads to Big 12 Championships

NORMAN, Okla. The University of Oklahoma men's and women's cross country teams compete at the most important race of the season, the Big 12 Championships, Friday, Oct. 27.

The 2006 Big 12 Cross Country Championships are hosted by the University of Kansas at Rim Rock Park in Lawrence. The women's 6,000-meter race begins at 10 a.m. and the men's 8,000-meter run follows at 11 a.m.

Juniors Jason Coleman and Jessica Eldridge lead the OU men and women, respectively. The two, who redshirted last season, have been the top-finishing Sooners at the previous two events. Both will challenge for all-conference honors.

Coleman earned Big 12 Runner of the Week honors for his 16th-place run at the Penn State Invitational (Oct. 7) and led the Sooners at the prestigious Roy Griak Invitational (Sept. 23).

Big 12 Championships

Eldridge posted an impressive 12th-place finish, out of 245 runners, at the Indiana State Pre-National Blue Race (Oct. 14) and was 19th at the Roy Griak Invitational.

The men's team has never finished better than ninth overall at the Big 12 meet, but will get a boost this year from several talented freshmen, including Rob Sorrell, Jon Grey and Jacob Boone.

Sorrell, the season's first Big 12 Runner of the Week honoree, won in his collegiate debut at the Hurricane Festival (Sept. 9) and has been steady as OU's No. 2 runner.

Boone missed the first two races of the season while recovering from an infection in his leg, but debuted as OU's No. 4 finished despite not being at full strength. The Sooners' potential result at the conference championships may hinge on what Boone's performance.

The women's team has been very deliberate in 2006, due in large part to having just five active members. Keeping the team healthy has been a major concern for coaches Martin Smith and Tom McArdle, but with everything so far, so good, unleashing the squad may prove to surprise many opposing teams.

Senior Aja Clark and juniors Kristi Cook and Catherine Odell make the OU women one of the most experience teams in the field. The additional contributions of freshman Ashley Storm have made this year's crew one of the best in school history.

Colorado has dominated the Big 12 cross country scene for the past decade. The men have won all 10 previous titles, while the CU women have won nine of 10 championships. Kansas State won the women's crown in 1998.

Complete results and a full recap of the Big 12 Championships will be available on SoonerSports.com shortly following the events conclusion.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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