XC Men and Women Place Third in Tulsa

Sept. 4, 2010

TULSA, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma cross country program opened the season at the Hurricane Cross Country Festival Saturday, finishing third in both the men's and women's division.

Men's Results | Women's Results

The No. 12 ranked men were led by Patrick Gomez who finished the four-mile course in eighth place with a time of twenty minutes and eight seconds. Alex Munteferring was close behind in 10th (20:11), followed by Colin Slattery in 15th (20:27), Richard Renteria in 16th (20:31), Ross Larimer in 17th (20:44) and Scott Cooper in 20th (20:58).

Gomez was the front runner for the Sooners all race as he he stayed with the lead pack while Muntefering, Renteria, Larimer and Slattery ran in a pack.

Each of the men clocked faster times than last year's top finisher Chris Sweeney, who had a time of 21:03 at the Hurricane Festival.

"It was our first chance to get our legs moving a little bit," said Gomez. "It took a little bit getting used to the pace. I think it was a good precursor for the rest of the season."

The top finisher for the Oklahoma women on the two-mile course was Molly Ferguson, who crossed the line in fifth with a time of 11:11. Kelly Waters claimed sixth (11:13), followed by Hilary Krein in 20th (11:50), Robin Ray in 23rd (12:23) and Natalie Crain in 24th (12:24).

Ferguson and Crain were the only two to run in this event last season, and both improved their times.

"Coach (Skip Pickens) told us it was going to be a 5:35 pace and we came through in 5:30," said Ferguson. "It felt really good and I told myself that I could keep that pace. I faded a little back in the trees, but I told myself that I was almost done and I needed to kick it in, and I did. I think we had a pretty good run as a team. It was a good start to the season, and we'll see what happens later."

The winner of the men's race was Tom Farrell from Oklahoma State with a time of 19:54 and Paula Whiting from Tulsa won the women's division with a time of 11:02.

The next race for the Sooners is scheduled for Sept. 25 at the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Okla.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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