Cross Country Announces 2012 Slate

NORMAN, Okla. -- University of Oklahoma Head Cross Country Coach Martin Smith and Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Programs and Athletics Director Joe Castiglione announced the 2012 Oklahoma cross country schedule Wednesday afternoon. The schedule includes two in-state competitions and four out-of-state competitions, including the Big 12 Championships on Oct. 27 in Austin, Texas.

In just a span of two months, the Sooner cross country team will travel to five states, and partake in six different competitions, before heading into post-season action.

2012 Oklahoma Cross Country Schedule

Oklahoma opens the season on Sept. 1 at the Tulsa Hurricane Festival, before traveling cross country to Charlottesville, Va., to compete in the Panorama Farms Invitational hosted by the University of Virginia. Just a week later, the Sooners return to Oklahoma to partake in the 75th annual OSU Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater on September 29.

Oklahoma will split its final week of regular-season competition as some runners will travel to Madison, Wis., for the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on Friday, Oct. 12, and others to Fayetteville, Ark., for the Chili Pepper Festival on Saturday, Oct. 13.

The Sooners will head south for the annual Big 12 Championship as all conference schools will meet in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 27 to race for the title.

NCAA competition begins in November with the NCAA Midwest Regional on Nov. 9, in Springfield, Mo. The top two teams from the Midwest Regional automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships on Nov. 17 in Lexington, Ky.

The Oklahoma men's team comes off its best year in program history after it recorded a No. 3 ranking, and finished sixth at the 2011 NCAA Cross Country Championships. They return two of OU's top-three finishers at NCAAs including the Crimson and Cream's lone All-American in Bill Kogel who finished 29th and Kevin Williams who crossed the line in 30.25 for 53rd.

The women return their top runner, Jessica Engel, who led the Sooners at the Midwest Regional with a fifth-place effort to earn the lone Sooner bid to the NCAA Championships where she finished 86th with a time of 20:54.

For all the latest information on Oklahoma cross country, please log on to www.SoonerSports.com or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow Oklahoma cross country, along with the track and field program on Twitter at @OUTandF (https://twitter.com/OUTandF).