OU Men Take Second, Women Fifth at Big 12s

Saturday, October 31

Stillwater, Okla.

9:00 AM

University of Oklahoma

Big 12 Championships

OU Men Take Second, Women Fifth at Big 12s

October 31, 2015 | Cross Country

By: Akilah Laster

STILLWATER - Jacob Burcham and Brandon Doughty proved to be unfazed by the cold weather and soggy ground during the 20th annual Big 12 Cross Country Championships Saturday. They became the first Oklahoma men's duo to finish in the top five at the Big 12 meet.

Burcham and Doughty earned All-Big 12 honors, given to the top 15 runners, for a second consecutive year after finishing second and fourth, respectively. The twosome led the Sooner men to a second-place team finish, a repeat of the 2014 performance.

Brandon Doughty (left) and Jacob Burcham (right) were the first Oklahoma men's duo to finish in the top five at the Big 12 Cross Country Championships.

Burcham clocked a 23:59.9, an improvement from his 24:34.9 time in 2014 when he placed 13th. Redshirt senior Doughty ran a 24:18.6 for his third top-10 finish at the Big 12. Doughty improved in time and placement compared to 2014 when he finished eighth with a time of 24:25.4. He also improved his ninth place performance in 2013 in his final Big 12 meet today.

"Jacob (Burcham) did an awesome job for us getting second," said Jason Dunn, associate head coach. "It would've been awesome to see him win, but it was a really good run for him.

"Brandon (Doughty) getting fourth was great and he was really strong upfront," he added. "We just had a really solid effort overall."

The Sooner men's cross country team finish second in team-scoring at the 20th annual Big 12 Championships in Stillwater, Okla. on Oct. 31.?

All-Big 12 XC Honorees
Jacob Burcham // Jr.? 2015 Big 12 Championship Recap:?Placed second overall with a time of 23:59.9 ... Finished first for the Sooner men ... Earned his second all-conference honor after placing 13th in 2014.?
Brandon Doughty // RSr.? 2015 Big 12 Championship Recap: Placed fourth overall with a time of 24:18.6 ... Finished second for the Sooner men ... Earned his third all-conference honor after placing eighth in 2014 and ninth in 2013.
Dylan Blankenbaker // Jr.? 2015 Big 12 Championship Recap:?Finished 11th overall in his first appearance at the Big 12 Championship with a time of 24:46.7 ... Finished third for the Sooner men ... Earned his first all-conference honor in 2015.?
Eric Alldritt // Jr.? 2015 Big 12 Championship Recap: Finished 14th overall with a time of 24:58.6 ... Finished as the fourth scorer and fourth all-conference honoree for the Sooners ... Earned his first all-conference honor and improved from a 25th-place finish in 2014.
Brittany Tretbar // Jr.? 2015 Big 12 Championship Recap: Finished eighth overall with a time of 21:05.4 ... Led the Sooner women in scoring ... Earned her second consecutive all-conference honor after getting her first in 2014 with a 10th-place performance.
Belle Wallace // So.? 2015 Big 12 Championship Recap: Finished 13th overall with a time of 21:16.7 ... Finished second for the Sooner women in scoring ... Earned her first all-conference recognition and improved from 31st in 2014.?

Improved performances and points highlighted the day for the OU men in Stillwater with two additional scorers displaying all-conference performances as juniors Dylan Blankenbaker and Eric Alldritt placed in the top 15. Blankenbaker, in his first Big 12 appearance, finished 11th with a time of 24:46.7 and Alldritt placed 14th with a time of 24:58.6. Alldritt finished 25th a year ago. Senior Will Hogston was the final scorer for the Sooner men. He finished 20th with a time of 25:13.8, an improvement from 32nd last season.

The men's team score also dropped to 50 points from 65 last season. It's the second lowest point total at the Big 12 for the men in conference history. The all-time lowest score for OU was 43 points in 2011.

Nationally sixth-ranked Oklahoma State earned its eighth conference title on Saturday.

"I feel like our guys did really well," Dunn said. "We did what we thought we could do in terms of finish places and what we thought our team score could be. Oklahoma State did a great job. We just got beat by a team on their home course that ran great today. But I'm still pleased with our guys."

Matt Brafford (29th/25:29.3), Liam Meirow (34th/25:40.8), Allen Eke (39th/25:50.4), Alonzo Chavez (46th/ 26:10.9), and Hunter Heaton (60th/26:32.6) rounded the day out for the men.

The women also matched last season's program-best performance to earn fifth overall in team scoring. The OU women trailed OSU, Iowa State, West Virginia, and Kansas.

"I'm kind of surprised we were fifth because I feel like we didn't run anywhere near what we're capable of," Dunn said. "I really think we left an opportunity out there where we really could've moved up to fourth or even third with a little bit more of a day that we're capable of."

The Sooners were led by Brittany Tretbar, who finished eighth with a time of 21:05.4. She picked up her second all-conference honor Saturday after finishing 10th a year ago. Sophomore Belle Wallace earned All-Big 12 honors for the first time in her career with a 13th-place time of 21:16.7. She improved nearly 20 spots from 2014 when she finished 31st with a time of 21:31.4.

The Sooner women finish fifth at the Big 12 Cross Country Championships on Oct. 31 to match last season's program best Big 12 Conference team performance.?

"Brittany (Tretbar) did a great job and Belle (Wallace) had a huge breakthrough," Dunn said. "For Belle to be all-conference was a really great step for her."

 Juniors Brittany Tretbar and Jacob Burcham were
the Sooners' top finishers at the Big 12 Cross Country
Championships. Burcham was the runner-up in the
men's 8K and Tretbar placed 8th in the women's 6K.

The Sooner women cut two points in team scoring from last season to 152, but they were hoping to make a more significant statement.

"We've really got to rebound because we can run so much better than we did today," Dunn said. "It's just a matter of them getting their heads straight and giving a much better effort in two weeks."

Sarah Scott (30th/29th, 21:52.2), Elena Arriaza (51st/46th, 22:31.7), and freshman Grace Barber (64th/56th, 23:05.2) were the final three scorers for the Sooners. Other Sooner finishers included Bryce Perry (66th/58th, 23:11.5), Abbey Mace (68th/59th, 23:15.8), Sophia Fernald (73rd, 23:29.4), and Alexandria Arndorfer (78th, 23:56.2). Morgan Long also participated, but did not finish.

"Both teams have got to recover and get back to work tomorrow," Dunn said. "We've got to get refocused going into regionals."

The Sooners return to competition on Nov. 13 at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Lawrence, Kan. For more information about OU cross country check out SoonerSports.com.