Completed Event: Cross Country at Cowboy Preview on August 29, 2025 , , 2nd - M/3rd - W
Final
Cross Country
at Cowboy Preview
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Saturday, November 21
Louisville, Ky.
12:00 PM
University of Oklahoma
at
NCAA Championships
OU/XC Men Earn 15th at NCAA Championships
November 21, 2015 | Cross Country
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Junior Jacob Burcham completed a standout season with an All-American performance in his debut at the 78th annual NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship at E.P. "Tom" Sawyer State Park in Louisville on Saturday. With the top 40 individuals earning All-America honors, Burcham became an All-American with his 16th place overall finish. His 30:06.7 earned 13th place in team scoring as he led the Sooners to a 15th-place finish. He also was the top finisher among the Big 12 Conference's entries.
Burcham, the seventh All-American all-time for the Sooners, was OU's first All-American since Bill Kogel picked up the honor in 2011.
Burcham had been the front runner for the Sooners in every postseason race after a pair of top-two finishes in the Big 12 Conference and NCAA Midwest Regional championships. Those finishes marked significant improvements from 2014 when he finished 13th and 48th in the conference and regional meets, respectively. The team, and now the nation, have taken notice.
Jacob Burcham earned All-America honors with a 16th-place performance in his debut at the NCAA Men's Cross Country Championships in Louisville.
"He finished off a great season with 16th place and it was just an awesome run for him," associate head coach Jason Dunn said. "I think he got a little shocked by how fast it was early, but he stayed in there and rolled by some guys in the end. He did a great job and I'm really proud of him."
The team had a strong overall performance in its first national competition since 2012 when the Sooners finished eighth. It was also the first time Dunn has had a team qualify for nationals since he began with Oklahoma in 2013. OU finished ahead of No. 18 Oklahoma State (450 points), who swept the conference and regional championships and No. 31 Texas (833 points) to lead the Big 12 entries.
"I'm really, really happy with a 15th-place finish," said Dunn. "I told the guys last night a decent day would be top 20, if we ran pretty well, we'd be top 15, and if we ran great, we could be top 10. To get here after missing a couple of years and then getting top 15, I'm really, really pleased."
Brandon Doughty finished his collegiate cross country career as a two-time national qualifier, two-time All-Midwest Region and three-time All-Big 12 selection.
In his final cross country race as a Sooner, redshirt senior Brandon Doughty placed 82nd (63rd in team scoring) and was the Sooners' second runner with a time of 30:49.6. The emotional leader throughout the season, Doughty was the only Sooner with NCAA Championship experience after finishing 170th as a true freshman with the 2012 team.
The OU men's national qualifying team (from left) Will Hogston, Eric Alldritt, Allen Eke (an alternate), Liam Meirow, Brandon Doughty, Dylan Blankenbaker, Jacob Burcham, and Matt Brafford.
The final three scorers for the Sooners were Matt Brafford (117th/93rd, 31:07.7), Dylan Blankenbaker (147th/116th, 31:24.4), and Eric Alldritt (179th/146th, 31:42.7). Brafford, a redshirt freshman, finished third in scoring for the Sooners for the first time this season.
"Matt really came through for us here at the end of the season," Dunn said. "He really stepped up and ran well. I think the whole group really ran well today.
"It's a tough race. If you've never been in it before, it's hard to come here and have a really good day," he said. "We had a pretty good day."
In his first national competition, redshirt freshman Matt Brafford gave a strong performance and was the third finisher for the Sooners.
Liam Meirow and Will Hogston finished 215th (32:17.6) 217th (32:19.3), respectively, to round it out for the Sooner competitors. It was also the final cross country race as a Sooner for Hogston, who will graduate in May.
As the cross country season closes, the Sooners finish with a sense of accomplishment, but also anticipation for the year to come.
"It was great. We accomplished our goals," Dunn said. "We wanted to get to nationals and I thought we could be in the top 15 and we did it. We're putting our program back on the map and we want to just keep getting better from here."
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