OU to Compete in the Big 12 Championship

October 28, 2016 | Cross Country

By: Allison Weiss

NORMAN- The miles logged, the sweat lost, the races and times recorded have all led to this weekend in Lubbock, Texas. The Big 12 Cross Country Championship is this Saturday and, for the University of Oklahoma cross country teams, there is no better meet to make a statement.

“This is definitely something special,” acknowledges associate coach Kevin Ondrasek. “This is what we train for, for these championship races. These count. These go in the books for history so we want to do well here.”

The Sooners look to contend with Oklahoma State, who swept the men's and women's races a year ago in Stillwater.

In the 2015 championship race, the men finished in second place, paced by a runner-up finish by Jacob Burcham. Dylan Blankenbaker and Eric Alldritt both took home All-Big 12 honors with their top-15 finishes and hope to replicate, if not improve on, their finishes this year. In fact, Oklahoma has finished second the last two years and both times were aided by runner-up finishers.

To claim the top spot, Oklahoma will not only have to defeat USTFCCCA ranked No. 9 Oklahoma State, who has won the last eight Big 12 titles, but the Sooners will also be tested by No. 13 Iowa State. OU will have to do that without several key runners from the 2015 meet. Brandon Doughty, who placed fourth, and Will Hogston, who came in 19^th, finished their OU careers last year. Burcham also will miss this year's event as he hasn't competed all season.

The women look to improve on their last year's fifth-place finish and will rely on Brittany Tretbar. Tretbar earned All-Big 12 honors with her eighth-place finish in 2015, coming across the line as the top finisher for the Sooner women. Belle Wallace also earned all-conference with her 13^th-place finish. The team has finished in fifth place the last two years.

The women return all but one runner, Grace Barber, from last year's top five who scored.

Testing OU will be USTFCCCA-ranked No. 12 Baylor, No. 15 Iowa State, No. 18 Oklahoma State, and West Virginia, Texas and Kansas, who all received votes in the latest poll.

Tasked with the challenge will be nine runners in each race for the Sooners. Blankenbaker and Alldritt will be joined at the start line by Brendan Taylor, Heath Warren, Nic Butts, Liam Meirow, Zach Gentry, Alonzo Chavez and Christopher Staub on the men's side. On the women's side Elena Arriaza, Ashley Johnson, Isabella Rose, Bryce Perry, Hayley Redwine, Sarah Scott and Madison Heidenburg join Wallace and Tretbar to represent the Crimson and Cream.

A benefit for Oklahoma coming into the races should be the quality of races that OU has competed in to date, and the familiarity in having seen some of the Big 12 runners already. Oklahoma competed against Oklahoma State to open the season at the Cowboy Duals, then raced Baylor and TCU in early September at the Ken Garland Invitational. OU also ran against Iowa State at the Roy Griak and Kansas at the Pre-National Invitational.

“Those races prepare the runners in terms of just dealing with adversity. Warming up with 300 people at a start line can be kind of crazy at a meet like the Roy Griak or Pre-Nationals. When you walk into Big 12's and there are only 100 people and you can see everybody, you know what the jerseys are and you know everybody in the race, the task is simplified,” Ondrasek explained.

Granted the teams and runners may have improved since they last competed against each other, but so have the Sooner runners as well.

“All around I would say race-day focus has improved drastically from race to race. I think as the stage gets bigger and bigger, they do a better job of getting into the zone, as well as just general fitness.”

One factor that may play into the race is the elevation, which is officially listed at 3,256 feet in Lubbock. By comparison, Norman is at 1,171 feet.

“Lubbock is at a deceiving height because it is only 3,000 feet,” Ondrasek explains. “It's not enough to where it affects your rhythm or your cadence. You don't really feel that it's there until later into the race, so it's tricky.”

While all of the teams will be facing the same conditions, Ondrasek believes it is important that the Sooner runners “acknowledge it and know that it will come on later. You have to monitor early paces and not go out too hard. A small mistake can turn into a big one at 3,000 feet.”

In order to have success in Saturday's races, the Sooners will need to have a defined, yet essential, plan of attack. “If the men and women stay in contact with the main pack, which is usually the top 30 people, we will be successful.”

Hosted by Texas Tech University, the 6K women's race and the 8K men's race will be held at Rawls Golf Course, which was also the site the last time the championships were held in Lubbock in 2007.

The women's race is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with the men's race starting at 11 a.m. The top 15 finishers in each race will claim a place on the All-Big 12 team.

A recap, along with results, will be posted at the conclusion of the races on Soonersports.com. Additionally, the races will be streamed live on FloTrack.com for subscribers. As always, the Sooners can be followed on Facebook (Oklahoma Sooners Track & Field and Cross Country), Twitter (@OU__Track) and Instagram (OU__Track).