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
Friday, November 11
Iowa City, Iowa
11:00 AM
University of Oklahoma
vs
NCAA Midwest Regionals
Blankenbaker Finishes Sixth to Lead OU
November 11, 2016 | Cross Country
IOWA CITY, Iowa – Strong performances by a pair of seniors, Dylan Blankenbaker and Eric Alldritt, earned all-region honors and helped The University of Oklahoma's men team to a top-10 team finish and a sense of goal accomplished. The competition was Friday afternoon at the Midwest Regional in Iowa City, Iowa.
“We came out with two all-region athletes, which in our region is quite an accomplishment,” praised associate coach Kevin Ondrasek.
The Sooner women equaled a 10-year best in finish and also had the lowest team score in a decade.
While Alldritt's result was a point of pride for the Sooners, the story throughout the race was Blankenbaker. The San Diego, Calif., native held his own as the 10K race progressed, fluctuating between the first five runners in the front of the pack for the majority of the race. He even led the race from the 6.5K to the 8.25K mark portion of the race. Blankenbaker ultimately finished in sixth place with a time of 30:27.3, claiming his second Midwest All-Region honor.
“Dylan's move at 6K, I thought, was awesome,” Ondrasek said. “He felt that people weren't in position and he went for it. I thought he could sneak away with the win and he's the caliber of an athlete that can win. It was nice to see him act on that. I think that's going to pay off in the long run. Learning how to make moves and push to the front is an art and he's figuring that one out.”
Earning his first all-region honor was Alldritt, who ran to a 24th-place finish with a time of 30:51.5. Liam Meirow finished 50th with a 31:19.6 (48th in team scoring). Brendan Taylor was the next Sooner to finish, coming in 101st overall (96th in team score) with a 32:16.4. Rounding out the scoring was Nic Butts with a 116th -place finish (109th team scoring) in 32:29.9. Zach Gentry recorded a 32:42.2. The men finished with 283 team points.
“The men's team ran smart and they ran patient,” Ondrasek said. “We had a couple of people who linked up and grouped up.”
The women started the competition off with their 6K race. Senior Brittany Tretbar was the top finisher for OU, coming in 27th with a time of 20:53.0.
“Brittany was trying to be our low stick. We knew we needed her to be in the top 10 if we wanted to go to nationals, and she gave it her best shot. I thought it was awesome.”
Following Tretbar were Isabella Rose in 44th-place (43rd in team scoring) with a 21:12.7 and Elena Arriaza at 21:15.6, putting her in 47th-place overall (46th in team scoring). Belle Wallace was the fourth Sooner to cross the line, finishing 55th (54th in team scoring) with a 21:22.7. The final scorer for OU was Sarah Scott, who recorded a 59th- place finish (58th in team scoring) with 21:29.1. Ashley Johnson ran the course in 21:30.3 with Hayley Redwine capping off the team's performance with a time of 22:19.2.
From the moment the women's race started it was clear to Ondrasek that they were going for it.
"The women set it up right,” praised Ondrasek. “They ran and looked like they belonged at the national meet. I loved watching them do that.
“They didn't finish where we wanted, but they gave themselves a shot and that's all you can ask. Had we run more conservatively, I thought we could have finished in the top six, maybe beaten one or two more teams.
"I love the fact that they went for it. All of the women went out of their comfort zone today. They set it up hard, knowing that the race wouldn't come back to them and they had to give it a go.”
The women's team continues to re-write the history of its program as the team finished in seventh place overall with 228 points. The point total marks the lowest team score in last 10 years and is 54 points lower than last year. Two weeks after the women's team had the highest Big 12 finish in its history, the trend continued to this race and is a great building block going forward.
“That kind of racing becomes habitual with a team and, when they start racing like that every time, then it becomes the team mantra. I think that this is the start of something great.
“I think what we took from these races were just the tenacity that they had, the intensity in the way they raced. They raced like they were supposed to be at the national meet and that's what you expect from OU. If they keep racing like that and they keep training, we'll just get better and better.”
The Sooners will learn their NCAA Championship fate when the field, team and individual, is announced Saturday.
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