Completed Event: Cross Country at Cowboy Preview on August 29, 2025 , , 2nd - M/3rd - W
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Cross Country
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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Cross Country Opens Season with Cowboy Dual
August 31, 2016 | Cross Country
It is time to once again lace up the running shoes. Members of the men's and women's cross country teams open up their season Thursday in Stillwater when they participate in the OSU Cowboy Duals. Tulsa, Arkansas and Oral Roberts will join the Sooners and host OSU in the dual-scored meet. The 14 Sooner women are scheduled to start their 3,000-meter race at 8 a.m. and the nine Sooner men will follow in their 5,000-meter race at 8:30 a.m.
A trip to Stillwater marks the start of the season for a second consecutive year for the Sooners. Last year, in the Cowboy Preview, the OU men went 2-1, finishing better than Tulsa and Arkansas and trailing OSU. The women finished 1-2, beating Tulsa but falling to Oklahoma State and Arkansas.
The meet, while small in size, is big in competitive strength, according to the national preseason polls released this week. The men's race will feature the fourth-, 18th- and 22nd-ranked teams, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State respectively, according to FloTrack's preseason list. The United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association's (USTFCCCA) coaches poll has Arkansas sixth, OSU 11th, OU 19th and Tulsa 27th in its preseason men's poll. FloTrack's poll has the OSU women seventh and Arkansas 12th while the USTFCCCA's coaches women's poll has OSU eighth and Arkansas tied for 11th.
In the preseason regional rankings by the USTFCCCA coaches, it is first, second, third for the OSU, OU and Tulsa men's and women's teams in the Midwest Region while the Arkansas men and women take the top spot in the South Central Regional.
There will be a good mix of experience and newcomers running the course for OU, a blend that first-year cross country associate coach Kevin Ondrasek is hoping will create a chance for the teams to gel and find a routine.
“The first meet will be a chance to implement a lot of new things like a new warm-up, a new race strategy, things like that,” Ondrasek said.
He added that preparation leading up to the race has centered on learning new drills as well as the seniors showing the newcomers the ropes, a concept that is reinforced in the makeup of the lineup competing.
With 23 runners slated to compete Thursday, true freshmen Ashley Johnson on the women's side and Ean Beyer, Nic Butts and Heath Warren on the men's side and redshirt freshman Christopher Staub will be experiencing their first collegiate cross country race.
“The preparation is probably more centered around the seniors taking them [the newcomers] under their wings more than adjusting things for the newcomers. I think it is just a matter of the older guys stepping up and showing them how it's supposed to be done and doing it right,” Ondrasek explained.
“I'm pretty confident in them and their ability to execute. The distance is only half as far as we normally race, so it is not like a true litmus test of maybe even fitness. The men are trying to train for 10,000 (meters) and are only racing 5,000 (meters), so it is kind of informal. The women normally race 6,000 meters so they are all racing half the distance,” he continued.
“I want to see them race as a team. That's it. We have a lot of new guys, so I would say we are old and we are young, and there is not a lot of in between. I just want to see a cohesive unit … running together, running for each other. If that happens, we will be happy with it.”
The competition will be held at the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course, which offers a diverse terrain comprised of grass and wood chips, with rolling hills and three sets of three steps located throughout. The course also contains a creek bed that could present a challenge for the runners, especially if Mother Nature doesn't cooperate.
“The course zigzags back and forth between a creek bed. It's not like any long, grinding obstacles but rhythm breakers. For us it's going to be about finding a new rhythm every time they come out of these creeks. And if it rains, with it being a creek bed, things can get a lot more challenging really quickly. We just hope for no rain.”
A recap along with results from the race will be posted at the conclusion on Soonersports.com. Additionally, the Sooners can be followed on Facebook (@OUTrackandXC), Twitter (@OU_Track) and Instagram (OU_Track).
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