Upcoming Event: Cross Country at Cowboy Jamboree on September 26, 2026 at 8 a.m. CT
8 a.m. CT
Cross Country
at Cowboy Jamboree
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Thursday, September 1
Stillwater, Okla.
8:00 AM
University of Oklahoma
at
OSU Opener
OU Men and Women Take Second To Open Season
September 01, 2016 | Cross Country
STILLWATER – Led by seniors Eric Alldritt and Brittany Tretbar, the Oklahoma men's and women's cross country teams had a collectively strong start to the season Thursday at the Cowboy Duals.
Both went 4-1 in the dual competition with the men beating preseason sixth-ranked Arkansas, Tulsa, Oral Roberts and Wichita State and losing to Oklahoma State. The women beat OSU, ORU, Wichita State and Tulsa and lost 27-28 to preseason 11th-ranked Arkansas.
Tretbar was the top Oklahoma finisher of the day, finishing as the runner-up in the women's 3k with a time of 10:38.5. The Sooners had five runners finish in the top 10, including Hayley Redwine (fifth, 10:44.6), Sarah Scott (sixth, 10:46.7), Isabella Rose (ninth, 10:48.6) and Belle Wallace (10th, 10:50.8). Ashley Johnson, the only true freshman for the women, completed her first collegiate race in 11:15.8, finishing 25th overall.
While there is still room to improve and perfect the commitment to the race plan, for first- year cross country associate coach Kevin Ondrasek, the senior leadership of Tretbar and the women's results were what he was hoping he would see.
“Five out of the top 10 is great. That's exactly what I was looking for from the seniors. The finish was fine but we need to do a better job of following the race plan, running as a team, especially in the middle parts of the race,” Ondrasek continued. “I was hoping they would pull some of the younger runners with them in that top 10. That didn't happen today but it was the first time out.”
While the women finished scattered among the field, the men better executed Ondrasek's strategy. “[Today's race] was more about working together as a team. I feel like we just have to practice that. It is an individual sport that is won as a team. A lot of times, individuals need to practice working together versus going out on their own. The men, though, did a better job of running as a team.”
For the men, Eric Alldritt (15:51.9), Alonzo Chavez (15:58.8) and Liam Meirow (15:59.3) ran fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 5k race to lead the Sooners. Dylan Blankenbaker (11th, 16:09.8), Brendan Taylor (13th, 16:18.4) and true freshman Nic Butts (14th, 16:21.2) contributed with top-15 performances of their own.
Two more true freshmen, Ean Beyer and Heath Warren, held their own in their collegiate debut. Beyer ran a time of 16:33.8 to finish 20th and Warren ended up in 24th with 16:56.5.
Both the men and the women return to competition on Sept. 17 when they head to Denton, Texas, for the North Texas Invite. For more information on OU cross country, check out Soonersports.com.
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