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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooner XC to Race Top Teams in Minnesota
September 22, 2016 | Cross Country
NORMAN - The schedule continues to move along for the Oklahoma cross country teams and the competition from here on out will only be getting tougher. On Saturday, 15 Sooners will be in Falcon Heights, Minn., to participate in the Roy Griak Invitational hosted by the University of Minnesota.
As the teams prepare to race in their third competition of 2016, a great challenge, as well as a great opportunity, awaits them. Not only will the runners be moving up in the distance of the races, but they will also be moving up in the level of competition. The Roy Griak will feature some of the top ranked teams in the country on both the men's and women's side.
In total there will be 37 schools represented with 36 women's teams and 30 men's teams running 6,000-meters and 8,000-meters, respectively.
Representing Oklahoma on the men's side will be fifth-year senior Dylan Blankenbaker, seniors Eric Alldritt and Alonzo Chavez, redshirt sophomores Brendan Taylor and Liam Meirow, redshirt freshman Zach Gentry and freshmen Nic Butts and Heath Warren.
According to the Sept. 20 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) poll, they will be competing against No. 14 Boise State, No. 17 Michigan, No. 22 Furman, No. 24 Colorado State, No. 26 Southern Utah, No. 30 Michigan State, and Portland, tied with Oklahoma at 19th. The field will also feature Big 12 school Iowa State, UCLA and Illinois, who are all receiving votes in the poll.
“There will be seven ranked teams on the men's side, all of which are top five in their region” says associate coach Kevin Ondrasek. “That fares well for us. If we can knock off one or two of them, our odds of getting at-large points for the National meet are very high.”
Running for the Sooner women are seniors Brittany Tretbar and Elena Arriaza, juniors Belle Wallace and Sarah Scott, sophomore Isabella Rose, redshirt sophomore Hayley Redwine and freshman Ashley Johnson.
On the women's side, Oklahoma will face, according to the same USTFCCCA poll, sixth-ranked Boise State, ninth-ranked Michigan State, No. 10 Michigan, No. 13 Penn State, fellow Big 12 team and No. 17 Iowa State, No. 20 San Francisco, No. 25 Minnesota, No. 29 Mississippi State, No. 30 Portland, and Ohio State who is receiving votes.
For Ondrasek, “if we can beat any of those teams, with our women being unranked, we'd come home very happy with that.”
Despite the high caliber of talent, the first-year associate coach is optimistic about his teams' abilities. “[It is a] very competitive field but they're not out of our league. All of these teams are ranked ahead of us for a reason but they are not out of our league.”
In order to have the type of success Ondrasek believes they can have, the Sooners will be relying on leadership and experience to guide them through the difficult field. “We are looking for leadership performances from Alldritt and Blakenbaker, as well as Tretbar and Wallace. Those will be the people to watch out for this weekend,” according to Ondrasek.
Ondrasek adds that “the men with those older guys there, maybe running out in front of the pack, gives the others more motivation to assume [their] role, even if that's a little further back in the pack. You're running the race knowing that somebody is up there doing the work and giving us a chance to win. For our freshmen, there's no better motivation to think 'I can contribute to what they are doing.' I see that benefiting the men.
“For the women, this team is made up of pretty much crafty veterans. There's only one freshman traveling. For her, it's going to be just a matter of do what they do.”
The men are scheduled to race at 12:20 p.m. with the women starting at 1:35 p.m.
A recap, along with results, will be posted at the conclusion of the races on Soonersports.com. Additionally, the Sooners can be followed on Facebook (Oklahoma Sooners Track & Field and Cross Country), Twitter (@OU__Track) and Instagram (OU__Track). Be sure to follow the OU_Track Snapchat account Saturday for live updates on the races. For subscribers, there will be a live broadcast via FloTrack.com.
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