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
Saturday, September 24
Minneapolis, Minn.
10:00 AM
University of Oklahoma
at
Roy Griak Invitational
Meirow, Tretbar Lead Sooners at Roy Griak
September 24, 2016 | Cross Country
Falcon Heights, Minn. - Redshirt sophomore Liam Meirow and senior Brittany Tretbar were the top finishers for the Oklahoma cross country teams in an event that saw some of the best runners and teams in the country competing against each other. When the last runner crossed the line and the scores were tallied, the men's and women's teams finished 16th and 20th respectively, at the Roy Griak Invitational in Falcon Heights, Minn., Saturday.
Meirow and senior Eric Alldritt finished two seconds apart. Meirow covered the 8,000-meter course in (49th overall, 48th in team scoring) at 25:58 and Alldritt in (51st, 49th) at 26:00. Dylan Blankenbaker, a fifth-year senior, followed with a 26:08 and was (62nd, 60th) overall.
“Liam Meirow obviously had a big race today. It was easily his best race in an OU jersey. He executed perfectly. He did exactly what we asked of him,” said associate coach Kevin Ondrasek. “He led the second charge and he led the second charge so well that he actually ended up being our number one runner. He is in much better shape than I think we anticipated and it paid off big for him. It was a big race for him.”
Head coach Jim VanHootegem agreed with Ondrasek's assessment, adding, “Liam ran a smart and strong race for where he is right now. I thought it was his best performance as a Sooner.”
Blankenbaker was another Sooner who both coaches were pleased with. “Dylan ran like a crafty veteran," Ondrasek praised. "He found himself in the right spot in the race. He overextended himself just a little bit, but was able to hang on. He just ran a very tough, gritty race."
VanHootegem added that Alldritt was someone he thought had performed well.
Redshirt sophomore Brendan Taylor finished in (127th, 111th) place out of the 275 runners who competed and the 263 runners who finished the race held at the Les Bolstad Golf Course with a time of 26:51.
“I saw today as another step forward for Brendan, but I know he is capable of more,” VanHootegem continued.
Freshman Nic Butts ran in 27:43 and another freshman Heath Warren recorded a 28:57. Redshirt freshman Zach Gentry was the final Sooner to cross at 29:41. Senior Alonzo Chavez started the race but did not finish.
On the women's side, Tretbar crossed the line in 76th place with a time of 23:12 to be followed six seconds later by sophomore Isabella Rose, who placed 88th at 23:18. Junior Sarah Scott finished (100th overall, 99th in team scoring) with a 23:26 and freshman Ashley Johnson finished the 6,000-meter run in 23:46. Junior Belle Wallace was 160th overall (147th in team scoring) at 24:02 and senior Elena Arriaza rounded out the OU results with a time of 24:30. Redshirt sophomore Hayley Redwine started the race but did not finish.
From VanHootegem's perspective, it was a “very solid day for Isabella. She continues to grow. I am also very pleased with the competitive attitude of Ashley Johnson.”
A total of 263 men finished the race and 335 women crossed the finish line as 29 men's teams and 36 women's teams were on the course for the Division 1 race.
At the end of the day, the shared attitude was that, while there were some good points and performances by some runners, as a whole, there is a lot of room for improvement over the next six weeks. "As far as the freshmen [men], we have a lot of growing to do," Ondrasek explained. "We have a lot of growing up to do both mentally and physically. There's a lot of work to be done. We've got six weeks to get back to work and that's exactly what we've got to do. We've got a lot of work to do with the freshmen men and with the women. We're going to regroup for Pre-Nationals.”
The teams aren't where VanHootegem wants them to be either. “I wasn't pleased with our second pack [on the men's side] and their unwillingness or inability to run as a team. We need to do much better. We certainly need to re-group, re-dedicate and re-arrange some attitudes.”
The Sooners are off from competition until Oct. 15, when they travel to Terre Haute, Ind., to compete in NCAA Pre-Nationals.
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