University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooner CC To Compete In Chile Pepper :: McNair leads OU men to Fayetteville.

Sooner CC To Compete In Chile Pepper :: McNair leads OU men to Fayetteville.
 
 
 

 
Joey McNair, who has posted career bests in his last two races, is one of the Sooners headed to Fayetteville Saturday.
  
 
Sooner CC To Compete In Chile Pepper

McNair leads OU men to Fayetteville.

Oct. 17, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. - The University of Oklahoma men's cross country team will head to Fayettevile, Arkansas, for what could be the toughest test of the 2002 season, the 14th annual Chile Pepper Invitational on Saturday. The university men's 10K race will start at 9:30 a.m. at the Razorback Cross Country Course at Agri Park. Early forecasts are calling for rain and cool temperatures to be present during the race.
The Sooner women will not compete this weekend. Their next race will be the Big 12 Championships on Nov. 2 in Columbia, Mo.

Looking at the Field
It's like a who's who in collegiate cross country for the annual race which serves as a final tuneup before conference meets in two weeks. Other Big 12 squads competing include Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Nebraska. In addition to Arkansas, the Southeastern Conference will be represented by Alabama and LSU. Division II power Abilene Christian, the team Arkansas beat at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree two weeks ago, will also be in the 24-team field.
Other schools scheduled to compete (as of Thursday, Oct. 17) are Baker University, Central Methodist College, Dana College, Drury, Evangel, Harding, Hastings, Southern Arkansas, Southern Nazarene, Southwest Missouri State, Alabama-Huntsville, UC-Irvine, Louisiana-Lafayette, Memphis, Texas-Arlington, Texas-El Paso and Wichita State.

Competing for the Sooners
Making the trip to Fayetteville are Jimmy Buchanan, John Mulholland, Joey McNair, Billy Grona, Jason Brown, Andrew Call, and Darren Hutchins.

The Coach
Rodney Rothoff joined the Sooner coaching staff in August after two seasons as the head cross country and assistant track coach for the Tennessee women's program. In his tenure in Knoxville, Rothoff coached 11 NCAA cross country and track All-Americans. He coached the 2002 SEC champion in the outdoor 800 and had four All-SEC cross country selections. His 2001 cross country team was the SEC runner-up.
A 1990 graduate of Methodist College in North Carolina, Rothoff has also coached Clemson and Arkansas-Little Rock.

The Last Time Out
Junior Joey McNair posted his second career best in as many races, finishing the 8K course at the 66th annual Cowboy Jamboree with a 25:06. That time placed him 20th in the race, his first ever top 20 finish in the Cowboy Jamboree, annually one of the top cross country meets in the country.
Arkansas won the men's title while Georgetown won the women's event. The Sooner men finished 11th overall, the OU women 16th.
McNair had lowered his 8K career best to 25:07 two weeks ago at the SMU Invitational in Dallas. Other Sooner men who posted career bests in the race were Darren Hutchins, John Mullholland and Jason Brown. Hutchins, who also lowered his career best time at SMU, cut another minute of that time with a 25:50. Brown dropped 40 seconds off his previous best with a 27:13. Mullholland, a true freshman, cut 23 seconds off his previous 8K best with a 26:56.
For the Sooner women, freshman Nicola Maye made her Sooner debut a successful one, finishing as OU's leading runner with a 19:42 over the 5K course. Senior Alaina Dearman dropped her career best in the 5K to a 20:21. Sara Justice also had a career best, cutting 18 seconds off the time she posted at SMU. She finished with a 21:27.

OU Results -- Cowboy Jamboree
Oklahoma Men -- 20. Joey McNair, 25:06; 44. Jimmy Buchanan, 25:44; 52. Darren Hutchins, 25:50; 95. John Mullholland, 26:56; 106. Jason Brown, 27:13; 109. Andrew Call, 27:18; 135. Billy Grona, 28:52; 193. Spencer Hunt, 29:21
Oklahoma Women -- 63. Nicola Maye, 19:42; 81. Kim Thomas, 20:11; 87. Amanda Luksetich, 20:20; 90. Alaina Dearman, 20:21; 103. Sara Justice, 21:27; 106. Jackie Dubois, 21:43; 110. Emily Leonard, 22:27; 141. Tiffany Johnson, 23:09

Next Up
The Sooners will return to competition on Nov. 2 when they travel to the Big 12 Championships in Columbia, Mo.