Published: August 16, 2008 09:31 pm            

OSU cross country season approaching

Dave Smith isn’t beating around the bush when it comes to this season’s expectations.

“I think this is the best team I’ve ever been associated with,” the Oklahoma State men’s cross country coach said. “I think it’s probably the best team to ever be at OSU. This year’s team is way past the level that (the 2007) team was at during this time last year.”

The Cowboys placed third at the NCAA Championships last season, which tied for the program’s best finish since claiming the national crown in 1954. O-State returns 12 of its top 14 runners including Ryan Vail, who earned All-America honors by finishing eighth in the 10,000-meter race.

In track and field, the senior won his first Big 12 championship in the indoor 3,000m and clinched All-American accolades after placing fifth in outdoor 5,000m. Vail also finished 12th in the finals of the 5,000m at the U.S. Olympic trials earlier this summer but fell shy of sealing an Olympic bid.

“He’s our team leader and kind of the heart and soul of the program right now,” Smith said.

Also returning for the Cowboys is junior David Chirchir, last season’s Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and an All-NCAA Midwest Region selection. The Eldoret, Kenya, native finished 15th at the NCAA Championships to secure All-America honors.

Other key runners include senior Matt Barnes-Smith, junior Daniel Watts and sophomore Sean Fleming. Joining the squad will be freshman German Fernandez, who was recently named the 2008 Gatorade National Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

Fernandez was also the Nike Outdoor National Champion in the two-mile run, earning a time of 8:34.40 that easily broke the 29-year-old record of 8:36.30.

Other newcomers include freshman Colby Lowe and Ryan Prentice, the 2007 champion in the 5,000m at the USA Track and Field Junior Olympic national championships.

“With our top four guys from last year returning plus all those newcomers, we’re a very, very good team,” Smith said.

The Cowboys open cross country season on Aug. 30 at the Hurricane Invitational in Tulsa, then return to Stillwater for the annual Cowboy Jamboree on Oct. 4. After a strong finish a year ago, Smith said OSU has the capability to bring home plenty of gold this season.

“We’re not one of the ones everybody’s talking about yet,” Smith said. “I think we’re moving up on the national-respect level but I think it takes a few years of being up there in the top two or three. I don’t see any limit to what this team can do this year.

“I don’t want to jinx us or make any predictions but I don’t think there’s any level we can’t achieve. Big 12 championship, Regional championship, national championship — this team is good enough and can be in the running to win all of those.”

        

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