Aggies run to 14th at OSU
STILLWATER, Oklahoma (October 3) – Running against the best competition in the entire nation, the #7 Cameron Aggie cross country team today took part in the prestigious Cowboy Jamboree hosted by Oklahoma State University. CU finished the annual event in 14th place out of 28 schools in the collegiate portion of the meet. Today’s race was 8 kilometers in length.
“I was pleased with how everyone ran individually, but as a team we didn’t do very well,” Head Coach Matt Aguero said. “We didn’t have a full squad today and we don’t have enough depth for anyone to have a bad day.”
For three weeks Cameron has enjoyed a #7 regional ranking in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) South Central poll. Prior to that, the Black and Gold spent a week at #8 regionally.
The Aggie runners recorded 354 total points and an average individual time of 27:37.46 today. CU’s total team time of 2:18:07.30 put them just minutes behind fellow Lone Star Conference schools West Texas (13th) and rival East Central (12th).
Another fellow LSC school, Eastern New Mexico, upset the field and took home the overall team title with 100 points and an average team time of 26:16.38.
Nicaise Kazingo of New Mexico Highlands University won the race’s individual title with a time of 25:00.20.
CU’s top finisher for the third straight event was sophomore Julius Korir. Korir brings home CU’s only top ten finish as he placed in 7th overall with a time of 25:44.50.
“Julius ran well and was actually in second place for the first four miles,” Coach Aguero said. “Everyone else ran pretty well, our problem is that we don’t have enough depth.”
Senior Josh Stewart brought home CU’s only other top twenty finish with a time of 26:04.30, good enough for 15th place. Stewart sprinted across the finish line and was able to overtake two runners who were challenging him down the stretch. He beat the 16th and 17th place runners by 0.5 and 0.6 seconds, respectively.
Another of Cameron’s top runners, junior Mohamed Khelalfa, was unable to run in today’s race which severely hurt the team’s overall point total. Khelalfa pulled out of the race today due to painful body aches.
“Mohamed wasn’t feeling well at all, so hopefully he’s not coming down with something,” Coach Aguero said. “Hopefully we can get everyone healthy before the LSC and Regional meets come up.”
Junior Juan Ruiz and senior Casey Kreger finished in 120th and 121st place respectively, just a split-second apart. Ruiz’s time was 28:16.50 while Kreger’s was 28:17.00.
Sophomore David Barmasai was the only other Aggie to finish in the top 200 as he took home 180th place with a time of 29:45.00.
Rounding out CU’s cross country team today was freshman Bhupendra Acharya. His time of 34:38.20 put him in 225th place overall out of the 239-runner field.
Cameron next participates in the University of Arkansas Chile Pepper Festival on Saturday, October 17 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. CU finished in 22nd place out of 30 teams at last year’s Festival.
“Now we need to begin preparation for the Chile Pepper and its 10-kilometer distance,” Coach Aguero said. “I think we will perform better at the longer meet because we’ll be a little more prepared than other schools.”
The Aggies have three meets left in the 2009 cross country season, with a possible fourth meet at the NCAA National Championships.
