Roe Places Fifth, Cowgirls Finish 13th At National Championship

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Oklahoma State men's and women's cross country took on the 2021 NCAA National Championship in Florida after qualifying in last week's Midwest Regional Championship. The Cowboys posted a third-place finish to earn back-to-back podium appearances while the Cowgirls finished 13th.
 
The 13th-place finish for the women was their highest finish since 2015, their second-highest position under director of track & field and cross country Dave Smith and their fifth-best finish in program history.
 
Taylor Roe led the way Cowgirls in the women's 6k race. Roe placed fifth with a time of 19:33.5. She was the first Cowgirl to cross the finish line for the fourth-straight race.
 
Gabby Hentemann was next up for OSU with a 61st place finish in 20:13.3. Molly Born followed and placed 73rd. Clarissa Morales and Kelsey Ramirez also contributed with top-200 finishes.
 
Overall, the Cowgirls put three runners in the top 75 and five in the top 200.
 
"I when you step back and look at it, it was a pretty good day," Smith said. "If you look at in the context of what we were hoping for, it was a tough day. It was not what we hoped for or where we thought we could be. We had some adversity and things that didn't go our way. That's sports and that's life. We still competed through it and did a good job."
 
Isai Rodriguez led the charge for the Cowboys in the men's 10k race. Rodriguez came across the finish line in 22nd with a time of 29:20.6 to become a three-time All-American. He joined Ryan Vail, Jon Wild, Girma Mecheso Tom Farrell as the only three-time All-Americans in program history.
 
Shea Foster and Victor Shitsama were not far behind, coming in 27th and 29th to put three Oklahoma State runners in the top 30.
 
Ryan Smeeton finished 57th with a time of 29:42.8 and was the fourth Cowboy to cross the finish line.
 
"Victor Shitsama probably ran the best race for the men," Smith said. "In terms of a race strategy, a plan and executing what he thought worked best for him. I thought he did a fantastic job."