Oklahoma State Men and Womens Sweep Big 12 Cross Country Championships

LUBBOCK, Texas – For the second year in a row, Oklahoma State's men's and women's cross country teams swept the Big 12 Championship on Friday in Lubbock, highlighted by a record-setting team outing for the Cowgirls and Alex Maier's individual win for the men. 

This accomplishment marked the first time since Iowa State in 2017-18 that a school swept team titles in the Big 12 Championship in back-to-back years.  

On the women's side, the Cowgirls started the day in dominating fashion, en route to the team's second consecutive title, a first in women's history. It's also the women's third Big 12 title in four years. 

Former Cowgirl runner and current assistant distance coach for OSU, Anna Boyert-Thorp, said the progress she's seen from the women has been amazing. 

"Today was awesome," Boyert-Thorp said. "Everyone collectively had a really good day. We had a lot of big performances." 

OSU's 22 points were the lowest in Big 12 Championship history, besting the previous record of 23 set by Colorado in 1997. The Cowgirls defeated second-place No. 28 West Virginia by 27 points. 

Taylor Roe led the way for the Cowgirls in the women's 6k, placing second overall with a time of 20:10.8. Right behind Roe were freshmen phenom's Billah Jepkirui and Natalie Cook, who finished third and fourth after posting times of 20:16.0 and 20:21.9, respectively. Gabby Hentemann finished with a time of 20:39.3, which was enough to take home fifth place. 
Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Dave Smith praised the freshmen for their efforts on the day. 

"Those are two true freshmen, who before this race, didn't really understand what a big-time race is all about; they found out today," Smith said. "They did an incredible job navigating that and run as well as they did. It was good for them to get that under their belt." 
Stephanie Moss and Gabija Galvydyte also landed in the top-10 with eighth-and ninth-place finishes, posting times of 20:52.5 and 20:59.7, respectively. 

Heidi Demeo and Taylor Somers rounded out the scorers for OSU, both landing in the top-20. 
In total, the Cowgirls placed four runners in the top five, six in the top-10 and eight in the top-20. 
"Almost all the women we brought here made it to the top-15, which is pretty incredible," Boyert-Thorp said. "Obviously, scoring a Big 12 record, point-wise, is a pretty cool accomplishment." 

Meanwhile, the Cowboys controlled the field on the way to their third consecutive Big 12 title. OSU's 21 points were the second lowest in the program's conference history, behind its 19 points set in 2010. 

Alex Maier stole the show in the men's 8k, as he took home his second individual title this season, with a time of 23:55.3. In doing so, he became the first Cowboy since Hassan Abdi in 2017 to win the individual Big 12 title.  

"Alex Maier was incredible today," Smith said. "He's clearly on another level than even he has been before. It didn't look like that took a lot of effort." 

Rory Leonard wasn't far behind Maier, finishing his break-through performance in second place while posting a time of 24:10.6, a top-five finished for the first time in Leonard's career. 

Isai Rodriguez and Fouad Messaoudi impressed in their season debut's today, coming in sixth and seventh place with times of 24:14.7 and 24:14.8, respectively. Ryan Schoppe also finished in the top-10 with a time of 24:15.1. 

Will Muirhead and Jonas Price rounded out the scoring for the Pokes, finishing 11th and 12th overall. 

Alex Stitt and Victor Shitsama also contributed to the Cowboys team win, both snagging a spot in the top-15. The Cowboys grabbed three spots in the top five, along with nine runners placing in the top-15. 

"Just really excited for what that means going into regionals and nationals," Smith said. 
The Cowboys and Cowgirls will now prepare to travel to Columbia, Missouri, to compete in the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships for an opportunity to qualify for the national championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on Nov. 19.