Harriers Run in Cowboy Jamboree Saturday
9/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | General
Sept. 30, 2004
The TCU men's and women's cross country teams are back in action on Saturday, October 2, when they travel to Stillwater, Oklahoma to take part in the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree. The women will compete on a 6K course, while the men will run an 8K distance. The Jamboree is steeped in tradition, as it's the longest consecutively held cross country meet in the nation and one of the top events in the country on this weekend's cross country calendar.
"This weekend's event is a true test for us," said TCU cross country coach Patrick Cunniff. "It's certainly one of the biggest meets we will be competing in this season, with over 200 men and 175 women entered in the university division. The competition at this meet has been traditionally very strong. We should know a lot more about our team after this weekend."
The TCU women will send seven runners to the starting line, but will be without senior Mary Kinyanjui. Kinyanjui, who won the Texas A&M Invitational two weeks ago, has a minor calf injury and will not compete this weekend. The TCU women will be represented by Halie Bullin, Elese Dawson, McKale Davis, Cassie Hostick, Pattie Parker, Calandra Stewart and Katrina Zielinski. The TCU men have entered eight runners, including Houston Bolin, Johnathan Bundren, Cody Cook, David Harris, Matt Manly, Brett McKnight, Alex Morris and J.T. Reinert.
"Mary could run, but we want to be very careful with her," said Cunniff. "We want her to be at 100 percent for the conference and regional meets later this fall. There is no sense in pushing it with her right now."
Other teams scheduled to compete at the Cowboy Jamboree include Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Kansas State, Tulsa, Wichita State, Oral Roberts, UT-San Antonio Arkansas (men), Georgetown (women) and the host school, Oklahoma State.
Last season, the TCU women placed fourth among 19 teams, with Mary Kinyanjui (fourth) and Katrina Zielinski (ninth) placing among the top 10 individual finishers. The TCU men finished 20th among 25 schools.
After the Jamboree, the Frogs will have just one more meet (Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark. on October 16) prior to the Conference USA Championships, which are scheduled for Chicago, Ill. on Saturday, October 30.
