Cross Country Ready For 73rd Annual Cowboy Jamboree
9/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | General
Sept. 30, 2009
FORT WORTH, Texas - The TCU cross country program will continue its 2009 season this weekend at the historic 73rd running of the Cowboy Jamboree in Stillwater, Okla.
Start time for the women's 5K will take place at 9:10 a.m., while the men's 8K will follow at 9:45 a.m. at the OSU Cross Country Course.
"This will be our first meet with some different competition, so we are excited to travel and run against them," said distance coach Shawn Winget. "We want to leave Stillwater a better team. We are getting over some injuries and sickness, so hopefully we will be rested and ready to get after it this weekend."
Nationally ranked teams competing this weekend on the men's side are No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 5 Northern Arizona and No. 11 Tulsa, while several other regionally ranked programs will also be in competition at Oklahoma State. On the women's side, No. 27 Rice, No. 30 Texas Tech and many others will take to the field on Saturday morning.
Follow The Horned Frogs
Fans not able to attend this Saturday's meet in Stillwater can follow it by logging onto www.gofrogs.com. Results and a full recap will be posted following the conclusion of the men's race.
Frogs Stay Ranked In South Central
The TCU men and women's cross country team enters this weekend ranked in the top-15 of the South Central Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
The TCU women remained ranked No. 8 in the South Central Region, while the men dropped to No. 15.
Frogs Making Headway During Early Stages
During the early portion of the 2009 season, freshman Tricia Terry has led the TCU women, finishing ahead of the pack in both meets this fall. Fellow freshman Katie Dalton has followed by crossing the finish line in second overall amongst TCU runners.
On the men's side, Jeff Pels and Louis Tijerina have led the TCU attack, while freshman Douglas Moore has followed in third during the first two meets this fall.
Cowboy Jamboree History
TCU has enjoyed success the past couple of seasons at the Cowboy Jamboree and will look to continue that tradition this weekend with a strong showing in Stillwater.
Last fall, Festus Kigen placed sixth overall to lead TCU on the men's side, while Tanja Ivandic crossed the finish line just outside of the top-30 at No. 31 for the second-straight season.
Overall, TCU has had an individual place in the top-10 in the standings each of the past three seasons.
Former distance runner Calandra Stewart paced both the men and women during the 2006 edition of the meet, placing fourth overall to lead TCU to a third-place team standing, which is the highest team finish since the women captured the team title in 2000.
Stewart's fourth-place showing in 2006 is also the highest an individual has placed at the OSU Cross Country course since former great Glady's Keitany won the individual title in 2000.
In 2003, former distance great Mary Kinyanjui placed fourth among 19 women's teams competing in the 5K race.
Last Year In Stillwater
The TCU men and women's cross country teams finished 19th and 12th overall, respectively, at the 72nd annual Cowboy Jamboree in 2008.
Junior Festus Kigen paced the TCU men attack, clocking a seasonal and personal-best time of 24:18 to cross the finish line in sixth-place. Kigen's time at that point was the fourth-best time recorded in the Mountain West Conference.
Overall, the TCU men finished the meet with 430 points. The Purple and White finished ahead of Kansas State, Saint Louis and UMKC in the final team-standings. Host school and No. 2 ranked Oklahoma State won the men's title with 38 points.
On the women's side, Tanja Ivandic led the Horned Frogs with a seasonal-best time of 22:17. The sophomore placed 31st overall out of 205 student-athletes.
The women finished the meet with 355 points ahead of 13 other teams, including Texas Tech and regionally ranked UT Arlington and Texas State. No. 24 Northern Arizona captured the event-title with 61 points.
Last Time Out
The regionally ranked TCU men's and women's cross country teams finished second and third overall, respectively, at the Ken Garland Invitational.
The men's squad totaled 54 points for runner-up honors, while the Horned Frog women claimed third-place with a total of 73 points at the Eagle Point Cross Country Course. North Texas took home the men's team-title with a score of 51 points, while SMU captured the women's title with 33 points.
Louis Tijerina, a sophomore from Brownsville, clocked a personal-best time of 26:37.00 to cross the finish line in fourth-place in the men's 8K. Junior Jeff Pels followed in eighth with a seasonal-best time of 27:04.00. Tijerina's time is currently the fifth-best time posted in the Mountain West Conference this fall.
On the women's side, Tricia Terry, a freshman from McAllen, paced the Frog attack, recording a seasonal and personal-best time of 18:41.00 to earn a seventh-place finish.
Up Next
TCU will next be in action at the Chile Pepper Festival on Oct. 17 in Fayetteville, Ark.
Players Mentioned
