Card Second, Fifth in Oklahoma
STILLWATER, Okla. – On this year's NCAA course and racing among the top teams in the nation, the Stanford men placed second at the Cowboy Jamboree on Saturday.
Charles Hicks took second and Cole Sprout fourth while making their season debuts to lead the Cardinal, which scored 101 points to 75 for winner BYU.
The Stanford women, led by freshman Riley Stewart in 20th, placed fifth with 171 points, as Oklahoma State won with 69 on its home course.
Many of the country's best gathered. All of the top six teams in the USTFCCCA men's rankings and eight of the top 10, competed on the hilly course. The women's race featured six of the nation's top 10. Stanford entered at No. 3 for the men and No. 5 for the women.
There was fear of the heat on Saturday and the races were moved to earlier in the morning, with a 7:45 a.m. local start for the women's race and 8:30 for the men's. While the temperatures were expected to reach into the high-90s later, the races instead were run in manageable temperatures of 59-65 degrees.
Charles Hicks (left) and Cole Sprout. Photo by David Hicks.
Hicks, the reigning Pac-12 champion, was clocked in 23:20.0 over 8 kilometers (4.97 miles), just edging Oklahoma State's Victor Shitsama (23:20.5) and Sprout (23:20.8). Oklahoma State's Alex Maier won in 23:16.9.
Ky Robinson is among three Stanford cross country All-Americans, with Hicks and Sprout, but has yet to compete in cross country this season. He is being brought along slowly after a track season that lasted until early August while he competed for Australia at the World Championships and Commonwealth Games.
With Thomas Boyden (16th), Robert DiDonato (21st), and Nolan Topper (59th) also in the team's top five, Stanford beat teams such as No. 1 Northern Arizona, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 5 Colorado, No. 6 Tulsa, No. 8 Washington, and No. 9 Wake Forest.
In the 6K (3.73-mile) women's race, Stewart finished as Stanford's No. 1 for the second time in as many meets. She made her collegiate debut by winning the USF Invitational in San Francisco on Sept. 3. Stewart ran 20:48.8 and was followed closely on Saturday by Lucy Jenks (26th, 20:56.2), Audrey Suarez (33rd, 21:06.6), and Grace Connolly (39th, 21:09.7).
Most of these Stanford runners next compete at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Oct. 14, followed by the Pac-12 Championships Oct. 28 in Riverside, Calif.
Caroline Wells. Photo by David Hicks.
* * *
Cowboy Jamboree
At Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course
Saturday's results
Men (8K, 4.97 miles)
Team leaders – 1, BYU 75; 2, Stanford 101; 3, Northern Arizona 110; 4, Oklahoma State 118; 5, Tulsa 143; 6, Wake Forest 177; 7, Colorado 183; 8, Syracuse 202; 9, Air Force 223; 10, Gonzaga 245.
Winner and Stanford – 1, Alex Maier (Oklahoma State) 23:16.9; 2, Charles Hicks (Stanford) 23:20.0; 4, Cole Sprout (Stanford) 23:20.8; 16, Thomas Boyden (Stanford) 23:44.4; 21, Robert DiDonato (Stanford) 23:47.2; 59, Nolan Topper (Stanford) 24:12.6; 75, Devin Hart (Stanford) 24:22.0; 94, Caleb Boutelle (Stanford) 24:38.0; 114, Zane Bergen (Stanford) 24:50.8; 128, Liam Anderson (Stanford) 25:00.8; 188, John Lester (Stanford) 26:23.7.
Women (6K, 3.73 miles)
Team leaders – 1, Oklahoma State 69; 2, Northern Arizona 88; 3, BYU 111; 4, Colorado 155; 5, Stanford 171; 6, Syracuse 175; 7, Utah Valley 199; 8, Washington 217; 9, Arkansas 225; 10, Michigan 228.
Winner and Stanford – 1, Natalie Cook (Oklahoma State) 20:17.1; 20, Riley Stewart (Stanford) 20:48.8; 26, Lucy Jenks (Stanford) 20:56.2; 33, Audrey Suarez (Stanford) 21:06.6; 39, Grace Connolly (Stanford) 21:09.7; 56, Abi Archer (Stanford) 21:22.2; 64, Caroline Wells (Stanford) 21:28.4; 67, Audrey DaDamio (Stanford) 21:29.1; 68, Nicola Hogg (Stanford) 21:29.2; 81, Ava Parekh (Stanford) 21:40.0; 89, Melissa Tanaka (Stanford) 21:44.2; 104, Lily Flynn (Stanford) 21:59.5; 131, Tori Starcher (Stanford) 22:30.2; 152, Imogen Gardiner (Stanford) 22:51.1.