IOWA CITY, Iowa. - Oklahoma State's men's cross country team dominated their way to a first-place finish at the NCAA Midwest Regional meet on Saturday earning the Cowboys a trip to the NCAA Championships.
The Cowboys, ranked fourth in the region going into Saturday's race, finished with a team score of 49 placing them well in front of second-place Iowa who had a score of 72. Kansas, Minnesota, and Loyola rounded out the top five.
The Pokes, who are headed to nationals for their third straight year, placed six runners on the All-Region team. Junior Joe Gray finished fourth with a time of 31:01, freshman Ryan Vail finished sixth with a time of 31:03, junior Mike Devenport finished seventh with a time of 31:05, sophomore David Jankowski finished ninth with a time of 31:13, senior Sean McCabe finished 23rd with a time of 31:44 and freshman Matt Barnes-Smith finished 25th with a time of 31:51. Also for the Pokes, sophomore Alejandro Ruiz finished 35th with a time of 32:17.
"In my nine years of coaching this is the best performance that I have seen from a team," Cowboy assistant coach Dave Smith said. "These guys worked all season long and I truly believe this team is good enough to be one of the top-10 teams in the nation."
The Cowboys will now prepare to compete in the NCAA Championships in Terra Haute, Ind. That meet will begin at 10 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 21.