OSU claims Midwest Regional titles, punches ticket to NCAA Championships
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State men’s and women’s cross country each took home team titles at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on Friday at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course, earning automatic bids to the NCAA Championships in the process.
STILLWATER — Oklahoma State men’s and women’s cross country each took home team titles at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on Friday at the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course, earning automatic bids to the NCAA Championships in the process.
The Cowgirls kicked things off with a dominant and controlled performance from top-to-bottom, scoring 30 points as a team. With their victory, the Cowgirls secured the fifth Midwest Regional Championship in program history (2001, 2005, 2015 and 2022).
All seven Cowgirls placed in the top 20 overall, with OSU’s top-5 scorers all finishing inside the top 12. Billah Jepkirui took home the Midwest Regional title, the third Cowgirl in program history to do so, joining Christine McMiken (1985) and Siri Alfeim (2001). Finishing alongside Jepkirui was Big 12 champion Taylor Roe, who now has career finishes of second, third and second at the regional meet. Molly Born also joined the pair in the top-5 with a fifth-place finish overall, her highest career finish at the meet. Rounding out the scoring for OSU was Cayden Dawson and Gabija Galvydyte, who took home 10th- and 12th-place finishes overall.
On the men’s side, the Cowboys put down an even more dominant display, scoring 19 points overall. The OSU men put all five scorers in the top-10, with freshman phenoms Denis Kipngetich and Brian Musau controlling the race from start-to-finish. Kipngetich collected his second career meet victory (2023 Cowboy Jamboree) and first career NCAA Midwest Regional title. This is the second consecutive year a Cowboy has won the individual title after Isai Rodriguez won in 2022.
Big 12 Champion Musau earned runner-up honors Friday and has yet to finish outside the top-2 in any race this season. Behind Musau was Fouad Messaoudi in third, giving the Cowboys a 1-2-3 finish overall. Rounding out the scorers for the OSU men was freshman Adisu Guadie in fifth and senior Alex Maier in eighth.
The Cowboys and Cowgirls will return to action this next weekend in Charlottesville, Va., for the NCAA Cross Country Championships, with each looking to bring home NCAA title No. 53 for OSU.
