Cook delivers strong collegiate debut as she and Roe take top two spots to lead host Oklahoma State to victory; Maier and Shitsama finish first and third in men's race, but BYU prevails against Stanford, Northern Arizona and host Cowboys

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Oklahoma State already has an NCAA Division 1 champion on its roster in Taylor Roe.

Now, the women's program might have one of the most prolific pairings in collegiate distance running with the arrival of freshman Natalie Cook, the national high school record holder in the 5,000 meters and the reigning RunningLane and Eastbay national cross country champion.

The teammates rose to the occasion Saturday at the Cowboy Jamboree on the Oklahoma State Cross Country Course, with Cook winning her collegiate debut by covering the 6-kilometer course in 20 minutes, 17.1 seconds, followed by Roe in 20:20.8.

Oklahoma State supported Cook and Roe, the defending Division 1 indoor 3,000-meter champion, with five scorers in the top 40 to secure a 69-88 victory over Northern Arizona, with Brigham Young taking third at 111 points. Colorado (155) and Stanford (171) rounded out the top five.

Gabby Hentemann captured 12th in 20:40.5, Billah Jepkirui took 15th in 20:44.2 and Sivan Auerbach secured 40th in 21:10.8 for Oklahoma State.

Alex Maier also prevailed for the host Cowboys, clocking 23:16.9 in the men's 8-kilometer race, with teammate Victor Shitsama taking third in 23:20.5, as Oklahoma State finished fourth overall with 118 points.

BYU had five scorers in the top 30 to prevail with 75 points, followed by Stanford (101) and reigning Division 1 champion Northern Arizona (110). Tulsa finished fifth with 143 points.

Casey Clinger secured seventh in 23:30.0, Joey Nokes took 10th in 23:36.1 and Christian Allen, a Weber State transfer, was 11th in his official BYU debut in 23:39.2. Allen ran unattached Sept. 9 in the Run Elite Program Cross Country Classic in Taylorsville, Utah.

Davin Thompson took 20th in 23:45.7 and twin brother Creed Thompson placed 27th in 23:51.6 for the Cougars.

Stanford was led by runner-up Charles Hicks (23:20.0) and fourth-place Cole Sprout (23:20.8), but the Cardinal had its fifth scorer earn 59th place overall.

Northern Arizona had Nico Young finish fifth in 23:24.4 and Drew Bosley place ninth in 23:35.5, but a 19th-place effort from Ryan Raff (23:45.4) was the only other performance by the Lumberjacks in the top 30.

Acer Iverson was sixth in 23:27.7 for 13th-place Harvard, with Andrew Kent earning eighth in 23:30.8 for seventh-place Colorado.

Everlyn Kemboi of Utah Valley took third in the women's 6-kilometer race in 20:22.2, leading her team to a seventh-place effort.

Aubrey Frentheway finished fourth for BYU, which returned to Stillwater for the first time since capturing the Division 1 team title in March 2021. Frentheway clocked 20:23.1, with Lexy Halladay-Lowry placing 13th in 20:42.6 and McKenna Lee-Hansen achieving 18th in 20:46.7, all three members of the championship lineup for the Cougars more than 550 days ago.

Northern Arizona had six athletes in the top 30, with Elise Stearns (20:29.5) and Annika Reiss (20:32.5) securing fifth and sixth overall.

Maia Ramsden was seventh in 20:32.7, helping Harvard grab 12th place overall.

Perri Bockrath (20:33.6) earned eighth for 11th-place Kentucky, Savannah Roark (20:37.3) grabbed ninth for sixth-place Syracuse and Isabel Van Camp (20:37.4) capped the top 10 for ninth-place Arkansas.

Shewaye Johnson led Prosper High of Texas to victory in the girls 5-kilometer competition, clocking 18:02.7.

Prosper prevailed by a 63-78 margin over fellow Texas program Canyon Randall.

Adam Burlison triumphed in 15:28.8, helping Grapevine edge Houston Strake Jesuit with an 84-87 victory in the boys 5-kilometer race.