OC runners finish strong in first race of season

EDMOND, Okla. (Sept. 5, 2009) – The Oklahoma Christian University cross-country teams started off on a high note with a first place effort by the men’s team along with a third place finish by the women on Saturday morning at Mitch Park.

Nicole Lair led the women’s team and nearly won the five-kilometer race finishing just seconds behind Chelsey Dillon of Southwestern Oklahoma State in 19:18. Second for the Oklahoma Christian women was Melyssa Cardenas with a 20:27 finish. Not far behind were OC women Kaili Tucker (21:01), Rachel Snider (21:44), Lena Baskin (22:22), Kaci Shough (22:38), and Cady Block (22:59). “The women ran great today. I was impressed with their tenacity in the first race of the season. Nicole is picking up right were she left off last spring, and I have high aspirations for her individually this fall. Melyssa has made huge gains this year and we are just now finding out what she is capable of. If we can close some gaps in the top 5 we’ll be very competitive this season,” said head coach Mark Thompson.

Through a hard fought race, the OC women finished third overall with 69 points behind Oklahoma Baptist University and the University of Central Oklahoma.

On the men’s side, Silas Kisorio led the pack from the start and finished with a commanding lead covering the four-mile distance in 20:14. The OC men’s team swept the first five places allowing for a perfect score on the first race of the season. Following behind Kisorio were Geoffrey Njonjo (21:00), David McWilliams (21:20), Brayden Barrientez (22:04), and Ethan Pollock (22:13).

To finish out the top seven from Oklahoma Christian Blake Baxter came in seventh place with a 22:37 finish, while Britt Barrientez finished eighth in 22:43. OC assistant coach, Sam Dech, also participated in the race as an unattached runner finishing in third place overall with a time of 21:11. “It was good to let the guys shake off the rust in a small meet before they’ll be tested pretty thoroughly in Joplin and Stillwater. We are very young this year, so I was anxious to see how the guys would compare. Every runner is a contributor on this team whether their points score in the meet or not,” said Thompson.

The Oklahoma Christian cross-country teams will race again on September 19 at the Missouri Southern Stampede in Joplin, Mo.

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