Cerake Geberkidane chooses Oklahoma State

Cerake Geberkidane chooses Oklahoma State

Jan 27, 2014 by Christopher Chavez
Cerake Geberkidane chooses Oklahoma State

Denver East High School senior and Colorado standout Cerake Geberkidane has verbally committed to Oklahoma State University. He recently cut down his list from Oregon, Texas A&M, Northern Arizona, Georgetown and Oklahoma State before finally selecting Dave Smith’s squad in Stillwater.

Gebrekidane was one of the favorites heading into the 2013 Nike Cross-Country National Championship and finished fourth overall in 15:10. He won the Colorado 5A State Championship by 42 seconds and won the Nike Cross-Country Nationals Southwest Regional.

In September, Adam Goucher sent Flotrack an email after Gebrekidane’s unofficial Colorado 5K record was set in 14:46.5 at the Arvada West Cross-Country Invitational, which is at an altitude of 5,000-feet.

Oklahoma State is coming off a cross-country season in which they finished third at the NCAA Championship behind Northern Arizona and Colorado. Seniors Tom Farrell and Shadrack Kipchirchir were the team’s top two runners in Terre Haute and will not be with the team in the fall due to graduation. 

Geberkidane previously played soccer with his older brother Ashi, who now plays for Harvard. He decided to get serious about running during his junior year and attended Boulder Running Camp. His parents emigrated to the United States from Ethiopia. Both brothers were born in Denver.

Fun Fact: After NXN, Geberkidane was a "Future Champion" on the popular online fashion magazine Hypebeast.