Saucony Flo50 XC Countdown: #7 Oklahoma State Women

Saucony Flo50 XC Countdown: #7 Oklahoma State Women

Check out the Saucony Flo50 XC Countdown where FloTrack ranks the top 31 cross country teams in the NCAA this season. The No. 7 spot goes to Oklahoma State

Aug 23, 2016 by Meg Bellino
Saucony Flo50 XC Countdown: #7 Oklahoma State Women
Check out the Saucony Flo50 XC Countdown where FloTrack ranks the top 31 cross country teams in the NCAA this season. The No. 7 spot goes to Oklahoma State this year, and here's why:

Probable Top Four:
SR Natalie Baker (16:53 5K; 34:12 10K; 41st at '15 NCAA XC)
SR Kaela Edwards (4:32 Mile; 9:06 3K; 70th at '15 NCAA XC; '16 NCAA Mile Champ)
JR Aurora Dybedokken (4:19 1500; 9:19 3K; 16:00 5K; 2nd at '16 NCAA Outdoor 5K)
SR Anna Boyert (4:20 1500; 9:26 3K; 121st at '15 NCAA XC)

5th Woman Battle:
SO Molly Sughroue (4:42 Mile; 122nd at '15 NCAA XC)
SR Savannah Camacho (2:02 800; 4:17 1500)
SR Clara Nichols (2:04 800; 4:23 1500)

Impact Freshman/Transfers:
Chelsea Jarvis via Florida State University (2:04 800)
Ariane Ballner via Germany (2:05 800; 4:25 1500)
Sinclaire Johnson via Lake Brantley, FL (2:08 800; 4:57 1600)

Analysis:
The Oklahoma State Cowgirls really proved us wrong last fall. They defeated Big 12 powerhouse Iowa State at the conference championship and NCAA Midwest regional. And even though they lost All American Ingeborg Loevnes, whose 35th-place finish led the Cowgirls to their program's best finish (seventh), the returners showed great improvements this spring that could propel them to an even lower finish.

Natalie Baker went from 36th in the NCAA Midwest region to 41st in the entire NCAA. Kaela Edwards was always an 800m stud, but put together a solid fall campaign that translated into a 9:06 3K debut and an NCAA title in the mile. After these two, Aurora Dybedokken could be the Cowgirls X factor this fall. She slashed one minute off her 5K best this spring and finished runner-up in the NCAA 5K. Though she was only 203rd in Louisville, her massive improvements on the track should give her confidence to race with Baker and Edwards this season.

This team tallied 274 points at the NCAA championships, only 10 behind fifth and sixth-place NC State and Michigan, and just 43 behind a spot on the podium. That could all change in 2016.

Previously:
#8 Stanford
#9 Michigan State
#10 Boise State
#11 Notre Dame
#12 Arkansas
#13 Harvard
#14 Georgetown
#15 Washington
#16 Princeton
#17 Penn State
#18 Iowa State
#19 Syracuse
#20 San Francisco
#21 Kansas
#22 Weber State
#23 Cal
#24 North Carolina
#25 BYU
#26 Virginia
#27 Villanova
#28 Vanderbilt
#29 Texas
#30 Florida
#31 Minnesota