Oklahoma State's star freshman recruit, German Fernandez, took third at Footlockers last year and erased Jeff Nelson's 8:36 two-mile high school record with a 8:34 of his own. He, along with Ryan Vail and the rest of the Oklahoma State Cowboys, will look to take that national championship away from the Oregon Ducks.

First off, what is the correct pronunciation of your first name?

You say German (hair-mon). But, I go by German, because a lot of people can't pronounce it.

Were you nervous going from dominating high school races to being a freshman on a college team, basically the lowest person on the totem pole?

I wasn't really nervous. I was more excited you could say.

Can you make a guess as to where you sit, ranking wise, on your team right now?

Probably around...I would say third or fourth right now.

I've got to ask...did you recently do a time trial, as posted on the message boards on Letsrun.com...I believe 22:46?

(Laughs) No, that was just a rumor. I don't know where they got that from. A lot of people started calling me. I've never done a time trial. That would have been a ridiculous time. But...no.

There have been no time trials since you've been in college?

Nope.

When do you open up this season?

October 4^th at the Cowboy Jamboree.

How has your training changed from high school to the college level?

It's just that my training has been a lot longer now. I've been averaging 80-85 miles a week. That's the most I've ever done in my life. In high school I'd do like 60-65. It's just been longer...longer workouts. I've adapted to the workouts really fast. I was happy with that. Summer training has really paid off. It's been really good. My training is going really well right now. I feel great.

Is your body responding well to the adjustment of training, you're not having any problems?

No, I'm a lot stronger. It was a weird feeling because I thought I was going to be struggling up there with 80 miles. It really wasn't that hard at all. It was good.

What are some other adjustments for you, going from high school to college?

You're more independent. You don't have academic advisors...you've got to stay on top of things. People aren't going to tell you what to do...you've just got to do it. I didn't have to change a lot of stuff. I adapted really well over here. There are a great group of guys, supporting each other, hoping to stay healthy, and having a great season together.

You're the only high schooler ever under 8 minutes (en route) for 3,000 meters. Come track season, what kind of time goals are you looking at?

Well, for the 5k, I'm looking to go under 13:45.

This early in your career...can you give me some track prs that you'd like to run before your career is over?

When I get out of college, I want to be able to break 13:05. After that I just want to stay healthy because I have a problem with that. I get injured really fast. Time will tell me what I can do with that. I've just got to be patient.

You're talking about the 5k a lot...is that the event you're looking to go into?

Yeah. I mean, later on when I get older I may train for the 10,000, but right now I want to stick to the short distances and not get worn out with doing longer stuff.

What are your individual goals for this XC season?

My individual goals for this XC would have to be top ten at NCAAs.

Preseason polls have your team ranked second in the nation, were you happy with that ranking?

We're happy with that. We're capable of not being second but first. We didn't get a big head about it. Polls are polls and you can't really go by that. You've got to show what you've got when you race. We just block the polls out and worry about us, as a team. Just looking forward to the races we're having, because we're going to be contenders this year and we're hoping to win the national championship.

What's the team chemistry like?

The team chemistry is great right now. We never think negatively and only think positively. We're always hyping each other up. The other day we had a workout, a four-mile tempo...and it went great. We went 19:24 for the fast dudes. It was the fastest they've done here in while. We kept ten guys under 19:24. It was good.

And you're not feeling the pressure, to maybe come out and run like Ritz did his freshman year?

It's on my mind, but I try not to think about it. I try to block out the pressure on me. The way I see it...whatever happens happens. I want to go after some records...but Ritz was a great runner and I really look up to him. Hopefully I can be better than him this year. Let's see how it goes. It is my freshman year and I'm just hoping to get top ten at NCAAs and the biggest goal for us, as a team, is to win a national championship.

Would you say you're more focused on the team goals than the individual goals?

Yeah, I could say that.

Can you give me some of your essential running gear?

If I run alone I have to run with an Ipod. If I don't have the Ipod with me I get bored really easily on the runs. I only wear Nike shoes. Nike trainers. The only brand I'll wear is the Structures.

What's going to be on your Ipod?

Probably hip hop, rap, rock...it varies. Whatever I'm in the mood for. Sometimes I'm in the mood for techno. It depends.

You know I'm going to need some specifics on that.

All right, Lil' Wayne, T-Pain...Coldplay.

Have you ever seen the movie “He Got Game”?

Yeah.

When you went from high school to going to look at colleges, was there anything like that movie? Is there pressure to go pro? Are colleges throwing their most beautiful girls at you when you visit? Anything like that?

...Well, I can say I had pressure on turning pro. At first it wasn't really in my mind to turn pro. But then, they contacted me and I kind of second guessed myself. I had given my word to say I would run at Oklahoma State...so, my parents talked it over with me and my coach and it took me a week to respond back to them. I think I made the right choice. I've been loving it over here. It's been great training with guys that are on my level. In high school I trained by myself and it was hard to do it every day by myself. Everyone over here just helps each other out. It's a great feeling.

How are you getting along with the coaches? Is it a love-at-first-workout sort of thing?

Yeah, the coaches are great. Dave Smith. They just have great personality. They're the ones who keep a good atmosphere as well.

What's the hardest workout you've ever done?

Since I've been here, I'd have to say: well, two weeks ago we started doing fartlek runs. The first one was me, Vail, and Chirchir. We went pretty hard on it and it took me a day or two to recover from it.

Can you give me more specifics on that? How far or fast we're talking.

I don't remember my time. We were rolling...averaging around 4:52 a mile. We went four minutes hard, two rest, then we went again. I think we did four sets.

You said earlier that you're prone to injury. What's the biggest injury you've had?

The biggest injury I've had would have to be...I tore my meniscus. It took me like four months to recover from it. The doctor told me that any moment it could rip again. So, after I heard that...every other day I go to the weight room. I just work on my knee and try to make it stronger. Do the exercises that they told me to do. Overall that's the only serious injury I've had in a while.

How long ago was that?

That was my sophomore year. In the spring.

Can you give me a crazy story from your running past?

The craziest thing that's happened to me since I've been here has been we were running at like 6 in the morning and it was really really foggy. We were running in the road. This car, out of nowhere, is just coming straight at us. It was coming straight at me and I thought I was going to get hit. Vail and all the other guys kind of jump to the side and it was like...I jump over this pole...which was really sharp. I missed it by about two inches. If I would have hit it, it would have went right through my leg. I was pretty scared. It was really foggy, so I can't say it was the drivers fault. It was ours because we weren't supposed to be running in the road anyway.