The Oklahoma State Cowboys will roll into Terre Haute, Indiana for the NCAA Cross Country Championships as two-time defending champions looking to become only the fifth men’s program to win three consecutive championships.  The Cowboys are undefeated this season and their probable line-up features five All-Americans from 2010.   Yet, their greatest accomplishment may be that they have managed to avoid being pegged as the favorite, despite all the evidence to the contrary.  If a plaque were awarded on Monday for managing expectations, the Cowboys would be a shoo-in.  Intentionally or not, they have moved the target off their back and placed the unenviable mantle upon Wisconsin.   

The Cowboys saw their top ranking in the coaches poll disappear after Wisconsin scored a remarkably low 17 points to win the Big 10 Championships.  Wisconsin’s steadfast pack running has earned them four victories this year, but has also scored them style points that have allowed them to supplant the Cowboys as the team to beat. 

Although the Cowboys have won all four of their meets this year, they have done so in modest fashion, including a 30-43 victory over Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championships.  Seniors German Fernandez and Colby Lowe have looked controlled during the team’s wins at the Cowboy Jamboree, Chili Pepper Invitational and in the Midwest Regional, racing methodically to prioritize the needs of the team.  Fernandez was eight in the NCAA Championships last year and Lowe finished 9^th, and all indications point to both runners equaling or bettering those places once they give a full effort for all 10,000 meters. 

When needed this season, Fernandez and Lowe showed that they are in top form, finishing first and second in the Big 12 Championships.  That type of performance may be required at Terre Haute to make up for some cracks in their depth that once seemed certain.  Coach Dave Smith announced that three-time All American Girma Mecheso, last year’s seventh place finisher, will not compete on Monday.  2010 All-American’s Shadrack Kipchirchir and Tom Farrell have been steady, but the Cowboys have had a different runner fill in the crucial fifth runner role in each race this year.  Johnathan Stublaski finished 36^th last year, but was only the team’s eighth man the last time he raced in the Big 12 Championships.  The experience begins to narrow at the back of the pack as sophomore Joseph Manilafasha, as well as freshmen Fabian Clarkson and Kirubel Erassa could be called upon to round out the Cowboy’s squad.