Cerake Geberkidane will look to be the top Cowboy finisher on Saturday

While FloTrack may be LIVE in Minnesota at the Roy Griak Invitational this Saturday, the oldest cross country meet in the country will be taking place in Stillwater, Okla. at the OSU Cowboy Jamboree.

Featuring the No. 10 men of Oklahoma State and No. 20 men of Northern Arizona, plus a crew of on-the-rise individuals, hundreds of athletes from high school to the NCAA level will flock to the famed grass and wood chip hills of Stillwater to test their true cross country skills.

Men's Race: No Futsum, An Unattached Craig Nowak, and Talented Newcomers

The Oklahoma State Cowboys will welcome the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks to their home turf, but with the redshirting of their star Futsum Zienasellassie, OSU will find themselves disappointed. Or will this meet be won by another outside force?

Last year the Cowboys swept the top 11 spots, but 2015 could tell a different story. Returning All American Craig Nowak will be racing unattached, and the Cowboys will rely on steady performances by Cerake Geberkidane, Fabian Clarkson and Brian Gohlke. Nowak’s unattached performance will also be a huge indicator of how good this team will be in November, as he was 16th in Terre Haute. Without their top returner, can OSU be better than their already disappointing ninth-place from 2014?

A few individuals could sneak up on Cowboy favorite Geberkidane. Alabama’s Antibahs Kosgei and Kentucky’s Jacob Thomson bring solid credentials to Stillwater. Thomson, a transfer from NC State, was an NCAA 5000m qualifier last spring and ran a season best 13:52 in the event. Since transferring to UK, he was recently awarded the SEC Runner of the Week for his runner-up performance at the Bluegrass Invitational.

Kosgei, a new member of the Alabama squad after transferring from South Plains College, won the Memphis Twilight easily in his debut. The 2015 Juco National Champion in the steeplechase told FloTrack after the win that he wished he had more competition to push him, so this race in Stillwater will answer the many questions we have about this NCAA newcomer.

Women's Race: The Cowgirls vs. the Crimson Tide 

The Cowgirls of OSU will be challenged by the rising Alabama women’s squad in this 5000m contest. The home team will be lead by steeplechaser Ingeborg Loevnes, who ran 9:48 last spring, and 800m All Americans Savannah Camacho and Kaela Edwards. Loevnes is a solid distance runner, but can Camacho and Edwards step up this fall? How they race against the Alabama squad should be a good indicator. 

Led by freshman and USATF Jr. 5K Champion Rachael Reddy, the Crimson Tide have come so close to qualifying for the NCAA Championships the past two seasons. With Reddy leading the way by winning the Brooks Memphis Twilight in 17:06, this team will surely shake up the Cowgirls plans on Saturday. (For reference, the last woman to win the Memphis festival was Miss State’s Rhianwedd Price, who went on to win the NCAA 1500 last spring - Just saying!) Look for veterans Katelyn Greenleaf and Hannah Waggoner to join Reddy with the charge on the Stillwater hills.