Men’s cross-country ties for 2nd, looks to repeat championship title

Photo by Roxie Gonzalez

Two Eagle runners finished in the top five at the West Texas A&M Buffalo Stampede, leading Oklahoma Christian University to a tie for second place on Oct. 25.

“I thought I ran a good race yesterday,” freshman Sisay Gillock said. “I started off at a good pace and progressed throughout the race, so I was pretty pleased about my performance.”

Cross-Country Head Coach Wade Miller said Gillock’s success in the meet is a direct result of his training efforts.

“Sisay has been really focused on improving his racing instincts and has been performing very well in practice,” Miller said. “He had probably his best performance of the year so far.”

Gillock ran the eight-kilometer course in 26:50, finishing fifth – one spot behind Bryant Keirns’ fourth-place time of 26:36.

Evan Durrill ran a 28:34, placing 21st in the 69-man race. Kyle Broaddrick finished 24th with a 29:00, Blake Thompson’s 29:36 earned 33rd and Riley Compton placed 52nd, running a 33:09.

The Eagles’ next event is the Heartland Conference Championship in Wichita, Kansas on Nov. 8, giving the team another two-week rest in between meets.

According to Gillock, the extra week of practice is advantageous to runners.

“I like having two weeks to prepare for the Heartland Conference Championship,” Gillock said. “That is going to give us enough time to recover well from yesterday’s race and get some solid workouts in.”

The Oklahoma Christian men’s cross-country team won the Heartland Conference Championship last year. Gillock said Miller would ensure the team is ready to compete again this season.

“I’m going to train according to what Coach Miller has planned out for me to prepare for the [championship] meet,” Gillock said. “He is a smart coach, so I am sure he will prepare me in the best way possible.”

According to Miller, the Eagles’ hopes of winning the championship for a second straight year will require each runner competing at his full potential.

“Our focus is really on putting ourselves in position to compete for the title,” Miller said. “We have a good opportunity but it will take an extremely strong amount of effort.”

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