The NWU Cross Country teams headed south for their second race of the season to the 72nd installment of the Cowboy Jamboree, hosted by Oklahoma State University.  The 2008 Cowboy Jamboree, the oldest consecutive cross country race in the nation, had a total of 105 university, college and junior college teams race this year.

Both the NWU women’s and men’s teams faced stiff competition, as they competed in the University division, which included many Division I teams in the 48-team field.  Some of these teams included were No. 2 ranked Oklahoma State men’s team, Kansas, No. 24 ranked Texas Tech women’s team, Kansas State, Indiana, Miami of Ohio, and others.

The NWU women had a strong showing against these teams, placing 16th out of 25 teams with a team score of 436.  No. 21 Northern Arizona won the women’s university division with 61 points, respectfully.

For NWU, Jackie Spelts once again led the way for the team, finishing in 22:49 on the 6,000 meter course, placing her 53rd.  Senior Bridget Baldwin followed her, finishing with a time of 23:38.  Hayley Sutter and Malaina Huebert both finished in the top 100, running 23:48 and 23:54.

Beverly Ramos from Kansas State University won her second meet individually in a time of 20:30.

The men also ran competitively against a tough field, finishing 15th out of 23 teams in the University Division with a team score of 396.  No. 2 Oklahoma State ran away with the team title with a score of 38.

Leading the way for NWU was Logan Watley, who placed 48th overall with a time of 25:54.  Neil Wolford finished second on the team, crossing the line in 26:31.  Brian Copley and Ryan Osberg both cracked the top 100, finishing in 27:00 and 27:20.

Daniel Kirwa of Harding University (Arizona) took the individual title, running 23:57 for the 8,000 meter course.