October 6, 2008

Cowley men place first at OSU Jamboree

Led by individual champion Jonathan Cherono, the Cowley College men’s cross country team won the college/junior college division of the Oklahoma State University Jamboree held Saturday in Stillwater, Okla. for the second consecutive year.

“We had some performances that were really good and some performances that were not so good,” Cowley head coach Vince DeGrado said. “We are better off at this point of the year than we were last year at this time.”

The Tigers finished 22 points ahead of runner-up Incarnate Word, while Cherono (25:02) outdistanced St. Edwards’ David Fuentes (25:19) by 17 seconds in the 8,000-meter race.

“Jonathan controlled the race from the get go,” DeGrado said.

Sophomore Johnny Purvis also ran a solid race as he placed fifth with a time of 26:00.
“Purvis ran great,” DeGrado said.

There were 242 runners and 27 teams competing in the men’s race. Cherono’s sister and former Lady Tiger runner, Jennifer Cherono, won the women’s race.

Freshman Dustin Mettler (26:49) and sophomore Justin Cacaro (26:59) also ran strong races and finished 17th and 21st, respectively. Cacaro’s time of 26:59 was a personal best.

“Justin had a great race,” DeGrado said.

Tiger freshman Phillip Banowetz also came through with a personal best time of 28:01.

“Phillip’s performance was a big surprise,” DeGrado said.

Cowley will next compete at Johnson County on Oct. 17.

Cowley results:
(1) Jonathan Cherono, 25:02; (5) Johnny Purvis, 26:00; (17) Dustin Mettler, 26:49); (21) Justin Cacaro, 26:59; (46) Isbek Salinas, 27:46; (49) Brice Irving, 27:53; (55) Phillip Banowetz, 28:01; (58) Rolando Vasquez, 28:08; (67) Cianan Kutil, 28:26; (129) Nate Newland, 30:27.