OCU puts No. 1 rating on line

Stars begin quest for second consecutive national title

OKLAHOMA CITY – The No. 1-ranked Oklahoma City University men's cross country team will look to defend its national title in 2019.
The squad brings back five of their seven runners at last year's NAIA Championships, including two all-Americans. Max McNeill and Oscar Kipkoros both turned in top-10 showings to capture all-American honors for the second year in a row.
The Stars will begin their season 8:45 a.m. Saturday at the Central Oklahoma Invitational at Edmond Santa Fe High School in Edmond, Okla. The team last competed in the meet two years ago, finishing second in a field of seven competitors.
"We have always set the bar pretty high," said OCU coach Matt Aguero, who became 2018 NAIA coach of the year. "Every year we want to go in and try to compete for a national title. Everybody is pretty focused, and I do not have to do a whole lot of motivating. We have a bunch of self-motivators here that want to work hard and get better. They want to repeat. We have had groups come in and won multiple championships, so they kind of compare themselves to other guys that have went on and graduated." Oklahoma City owns national championships won in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018.
"We kind of let them go in the summer and send them home training," Aguero said. "The summer is big for us. If you do not put in a good summer and come in out of shape, then it is almost too late. Our first meet is Saturday. But everybody came in pretty fit and I am really impressed. Especially our top guys. This is probably the best I have seen them."

DEFENDING CHAMPIONS

• Oklahoma City won its fourth NAIA men's cross country championship last year at Seminole Valley Park in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The title marked the most recent of OCU's 68 national championships in all sports, extending a streak of 26 straight years with a national title for the school
• McNeill, a junior from Uphall Station, Scotland, finished ninth with a time of 24 minutes, 44.6 seconds for his best time at the national meet
• Kipkoros, a junior from Iten, Kenya, collected 10th place by completing the 5,000-meter race in 24:47.9
• Aguero reeled in NAIA coach of the year for the first time. He was an assistant coach when OCU won their last two championships. Aguero was also Sooner Athletic Conference coach of the year for the second consecutive year

TOP RETURNERS

• Kipkoros, a two-time all-American and all-conference runner, returns for his senior season. He comes in with a personal best 24:38.0 in the 8,000 meters, which he set at the Mid-State Classic in 2018. Kipkoros took the Sooner Athletic Conference individual championship to propel the Stars to their second SAC crown in a row at Woodson Park in Oklahoma City
• McNeill, a two-time all-American and three-time all-conference recipient, will also return for his final year. McNeill set a personal best at the NAIA Championships last year with his all-American time of 24:44.6. He was runner-up to Kipkoros in the SAC Championships
• Mark Shaw, a senior from Ormesby, Middlesbrough, England, is also back after sitting out the 2018 season. Shaw won the individual title at the NAIA and SAC Championships in 2017
• Isaac Roldan, a senior from Oklahoma City, was OCU's fifth man last year. Roldan recorded a personal-best 25:29.3 at the 2018 NAIA Championships

NEW FACES

• The Stars bring in four freshmen from the state of Oklahoma to fill out this year's roster. Richard Bolt, Benjamin Hicks, Chase Waterhoose and Paul Welch will all look to compete for a spot in OCU's lineup

PRESEASON BUZZ
• Oklahoma City University has been given the No. 1 ranking for the second straight year in the NAIA men's cross country coaches' preseason Top 25 poll
• OCU received all 21 first-place votes along with 591 points in the recently announced poll. The Stars stood at No. 1 through the entirety of the 2018 campaign, as this marks the eighth straight poll OCU has been chosen for the top spot
• "If we can just keep everybody healthy, I think we will have a good shot at repeating." – Aguero

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

• OCU will return to defend its title in the NAIA Mid-States Classic on Oct. 26 in Winfield, Kan. The race annually serves as a tuneup for the postseason
• The Stars will host the SAC Championships in Woodson Park for the second straight year Nov. 9
• The NAIA Championships are back in Vancouver, Wash., again after a trip to Iowa last year. The final meet will take place on Friday, Nov. 22

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Players Mentioned

Oscar Kipkoros: 5' 8"; Senior

Max McNeill: Senior

Isaac Roldan: 5' 7"; Senior

Mark Shaw: 6' 0"; Senior

Paul Welch: 6' 1"; Freshman

Richard Bolt: 5' 8"; Freshman

Chase Waterhoose: 5' 6"; Freshman

Benjamin Hicks: 6' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

Oscar Kipkoros
: 5' 8"; Senior

Max McNeill
: Senior

Isaac Roldan
: 5' 7"; Senior

Mark Shaw
: 6' 0"; Senior

Paul Welch
: 6' 1"; Freshman

Richard Bolt
: 5' 8"; Freshman

Chase Waterhoose
: 5' 6"; Freshman

Benjamin Hicks
: 6' 2"; Freshman