by EDMOND, Okla. – Oklahoma City University picked up third place in the Central Oklahoma Land Run led by Michael Roguska’s runner-up finish Saturday at Edmond Santa Fe High School.
OCU, ranked second in NAIA men’s cross country, placed two among the top six.Mackenzie Wahpepah-Harris (Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma) finished sixth as Matt Aguero coached the Stars for the first time as head coach.
Roguska, a freshman from Siedlce, Poland, clocked a time of 20 minutes, 4.5 seconds to finish eight seconds behind the individual leader Baylor Harvey of Rogers State. Harris, a junior from Norman, Okla., finished the four-mile run in 20:42.9.
OCU held out two-time all-American David Mountford and Max McNeill. The Stars finished ahead of East Central, ranked 16th in NCAA Division II.
“We didn’t run Dave and Max due to illness earlier in the week,” Aguero said. “If you add them to the mix, then we have a very solid team.”
Oaklin Davis, a sophomore from Aledo, Texas, supplied the Stars with an 11th-place 21:08.5, while Issac Roldan, a sophomore from Oklahoma City, had a 17th-place finish with a 21:30.2.
Lucas Harrington, a sophomore from Columbia, Mo., stood 20th with a 21:34.7, and James Yeagan, a freshman from Katy, Texas, turned in a 21:38.5 to finish 22nd. Kyle Copp, a sophomore from Burleson, Texas, took 23rd with a 21:47.0 for OCU.
Other OCU finishers were Erick Meza (22:09.8), Jacob Keen (22:20.8), Nehemiah Soap(22:31.3), Ryan Nielsen (23:10.3).
The Stars run in the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree on Sept. 24 in Stillwater, Okla.
