Junior Alyse Goldsmith heads back to Oklahoma State, but this time she will run as a Wildcat against her former Cowboy teammates.

“I think I’m ready for the meet,” Goldsmith said. “I’ve been running on that course since my freshman year.”

Men and women’s cross-country compete again in the 75th Cowboy Jamboree Saturday in Stillwater. ACU will go up against Division I schools including Kansas State, the University of Michigan and the winner of last year’s meet, the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Several teams from the Lone Star Conference will also compete.

Head coach Chris Woods said the meet gives the men and women an opportunity to see how they stack up against other teams in their conference. As a coach, he gets a better picture of what both teams need to work on. The meet, with one of the most challenging uphill courses, serves as a good indicator of how the runners are doing this time of year. It will be the Wildcats’ first time to run a 6K.

Woods said the women’s team has a couple of individual standouts.

“Alyse Goldsmith and Chloe Susset are two girls I think should qualify for Nationals individually,” Woods said. “At the rate Alyse has been progressing, I think she can reach her goal of being a cross-country all-American.”

Goldsmith said she’s been focusing on more mileage and decreasing her pace.

“People have a misconception about running,” Woods said. “You have to run correctly, do plyometrics and core training. There’s more to it than just waking up to go for a run.”

Woods said people have to run with an objective.

“Each workout and race, we have an objective,” Woods said. “That’s what makes it special when these young ladies and young men go as far as they have.”

Woods said both teams feed off support from Wildcat fans.

“We don’t want to let any students or faculty members down,” Woods said. “We appreciate all the support from the past and the support to come.”