ACU cross-country struggled in Stillwater last weekend at the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree with the women coming in 18th and the men finishing 23rd.. OSU swept the team titles another year, with Indiana University winning both silvers.

Last year, ACU had a stronger showing at the meet. The men’s team finished 10th overall, and Amos Sang finished fourth individually. The women’s team finished in eighth place, doing its best all season.

“From a team’s standpoint, we didn’t have a very good race,” Head Coach Chris Woods. “On the women’s side, we had two pretty decent individual performers. On the men’s side, I’m going to be honest with you, we didn’t have our best showing.”

However, Woods said three of the top seven men didn’t compete at the meet because of injuries. The injuries are not season-ending; the men simply need to rest their bodies.

Alyse Goldsmith, junior accounting major from Katy, was not feeling well either, Woods said. She came in 78th place, preceded by teammate Chloe Susset in 58th. Woods said even though it wasn’t Goldsmith’s best race, he is pleased at how the two girls build each other up and make a good team.

Though the team didn’t perform up to its usual standard in Oklahoma, Woods has high hopes for the Lone Star Conference, which will be Oct. 22 in San Angelo.

“We learned from the race, and now it’s time to pick ourselves up and put the team back together,” Woods said. “We are going to have a good showing at the LSC Conference. Come conference time, we are going to have our best team out there.”

Woods said the men’s team will be “ready to bleed purple” and earn the title it has won for the last 20 years. The women, coming in eighth two years ago and third last year, are moving up. Hopefully, the women will gain a new title this time around.

William Pike, who finished in 91st with the best time for the ACU men, ran two minutes faster this year than last at the Cowboy Jamboree.

“I know I’m better than I was last year at this point in the season, but regarding the team as a whole, I’m not yet where I want to be once the important races start,” Pike said. “Conference is our biggest focus. We have a fairly new, young team after graduating our top three runners last year, and we definitely face an uphill battle for No. 21.”

“At the end of the day,” Woods said, “it doesn’t mean a thing in the world if we win the OSU Cowboy Jamboree but don’t win the LSC Conference.”