Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State Men’s Cross Country ranked No. 3 in USTFCCCA Preseason National Coaches Poll
August 26, 2025 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
STILLWATER – Oklahoma State men's cross country enters the 2025 season ranked No. 3 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Preseason Coaches' Poll, with the Cowgirls coming in at No. 14 to start the year, the organization announced Tuesday.
The Cowboys' preseason No. 3 ranking is the first in program history and is the fourth straight year they have been ranked inside the top three to open the season. OSU returns a trio of two-time cross country All-Americans in Brian Musau, Denis Kipngetich and Fouad Messaoudi, who have each placed in the top 12 twice in their careers. The OSU men have not been ranked outside of the top five in a regular season poll since 2021 and have appeared in the top ten in all but one season since 2006.
Musau is also the two-time defending Big 12 champion in cross country and owns the outdoor collegiate record in the 5,000 Meters and is coming off a track season in which he swept the 5,000 Meter titles at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Kipngetich is the two-time defending NCAA Midwest Regional champion on the grass and has finished as high as fourth at the NCAA Cross Country Championships (2023).
On the women's side, the Cowgirls come in ranked No. 14, marking the fifth straight season they have appeared in the top 25 in the preseason poll. The OSU women have now been ranked inside the top 25 in all but one season since Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Dave Smith took over the program in 2009.
The Cowgirls welcome the return of superstar Billah Jepkirui, who placed seventh at the 2023 NCAA Cross Country Championships and redshirted last season. They are also ranked No. 1 in the Midwest Region after dominating the proceedings last year for their third straight regional title on the grass. The Cowboys are ranked second in the Midwest Region and have won three of the past four regional titles.
The Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course will play host to the first meet of the season this Friday, Aug. 29, with the Cowboy Preview. The men's race will start at 8:15 a.m. CT with the women's race immediately following at 8:45 a.m. The Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course was opened in 2019 and is named after Don and Shellie Greiner, as well as Don's father Ken, who have pledged a significant gift to Oklahoma State Athletics.
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