University of Central Oklahoma

EDMOND (Sept. 6) – It was a dramatic debut for Alina Istrate in the 2nd Annual UCO Land Run Saturday morning at Mitch Park as the Central Oklahoma sophomore won in dominating fashion despite making a wrong turn late in the race.

Istrate was comfortably in front heading into the last mile of the 5,000-meter jaunt before turning the wrong way and then momentarily stopping, allowing Southwestern Oklahoma’s Stefanie Jones to take the lead.

It didn’t matter, however, as Istrate took off in hot pursuit of Jones and soon overtook her before coasting to a 10-second win. A transfer from Oklahoma State who was once a member of the Romanian junior national cross country team, Istrate finished the race in 19:11.00.

The Bronchos also got a fine third-place showing from junior Evelyn Berko and top-16 finishes from sophomore Julia Crocker and freshman Heather Braley, but having just four healthy runners left UCO ineligible for the team title that was won by SWOSU.

Berko, who had five top-five finishes last year en route to earning All-Lone Star Conference honors for the second straight year, toured the course in 19:56.00 Crocker came in 12th in 20:33.00 and Braley tied for 16th in 20:42.00.

“I thought the girls ran really well for our first meet of the season,” UCO coach J.D. Martin said. “Alina got confused and made a mistake, but she showed what kind of runner she is by being able to overcome that and still win easily.

“It was a good start for us and we’ll try to build on it. We need to get a couple of girls healthy and hopefully we’ll be able to add a couple of more to give us some better depth.”

The Bronchos don’t return to action until going to the Missouri Southern Stampede on Sept. 20. 

Meet Results