Bronchos Second In Central Sprints

5/17/2014 8:46:00 PM

OKLAHOMA CITY (May 17) – Playing host to Western Washington and Seattle Pacific, the Central Oklahoma Bronchos came away with a second-place finish in the Varsity 8+ and third- and fourth-place finishes in the Varsity 4+ Saturday morning on the Oklahoma River at the Central Sprints.

Cooler temperatures and a quartering tailwind led to early spring-like racing, with the Varsity 8s taking to the water first. After a quick start out of the blocks, No. 3-ranked Western Washington took a lead early and extended it throughout the piece to take the victory with a finishing time of 6:58.24.

UCO fought throughout the race to make contact with the Vikings, but stayed just behind finishing with a time of 7:10.89 . Seattle Pacific took third in the race with a time of 7:33.20.

The Varsity 4s raced next, with two crews from both Western Washington and Central Oklahoma. The Vikings would capitalize on an early UCO bobble and then once again walk away during the final 1,000 meters to a victory with a time of 7:42.9. WWU's B entry finished second in 7:51.8, while the Bronchos took third and fourth, with time

"We had a great opportunity this morning to make a statement going into NCAA selection against a very fast crew in Western Washington, but we came up a little short of impressive against a great crew," said head coach Andrew Derrick. "I think we did enough and this margin combined with the speed we've demonstrated throughout the season make us a great candidate for the NCAA Championships. We just need to put it all together if we want to do something when we get there.

"We really appreciate both coaching staffs and teams from Seattle Pacific and Western Washington for making the late-season trip out to Oklahoma, Their athletes and staff's are both top notch and we hope to get to host them again in the near future. Central Sprints will hopefully continue to attract top DII teams and help demonstrate our great venue here in downtown OKC."

The morning ended with a ceremony recognizing some of the outstanding Broncho student-athletes from throughout the season. Kirsten Clark, the lone graduating senior, was recognized as the team's Most Valuable Athlete, Lora-Lynn Loomis as the Most Valuable Newcomer and Morgan Henry as the Most Improved Athlete.

            The four team bids and two at-large eight bids to the NCAA Division II National Championships will be announced on Monday, May 19^th at 4:00pm CST. Those teams selected will race on the Eagle Creek Reservoir in Indianapolis, Indiana, during the weekend of May 30-June 1. The Bronchos have been selected as an at-large eight for the past two seasons, finishing fifth overall both times.

Full Results:

Varsity 8+
Western Washington                         6:58.24
Central Oklahoma                               7:10.89
Seattle Pacific                                    7:33.20

Varsity 4+
Western Washington A                       7:42.9
Western Washington B                       7:51.8
Central Oklahoma A                            7:59.1
Central Oklahoma B                            8:19.9

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