OSU track signs recruit

FROM THE OSU ATHLETICS OFFICE

Cowboy Cross Country/Track Signs Top Recruit

STILLWATER, Okla. – The Oklahoma State men’s cross country and track team signed the highest rated prospect in the history of the school Friday, adding to an already impressive class.

German Fernandez of Riverbank High School in Riverbank, Calif., headlines the class. Coach Dave Smith said Fernandez is considered one of the best prospects in the country.

“He is in everybody’s top five, mine included” Smith said. “Many feel that he is the best high school cross country runner in the country.”

Fernandez won the under-20 division USA Track and Field Junior National Cross Country Championships at the age of 17, running a time of 24:18 on the 8-kilometer course and beating several NCAA Division I runners. As a result, Fernandez was selected to represent the United States at the World Cross Country championships in Scotland at the end of March.

He also won the 2007 California State meet, running the 5-kilometer course in 14:24, good enough to break a 21-year-old state course record by 14 seconds. He earned another first-place finish at the 2007 Foot Locker West Regional Cross Country Championship, which qualified him for the Foot Locker National Championship, where he placed third on the 5-kilometer course with a time of 15:09.