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<strong>Colorado's Class of 2014 makes their decisions...</strong></p>
Stillwater, Oklahoma, is Cowboy country. And that's where Cerake Geberkidane is headed this fall. Photo by Paul Jaeger.
Cerake Geberkidane's best marks:
1500 meters - 4:11.54 (at altitude)
1600 meters - 4:29.23 (at altitude)
3000 meters - 9:08.52 (at altitude)
3200 meters - 9:44.63 (at altitude)
5K cross country - 14:46.50 (at altitude)
Cerake, I'm certain you had a lot of opportunities, so what factors made Oklahoma State stand above all the others?
I loved all the schools I visited, but when I had to choose, I picked OSU for a couple of reasons. First, I connected with the team really well. They were welcoming, fast, kind, and fun. They made me feel like I belonged there. Second, the coaches, especially Bobby Lockwood and Dave Smith, made me feel wanted and that their training would take me to the next level of success.
Obviously, Oklahoma State will be looking at you for cross country, but do you have any indication yet what track event or events they will be trying to plug you into?
I don't know what they have in mind for me, but I know I would like to run the mile and the 5k.
This last cross country season was beyond amazing. When you look back on the season, what was the most satisfying thing about the season?
Winning state! No, running a 14:46 5k! No, maybe it was helping the East Boys XC Team get to state! No, it was winning Nike Southwest! No, maybe going to Nike Nationals! No, maybe, getting a 3.5 GPA last semester! This has been a great time in my life and there were so many highlights, I can't pick one.
You didn't take part in the CHSAA-sanctioned outdoor season in 2013. Will we see you on the track for Denver East this spring?
Yes! I'm training now and really excited. I am training for the one and two-mile events.
Are there any particular remaining goals you'd like to accomplish in your remaining time as a high school athlete?
Well, I love winning, and that's always my goal, so I hope to win state in at least one event, and to compete against the country's best runners at the Arcadia Invitational and Adidas Dream Mile.
Will you be doing any of the big summer meets this year, just putting in work preparatory to running at Oklahoma State in the fall, or is it just too soon to tell yet?
I'll be putting in lots of base miles this summer. If it works out with my high school coaches and my OSU coaches, I hope to race a few times including the Brooks PR in June. And I'll be attending the Team Prep USA summer camp in Crested Butte.
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Your head is probably spinning as fast as mine as Cerake relates all that he's looking to take on in the next six months or so. Arcadia, State, Adidas Dream Mile, Brooks PR. A lot of those will be out-of-state, so make certain you don't miss the opportunities to catch him when he's running in-state. Even with as many highlights as Cerake had in his fall season, there could be even more coming in the spring season. And, this is certainly one of those years where we can wonder if Brent Vaughn's Colorado all-time 3200 meter mark might be in danger.
