The Daily O’Collegian

The Oklahoma State women’s cross country team has added four newcomers to the 2007 roster, coach Rene Sepulveda announced today.

The incoming class joins six returning letterwinners, providing Sepulveda with a number of options as he begins his fifth season at Oklahoma State.

“This recruiting class will help keep us very competitive for the upcoming 2007 Cross Country Season in the Big 12 and NCAA Midwest Region,” Sepulveda said.

The Cowgirls are looking for an immediate impact from Marcela Lustigova, a junior transfer from Vse Praha University in the Czech Republic.

Competing in the 800-meter and 1500-meter, she has won national championships in both indoor and outdoor track, in addition to being the Czech national cross country champion.

“Presently, she has the best range of any female distance runner on our team,” Sepulveda said.

Lena Orn, a freshman from Stockholm, Sweden, is another new face that the Cowgirls will look to in 2007.

Her long list of credentials includes an 11th-place finish at the 2006 World Junior Track Championships and a seventh-place finish at the 2007 European Junior Track Championships in the steeplechase.

She posted a personal best time of 10:26.17 in July.

Additionally, Orn is a two-time Swedish junior national champion in the steeplechase and finished second in the 2006 Junior Cross Country Championships.

She was a member of the 2007 Swedish junior national cross country team, which has competed throughout Europe.

Mihaela Ana Susa, a native of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, arrives in Stillwater after a successful high school career that included success in international competitions.

She competed in the 2005 World Cross Country Championships and the 2006 European Cross Country Championships, finishing the 5,795km course 22nd with a time of 20:07.

She is a member of the Romanian senior national cross country team and is one of the top female distance runners in Romania, Sepulveda said.

Rounding out the group is Galati, Romania, native Alina Istrate. She is a member of the 2006 and 2007 Romanian junior national cross country team and has a career best time of 17:19 in the 5,000 m.