CHARLOTTE, N.C.- Oscar Ogwaro (Los Angeles, Calif., Woodrow Wilson) has been named the November InterCon Student-Athlete of the Month, his second consecutive month to win the award.
Oqwaro was instrumental in the men's cross country team's success. He defended his NCAA DII Southeast Regional title in leading the Royals to defend their team title. The win qualified Queens for the NCAA National Championship for the third year in a row.
Oqwaro earned NCAA All-American honors with his seventh place finish at the NCAA National Championships helping the Royals to a team-high matching seventh place finish.
Ogwaro was named the October InterCon Student-Athlete of the Month for his efforts in two events, one being the Conference Carolinas Championship where he won first place.
We asked Ogwaro a few questions about his season and winning the award.
This is the second month you have been named the InterCon Student-Athlete of the Month, can you describe how that feels?
It is quite surprising, considering that I have not done anything athletically this month. May be that is why it feels a whole a lot better than the first time.
Can you talk about your recent trip to the NCAA National Championship? What was your experience like this year?
Overall, the trip came sooner than I would have liked but it was a good learning experience for me. I can't complain a whole lot because I made the All-American team even though I feel like I did not have a good race.
How did this year's NCAA National Championship compare to last year's?
Ohh man!! Last year's championship was crazy. We only had a few inches of snow during our race! I didn't really like that. I'm not used to running in feet of snow in Southern California. This year was actually fun! Unlike last year, there were at least 10 people racing to win this year and I think that made the race more intense.
You are heading into indoor track and field- how is that different than cross country?
They are totally different!! The conditions in track and field are fair to everyone, there are no up hills or down hills. Cross country is fun because of the team goals and chemistry but I personally prefer track. I love to race in front of people and track & field is just best for that. In cross country, people just watch the start and the finish.
Do you have a personal goal for track season?
Yes ma'am!! The experience from this year's XC championship gave a lot of confidence; I feel like I was 85% fitness wise but still ran close to some really good guys. I do have some specific times I want to run but people do not understand times so I'm gonna go ahead and keep that to myself; but one of my main goals is to keep the tradition of winning the indoor 5k alive for queens.
Anything else you would like to share? Maybe something that people may not know about you?
May be that I am racing in the USA half marathon championship in Houston on January 17.
