Note: This is one of a series of stories that will take a look back at some of the many titles won by Oklahoma Christian teams and individuals through the decades. Today's story is about the 2005 women's cross country team that won the NAIA Region VI/Sooner Athletic Conference title.

OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 27, 2020) – In the early days of Oklahoma Christian's women's cross country program – which raced for the first time in 1986 – the Eagles won five NAIA District 9 titles, running against short fields that included no more than three teams.

But for the 1994 season, the NAIA moved to a regional qualification process for the national meet, meaning the postseason fields were considerably larger, dramatically increasing the degree of difficulty. OC still usually held its own, finishing in the upper half of a regional or conference race in all but one year from 1994 to 2004, but the team championship consistently eluded the Eagles.

In 2005, the Eagles had a competitive group of six veteran runners returning from a team that had finished third in the NAIA Region VI race the year before. Then along came a freshman, Tara Collins, who put the Eagles over the top.

Collins, from West Plains, Mo., made an immediate impression, taking top individual honors in her first collegiate race, the East Central Invitational in Ada on Sept. 10. Two weeks later, she ran second to lead OC to the team title in the Oklahoma Baptist Invitational in Shawnee. On Oct. 15 came another individual win, in the Southwestern Invitational in Winfield, Kan.

On Nov. 5, OBU hosted the combined NAIA Region VI/Sooner Athletic Conference Championship race and Collins again came through for the Eagles, winning the individual crown in 18:22.27. But as the race developed, it became clear it would be a three-way duel for the team title – and an automatic berth in the NAIA Championship meet – between OC, No. 25-ranked Northwood (Texas) and OBU.

After Collins, OC's next three runners – sophomore Kate Owen of Monte Vista, Colo., senior Audra Bowling of Republic, Mo., and junior Heather Ray of Edmond – finished fifth, seventh and ninth, respectively, putting the Eagles in control. Owen (18:45.08), Bowling (18:51.02) and Ray (19:02.11) all posted personal-best times for 5,000 meters.

OBU's top runners were eighth and 10th, but the Bison had three others finish in the top 20 for a solid team score of 66. Northwood, meanwhile, had runners finish second, fourth and 13th before its fourth and fifth runners took 18th and 19th, good for a team score of 56.

OC's No. 5 runner, junior Michelle Lair of Billings, Mont., needed to finish 33rd or better to give her team the outright title. She came through, placing 32nd while also posting a career-best 5,000-meter time of 20:49.

"We really had great team and individual efforts," the Eagles' coach, Randy Heath, said after the race. He'd later call 2005 "the most successful season in school history."

That's not hyperbole, as the 2005 title stands alone as the only regional or conference women's cross country team title won by the Eagles at either the regional or conference level in the NAIA or NCAA Division II.

Collins went on to become only the second OC runner to earn All-America honors at the NAIA Championship, placing 19th individually on the course in Louisville, Ky., and leading the Eagles to their best team finish ever in the national event, a 14th-place showing. Owen just missed the All-America list, placing 35th, while Bowling posted a 57th-place finish.