OKLAHOMA CITY (Sept. 8, 2021) – Oklahoma Christian cross country coach Wade Miller isn't the boastful type who predicts outstanding performances from his athletes or teams before they prove it when it counts, in the postseason, in high-pressure meets. Even then, his tones almost always are measured.

That said, his OC men's team did prove it last year, finishing second in a stacked field in the Lone Star Conference Championship race in San Angelo, Texas. With four key runners back from that squad, along with another proven runner who sat out last season, plenty of folks believe the Eagles will again be a force with which to contend in 2021 – and Miller doesn't necessarily disagree.

Although he tempers his thoughts on the season with the usual caveats – health, conditioning, preparation and other factors that must consistently be addressed – Miller is comfortable with the high expectations for the Eagles, who were picked No. 2 in the preseason LSC poll and No. 9 in the NCAA Division II South Central Region preseason ranking.

OC will begin its season Friday in the Aggie Duels, hosted by Cameron at the Big Green Soccer Complex in Lawton – which also will be the site of this year's LSC Championship race.

"I don't mind the expectations," Miller said. "We've got the pieces to the puzzle. It's just, can we get them to fit together? We've got some good potential. We've just got to make sure that we're doing the right things, we're training well, we're handling our business outside of our sport. Can we avoid all of the little stuff that we need to avoid?"

The Eagles have established quite the tradition in cross country, having never finished outside the top four in a conference race for more than a decade (dating to OC's time in the NAIA) and winning two Heartland Conference titles (2013, 2015) at the Division II level. OC finished fourth in its first LSC race in 2019 before moving up to second last season, behind only West Texas A&M, which outdueled the Eagles down the stretch.

In the Division II XC National Invitational in Lubbock, Texas, to close the 2020 season (as there was no NCAA postseason event), OC finished a solid sixth in the 11-team field that included squads from the LSC, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and Gulf South Conference.

Two All-LSC runners return to lead the Eagles in 2021 – sophomore Colten Brown of Boise City and senior Colton Meyers of Allen, Texas. Brown led last year's LSC race for a time and finished fifth while Meyers placed seventh to earn his second straight All-LSC honor. Both also had solid track and field campaigns for the Eagles, building into this cross country season.

"Both of those guys got good experience last year, in both cross country and track," Miller said. "They're going to have to carry a pretty big load for us. After that, we'll need to have some guys step up and fill in our roster."

Sophomore Owen Pearce of Kingman, Kan., had his best track season as an Eagle in the spring after finishing 19th in the LSC cross country race, while junior Jelte van Atten of Leiden, Netherlands – who made a sizable performance jump in 2020-21 – looks to continue his improvement. Both earned All-LSC honors in indoor track in 2021.

Also back for the Eagles – after sitting out the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic – is sophomore Ethan Anthony of Mornington, Australia, who was one of the Eagles' top runners in 2019.

"Jelte should be one of those guys (who will start)," Miller said. "He raced well last year. Owen was next-level in track. Ethan was a good runner for us (in 2019)."

While the top of the lineup appears solid, there are openings to be filled in the important lower lineup spots and there are plenty of potential candidates to fill those, including both veterans and newcomers.

Sophomore Kolten Johnson of Lewisburg, Tenn., held down the No. 7 spot for the Eagles for much of last season and posted a career-best 8,000-meter time in the LSC meet, as did sophomore Austin McNair of Denton, Texas. Sophomore Dylan Burrows of Melbourne, Australia (the LSC outdoor 800-meter champion) and freshman Griffin Chesire of Eldoret, Kenya, also gained valuable experience in 2020-21.

The Eagles' incoming freshmen are Cade Berkey of Hydro (the Class A-2A prep cross country runner-up in 2020), Christian Fair of Stillwater and Franklin Kiplagat of Nairobi, Kenya.

Miller said he needs two or three runners from that group of seven to move into the starting rotation to bolster the Eagles' chances for success in 2021.

"That group is going to have to make up some ground and somebody is going to need to step up and be in the mix for us," Miller said. "There is potential to do that. They've got to make a decision to get in there and mix it up and want to get better."

The Eagles' schedule looks different than usual this season, but with a few familiar staples. After starting in Lawton for the first time, they will return for a second straight year to the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree before a trip to the Chile Pepper Festival in Fayetteville, Ark., in early October, a meet in which Miller likes to have his teams compete.

OC will run in the South Central Region Preview race in Lubbock – on the same course on which they first ran last November, and on which the South Central Region Championship will be contested this year – on Oct. 9 before the LSC race on Oct. 23. The regional meet – featuring teams from the LSC and the powerful RMAC – will be Nov. 6.

"We'll have a better idea after the first couple of races," Miller said. "That should tell us a little bit about our fitness and our ability to race tough competition. We'll find out pretty quickly where we're at."